美联社新闻一分钟 2006-09-05

（单词翻译）

1. "But at least he died 'doing something that he loved.'" Fans spoke¹ fondly of Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter", at the National Zoo in Washington D. C. Monday. The 44-year-old Australian was killed when a stingray's barb² pierced him during the filming of a documentary of the Great Barrier Reef.

2. A Jordanian gunman opened fire at a crowd of foreign tourists Monday in the center of Jordan's capital. A man from Britain was killed and 6 other people were wounded near the city's Roman amphitheater, a popular tourist destination.

3. Iran said Monday it had tested a new air defense³ system to counter missiles and aircraft. The new test came just one day after UN Secretary General Kofi Annan met with Iran's president.

4. A surveillance camera at a Providence⁴, Rhode Island laundromat captured a startling robbery, a grown man stealing a 20-dollar bill from a 7-year-old girl. Fortunately, the child was not hurt during the ordeal⁵ and officers eventually tracked down the suspect and arrested him.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. stingray: n-count
A stingray is a type of large flat fish with a long tail which it can use as a weapon.

2. barb : n-count
A barb is a sharp curved point near the end of an arrow or fish-hook which makes it difficult to pull out.

3. amphitheatre : n-count
An amphitheatre is a large open area surrounded by rows of seats sloping upwards⁶. Amphitheatres were built mainly in Greek and Roman times for the performance of plays.

4. counter : verb
If you do something to counter a particular action or process, you do something which has an opposite effect to it or makes it less effective.

5. laundromat : n-count
A laundromat is a place where people can pay to use machines to wash and dry their clothes.

6. ordeal : n-count
If you describe an experience or situation as an ordeal, you think it is difficult and unpleasant