美联社新闻一分钟 2007-04-19

1. We are learning a little more about the shooter in the Virginia Tech massacre¹. Authorities say Cho Seung-Hui was accused of [B]stalking two female students in 2005. They also say he was taken to a mental health facility that year after his parents feared he may be suicidal.

2. Meantime, there was another scare on the Blacksburg campus today. Police in SWAT gear swarmed² an area around the president's office after they received a threat against him. It was later proved to be unfounded.

3. Baghdad is reeling from a series of bombings that have killed more than 150 people. Four large bombs went off in mostly Shiite areas of the capital. The strikes are the deadliest in Iraq since a US-led campaign to pacify³ Baghdad.

4. The Supreme⁴ Court is upheld the ban on a controversial abortion⁵ procedure. The court says the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act does not violate a woman's constitutional right to an abortion. The 5-4 vote gives abortion opponents the long-awaited victory they expected from a more conservative bench.

 

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. Stalk: verb
If someone stalks someone else, they keep following them or contacting them in an annoying and frightening way.

2. Gear: n-uncount
Gear means clothes. (INFORMAL)

3. Reel: verb
If you are reeling from a shock, you are feeling extremely surprised or upset because of it.

4. Pacify: verb
If the army or the police pacify a group of people, they use force to overcome their resistance or protests.

5. Bench: n-uncount
In a court of law, the bench is the judge or magistrates⁶.

1 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

2 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

3 pacify   

vt.使(某人)平静(或息怒)；抚慰

参考例句：

• He tried to pacify the protesters with promises of reform.他试图以改革的承诺安抚抗议者。
• He tried to pacify his creditors by repaying part of the money.他为安抚债权人偿还了部分借款。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

6 magistrates   

地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to come up before the magistrates 在地方法院出庭
• He was summoned to appear before the magistrates. 他被传唤在地方法院出庭。