澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-11-18

 Police in Colorado are waiting for the parents of Australian twins shot on a rifle range to arrive so they can identify them. One twin died, and the other is seriously injured, but police don't know which is which. Both were shot in the head at the same time. Police are still trying to work out what happened.

 

The Government and the Senate are at loggerheads over a business plan for the National Broadband Network. The Senate wants the plan released now before parliament breaks for the summer recess¹. But the Government is refusing. It says it's still working through the details and won't make it public until next month.

 

Parliament will vote on the Greens' gay marriage motion this morning. The motion calls on MPs to consult with their electorates² about same-sex marriage. The Government has decided³ to support it and it's likely to get enough cross-bench support to pass.

 

Ireland is resisting European pressure to help bail⁴ it out of its financial woes⁵. European finance ministers have met to discuss how to stop the crisis from spreading to other vulnerable countries like Spain and Portugal. Ireland insists it can sort the problem out itself.

 

And Germany is on security alert after a tip-off about an impending⁶ terrorist attack. Security at airports and train stations has been stepped up. The country's interior minister says he has evidence the terrorists are planning attacks for the end of the month.

1 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

2 electorates   

全体选民( electorate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The assembly's 15 seats have electorates as small as 190. 大会的15个议席只有很少的190选民参加。
• Restricting hedge funds is something they can sell to their electorates. 限制对冲基金是他们能够向选民兜售的东西。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

5 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

6 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。