美联社新闻一分钟 2006-04-04

（单词翻译）

1. A military plane crashed shortly after take-off from Dover Airforce Base in Delaware early today. There were 17 people on board. All survived. The plane had apparently¹ just taken off when the pilot realized there was a problem and attempted to land.

2. Severe weather rocked the Midwest over the weekend. Tornadoes² killed at least 19 people including a baby, and injured dozens of people in northwest Tennessee. The severe storm system is also blamed for the deaths of at least 4 other people in Missouri and Illinois.

3. The Supreme³ Court has rejected an appeal filed by Jose Padilla. Until last year, Padilla was being held as an enemy combatant without traditional legal rights. But he is now facing criminal charges in Miami. The government argued that his appeal now is pointless.

4. Elated baseball fans will be heading to stadiums across the nation. The season opener for Major League Baseball was held in Chicago Sunday night where the White Sox took on the Cleveland Indians. The Sox came out on top, final score: 10-4.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. take-off :noun⁴ [C]
the time when a plane leaves the ground and begins to fly
e.g. Night take-offs and landings are banned at this airport.

2. combatant :noun [C] FORMAL
a person who fights in a war

3. pointless :adjective⁵
Something that is pointless has no purpose and it is a waste of time doing it:
e.g. It's pointless arguing with him.

4. elated :adjective
extremely happy and excited, often because something has happened or been achieved:
e.g. The prince was reported to be elated at/by the birth of his new daughter.

5. opener:noun [C]
the first of a series of games in a sports competition
e.g. They are hoping to win tomorrow's opener against New Zealand.

6. take sb on: phrasal verb [M]
to compete against or fight someone:
e.g. The Government took on the unions and won.