美联社新闻一分钟 2005-11-18

（单词翻译）

1 President Bush rules out helping¹ North Korea build a civilian² nuclear reactor³ for electricity until it dismantles⁴ its nuclear weapons programmes.

2 Iraq's Shiite Interior Minister says claims Iraqi forces tortured suspected insurgents⁵ seized by US troops are exaggerated.

3 Another sign of congressional unease about Iraq as a hawkish⁶ House Democrat⁷ who voted for the war, calls for the immediate⁸ withdrawal⁹ of US troops.

4 Baseball owners vote unanimously to approve the toughened steroid policy the Players Association accepted earlier this week.

5 Matthew McConaughey is named the "sexiest man alive" by People magazine, prompting the actor to say,"Now I've made it."

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1 rule out -- 1 if you rule out a course of action, an idea or a solution, you decide that it is impossible or unsuitable. 2 if something rules out a situation, it prevents it from happening or from being possible. e.g. A serious car accident in 1985 ruled out a permanent future for him in farming.

2 unease -- n [U] a feeling of worry or slight fear about something// sense/feeling of unease // --As she neared the door, Amy felt a growing sense of unease.// --public unease about defence policy//

3 hawkish -- Journalists use hawkish to describe politicians or governments who are in favor of using force to acheive something,rather than using peaceful and diplomatic methods.
e.g. : He is one of the most hawkish members of the new cabinet.

4 unanimous -- 1 a unanimous decision, vote, agreement etc is one in which all the people involved agree: --It was decided¹⁰ by a unanimous vote that the school should close. 2 agreeing completely about something: unanimous in (doing) sth// --The banks were unanimous in welcoming the news.// -- unanimously adv //

5 steroid-- A steroid is a type of chemical substance found in your body. Steroid can be artifically introduced into the bodies of athletes to improve their strength.