美联社新闻一分钟 2005-10-15

（单词翻译）

1. Hundreds of Iraqi police and army troops fanned out across Baghdad， setting up checkpoints and fortifying² polling stations ahead of a historic constitutional referendum.

2. Thousands of birds were culled⁴ in Romania after poultry⁵ in the Danube delta⁶ tested positive for bird flu this week.

3. Russian security forces try to clear out the last pockets of rebel resistance after more than a day of fighting that killed at least a hundred and eight people.

4. Pakistan called off the search for survivors⁷ of last week's devastating⁸ earthquake to concentrate on helping⁹ the millions left homeless.

5. And Daniel Craig was introduced as the first blond James Bond and only the second Englishman to star as 007 in the film series.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. fan out
1 fan out fans out; fanning out; fanned out
If a group of people or things fan out, they move forwards away from a particular point in different directions.
The main body of British, American, and French troops had fanned out to the west.
We fanned out from the farmhouse¹⁰ in twos and threes.
PHR-V
= spread out

2. fortify¹
1 fortify fortifies¹¹ fortifying fortified¹²
To fortify a place means to make it stronger and more difficult to attack, often by building a wall or ditch round it.
...British soldiers working to fortify an airbase in Bahrain.
VB

fortified
He remains¹³ barricaded¹⁴ inside his heavily-fortified mansion¹⁵.
...fortified castles and villages.
ADJ-GRADED

3. cull³
2 cull culls¹⁶ culling¹⁷ culled
To cull animals means to kill the weaker animals in a group in order to reduce their numbers.
To save remaining herds¹⁸ and habitat, the national parks department is planning to cull 2000 elephants.
VB

+ cull culls
Also a noun.
In the reserves of Zimbabwe and South Africa, annual culls are already routine.
N-COUNT

culling
The culling of seal cubs¹⁹ has led to an outcry from environmental groups.
N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp

4. delta
delta deltas²⁰
A delta is an area of low, flat land shaped like a triangle, where a river splits and spreads out into several branches before entering the sea.
...the Mississippi delta.
N-COUNT: oft n N

5. pocket
4 pocket pockets
A pocket of something is a small area where something is happening, or a small area which has a particular quality, and which is different from the other areas around it.
Trapped in a pocket of air, they had only 40 minutes before the tide flooded the chamber²¹.
The newly established government controls the bulk of the city apart from a few pockets of resistance.
N-COUNT: usu N of n