CNN 2010-06-09

Always awesome¹! This one, though, is a little bittersweet for us because this is our last show of the school year. You know who I am. Let's start things off with a quick check of today's headlines.

 

The U.S. government wants BP to start paying up for the Gulf² oil spill. The company got a $69 million bill this week. That includes costs for cleanup and efforts to stop the leak. BP said it reached an "important milestone³" yesterday with the "cut and cap" plan we've been telling you about. But the long-term solution is a relief well, and that may not be in place until August.

 

After more than 70 years, Mercury⁴ is fading away. Ford⁵ says it's going to stop production on the Mercury car brand by the end of this year. Mercury sales have been down recently, so Ford decided⁶ to end the line and focus more on its luxury Lincoln brand. The company says this won't lead to any job cuts.

 

Soccer fans focus in on South Africa. The country is hosting the World Cup, the global soccer tournament that's held every four years. Every continent except Antarctica is represented by the 32-team field. This year's tournament kicks off on June 11th. The final match is scheduled for one month later.

 

If you want to follow these or any stories over the summer, you can check out the Spotlight⁷ section at CNNStudentNews.com. We are going to be updating it regularly while we're on break.
 

1 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

2 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。

3 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

4 mercury   

n.汞，水银，水银柱

参考例句：

• The liquid we can see in thermometers is mercury.我们看到的温度计里的液体是水银。
• Mercury has a much greater density than water.水银的密度比水大得多。

5 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。