美联社新闻一分钟 2007-06-29

（单词翻译）

1. Rain keeps pelt¹ing Central and North Texas where evacuations are underway and residents are bracing³ for more severe weather. The storms are blamed for at least 11 deaths in the past 11 days.

2. The Senate drove a stake through President Bush's plan to legalize millions of unlawful immigrants. That means major action on immigration will likely be postponed⁴ until after the 2008 elections. The disappointed president says Congress needs to prove to the American people that it can come together on hard issues.

3. Federal drug agents have raided the office of pro⁵ wrestler⁶ Chris Benoit's personal physician. They searched for records and other items listed in a warrant. Officials say Benoit killed his wife and son before hanging himself last weekend.

4. When you think of black bears you don't always think of New Jersey⁷. But there is a jump in the number of orphan⁸ black bear cubs¹⁰ in the state this year. And now a wildlife refuge is caring for a record nine cubs and hopes they will eventually be released back into the wild. A tenth cub⁹ is on the way.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. pelt: Transitive or Intransitive Verb
to be raining very heavily

2. brace¹¹: Trasitive Verb
to mentally or physically¹² prepare yourself or someone else for something unpleasant that is going to happen

3. physician: Countable¹³ Noun
a doctor

4. refuge: Countable Noun
a place that provides shelter, or protection from danger