美联社新闻一分钟 2006-07-31

（单词翻译）

1. Dozens of women and children were killed after an Israeli air strike hit the southern Lebanese town of Qana overnight. Many world leaders are outrage¹d over the attack and have stepped up demands for a ceasefire.

2. Elections were held in the Congo Sunday for the first time in more than 4 decades, 33 people are on the ballot³ for president. The European Union sent troops to help secure the vote.

3. Wildfires continue to burn in the west. Hundreds of firefighters battle blazes in South Dakota. Their efforts have been hamper⁴ed by high winds and temperatures climbing over 100 degrees.

4. And record-setting temperatures are crippling communities across the nation. Meteorologists say more than 60 percent of the U.S. is in need of rain.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. outrage : verb
If you are outraged² by something, it makes you extremely shocked and angry.

2. hamper : verb
to prevent somebody from easily doing or achieving something
e.g. Our efforts were severely⁶ hampered⁵ by a lack of money.

3. cripple : verb
To cripple a machine, organization, or system means to damage it severely or prevent it from working properly.

4. meteorologist : n-count
a scientist who studies meteorology
meteorology : n-uncount --- 气象学
Meteorology is the study of the processes in the Earth's atmosphere that cause particular weather conditions, especially in order to predict the weather.