美联社新闻一分钟 2007-05-13

1. While firefighters¹ on California's Catalina Island wrapping² up their efforts to put out the 4,000-acre blaze³, others are battling a wildfire in Georgia and north Florida that's torched more than 280 square miles.

2. In the middle of the country, people who live along the Missouri River are doing what they can to hold off floodwaters. The river is expected to crest⁴ this weekend at near record levels.

3. Commencement exercises at Virginia Tech last night were bittersweet. College officials gave rings to the parents of 27 students killed by a gunman last month. They say diplomas⁵ will follow.

4. If you got a mail to send out, better do it today. It's the last weekend you can use 39 cents to send out a first-class letter. The cost goes up to 41 cents on Monday. The Postal⁶ Service has been selling Forever stamps for a couple of weeks. These 41-cent stamps will cover the new cost of a letter or any future letters even if the rate goes up again.

 

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. crest: verb
Reach the top of (a hill, etc)

2. commencement: n-uncount
Commencement is a ceremony at a university, college or high school which students formally receive their degrees or diplomas.

3. bittersweet: adj
If you describe an experience as bittersweet, you mean that it has some happy aspects and some sad ones.

1 firefighters   

n.消防队员( firefighter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Firefighters tried to extinguish the flames. 消防队员奋力救火。
• By the time firefighters were called the house was well ablaze. 消防队员接到火警电话时，房子已是一片火海。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 wrapping   

n.包装材料；包装纸v.包，裹住(wrap的现在分词)adj.包装用的

参考例句：

• He spent the evening wrapping up the Christmas presents. 他花了一个晚上的时间把圣诞礼物都包了起来。
• She tore the cellophane wrapping off the box. 她把包装盒子的玻璃纸撕了下来。

3 blaze   

n.火焰，火堆，火光，火灾；vi.燃烧，着火

参考例句：

• In a blaze of anger he shouted at them.他怒火中烧，对着他们大吼起来。
• Dry wood makes a good blaze.干木燃起夺目的光焰。

4 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

5 diplomas   

n.公文； 文书； 执照； 特许证

参考例句：

• Diplomas were conferred on members of the graduating class. 给毕业班的学生颁发了毕业文凭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The secretary had diplomas in both education and linguistics. 秘书取得了教育学和语言学的两种毕业文凭。（毕业证书） 来自辞典例句

6 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。