美联社新闻一分钟 2005-12-27

1. Shoppers hit the malls for deals as retailers¹ woo them with discounts, longer store hours and new merchandise, trying to salvage² the holiday buying season.

2. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will undergo a procedure within three weeks to repair a small hole in his heart that apparently³ led to his minor⁴ stroke.

3. Gunmen kill 5 police officers north of Baghdad, and 6 vehicle bombs explode in the capital, killing⁵ another 5 people and wounding more than 40.

4. Beside gentle seas, survivors⁶, friends and family remember the fury of the Indian Ocean tsunami⁷ that swept away more than 200,000 people in twelve countries one year ago.

5. New Year celebrations get underway in Moscow. Celebrations are traditionally led by Russia's Santa Claus--Father Frost who brings gifts and gaiety to households.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. woo :v. woo woos wooing wooed
If you woo people, you try to encourage them to help you, support you, or vote for you.
e.g. The party has been trying to woo the voters with promises of electoral reform.


2. merchandise :n.
goods that are bought or sold
e.g. Shoppers complained about poor quality merchandise and high prices.

3. salvage :v. salvage salvages⁸ salvaging⁹ salvaged
(1) to save goods from damage or destruction, especially from a ship that has sunk or been damaged or a building that has been damaged by fire or flooding:
(2)to try to make a bad situation better
e.g. It was a desperate attempt to salvage the situation.

4. fury :n.
extreme anger
e.g. She flew into a fury at the suggestion.

5. gaiety :n.
happiness and excitement
e.g. I felt there was an air of forced gaiety about her manner.

1 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

2 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

8 salvages   

海上营救( salvage的名词复数 )； 抢救出的财产； 救援费； 经加工后重新利用的废物

参考例句：

• A man salvages coal at a cinder dump site in Changzhi, Shanxi province China. 中国山西长治，一名男子在煤渣处理站捡拾煤炭。

9 salvaging   

（从火灾、海难等中）抢救（某物）( salvage的现在分词 )； 回收利用（某物）

参考例句：

• A shipping company has made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship. 某轮船公司要求赔赏打捞沉船的费用。（make a claim 要求）
• It is not uncommon to hear that a shipping company has made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship. 航运公司为打捞沉船的费用而提出要求，这并非奇闻。