美联社新闻一分钟 2006-01-08

1. Embattled Congressman¹ Tom Delay abandons his bid to remain as House majority leader, clearing the way for Republicans to shed the taint² of scandal.

2. One of Ariel Sharon's surgeons says the Israeli leader has a good chance of surviving his stroke, but his ability to think and reason has been damaged.

3. Doctors in West Virginia say the lone³ survivor⁴ of the coal mine disaster is showing dramatic improvement and remains⁵ in a medically induced coma⁶.

4. The UN Health Agency says 2 teens in Turkey who died of bird flu were the first human victims of the deadly H5N1 strain outside East Asia.

5. And in Britain, doctors in an animal hospital of Liverpool University are teaching pet owners how to help their overweight cats and dogs get back in shape

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. shed :v. shedding, shed, shed
(often used in newspapers) to get rid of something you do not need or want:
e.g. I'm going on a diet to see if I can shed a few kilos.

2. taint :n. A moral defect considered as a stain or spot.
e.g. The enquiry cleared him of any taint of suspicion/dishonesty

1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

2 taint   

n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染

参考例句：

• Everything possible should be done to free them from the economic taint.应尽可能把他们从经济的腐蚀中解脱出来。
• Moral taint has spread among young people.道德的败坏在年轻人之间蔓延。

3 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

4 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。