AP 2010-11-07_在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

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1. Political watchers are predicting major changes on Capitol Hill and in several state capitals as voters cast their ballots¹ in the midterm elections. Republicans are looking to take over control of the House and deeply cut into the Democrat² majority in the Senate.

2. Germany's top security official says a suspicious package personally addressed to German Chancellor³ Angela Merkel was sent from Greece and resembled the series of small mail bombs in Athens, two of which exploded outside the Russian and Swiss Embassies. Those attacks have been blamed on far-left extremists.

3. Battered⁴ by January's earthquake and a recent cholera⁵ outbreak, Haiti is bracing⁶ for a possible hurricane. Tropical Storm Tomas is making its way across the Caribbean and is expected to strengthen over 48 hours. A US Navy vessel⁷ is steaming toward Haiti to provide disaster relief if needed.

4. And in China, it's not just candy in the vending⁸ machines any more. Commuters walking through the subway stations in the southern city of Nanjing can now pick up live crab⁹ on the go. The crab company plans to set up machines in Shanghai and Beijing in the coming months.

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1 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》

2 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。

3 chancellor
n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长
参考例句：
They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。 He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 battered
adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损
参考例句：
He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。 The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

5 cholera
n.霍乱
参考例句：
The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。 Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

6 bracing
adj.令人振奋的
参考例句：
The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。 The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

7 vessel
n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管
参考例句：
The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。 You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

8 vending
v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的现在分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明
参考例句：
Why Are You Banging on the Vending Machine? 你为什么敲打这台自动售货机？来自朗文快捷英语教程 2 Coca-Cola had to adapt almost 300,000 vending machines to accept the new coins. 可口可乐公司必须使将近三十万台自动贩卖机接受新货币。来自超越目标英语第5册

9 crab
n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气
参考例句：
I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。 The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。