美联社新闻一分钟 2006-12-22

1. Ready to go, but no way to get there. Travelers at the Denver airport will have to wait at least one more day before they head out. With at least two feet of snow on the ground, officials say the airport likely will be closed until sometime Friday.

2. Day Two for Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates in Iraq. Today he spoke² with Iraqi leaders about providing more military help for the government and he broke bread with troops this morning. He wanted to know what they thought they needed to fight the war.

3. Good news for Kentucky Derby champ Barbaro. His doctor says he's progressing well. After his latest checkup, the vet³ says he did some minor⁴ work on his left hind⁵ foot, but the horse is comfortable. Barbaro has made what's considered a miraculous⁶ recovery from life-saving surgery.

4. It's Christmas all year around for one Georgia family. Meet the Christmases--a family who knows their name gets them extra attention this time of year. Who gets the most? Well, that would be Merry Christmas. Lucky for this family, they really like the holiday season.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. champ: n-count
A champ is the same as a champion. (INFORMAL).

2. miraculous: adj.
If you describe a good event as miraculous, you mean that it is very surprising and unexpected

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

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 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

6 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。