美联社新闻一分钟 AP NEWS 2007-12-04

1. Thousands of mourners gathered in Miami to mourn Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor. Taylor died last week after being shot at his home. Four men have been charged in his killing¹.

2. A British teacher jailed in Sudan after allowing her students to name a teddy bear Mohammad is on her way home. Sudan's president pardoned Gillian Gibbons today. She had initially² been sentenced to 15 days in jail and deportation³ for insulting Islam.

3. Senior US officials say Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program in 2003. That contradicts earlier reports and suggests Iran is susceptible⁴ to diplomatic pressure. However, officials warn Iran may still be able to develop a weapon.

4. A winter storm sent a JetBlue plane skidding⁵ off a runway in Syracuse, New York. The problems got worse from there. The tow truck that was sent to pull it also got stuck.

1 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。

2 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

3 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

4 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

5 skidding   

n.曳出，集材v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的现在分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区

参考例句：

• All the wheels of the truck were tied up with iron chains to avoid skidding on the ice road. 大卡车的所有轮子上都捆上了铁链，以防止在结冰的路面上打滑。 来自《用法词典》
• I saw the motorcycle skidding and its rider spilling in dust. 我看到摩托车打滑，骑车人跌落在地。 来自互联网