澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-04-19

 Barnaby Joyce is thinking of trying to knock off Tony Windsor at the next election. The Queensland Senator is planning to move to the lower house, and he thinks he has a good chance in New England. He says he's not daunted¹ by Mr Windsor's 21 per cent margin². 

 

Queensland's flood inquiry³ has moved to the city of Toowoomba, where survivors⁴ of January's flash flood are telling their harrowing stories. A hydrologist has told the inquiry the flood that swept through the city and the Lockyer Valley was a once in a nearly 400-year event.

 

A report out today shows that a $540 million programme is helping⁵ to improve students' numeracy and literacy rates. Queensland and New South Wales have done best out of the programme with Tasmania and the ACT making progress, but Victoria is languishing⁶, only managing to meet six out of 34 benchmarks. 

 

Former water polo player Keli Lane will appeal her murder sentence. Lane has been jailed for 18 years for killing⁷ her newborn daughter. The baby went missing in 1996 and has never been found. In yet another twist, police have questioned the taxi driver who claimed Lane left the child in bushland in Sydney. 

 

And riots have broken out across northern Nigeria with the country's President Goodluck Jonathan looks set to win the election. The homes of his supporters have been attacked, and opposition⁸ supporters have clashed with police. They claim the poll has been rigged in some parts of the country.

1 daunted   

使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was a brave woman but she felt daunted by the task ahead. 她是一个勇敢的女人，但对面前的任务却感到信心不足。
• He was daunted by the high quality of work they expected. 他被他们对工作的高品质的要求吓倒了。

2 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

3 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

4 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 languishing   

a. 衰弱下去的

参考例句：

• He is languishing for home. 他苦思家乡。
• How long will she go on languishing for her red-haired boy? 为想见到她的红头发的儿子，她还将为此烦恼多久呢？

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。