澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-07-01

 Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson has warned Australia needs a strong reform agenda if it's to keep the economy strong. Mr Parkinson says Australia can't rely on the mining boom to prop¹ up the economy. He says productivity needs to improve to avoid falling living standards. 

 

The Greek government's austerity measures have passed their final hurdle². A large crowd of protesters remain outside the parliament, but so far, there hasn't been a repeat of the last two days of violence. If the package had been rejected, Greece would have run out of money within weeks. 

 

Qantas is planning to use larger planes and combine services to try to avoid school holiday disruptions during next week's engineer strike. Engineers will stop work for two hours in Melbourne on Monday. Perth and Brisbane will be hit on Tuesday and Wednesday. The engineers are demanding better pay and conditions and are threatening to extend their industrial action. 

 

Police in Sydney are investigating a drive-by shooting next door to the notorious Ibrahim family. A woman and a young boy escaped unharmed after their home in Sydney's west was peppered with bullets. Residents in Merrylands report hearing a car driving past and shots being fired at around 8:30 last night. Police say they are investigating any possible links with the Ibrahims.

1 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

2 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。