澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-10-13

US President Barack Obama is preparing to end the ban on deep-water oil and gas drilling. The ban was imposed after the BP oil spill in the Gulf¹ of Mexico. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says there will be new requirements for companies allowed to drill exploratory wells.

Sydney police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man in the city's southwest. The 37-year-old man was found with gunshot wounds at a home in Mount Pritchard. He was treated by paramedics but died at the scene. Two men were arrested and have been questioned by police.

Australia is still well behind other countries when it comes to equal pay and opportunities for women. Australia has dropped three places to 23rd in the World Economic Forum² annual gender³ gap index. The index measures how income resources and opportunities compare between men and women. Australia was ranked behind Mozambique and Lesotho. Iceland, Norway and Finland topped the list.

Regional Australia is still struggling to attract doctors according to a new report. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released the findings of the 2009 Medical Labour Force Survey. It found there were fewer than 190 doctors in outer regional areas for every 100,000 people. But this figure jumps to more than 370 for people in major cities.

More than 300,000 people have taken to the streets in Paris to protest against pension reforms. The government wants to raise the minimum retirement⁴ age from 60 to 62. Flights have been cancelled and transport systems disrupted.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。