澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-06-24

 A year on, and senior Government ministers are still having to defend their decision to replace Kevin Rudd with Julia Gillard. The Prime Minister will mark her first anniversary in the top job at a Labor¹ Party conference in Perth today. The Opposition² says that she’s achieved nothing since becoming Prime Minister. And the former Queensland Labor Premier³ Peter Beattie has repeated his call for Kevin Rudd to go.

 

Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott have paid tribute to the outgoing Defence Chief at a dinner in his honour. Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston is retiring after 41 years in the Defence Force, nearly six of those as its commander. The Prime Minister praised his courage and his integrity.

 

Hundreds of Syrian refugees have fled across the border into Turkey to escape another government assault. Syrian troops have begun massing along the border. Tanks have been entering villages in the area and there’ve been reports of gunfire. 

 

Authorities in the United States have captured one of the country’s most notorious crime bosses. James "Whitey" Bulger had been on the run for 17 years and is wanted for a string of murders that date back to the early 1970s. He was also the inspiration for the Martin Scorsese gangster⁴ film “The Departed”. 

 

Australia’s main airlines have again cancelled their trans-Tasman flights. The volcanic⁵ ash cloud from Chile is still hanging over New Zealand, so Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin⁶ have grounded their New Zealand flights today. But Air New Zealand and Tiger services are continuing as normal.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 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。

3 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

4 gangster   

n.匪徒，歹徒，暴徒

参考例句：

• The gangster's friends bought off the police witness.那匪徒的朋友买通了警察方面的证人。
• He is obviously a gangster,but he pretends to be a saint.分明是强盗，却要装圣贤。

5 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

6 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。