美联社新闻一分钟 2006-01-12

（单词翻译）

1. Senate Democrats¹ grill² Supreme³ Court nominee⁴ Samuel Alito, accusing him of inconsistency on voting rights, ethics⁵, and membership in a conservative organization.

2. British Prime Minister Tony Blair says western countries will likely seek economic sanctions against Iran, after Teheran restarts its nuclear program.

3. Ariel Sharon's condition improves slightly. Doctors say they hope to wean the Israeli prime minister off remaining sedatives⁶ to draw him out of an induced coma⁷.

4. International agencies warn against panic but caution that the bird flu which has infected at least 15 in Turkey will likely spread to neighboring countries.

5. And the People magazine website says Angelina Julie is pregnant with Brad Pitt's child. The baby is reportedly due this summer.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. grill : verb
to ask someone a lot of questions for a long time:
e.g. After being grilled⁸ by the police for two days, Johnson signed a confession⁹.

2. inconsistency : noun [C or U]
If you refer to someone's inconsistency, you criticize them for not behaving in the same way every time a similar situation occurs.
e.g. There are a few inconsistencies in what you've written.

3. ethics : noun [C usually plural]
a system of accepted beliefs which control behaviour, especially such a system based on morals:
e.g. He said he was bound by a scientist's code of ethics.

4. wean sb off sth : phrasal verb
to make someone gradually stop using something that is bad for them:
e.g. It's difficult to wean an addict¹⁰ off cocaine¹¹ once they're hooked.