澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-06-08

 (The) Federal Government is suspending all live cattle exports to Indonesia. Now the Government had already slapped a ban on 12 Indonesian abattoirs¹ after a Four Corners report revealed horrific examples of torture and cruelty. The Government has been under intense pressure from its own backbench, from the Independents and animal welfare groups to do more about it. 

 

Residents of the Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughur are reportedly fleeing ahead of an expected military crackdown there. The government has claimed around 120 police had been killed by armed gangs in the town. Residents have posted messages on Facebook, saying they fear a(slaughter²为不可数，应去掉) slaughter and are appealing for help. 

 

Armed dissidents have seized control of Yemen’s second largest city Taez. And around 30 militants³ have reportedly died in clashes in Zinjibar. President Ali Abdullah Saleh is still recovering in Saudi Arabia after being injured in a rocket attack last week. US officials say he was more seriously injured than first thought. 

 

The latest report by the COAG Reform Council shows Australian governments aren’t meeting their targets to improve Indigenous⁴ literacy and numeracy. The report says there’s（there’ve） been no significant improvements in the maths ability of Indigenous children and only three states are on track to meet Grade 9 reading standards. 

 

And Defence Minister Stephen Smith has paid tribute to the latest Australian soldier to be killed in Afghanistan. Sapper Rowan Robinson was shot and killed during a mission to destroy a massive weapons cache in Helmand province on Monday. 

1 abattoirs   

n.屠场( abattoir的名词复数 )；（拳击、摔跤、斗牛等的）角斗场

参考例句：

• All that talk about abattoirs turned me right off! 关于屠宰场的那些话让我十分恶心。 来自互联网
• They take more care and have a greater number of staff than more intensive abattoirs. 他们更注意生产，比那些更密集的屠宰场拥有更多的雇员。 来自互联网

2 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。