CNN 2009-01-16

Hello, I'm Mellisa Long,here at the CNN Center in Atlanta with a look at some of the stories happening NOW IN THE NEWS on this Thursday the 15th of January.

A busy day for potential members of the Obama Administration. There's already been an approving committee vote on Senator Hillary Clinton's secretary of state nomination¹. Other confirmation² hearings are going on today, Susan Rice for ambassador to the UN,  Ken³ Salazar, secretary of interior, Mary Schapiro for SEC chairman and Eric Holder⁴ for attorney general.

President-elect Obama's senate seat will finally be filled today. Democrat⁵ Roland Burris will take the oath at 2 pm Eastern. Democratic senates initially⁶ tried to keep Burris out, because of the scandal surrounding Rod Blagojevich. That's the governor of the state of Illinois, Mr. Rod Blagojevich.

Half of the 750-billion-dollar financial sector⁷ bailout has been spent. And eight Senate republicans say they are going to do everything they can to keep the Treasury⁸ from getting the rest of the money. Senate Majority leader Harry⁹ Reid is scheduled to vote today on a GOP proposal to block the release of the funds. Sources tell CNN democrats¹⁰ are hopeful they have enough votes to defeat the proposal, but they say they are not so sure.

The weekly jobless number’s coming out today. And they were worse than expected. The Labor¹¹ Department says first time applications for jobless benefits shot up to 524,000 last week.  Analysts¹² were expecting new filings to total half a million applications. The Labor Department credits the jump to people who delayed filing claims over the holidays.

And President Bush will bid farewell on a prime-time address to the American public tonight. The president's speech is expected to last about 10-15 minutes. Predecessors¹³ Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and many before of them also gave  a farewell address to the nation. Earlier today, the president and the first lady paid a visit to the State Department where they thanked everyone for serving the country.

And those are the headlines making news at this hour on this Thursday. Do stay with CNN and cnn.com for more on these stories or other news of the day.

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

3 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

4 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 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。

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

8 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

9 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

13 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》