美联社新闻一分钟 2007-02-27

1. Iraq's Shiite vice¹ president escaped an apparent assassination² attempt after a bomb exploded in a building where he was making a speech. The force of the blast knocked him to the ground and left at least 10 people dead.

2. A Florida appeals court issued a stay in the dispute over Anna Nicole Smith's body, ruling that her remains³ cannot be moved to the Bahamas until the court hears a challenge from her estranged⁴ mother.

3. Filmmakers and scholars have unveiled two stone caskets they say could have contained the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Several scholars have already come forward, calling the claims unfounded and contradictory⁵ to basic tenets of Christianity.

4. And much of the East Coast is digging out today after a winter storm dropped several inches of snow across the region. It was the same storm system that has wreaked⁷ havoc⁸ throughout much of the Midwest over the weekend, including a tornado⁹ in Arkansas that left a small town in ruins.

 

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. unfounded: adj.
If you describe a rumor¹⁰, belief, or feeling as unfounded, you mean that it is wrong and is not based on facts or evidence.

2. tenet: n-count
The tenets of a theory or belief are the main principles on which it is based. (FORMAL)

3. wreak⁶: verb
Something or someone that wreaks¹¹ havoc or destruction causes a great amount of disorder¹² or damage. (JOURNALISM or LITERARY)

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 estranged   

adj.疏远的，分离的

参考例句：

• He became estranged from his family after the argument.那场争吵后他便与家人疏远了。
• The argument estranged him from his brother.争吵使他同他的兄弟之间的关系疏远了。

5 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

6 wreak   

v.发泄；报复

参考例句：

• She had a burning desire to wreak revenge.她复仇心切。
• Timid people always wreak their peevishness on the gentle.怯懦的人总是把满腹牢骚向温和的人发泄。

7 wreaked   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. 地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• They have wreaked dreadful havoc among the wildlife by shooting and trapping. 他们射杀和诱捕野生动物，造成了严重的破坏。

8 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

9 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

10 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

11 wreaks   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Worshipping the sun wreaks havoc on skin. So does smoking. 过度晒太阳会毁掉好皮肤，吸烟也是如此。
• His hard work wreaks havoc in his personal life. 他拼命工作破坏了他的私人生活。

12 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。