美联社新闻一分钟 2007-06-27

1. Authorities say they discovered prescription¹ steroids in the home of pro² wrestler³ Chris Benoit. Police say the heavyweight champion strangled his wife and smother⁴ed his young son, leaving Bibles next to their bodies before killing⁶ himself perhaps a day later.

2. Some of the 1,000 Lake Tahoe residents evacuated⁷ from their properties are now catching⁸ first glimpses of what used to be their homes. Calmer winds last night gave firefighters a much-needed break in battling the raging inferno⁹ .

3. The Senate is rekindling¹⁰ the debate on immigration reform with a preliminary vote on legislation that would legalize millions of unlawful immigrants. Supporters think the bill has a chance to pass. President Bush says he is optimistic the bill will be approved by week's end.

4. Two teenage girls in Oklahoma City are thankful to be on dry ground. The two were rescued from their car after it stalled on a flooded road. The rushing water threatened to push the car over a small dam when firefighters used a raft to rescue the pair.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. steroid: countable¹¹ noun
a chemical that the body produces naturally or that can be made as a drug to treat illness and injuries. Steroids are sometimes used illegally by people doing sports to improve their performance

2. smother: transitive verb
to kill someone by putting something over their face to stop them breathing

3. raging: adj
very great and hard to control

4. inferno: countable noun
an extremely large and dangerous fire - used especially in news reports

5. stall: intransitive and transitive verb
if an engine or vehicle stalls, or if you stall it, it stops because there is not enough power or speed to keep it going

6. raft: countable noun
a small flat rubber boat filled with air, used for example if a boat sinks

1 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

2 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

3 wrestler   

n.摔角选手，扭

参考例句：

• The wrestler tripped up his opponent.那个摔跤运动员把对手绊倒在地。
• The stronger wrestler won the first throw.较壮的那个摔跤手第一跤就赢了。

4 smother   

vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息

参考例句：

• They tried to smother the flames with a damp blanket.他们试图用一条湿毯子去灭火。
• We tried to smother our laughter.我们强忍住笑。

5 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

8 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

9 inferno   

n.火海；地狱般的场所

参考例句：

• Rescue workers fought to get to victims inside the inferno.救援人员奋力营救大火中的受害者。
• The burning building became an inferno.燃烧着的大楼成了地狱般的地方。

10 rekindling   

v.使再燃( rekindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There might be a rekindling of the kind of nationalistic fervour of yesteryear. 过去的国家主义狂热可能再次被点燃。 来自互联网
• Bryant and O'Neal on the floor at the same time, rekindling memories both good and bad. 科比和奥尼尔在地板上在同一时间，死灰复燃的回忆有好有坏。 来自互联网

11 countable   

adj.可数的，可以计算的

参考例句：

• The word "person" is a countable noun.person这个词是个可数名词。
• Countable nouns have singular and plural forms.可数名词有单数和复数之分。