澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2012-08-14

 The Federal Government will introduce legislation today to end the political deadlock¹ over asylum² seekers. It will reinstate offshore³ processing on Nauru and Manus Island. Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison has told News Breakfast his party will support the restarting of offshore processing. It comes as grave fears are held for the safety of 67 people on another boat, which hasn't been seen since leaving Indonesia two weeks ago.

 

In the United States, there's been a third multiple shooting in a month. The gunman's been shot dead after he opened fire near a university in Texas. Two others were killed including a police officer.

 

Syrian rebels claim to have shot down a warplane and captured the pilot. They've released a video which appears to show the plane being hit by an anti-aircraft missile.

 

In Norway, a scathing⁴ report has concluded that police failed to act fast enough to prevent last year's terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, 77 people died when he set off a bomb in Oslo before going on a shooting rampage on a nearby island. The report says it was unacceptable that police took 35 minutes to reach the island once alerted.

 

The ANZ's bank fees will be the subject of Australia's largest class action in the High Court today. Lawyers for 38,000 customers will argue against excessive charges for late credit card payments, overdrawn⁵ accounts, and dishonor fees.

1 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

2 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。

3 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

4 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 overdrawn   

透支( overdraw的过去分词 )； (overdraw的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The characters in this novel are rather overdrawn. 这本小说中的人物描写得有些夸张。
• His account of the bank robbery is somewhat overdrawn. 他对银行抢案的叙述有些夸张。