美联社新闻一分钟 2006-05-26

1. Enron founder¹ Ken² Lay and former Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling will be sentenced September 11th. The two men were convicted today of conspiracy³ and securities and wire fraud in one of the biggest business scandals in U. S. history.

2. Power has been restored to train lines between New York and Washington. A power outage this morning strand⁴ed thousands of commuters on tracks and in sweltering tunnels, some for more than three hours.

3. International peacekeepers are trying to restore order in East Timor. Gun battles between former soldiers who were fired and government forces have killed at least 19 people and threatened to plunge⁶ the tiny nation into civil war.

4. And does it belong in the water or on the road? A German-made amphicar is making quite a splash in New Bern, North Carolina. The same engine powers the wheels and the propeller⁷s and there is no wait time at the drawbridge

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. securities fraud
Civil securities fraud, also known as investment fraud, is a practice where investors⁹ are deceived and manipulated, resulting in theft. Recent examples of securities fraud are the Enron and Worldcom scandals. Both companies are guilty of theft of investors and defrauding¹¹ the federal government with fraudulent tax reports.

2. wire fraud
A situation where a person concocts¹² a scheme to defraud¹⁰ or obtain money based on false representation or promises. Fraud committed by means of electronic communication, as by telephone or modem¹³.

3. outage : n-count
An outage is a period of time when the electricity supply to a building or area is interrupted, for example because of damage to the cables. (AM; in BRIT, use power cut)
e.g. A windstorm in Washington is causing power outages throughout the region.

4. strand : verb
If you are stranded⁵, you are prevented from leaving a place, for example because of bad weather.
e.g. The climbers had been stranded by a storm.

5. sweltering : adj
If you describe the weather as sweltering, you mean that it is extremely hot and makes you feel uncomfortable.

6. plunge into : verb
If a person or thing is plunged¹⁴ into a particular state or situation, or if they plunge into it, they are suddenly in that state or situation.
e.g. The government's political and economic reforms threaten to plunge the country into chaos¹⁵.

7. amphicar : n-count
The Amphicar was the only amphibious automobile¹⁶ ever mass-produced for sale to the public. The German vehicle was designed by Hanns Trippel, creator of the war-time Schwimmwagen and manufactured by the Quandt Group at Lübeck and at Berlin-Borsigwalde. Its name is a combination of "amphibious" and "car".

8. make a splash : phrase
If you make a splash, you become noticed or become popular because of something that you have done.
e.g. Now she's made a splash in the American television show `Civil Wars'.

9. power : verb
The device or fuel that powers a machine provides the energy that the machine needs in order to work.
e.g. The `flywheel' battery, it is said, could power an electric car for 600 miles on a single charge.

10. propeller : n-count
A propeller is a device with blades which is attached to a boat or aircraft. The engine makes the propeller spin round and causes the boat or aircraft to move.
e.g. a fixed¹⁷ three-bladed propeller

11. drawbridge : n-count
A drawbridge is a bridge that can be pulled up, for example to prevent people from getting into a castle or to allow ships to pass underneath¹⁸ it.

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 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

5 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

6 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

7 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

8 propellers   

n.螺旋桨，推进器( propeller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The water was thrashing and churning about under the propellers. 水在螺旋桨下面打旋、翻滚。 来自辞典例句
• The ship's propellers churned the waves to foam. 轮船的推进器将海浪搅出泡沫。 来自辞典例句

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 defraud   

vt.欺骗，欺诈

参考例句：

• He passed himself off as the managing director to defraud the bank.他假冒总经理的名义诈骗银行。
• He is implicated in the scheme to defraud the government.他卷入了这起欺骗政府的阴谋。

11 defrauding   

v.诈取，骗取( defraud的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Second is the actor regards defrauding of the wealth as object. 第二，行为人以骗取钱财为目的。 来自互联网
• Therefore, DELL has the motive and economic purpose of intentionally defrauding the Chinese consumers. 因此，戴尔公司存在故意欺诈中国消费者的动机和经济目的。 来自互联网

12 concocts   

v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的第三人称单数 )；调制；编造；捏造

参考例句：

• She concocts wonderful soup. 她调制美味的汤。 来自互联网
• To help his teammate, Krillin concocts an outlandish plan that you'll have to see to believe! 为了帮助他的战友，小林想出了一个绝妙的怪招。这可真是你必须亲眼见到才能相信的一招！ 来自互联网

13 modem   

n.调制解调器

参考例句：

• Does your computer have a modem?你的电脑有调制解调器吗？
• Provides a connection to your computer via a modem.通过调制解调器连接到计算机上。

14 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

15 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

16 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

17 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

18 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。