澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-10-21

 The top story on ABC News Breakfast this morning:

 

Libyans are celebrating the death of Colonel Gaddafi. The country's transitional government says he was killed after being found in and dragged from a drainage pipe on the outskirts¹ of his hometown of Sirte. Western leaders are this morning welcoming the news. US President Barack Obama says the dark shadow of tyranny has now been lifted from that country. 

 

Queen Elizabeth will be focusing on official business on the second day of her Australian visit. The Queen will meet Prime Minister Julia Gillard at Government House this morning. That will be followed by a meeting with the Opposition² leader Tony Abbott. Yesterday hundreds of people turned out as the Queen cruised Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin and toured the Floriade flower show. 

 

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young is defending her role in the demise³ of the Commonwealth⁴ Ombudsman. Allan Asher bowed to pressure and resigned yesterday after admitting he secretly drafted questions for the senator to ask him at a parliamentary hearing. Senator Hanson-Young says she doesn't regret her actions and accused the Government of engaging in a “witch-hunt”. 

 

Thailand's government says it is now inevitable⁵ that some parts of Bangkok will be flooded. Billions of cubic metres of water have accumulated to the north of the city. The government’s ordered Bangkok city administrations to open all the city's floodgates to try to drain the floodwaters. Thailand's prime minister is describing the situation as a national crisis.

1 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

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 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

4 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

5 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。