美联社新闻一分钟 2007-07-04

1. President Bush is defending his decision to commute¹ a 30-month prison sentence for Lewis "Scooter" Libby. He's leaving open the possibility of a pardon, but insists Libby is not getting off scot-free.

2. Another terrorism suspect has been arrested in connection with the foiled terror plots in the UK. The 27-year-old doctor was arrested in Australia with a one-way ticket. He is the eighth suspect held in the case.

3. Tuberculosis² patient Andrew Speaker has a lesser³ form of the disease than originally diagnosed. Federal officials have announced that the man who caused an international health scare is responding to medications. That means he has multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and not extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis.

4. Some folks in Spain may be feeling more relaxed. Psychologists armed a team of thirty stressed-out people with mallet⁴s and hard hats and set them free inside a Madrid hotel. The goal? Let off some steam by trashing ten of the hotel's rooms as part of a refurbishment plan.


WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. commute: verb
to change the punishment given to a criminal to one that is less severe

2. scot-free:
completely free from obligation, harm, or penalty

3. stressed-out :
suffering from high levels of physical or especially psychological stress

4. mallet: N-COUNT
a hammer with a typically barrel-shaped head

5. let off stream:
to get rid of your anger, excitement, or energy in a way that does not harm anyone by doing something active

6. trash: transitive verb
to destroy something completely, either deliberately⁵ or by using it too much

7. refurbishment:
the decoration and repair of something such as a building or office in order to improve its appearance

1 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

2 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

3 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

4 mallet   

n.槌棒

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• The chairman rapped on the table twice with his mallet.主席用他的小木槌在桌上重敲了两下。

5 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。