CNN 2009-06-06

I'm Nicole Lapin at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Here is a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

The unemployment rate rose again last month, up 0. 5 percent to 9. 4 percent. That's the highest in 26 years. Employers slashed¹ 345, 000 jobs in May, which is down from 504, 000 jobs lost in April. It's also the fewest amount of jobs lost in a month since September of 07.

General Motors is announcing today that it's selling its Saturn² brand to Penske Automotive Group. The sale could save all 13, 000 jobs at the Saturn dealerships in 350 locations. For at least two years GM will continue to build the Saturn Aura, Vue and Outlook . Penske is owned by a former race car driver Roger Penske who also owns NASCAR and IndyCar racing³ teams.

At least 30 people were killed and dozens more were wounded in a suicide bomb attack at a mosque⁴ in Pakistan. The mosque is located in part of the Swat Valley in the northwest part of Pakistan. Today's incident was the latest in a series of attacks on civilians⁵ in the region. Government troops and Taliban militants⁶ are currently locked in an ongoing⁷ fight for control of this region.

President Obama meanwhile is pressing ahead with his effort to revive the Middle East peace process following up his message to the Muslim world in Cairo. The president is sending a special envoy⁸ George Mitchell to the Middle East next week. He made the announcement in Germany following a meeting with Chancellor⁹ Angela Merkel. They also talked about closing the Guantanamo Bay detention¹⁰ camp.

Police in Thailand continued to investigate David Carradine's death. The actor best known for his role in the 1970s TV series Kung Fu was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room with ropes tied around his neck and genitals. David Carradine's family and manager have dismissed theories of suicide, saying he would have never taken his own life.

Those are the headlines at this hour. For more of those stories and other news of the day, CNN is always your source online, on TV or on your cellphone.

1 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

3 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

4 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

9 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

10 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。