美联社新闻一分钟 2006-05-10

1. President Bush says diplomacy¹ is the first choice in dealing² with Iran and its nuclear programs. Speaking today in Florida, Mr. Bush said he believed diplomacy can entice³ Teheran to end its uranium enrichment program.

2. It's raining in Florida, but that's not much help to firefighters. This is day five, and so far brush fires across the state have scorch⁴ed 8,000 acres and shut down more highways.

3. Police in Chantilly, Virginia near the nation's capital are investigating the motive⁶ behind a shoot-out at a police station on Monday that left a female detective dead. Authorities say the young gunman was heavily armed.

4. And in New Jersey⁷, a black bear is ambling⁸ just a little too close for comfort. He was spotted this morning wandering not far from a high school. So far police have had no luck in tranquilizing the animal.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. entice : verb
To entice someone to go somewhere or to do something means to try to persuade them to go to that place or to do that thing.
e.g. Retailers¹⁰ have tried almost everything to entice shoppers through their doors.

2. brush : n-uncount
Brush is an area of rough open land covered with small bushes and trees. You also use brush to refer to the bushes and trees on this land.
e.g. the brush fire that destroyed nearly 500 acres.
brush fire : noun
An uncontrolled fire that consumes brush and shrubs¹¹ and bushes.

3. scorch : verb
To scorch something means to burn it slightly.
e.g. The bomb scorched⁵ the side of the building.

4. shoot-out : n-count
A shoot-out is a fight in which people shoot at each other with guns.
e.g. Three IRA men were killed in the shoot-out.

5. amble¹² : verb
When you amble, you walk slowly and in a relaxed manner.
e.g. Slowly they ambled¹³ back to the car.
= stroll

6. too close for comfort :
If you say that something is too close for comfort, you mean you are worried because it is closer than you would like it to be.
e.g. The bombs fell in the sea, many too close for comfort.

7. spot : verb
If you spot something or someone, you notice them.
e.g. Vicenzo failed to spot the error.

8. tranquilize : verb
To tranquillize a person or an animal means to make them become calm, sleepy, or unconscious by means of a drug.
e.g. This powerful drug is used to tranquilize patients undergoing surgery.
= sedate

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。

4 scorch   

v.烧焦，烤焦；高速疾驶；n.烧焦处，焦痕

参考例句：

• I could not wash away the mark of the scorch.我洗不掉这焦痕。
• This material will scorch easily if it is too near the fire.这种材料如果太靠近炉火很容易烤焦。

5 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

6 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

8 ambling   

v.（马）缓行( amble的现在分词 )；从容地走，漫步

参考例句：

• At that moment the tiger commenced ambling towards his victim. 就在这时，老虎开始缓步向它的猎物走去。 来自辞典例句
• Implied meaning: drinking, ambling, the people who make golf all relatively succeed. 寓意：喝酒，赌博，打高尔夫的人都比较成功。 来自互联网

9 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

10 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

11 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

12 amble   

vi.缓行，漫步

参考例句：

• The horse is walking at an amble.这匹马正在溜蹄行走。
• Every evening,they amble along the bank. 每天晚上，他们都沿着江边悠闲地散步。

13 ambled   

v.（马）缓行( amble的过去式和过去分词 )；从容地走，漫步

参考例句：

• We ambled down to the beach. 我们漫步向海滩走去。
• The old man ambled home through the garden every evening. 那位老人每天晚上经过花园漫步回家。 来自《简明英汉词典》