澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-03-16

 And that the country’s east has been rocked by its biggest aftershock since Friday’s devastating¹ quake. This registered magnitude six. The official death toll² from the disaster has climbed to about 3,000. It’s of course likely to go well beyond 10,000 people. Amid the misery³ though, there is some good news. A 70-year-old woman and a man in his twenties have been rescued after four days beneath the rubble⁴. 

 

Bahrain’s king has declared a state of emergency. Neighbouring Gulf⁵ states have already sent troops to the small nation to help deal with the unrest, but that hasn’t stopped the protests. Thousands of people have marched through the streets of the capital. They are angry at the arrival of foreign troops in their country. 

 

Colonel Gaddafi’s forces continue to pound rebel-held towns in Libya. Ajdabiya is being battered⁶ from the air and the ground. Heavy fighting is continuing in the oil town of Brega. The town has changed hands several times in recent days. And recent reports suggest that rebels are losing control there. 

 

The uprisings in the Middle East have inspired another protest, this time in the Palestinian territories. Thousands of people have rallied throughout Gaza and the West Bank, calling for unity⁷ between the two rival governments. Hamas controls Gaza while Fatah governs in the West Bank. The protest was organised through the social networking site Facebook. 

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

4 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

5 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。

6 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。

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。