美联社新闻一分钟 2006-04-20

1. White House spokesman Scott McClellan resigned from his position Wednesday after nearly 3 years on the job. The resignation comes amid increasing calls for change at the White House especially since President Bush's approval ratings have plummet¹ed severely³.

2. In Chile, an active volcano erupted sending ash and smoke miles into the air, but not threatening any areas where people live. The volcano was called the Lascar and is considered to be one of the most active volcanoes in Chile.

3. Authorities are trying to figure out why a tram in New York City got stuck for nearly 12 hours, leaving dozens of passengers dangling⁴ in a car over the East River. This is the first time that passengers have to be rescued from a tram in its entire 30-year history.

4. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are proud parents of a baby girl. The parents announced the birth of Suri on Tuesday. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces. This is the first child for Holmes. Cruise adopted a son and daughter several years ago

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. plummet :verb
to fall very quickly and suddenly:
e.g. House prices have plummeted² in recent months.

2. tram :noun [C] (US USUALLY streetcar, US ALSO trolley)
an electric vehicle that transports people, usually in cities, and goes along metal tracks in the road

3. dangle⁵ :verb
to hang loosely, or to hold something so that it hangs loosely:
e.g. Loose electric wires were dangling from the wall.

4. weigh in :
to have your weight measured before taking part in a competition
weigh in at
e.g. Higgins weighed in at just over 100 kilos.

1 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

2 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

4 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

5 dangle   

v.(使)悬荡，(使)悬垂

参考例句：

• At Christmas,we dangle colored lights around the room.圣诞节时，我们在房间里挂上彩灯。
• He sits on the edge of the table and dangles his legs.他坐在桌子边上，摆动著双腿。