美联社新闻一分钟 2007-04-08

1. It's Easter weekend and supposedly spring. But across a swath of the US, it's turning out to be a white Easter. Snow fell from Washington DC to the president's hut in Crawford, Texas. Cold temperatures are expected to stay awhile.

2. State TV in Iran says an Iranian diplomat¹ freed after being captured in Iraq says the CIA tortured him. The diplomat says he was questioned about Iran's relations with Iraq and assistance to Iraqi groups. The US denies any involvement.

3. Fire consumes hundreds of dwellings² in a Manila shanty³ town, leaving about 1,200 families homeless. Residents grabbed buckets and scrambled⁵ to water, hoping to douse⁶ the flames.

4. And an American billionaire who helped develop Microsoft Word blasted off from Kazakhstan, headed to the International Space Station. The 58-year-old software developer paid more than 20 million dollars for the 13-day trip.

 

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. shanty town: n-count
A shanty town is a collection of rough huts which poor people live in, usually in or near a larger city.
=shantytown

2. scramble⁴: verb
If you scramble to a different place or position, you move there in a hurried, awkward way.

3. douse: verb
If you douse a fire, you stop it burning by pouring a lot of water over it.

4. blast off: phrase
When a space rocket blasts off, it leaves the ground as the start of its journey.

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 dwellings   

n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
• The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 shanty   

n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子

参考例句：

• His childhood was spent in a shanty.他的童年是在一个简陋小屋里度过的。
• I want to quit this shanty.我想离开这烂房子。

4 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

5 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 douse   

v.把…浸入水中，用水泼；n.泼洒

参考例句：

• Men came with buckets of water and began to douse the flames.人们提来一桶桶水灭火。
• He doused the flames with a fire extinguisher.他用灭火器把火焰扑灭。