CNN 2011-01-06

Hi, everyone! I’m Carl Azuz, and in this Tuesday edition of CNN Student News, we are bringing the world to your classroom with stories from North America, Asia, the Middle East; we’re beginning in Australia.

That is where the city of Rockhampton is completely cut off from the rest of the country. Emergency workers were trying to get food and supplies to the people there. But it is floods that have closed down every highway leading into the city. And get this: The regional airport was shut down on Sunday, and officials say it could be closed for weeks. Rockhampton is home to around 75,000 people, but thousands of them don’t have homes any more. Flood waters destroyed the houses. The flooding is also being blamed for several deaths. A CNN meteorologist predicted that the flooding will reach its highest point tomorrow, but it could be days before the conditions there get any better. Australia’s prime² minister toured the region¹ last week and said the floods will cost “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Next up, to Egypt, where that country’s president is urging his people to stand together “in the face of terrorism.” What he’s talking about is an attack on a Christian³ church that happened on New Year’s Eve. At least 21 people were killed. Nearly 100 others were injured. Christians⁴ make up less than 10 percent of Egypt’s population. And as Ben Wedeman explains, this attack is making what was already a tense situation even worse.

Distraught relatives search for victims of the New Year’s bombing. Christian-Muslim tensions⁵ have been rising here in recent years. Members of the Coptic Christian minority, which makes up around ten percent of the population, have long complained of discrimination at the hands of the Muslim majority. Sameh Al-Khatib and his brothers were in their grocery store when they heard the blast⁶. Moments later, he recalls⁷, a mob⁸ seemed to appear out of nowhere, rushing down the street, attacking and ransacking⁹ Christian-owned stores and properties. He protected himself with an empty soft drink case.

Up the street, angry Christians chant “we want our rights” and then try to break through the police cordon¹⁰ to reach the church. The church is now surrounded by security¹¹; hardly anybody is allowed near it. And that’s the problem, many of the people in this neighborhood say. That when the church really needed to be protected, there was no one there to do it. Now, the security forces have their hands full trying to keep the anger from turning into violence. Reinforcements have been trucked in from Cairo.

1 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

2 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

5 tensions   

（情绪上的）紧张( tension的名词复数 )； 张力； 紧张的状态； （作家或电影导演制造的）紧张气氛

参考例句：

• Social tensions were manifested in the recent political crisis. 最近的政治危机显示了社会关系的紧张。
• These disagreements are symptomatic of the tensions within the party. 出现意见分歧表明该党内部的关系紧张。

6 blast   

v.炸毁，摧毁；n.爆炸，爆破，一阵，汽笛声

参考例句：

• A huge bomb blast rocked central London last night.昨晚一次剧烈的炸弹爆炸震动了伦敦市中心。
• Not until last week was the project in full blast.工程直到上星期才全部开工。

7 recalls   

回忆起( recall的第三人称单数 )； 使想起； 使想到； 勾起

参考例句：

• The sight recalls the days of childhood to me. 那情景使我想起了童年。
• Moreover, extensive use of voluntary recalls can undercut agency accountability. 此外，大量利用自愿撤回会削弱行政机关的责任心。

8 mob   

n.暴民，民众，暴徒；v.大举包围，乱挤，围攻

参考例句：

• The king was burned in effigy by the angry mob.国王的模拟像被愤怒的民众烧掉以泄心中的愤恨。
• An angry mob is attacking the palace.愤怒的暴徒在攻击王宫。

9 ransacking   

v.彻底搜查( ransack的现在分词 )；抢劫，掠夺

参考例句：

• She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present. 她正在彻底搜寻各家店铺，为吉姆买礼物。 来自英汉文学 - 欧亨利
• Ransacking the drawers of the dresser he came upon a discarded, tiny, ragged handkerchief. 他打开橱柜抽屉搜寻，找到了一块弃置的小旧手帕。 来自辞典例句

10 cordon   

n.警戒线，哨兵线

参考例句：

• Police officers threw a cordon around his car to protect him.警察在他汽车周围设置了防卫圈以保护他。
• There is a tight security cordon around the area.这一地区周围设有严密的安全警戒圈。

11 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。