美联社新闻一分钟 2006-10-25

1. US officials say Iraqi forces should be able to take full control of security in their country in the next 12 to 18 months. Iraqi leaders have also agreed to develop a timeline for progress in stabilizing¹ the country. Tuesday the number of US troops killed in Iraq this month rose to 91.

2. President Bush spent Tuesday on the campaign trail. He told a crowd in Sarasota, Florida that if Democrats² get control of Congress, taxes will go up 500 dollars for every child a family has. He spoke³ at a fundraiser for GOP House candidate Vern Buchanan.

3. Police in Fairfield, Alabama are holding 3 suspects in the fatal shooting of a police officer who interrupted an apparent burglary on Monday. The chief says investigators⁴ believe all 3 were involved and will likely be charged with killing⁵ Officer Mary Smith.

4. Hurricane Paul weakened to a tropical storm Tuesday as it headed toward the southern tip of Baja California. It had maximum sustained winds near 65 miles per hour, but was expected to weaken further before making landfall south of Los Cabos early Wednesday.

WORDS IN THE NEWS


1. timeline : N=COUNT
A schedule of activities or events; a timetable.

2. campaign trail : N-COUNT
You can refer to all the places that a politician visits in the period before an election as their campaign trail.

3. fundraiser : N-COUNT
A fundraiser is an event which is intended to raise money for a particular purpose, for example, for a charity.

4. GOP : N
Grand Old Party 大老党(美国共和党的别称)

5. burglary : N-VAR
If someone commits a burglary, they enter a building by force and steal things.

6. landfall : N-VAR
Landfall is the act of arriving somewhere after a journey at sea, or the land that you arrive at.

1 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

2 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》

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 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》

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。