美联社新闻一分钟 2006-12-11

1. It's news that has rocked the streets of Chile--the death of Augusto Pinochet. The 91-year-old former Chilean leader is infamously² known for overthrowing³ Chile's democratically ruled government. The news was greeted with cheers and celebration in parts of the South American country.

2. Senator Barack Obama has started reaching out to Democrats⁴ about a possible bid for the White House. The Illinois senator was met with a very warm welcome as he toured New Hampshire today.

3. Outgoing Defense⁵ Secretary Rumsfeld paid a surprise visit to Iraq over the weekend and said American forces should not quit the war until the enemy is defeated. The defense chief spent time personally thanking servicemen and women in the war-torn region.

4. The orbiting Discovery crew on the way Sunday to rewire the International Space Station first had to make sure the shuttle's heat shield(heatshield) wasn't damaged during lift-off. The 7 astronauts inspected the craft this afternoon

WORDS IN THE NEWS


1. infamous¹ : ADJ =notorious
Infamous people or things are well-known because of something bad.

2. rewire : VERB
If someone rewires a building or an electrical appliance, a new system of electrical wiring is put into it.

3. heatshield : N-COUNT
A barrier that prevents the heating of a space or an object by absorbing, reflecting, or dissipating external heat, especially a protective structure on a spacecraft or missile that dissipates heat on atmospheric⁶ reentry by melting and vaporizing.

1 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

2 infamously   

不名誉地

参考例句：

• They will not have much cause of triumph when they see how infamously I act. 当他们看到我演得那么糟糕时，他们就不会有多少理由感到胜利了。

3 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。