美联社新闻一分钟 2006-12-25

1. There are marching bands, children dressed as Santa Claus and clergymen in magenta¹ skullcaps gathered in the center of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve. They are all doing their best to dispel³ the gloom hovering⁴ over Jesus' traditional birthplace as fighting in the region continues.

2. Pope Benedict is telling all that Christmas is the time to overcome prejudices. He delivered his weekly remarks to thousands of people gathered in Saint Peter's Square as he prepared for midnight Mass.

3. Planes leaving Denver's jammed airport teem⁵ed with passengers, many of whom have been stranded⁷ when a 2-day blizzard⁸ shut down the runways last week. But travelers in the Washington D.C. area are having an easier time. "I'm so glad I'm not flying out of Denver today.".

4. A Chicago company is working on a virtual dinner system that will allow friends and family to share a meal, even though they may be miles apart. The idea is to use web cameras, broadband Internet and video monitors to bring loved ones together.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. magenta : COLOUR
Magenta is used to describe things that are dark reddish-purple in colour

2. skullcap : N-COUNT 室内便帽：一种轻便的、紧身的无沿帽子，经常在室内戴
A skull² cap is a small close-fitting cap.

3. teem with : PHR
If you say that a place is teeming⁹ with people or animals, you mean that it is crowded and the people and animals are moving around a lot.

1 magenta   

n..紫红色（的染料）；adj.紫红色的

参考例句：

• In the one photo in which she appeared, Hillary Clinton wore a magenta gown.在其中一张照片中，希拉里身着一件紫红色礼服。
• For the same reason air information is printed in magenta.出于同样的原因，航空资料采用品红色印刷。

2 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

3 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

4 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

5 teem   

vi.(with)充满，多产

参考例句：

• Good ideas teem in her head.她的头脑里好主意极多。
• Fish teem in the Chinese waters.中国近海鱼产丰富。

6 teemed   

v.充满( teem的过去式和过去分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The pond teemed with tadpoles. 池子里有很多蝌蚪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ideas of new plays and short stories teemed in his head. 他的脑海里装满了有关新的剧本和短篇小说的构思。 来自辞典例句

7 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

8 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

9 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道