美联社新闻一分钟 2006-05-04

1. After 7 days of deliberation, the jury has sentenced Al Qaeda conspirator¹ Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison with no possibility of parole, for his role in the September 11th attacks. Moussaoui said as he was let away from the courts "America you lost, I won.”

2. The White House released its response plan for a possible outbreak of the bird flu calling for stockpiles of bird flu vaccine². It estimates about 30% of the population could be affected³. Bird flu hasn't reached the US yet, and it is hard to transmit to humans, but the government wants to be ready.

3. An earthquake struck in the south Pacific near Tonga with a magnitude of near 8.0. A tsunami⁴ warning was issued but later lifted, no serious injuries reported.

4. Golfer Tiger Woods' father has died at the age of 74. Earl Woods was the driving force behind his son's golf career. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1998.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. outbreak: noun[countable]
if there is an outbreak of fighting or disease in an area, it suddenly starts to happen
e.g. There's been an outbreak of food poisoning at the hotel.

2. stockpile: noun[countable]
a large supply of things that is kept ready for use in the future
e.g. a stockpile of nuclear weapons

1 conspirator   

n.阴谋者，谋叛者

参考例句：

• We started abusing him,one conspirator after another adding his bitter words.我们这几个预谋者一个接一个地咒骂他，恶狠狠地骂个不停。
• A conspirator is not of the stuff to bear surprises.谋反者是经不起惊吓的。

2 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。