CNN 2010-09-17

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: From Cuba and Canada to Hong Kong, we are bringing you headlines from around the world. I'm Carl Azuz. CNN Student News starts right this second!

AZUZ: First up: Congress is back in session. Members of the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives have about a month to work on legislation, because we're coming up on the midterm elections. Now, we've got a quick reminder¹ for you on those. Voters will cast ballots² for all 435 members of the House of Representatives, plus, around a third of the seats in the Senate. Primary elections have been running for months. There are more than a half-dozen of those today. The general election is on November 2nd.

Congressmen and women are looking at all sorts of issues, from the economy to food safety and military policies. But some analysts³ don't think much is gonna happen on any subject, because they think members of Congress don't want to get into controversial debates before the big election. One issue that Congress probably will get into, though, is a set of tax cuts. These were passed under former President George W. Bush. They'll expire if Congress doesn't vote to extend them, meaning taxes would go up. The big debate here is what to do about the tax cuts for America's wealthiest citizens, people who earn more than $250,000 a year. President Obama and most Democrats⁴ don't want to continue those cuts. They say America can't afford it, because the government needs the revenue that it would make from the taxes. Most Republicans -- and several Democrats -- do want to extend the tax cuts, though, even if it's just temporarily. They argue that the government shouldn't raise anyone's taxes while the economy is in rough shape.

 

Taxes were on the minds of some Tea Party members over the weekend. They got together for a rally at the U.S. Capitol building and to protest against what they see as out-of-control government spending and too many taxes by the U.S. government. The name of the rally -- "Remember in November" -- was a reference to the upcoming midterm elections.

Wildfires

AZUZ: Firefighters are battling a pair of blazes in the West. This one you see right now is in Colorado, near the city of Loveland. It started Sunday and spread fast. No reports of any injuries as of yesterday afternoon. Investigators⁵ are looking into what started the fire. A local official said he hopes to get a handle on the situation "very quickly," though he added that "very quickly" probably means a few days. The other wildfire is out in Southern California. This one broke out on Sunday, too. More than 300 firefighters and emergency personnel are working to get it under control. But the weather is going to play a part in that. If the winds kick up, they can spread the flames

1 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

2 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》