美联社新闻一分钟 2006-03-01

1. Intense fighting continues in Iraq. At least 69 people were killed in Baghdad Tuesday, following a day of bombings and mortar¹ fire between Sunnis and Shiites.

2. The US Senate agreed to bring the Patriot² Act to a final vote Tuesday. That could happen as early as Wednesday, 16 major provisions will expire on March 10th, if the president doesn't sign the bill by then.

3. The Supreme³ Court heard arguments in former Playboy model and reality TV star, Anna Nicole Smith's court battle that claims some of her late husband’s fortune. The justices are hearing arguments about whether federal courts can get involved in state probate cases.

4. In New Orleans, noticeably smaller crowds celebrated⁴ Mardi Gras, just 6 months after Hurricane Katrina devastated⁵ the city, driving more than half the population away from the Big Easy. Fat Tuesday is the last big celebration before Lent

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. probate
Probate is the act or process of officially proving a will to be valid⁶.
Probate cases can go on for two years or more.
N-UNCOUNT: oft N n

2. noticeable
Something that is noticeable is very obvious, so that it is easy to see, hear, or recognize.
It is noticeable that women do not have the rivalry⁷ that men have.
The most noticeable effect of these changes is in the way people are now working together.

ADJ-GRADED: oft it v-link ADJ that
= conspicuous⁸

· noticeably
Standards of living were deteriorating⁹ rather noticeably.
There are also many physical signs, most noticeably a change in facial features.

ADV-GRADED: ADV with v, ADV group
= perceptibly

1 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

2 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

5 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

6 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

7 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

8 conspicuous   

adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的

参考例句：

• It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显，抽烟对健康有害。
• Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。

9 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。