澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-12-19

 Indonesian authorities hope to resume their search for about 180 asylum¹ seekers still missing after their boat sank off Indonesia on Saturday. The wooden boat they were traveling in was overloaded² and carrying about 250 people when it sank in heavy seas near the coast of Java. So far only 34 people have been rescued; two bodies have been recovered. 

 

A large humanitarian³ operation is underway in the Philippines where flash floods have killed 650 people. More than 800 are still missing after entire villages were washed away on the northern coast of the island of Mindanao. Twenty thousand soldiers have been deployed⁴ in the huge rescue and relief operation.

 

At least four people are dead and about 50 are missing after an oil drilling rig sank in freezing seas off Russia's far east coast. The rig was being towed when it capsized during a fierce storm. Fourteen people have been taken to safety but strong winds and heavy seas are hampering⁵ rescue efforts. 

 

The last convoy⁶ of American troops has now left Iraq. About 100 armoured vehicles carrying 500 soldiers have crossed the border into Kuwait. At the peak of the operation, there were 170,000 US troops in the country. 

 

And a 32-year-old man will face court in Melbourne today, charged with the murder of his parents. The bodies of Michael and Kim Smith were found in their Vermont South home on Friday.

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 hampering   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
• Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。

6 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。