美联社新闻一分钟 2007-07-20

1. The AP has obtained this video showing yesterday's underground steam pipe explosion as it happened. The blast in midtown Manhattan killed one person and sent debris¹ and dust flying.

2. A federal judge is dismissing Valerie Plame's lawsuit² against top White House officials. She sued Vice³ President Cheney and others, accusing them of conspiring⁴ to leak her identity. The judge, though, dismissed the suit on jurisdictional⁵ grounds.

3. FEMA leaders are getting an earful from Congress. Turns out some of the trailers given to Katrina victims may have dangerous levels of formaldehyde. But according to internal documents, FEMA lawyers discouraged officials from actually pursuing those reports.

4. A mother of three is facing criminal charges in Florida after police say she had her kids steal an 800-dollar puppy. The act was caught on surveillance tape. The Boston terrier has since been returned.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. debris: noun
the pieces of something that are left after it has been destroyed in an accident, explosion etc

2. jurisdiction⁶: noun
the right to use an official power to make legal decisions, or the area where this right exists

3. FEMA: noun
Short for Federal Emergency Management Agency. Mainly, FEMA responds to any disaster that occurs in the United States that is declared a federal disaster area by the President of the United States.

4. earful: noun
an outpouring of anger, abuse, or complaint

5. trailer: noun
a vehicle designed to serve wherever parked as a temporary dwelling

6. Katrina: noun
a hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season


7. formaldehyde: noun
甲醛，对人体有害

8. terrier: noun
a small active type of dog that was originally used for hunting

1 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

2 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

5 jurisdictional   

adj. 司法权的，裁决权的，管辖权的

参考例句：

• In practice, however, this jurisdictional limit on administrative investigations is generally easy to satisfy. 然而在实践中，对行政调查的这种司法限制通常很容易符合规定标准。
• The jurisdictional amount is set by statute and is currently $80,000. 案件标的管辖权由法律规定，目前是80，000美元。 来自口语例句

6 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。