美联社新闻一分钟 2006-05-01

1. Thousands of people rallied on the National Mall for Sudan's victims of genocide. The demonstrators are calling on the Bush administration to use its political muscle to help end the violence. Sunday's event attracted high-profile speakers including actor George Clooney and Holocaust¹ survivor² Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel.

2. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says he pushed for more troops in Iraq before the war, but says President Bush didn't take his advice. Critics have accused the administration of failing to send enough soldiers to secure the peace in Iraq after the invasion three years ago.

3. The critically acclaim³ed 9/11 drama “United 93” opened in second place this weekend with 11.6 million dollars in receipts, that's according to studio estimates.

4. There wasn't a dry eye at this five-day festival. The event honors Vidalia onions, Georgia's official state vegetable. The onions bring in more than 90 million dollars a year to the state's economy.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. high-profile : adj
A high-profile person or a high-profile event attracts a lot of attention or publicity⁵.
e.g. ...the high-profile reception being given to Mr. Arafat.

2. holocaust : n-count
A holocaust is an event in which there is a lot of destruction and many people are killed, especially one caused by war.
e.g. A nuclear holocaust seemed a very real possibility in the '50s.

3. acclaim : verb, usu passive
If someone or something is acclaimed⁴, they are praised enthusiastically.
e.g. The group's debut⁶ album was immediately acclaimed a hip⁷ hop⁸ classic.

4. receipts : n-plural
Receipts are the amount of money received during a particular period, for example by a shop or theatre.
e.g. He was tallying⁹ the day's receipts.

5. studio : n-count
You can also refer to film-making or recording¹⁰ companies as studios.
e.g. She wrote to Paramount¹¹ Studios and asked if they would audition¹² her.

6. dry : adj
If someone has dry eyes, there are no tears in their eyes; often used with negatives or in contexts where you are expressing surprise that they are not crying.
e.g. There were few dry eyes in the house when I finished...

7. onion : noun
An onion is a round vegetable with a brown skin that grows underground. It has many white layers on its inside which have a strong, sharp smell and taste.
e.g. It is made with fresh minced¹³ meat, cooked with onion and a rich tomato sauce.

8. bring in : phrasal verb
Someone or something that brings in money makes it or earns it.
e.g. I have three part-time jobs, which bring in about £14,000 a year.

1 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

2 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

3 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

4 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

5 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

6 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

7 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

8 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

9 tallying   

v.计算，清点( tally的现在分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• In 2007 the state set a U.S. record, tallying 141 twisters. 该州在2007年以总计出现了141个龙卷风而创下了一个美国记录。 来自互联网
• We charge extra fee at 100% of the rates of tallying fees. 我们按理货收费率的100%收取附加费。 来自互联网

10 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

11 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

12 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

13 minced   

v.切碎( mince的过去式和过去分词 )；剁碎；绞碎；用绞肉机绞（食物，尤指肉）

参考例句：

• He minced over to serve us. 他迈着碎步过来招待我们。
• A young fop minced up to George and introduced himself. 一个花花公子扭扭捏捏地走到乔治面前并作了自我介绍。 来自《简明英汉词典》