CNN 2011-01-14

The state of Queensland was preparing to move from crisis to recovery when the situation deteriorated¹ sharply. The death toll² is expected to rise from flash flooding in the town of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, with dozens of people still missing.Locals describe a wall of water that rushed through the town with pretty much no warning. Cars were tossed about, buildings and structures moved, people swept away. The state capital, Brisbane, is now under threat. The Brisbane River has broken its banks. More than 30 suburbs have been warned that they will be flooded a total of more than 6,000 homes.

Leaders here are calling it Arizona's first show of bipartisan unity³ in the wake of this tragedy. A bill will come before the House and the Senate today, one introduced by Democrat⁴, one introduced by Republican, that would model itself after bills that have been upheld by the courts in other states, essentially⁵ blocking protesters from within 300 feet of funeral for an hour before and an hour after, really designed to protect Christina Green's funeral from these Westboro Baptist Church protesters.And you say, they expediting it, waiving⁶ all usually this sort of thing would happen in a matter of days, even weeks. Today, it's expected to pass the House twice, the Senate twice, and get signed by the governor within perhaps five hours.

I’m very encouraged by the fact that she has done so well. This kind of injury,I think we’ve said it a couple of times penetrating⁷ injury through the skull⁸ ,really ,the survival alone recovery is abysmal⁹.She has no right to look this good and she does are hopeful. But I do want to underscore the seriousness of this imjury and the fact we all have to be extremely patient. She is still following those simple commands. We have been able to back off on some of that sedation and in fact she’s able to generate her own breaths. She’s breathing on her own.

A fundamental finding of our six-month investigation¹⁰ is that the deep water horizon disaster did not have to happen. It was both foreseeable and preventable. That fact alone makes the loss of the eleven lives, the serious injury to others on the rig and the enormous damage that the explosion caused even more tragic¹¹.

I am incredibly happy, and I can tell you all of Apple, is very very excited to bring the iPhone to Verizon's 93 million customers and new customers who want to use the iPhone 4 on Verizon.

On February the 3rd, Verizon Wireless¹² existing customers are going to have an exclusive opportunity to pre-order the iPhone 4 online ahead of general availability. One week later, on February 10th, the iPhone 4 will launch to everyone at Verizon Wireless online,Verizon Wireless stores as well as at Apple stores and Apple online.The price is going to be 199.99 for the 16 gig device, and 299.99 for the 32 gig device, with a two-year contract.

It’s the ice that is the dangerous thing. The roads are slick.The train bridge just come down. The power lines come down. It’s a dangerous situation.

1 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 waiving   

v.宣布放弃( waive的现在分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等）

参考例句：

• Other steps suggested included waiving late payment charges, making quicker loan decisions and easing loan terms. 其他测试还包括免去滞纳金，尽快做出贷款决定和放宽贷款条件。 来自互联网
• Stuyvesant Town offers the same perk on some apartments, along waiving the broker's fee. StuyvesantTown对于他们出租的某些房子也提供同样的好处，顺带还省略了中介费。 来自互联网

7 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

8 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

9 abysmal   

adj.无底的，深不可测的，极深的；糟透的，极坏的；完全的

参考例句：

• The film was so abysmal that I fell asleep.电影太糟糕，看得我睡着了。
• There is a historic explanation for the abysmal state of Chinese cuisine in the United States.中餐在美国的糟糕状态可以从历史上找原因。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

12 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。