澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-03-02

A small plane carrying aid to the quake-hit Chilean city of Concepcion has crashed killing¹ six people. Meanwhile the Australian government will donate a million dollars towards the emergency response to the earthquake and tsunami². At least 720 people have been confirmed dead.

 

The Federal Government seems to have avoided that the whacking³ the Prime Minister thinks that it deserves. The latest news poll shows support for the government relatively⁴ unchanged. Kevin Rudd says voters are allowed to feel disappointed by the pace of health reforms and the government's handling of the home insulation⁵ scheme. The Environment Minister Peter Garrett says he is disappointed to have been demoted as a result of the bungled⁶ scheme. The Opposition⁷ says he should resign altogether.

 

France has declared a national disaster after severe storms lashed⁸ parts of the country. At least 47 people were killed as huge waves battered⁹ coastal¹⁰ towns and destroyed buildings.

 

And one of two men convicted of killing Sydney heart surgeon Victor Chang has been released from jail. Dr Chang was gunned down in the Sydney suburb of Mosman in a failed extortion attempt in 1991. Phillip Choon Tee Lim is being held in detention¹¹ awaiting a flight back to Malaysia.

 

And there’ll be more news later.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 whacking   

adj.（用于强调）巨大的v.重击，使劲打( whack的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a whacking great hole in the roof 房顶上一个巨大的窟窿
• His father found him a cushy job in the office, with almost nothing to do and a whacking great salary. 他父亲给他在事务所找到了一份轻松舒适的工作，几乎什么都不用做，工资还极高。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。

6 bungled   

v.搞糟，完不成( bungle的过去式和过去分词 )；笨手笨脚地做；失败；完不成

参考例句：

• They bungled the job. 他们把活儿搞糟了。
• John bungled the job. 约翰把事情搞糟了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

10 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

11 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。