美联社新闻一分钟 2006-09-24

（单词翻译）

1. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says President Bush may want to kill him for calling Bush a devil at the UN. Chavez spoke¹ before a crowd in his native country. He said friends in the US have told him that "They have condemned² me to death.”, but wouldn't elaborate.

2. Officials from several countries say there's no evidence terror leader Osama Bin³ Laden⁴ has died of typhoid. A French newspaper reported on what it says is an intelligence document that says Saudi officials are convinced Bin Laden is dead. The French government says the report is speculative⁵ and in no way confirmed.

3. Severe weather has claimed the lives of at least seven people across the country. In Midwest and South, high winds and heavy rains have done damage. In Kentucky, two women died when they were swept away while trying to cross a flooded roadway.

4. Ramadan has started for Muslims in some Arab countries. The holy month is a time to reflect on the personal, not the material. From sunup to sundown, Muslims do not eat, drink, smoke, or have sex. This is the month Muslims believe the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. elaborate : verb
If you elaborate on something that has been said, you say more about it, or give more details.

2. typhoid : n-uncount
Typhoid or typhoid fever is a serious infectious disease that produces fever and diarrhoea and can cause death. It is spread by dirty water or food.

3. claim : verb
If you say that a war, disease, or accident claims someone's life, you mean that they are killed in it or by it..

4. reflect on : phrasal verb
When you reflect on something, you think deeply about it.