美联社新闻一分钟 2005-10-20

1. Hurricane Wilma menaces Cuba and Central America, and visitors are ordered out of the Florida Keys as Wilma briefly¹ explodes into the most intensive Atlantic hurricane on record.

2. A defiant² Saddam Hussein pleads innocent to charges of murder and torture as his long-awaited trial begins with him rejecting the court's legitimacy³ and scuffling with guards.

3. China says some twenty-six hundred birds have been found dead of bird flu in its northern grasslands⁴ amid new reports of bird flu outbreaks in Europe and Russia.

4. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice refuses to rule out US troops still in Iraq in ten years or the US use of military force against Iran and Syria.

5. And Antonio Banderas is presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 16 years after the native Spaniard arrived as a penniless young actor

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. menace
4 menace menaces menacing menaced
If you say that one thing menaces another, you mean that the first thing is likely to cause the second thing serious harm.
The European states retained a latent capability⁵ to menace Britain's own security.
VB
= threaten

2. scuffle
2 scuffle scuffles scuffling scuffled
If people scuffle, they fight for a short time in a disorganized way.
Police scuffled with some of the protesters.
He and Hannah had been scuffling in the yard outside his house.
V-RECIP

3. rule out
2 rule out rules out; ruling out; ruled out
If something rules out a situation, it prevents it from happening or from being possible.
A serious car accident in 1986 ruled out a permanent future for him in farming.
PHR-V

4. penniless
penniless
Someone who is penniless has hardly any money at all.
They'd soon be penniless and homeless if she couldn't find suitable work.
...a penniless refugee.
ADJ: usu v-link ADJ

1 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

2 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

3 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

4 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。