美联社新闻一分钟 2007-06-13

1. President Bush made a rare visit to Capitol Hill, lunching with GOP senators, making the case for immigration reform. The president says the status quo isn't acceptable. It's not clear Bush changed any minds among the measures legalizing millions of unlawful immigrants.

2. Five children died in a row house fire in Pittsburgh. They were among seven in the care of a babysitter. Two children escaped. Police are now looking for the babysitter. A smoke detector¹ in the home apparently² wasn't working.

3. In London, the top floors of a building under renovation³ collapsed⁴, trapping a construction worker in the rubble⁵. He was conscious and talking to rescuers. Authorities say there's no evidence of an explosion.

4. One moment it's on, the next it's gone. What happened to the president's watch during his visit to Albania? It's been a buzz of media there hinting someone stole it. But the White House says Bush put the timepiece in a pocket returning safely home.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. status quo
the state of a situation as it is

2. row house: [countable]
a house that is part of a line of houses that are joined to each other [= terraced house British English]

3. buzz: [singular]
a lot of activity, noise, and excitement

4. timepiece: [coutable]
a clock or watch(old use)

1 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

4 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

5 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。