澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-03-16

A new opinion poll shows Kevin Rudd's approval rating has plunged¹ to its lowest level since he became the Federal Labor² leader. Today's Newspoll published in the Australian newspaper shows Mr. Rudd's satisfaction rating has slipped to 48 percent, while 41 percent of voters are dissatisfied with the prime minister's performance. But Labor still holds an election-winning lead in the two-party preferred vote.

Thousands of people in Fiji have spent the night in evacuation centers after a powerful cyclone³ slammed into the country's northern islands. People are boarding up their homes as the category-4 cyclone sweeps across the island nation. Cyclone Tomas has recorded winds of up to 270 kilometres an hour.

In India, hundreds of people have attended the funeral of Gurshan Singh in the country's north. The three-year-old boy was found dead in Melbourne earlier this month. A man who lived with the family has been charged with manslaughter by criminal negligence⁴.

And David Beckham has been ruled out of the World Cup with an injured Achilles tendon. He's just had surgery in Finland and doctors say it'll take months to heal. The former England captain tore the tendon playing for AC Milan on Sunday.

More news later.

1 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

4 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。