美联社新闻一分钟 2006-08-04

（单词翻译）

1. Again today the National Weather Service has posted heat warnings from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Electricity demands set records in some areas and scattered¹ power outages have been reported. Starting this evening, a cool front could force temperatures down from around 100 degrees to the 80's.

2. Forecasters now say Tropical Storm Chris is not likely to become a hurricane. Pushing across the eastern Caribbean this morning, the storm system had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles an hour, barely enough to be a named storm. It was centered about 285 miles east-southeast of Grand Turk Island.

3. Israel is pounding the southern suburbs of Beirut with airstrikes again today. A missile killed at least three people in a Lebanese village. Meanwhile, Israeli police say at least seven more people have been killed by Hezbollah rockets slamming into northern Israel.

4. Ford² is recalling more than a million trucks, SUVs and vans over concern of potential engine fires. It says the recall is tied to the speed control deactivation³ switch system, which could corrode⁴ over time, overheat and catch fire

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. front : n-count【气】锋
In relation to the weather, a front is a line where a mass of cold air meets a mass of warm air.

2. slam : verb
If one thing slams into or against another, it crashes into it with great force.

3. recall : verb 召回
If a company recalls a product, it asks the shops or the people who have bought that product to return it because there is something wrong with it.

4. deactivate⁵ : verb
to render inactive or ineffective.