美联社新闻一分钟 2006-07-28

1. Lebanese broadcasts say Israeli warplanes have hit an army base and a relay station for Lebanese state radio. The attack happened north of Beirut. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and top Cabinet ministers are expected to decide today whether to broaden their offensive against Hezbollah targets.

2. New violence in Baghdad has left at least 27 people dead and 63 others wounded. Witnesses say several mortar¹ rounds landed in a largely Shiite neighborhood, then a car bomb went off. The attacks come two days after President Bush approved plan to send more US troops into Baghdad to curb² rising violence there.

3. The death toll³ from a scorching⁴ heat wave in California has risen sharply. Eighty-three deaths now are attributed to the triple-digit temperatures. Farmers say the heat also was killing⁵ livestock⁶ and crops.

4. An estimated 40,000 people turned out to watch this year's Annual Pony⁷ Swim in Virginia. About 200 wild ponies⁸ took to the water, crossing a 200-yard channel from a barrier island to Chincoteague.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. relay: n-count
A relay is a piece of equipment that receives television or radio signals from one place and sends them to another place.

2. mortar: n-count
A mortar is a big gun which fires missiles high into the air over a short distance.

3. curb: verb
If you curb something, you control it and keep it within limits.

4. attribute to: v-phrase
If you attribute something to an event or situation, you think it was caused by that event or situation.

5. livestock: n-uncount
Domestic animals, such as cattle or horses, raised for home use or for profit, especially on a farm are referred to as livestock

1 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

2 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

7 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

8 ponies   

矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑

参考例句：

• They drove the ponies into a corral. 他们把矮种马赶进了畜栏。
• She has a mania for ponies. 她特别喜欢小马。