美联社新闻一分钟 2007-09-04

President Bush says when the troops leave Iraq, it will be from a position of strength. The president made a surprise visit to Iraq this morning. He says some troops could go home if security in the Anbar province gets better.

The 10-year-old girl who fell into an abandoned mine shaft¹ with her sister has been upgraded to serious condition. Cassie Hicks suffered a broken arm and shoulder. Her sister, 13-year-old Ricky, died. The two were riding an ATV on Saturday night in Chloride, Arizona when they fell.

Hurricane Felix has been downgraded to a category four, but it's still heading for Central America and tourists are trying to make their way out of Honduras. Felix is on track to make a direct landfall on Belize by Wednesday.

Six Italian divers² will try life under water for a while. The group is trying to demonstrate that it is possible to colonize³ the seabed without changing the ecosystem⁴. They'll live 49 feet under the sea in diving bells that form a complex. They'll take to the water this Saturday.

1 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

2 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

3 colonize   

v.建立殖民地，拓殖；定居，居于

参考例句：

• Around 700 Arabs began to colonize East Africa.公元700年阿拉伯人开始把东非变为殖民地。
• Japan used to colonize many countries in Asia.日本曾经殖民过许多亚洲国家。

4 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。