美联社新闻一分钟 2007-01-18

1. More than 77,000 homes and businesses are without power in Oklahoma after a severe ice and snow storm knocked down branches and power lines. Utility crews say it may be next week before some people get power.

2. Audio tapes from a commuter¹ plane crash last August revealed that the copilot noted² it was weird³ that the airstrip had no lights on. Comair Flight 5191 then went down the wrong runway and crashed killing⁴ 49 people of the 50 on board.

3. More Iraqis are dying in what appears to be a renewed campaign of Sunni insurgent⁵ violence against Shiites. Police say 17 people died after a suicide car bomb struck a busy marketplace in the Shiite district of Sadr City. Yesterday 142 people were killed in Iraq.

4. Rescuers are trying to hurl⁶ the last of a group of wayward dolphins back out to sea. The group became trapped in a shallow cove⁷ of Long Island south last week. Six dolphins remain trapped of the original group of more than 20.

 

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. copilot : N-COUNT
The copilot of an aircraft is a pilot who assists the chief pilot.

2. airstrip : N-COUNT
An airstrip is a stretch of land which has been cleared so that aircraft can take off and land.

3. wayward : ADJ
If you describe a person or their behaviour as wayward, you mean that they behave in a selfish, bad, or unpredictable way, and are difficult to control.

4. cove : N-COUNT
A cove is a part of a coast where the land curves inwards so that the sea is partly enclosed.

1 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

4 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。

5 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

6 hurl   

vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂

参考例句：

• The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
• To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。

7 cove   

n.小海湾，小峡谷

参考例句：

• The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁，嫩绿一片，好一个山外的小海湾。
• I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。