美联社新闻一分钟 2006-05-18

1. The fates of Enron founder¹ Ken² Lay and his right-hand man are now in the hands of jurors. Lay and Jeffrey Skilling each face long prison sentences if convicted on fraud and conspiracy³ charges for the collapse⁴ of the energy giant.

2. The damage estimates from days of flooding in New England could go into the millions. The waters are slowly starting to recede⁵ after four days of rain. From Boston to Maine, roads, homes and businesses are underwater. Some residents are only returning to their homes today.

3. It's over for Sir Paul and his wife Heather Mills McCartney. The two called it quits after four years of marriage and one child. They said the media pressures were just too great, and he is taking issue with suggestions that the former model only married him for his one-billion-dollar estate.

4. The USS Oriskany is now at the bottom of the Gulf⁶ of Mexico. The Navy intentionally⁷ sank the retired⁸ aircraft carrier to make the world's largest created reef. The carrier is the first ship set for reefing under the Navy's new program to dispose of old warship⁹s

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. right-hand man : n-count
Someone's right-hand man is the person who acts as their chief assistant and helps and supports them a lot in their work.
e.g. He is Rupert Murdoch's right-hand man at News International.

2. hands : n-plural
If you say that something is in a particular person's hands, you mean that they are looking after it, own it, or are responsible for it.
e.g. He is leaving his north London business in the hands of a colleague.

3. call it quits : phrase
If you say that you are going to call it quits, you mean that you have decided¹¹ to stop doing something or being involved in something.
e.g. They raised $630,000 through listener donations, and then called it quits.

4. take issue with : phrase
If you take issue with someone or something they said, you disagree with them, and start arguing about it.
e.g. I will not take issue with the fact that we have a recession.
= argue

5. USS ------美国海军战舰代号前缀
USS is an acronym¹² for United States Ship

6. aircraft carrier : n-count------航空母舰
An aircraft carrier is a warship with a long, flat deck where aircraft can take off and land.

7. reef : n-count
A reef is a long line of rocks or sand, the top of which is just above or just below the surface of the sea.
e.g. With great difficulty, the fisherman maneuvered¹³ his small craft close to the reef

8. warship : n-count
A warship is a ship with guns that is used for fighting in wars.

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

3 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

6 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

7 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

10 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

13 maneuvered   

v.移动，用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵

参考例句：

• I maneuvered my way among the tables to the back corner of the place. 我在那些桌子间穿行，来到那地方后面的角落。 来自辞典例句
• The admiral maneuvered his ships in the battle plan. 舰队司令按作战计划进行舰队演习。 来自辞典例句