美联社新闻一分钟 2007-06-19

1. A four-year-old Texas girl is dead after being swept from her mother's arms Monday morning when a flash flood tore through their suburban¹ Fort Worth mobile home park. The flood has forced dozens of people to flee parts of North Texas.

2. Police in Ohio are hoping a two-year-old boy might have some clues in their search for 26-year-old Jessie Davis. Davis is nine-month pregnant and disappeared from her home near Cleveland almost a week ago. Police found her bedroom in disarray² with bleach³ on the floor and her two-year-old son home alone.

3. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced the Bush administration is lifting its economic and political embargo⁴ against the Palestinian government. The move comes after the Palestinian President forced the militant⁵ movement Hamas from his government.

4. It seems JoJo is looking forward to his new warmer home. The gator is traveling from New York to Florida where he'll spend his days in a reptile⁶ sanctuary⁷. Sunday his owner called authorities because he could no longer care for the gator in his Buffalo⁸ basement.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

金山词霸

1. flash flood: 山洪暴发

2. suburban: 郊外的, 偏远的

3. embargo: 禁止出入港口, 禁运

4. gator: n.Informal （名词）【非正式用语】 An alligator⁹. 短鼻鳄鱼

5. reptile: 爬行的, 爬虫类的

6. sanctuary: 避难所

1 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

2 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

3 bleach   

vt.使漂白；vi.变白；n.漂白剂

参考例句：

• These products don't bleach the hair.这些产品不会使头发变白。
• Did you bleach this tablecloth?你把这块桌布漂白了吗？

4 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

7 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

8 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

9 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。