澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2012-11-16

 Israel has intensified¹ its airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza as the death toll² on both sides rises. Hamas has responded with further rocket attacks on southern Israel. The leader of Hamas has declared a new phase of Palestinian resistance, but Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will do whatever is necessary to stop Hamas attacks on its people.

 

 

 

BP has been fined four and a half billion dollars for the 2010 Gulf³ of Mexico oil disaster. It's the biggest criminal penalty in US history. BP says it deeply regrets the deepwater horizon explosion that killed eleven people and released millions of barrels of crude oil into the ocean.

 

 

 

Ford⁴ workers are bracing⁵ for mass sackings at the company's two Victorian plants today. In July, Ford announced 330 job cuts and called for voluntary redundancies. But only a third of that number have come forward. 

 

 

 

Xi Jinping has been confirmed as the man to lead China for the next decade. He's introduced his team of seven men at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The line-up contains no surprises and most of them are seen as politically conservative.

 

 

 

More than two million square kilometres of Australian ocean will be officially declared marine⁶ parks today. Fishing lobby groups are deeply opposed to the plan, but the government is providing 100 million dollars to help affected⁷ businesses.

1 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

5 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

6 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。