澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-11-22

 Rescuers in New Zealand are still waiting to enter the Pike River coal mine where 29 men are trapped, including two Australians. It’s been almost three days since a gas explosion rocked the mine near Greymouth on the South Island. Officials say levels of dangerous gases are still too high for rescuers to go in. 

 

Emergency department doctors say hospital overcrowding and bed shortages are costing Australian lives. A study of 76 emergency departments over one day in September found more than a third of all patients were waiting to be transferred to a ward¹. The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine findings will be presented at today’s annual Emergency Medicine conference in Canberra.

 

After winning a key concession² from the Government on the National Broadband Network, the Greens say they’ll now support moves to split Telstra. The Government wanted the power to automatically privatise the NBN, but the Greens say they’ve now done a deal. That means Parliament would have to approve any plans to privatise the network. 

 

The Prime Minister is out of step with the majority of Australians who support gay marriage, according to a new poll. The Nielsen poll shows 57 per cent of people support same sex marriage; thirty-seven per cent were either undecided or opposed to gay marriage. 

 

And the Irish government is expected to make an official bailout request from the EU today. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan did not specify³ how much Ireland would ask for, but it’s expected to be in the tens of billions of dollars.

1 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

2 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

3 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。