美联社新闻一分钟 2007-08-22

1. Hurricane Dean has lost some of its punch as it crosses the Yucatan Peninsula. But it's expected to gain strength as it sweeps the lower Gulf¹ of Mexico. Meanwhile Texas is breathing easier because the storm is too far south to threaten the state with anything more than high surf.

2. The space shuttle Endeavour has arrived home safely and NASA is defending its decision not to repair the gouge² in the shuttle's underbelly in space. The agency says the area was not exposed to overheating.

3. A teenager using his cellphone to send a text message has been seriously injured after he was hit by a train. One witness says the teen saw one train approaching but didn't see a second one headed in the opposite direction as he walked around the gate and onto the tracks.

4. Take a look at this. A thief brazenly³ stealing a pistol from a display case at an Elvis exhibit at Presley's Graceland estate. The weapon was returned to police after it was found in a portable toilet behind the museu

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. lose one's punch:
If you say that something has punch, you mean that it has force or effectiveness.


2. breathe easy:
used when saying that someone can relax because a worrying or dangerous situation has ended

3. surf: noun
the white substance that forms on top of waves as they move towards the shore

4. text message:
短信

5. brazenly: adv
doing something openly, without showing or feeling any shame

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 gouge   

v.凿；挖出；n.半圆凿；凿孔；欺诈

参考例句：

• To make a Halloween lantern,you first have to gouge out the inside of the pumpkin.要做一个万圣节灯笼，你先得挖空这个南瓜。
• In the Middle Ages,a favourite punishment was to gouge out a prisoner's eyes.在中世纪，惩罚犯人最常用的办法是剜眼睛。

3 brazenly   

adv.厚颜无耻地；厚脸皮地肆无忌惮地

参考例句：

• How dare he distort the facts so brazenly! 他怎么敢如此肆无忌惮地歪曲事实！ 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• "I don't know," he answered, looking her brazenly over. “我也不知道，"他厚颜无耻地打量着她。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹