美联社新闻一分钟 2007-05-06

1. Much of Greensburg, Kansas has been leveled by a tornado¹. Officials say 95% of the homes and businesses there were destroyed including most of the downtown. They say it will take them days to pick through the debris².

2. Search planes are flying over an area where a Kenya Airways³ flight may have crashed early this morning. The Nairobi-bound jet went down shortly after takeoff in West Africa. About 114 passengers and crew are believed to be aboard.

3. Ballot⁴ boxes are in place in France as the country is getting ready to select a new president. The choice is between a conservative who wants to free up labor⁵ markets and a socialist⁶ who wants to save France's generous welfare system.

4. Paris Hilton could be calling this place home for a month and a half. Yesterday, she was sentenced to 45 days in jail for violating her probation⁷. And now officials are giving the public a glimpse of the jail she's supposed to report to.

 

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. ballot box: n-count
A ballot box is the box into which ballot papers are put after people have voted.

2. probation: n-uncount
Probation is a period of time during which a person who has committed a crime has to obey the law and be supervised by a probation officer, rather than being sent to prison.

1 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。

2 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

3 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

4 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

7 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。