美联社新闻一分钟 2006-01-29

（单词翻译）

1. The 7 Challenger astronauts who died 20 years ago Saturday have been remembered by friends, relatives and NASA officials. The wife of commander Dick Scobee says the families' lives were shattered, but they persevere¹. She says the greatest risk is to take no risk. Challenger blew apart shortly after takeoff.

2. Fatah activists² are calling for the resignations of Palestinian leaders in the wake of election losses that gave a slim margin³ to the Islamic militant⁴ group Hamas. Hamas is responsible for dozens of suicide bombings on Israelis, and has long called for the destruction of the Jewish state.

3. A young Russian soldier tortured so badly that his legs and genitals have been amputated, set the center of a growing call for resignations and changes in the Russian army. Hundreds of people joined a rally to show support for the younger soldiers who are often subjected to brutal⁵ abuse by their military elders

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. slim : adjective slimmer, slimmest
very small in amount or number
e.g. There's only a slim chance that anyone survived the crash.

2. genitals : plural⁶ noun (ALSO genitalia)
the outer sexual organs, especially the penis or vulva

3. amputate : verb [I or T]
to cut off a part of the body:
e.g. They had to amputate his foot to free him from the wreckage⁷.

4. subject sth/sb to sth :
to make someone or something experience an unpleasant or worrying thing:
e.g. The inquiry⁸ found that they had been subjected to unfair treatment.