澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-05-28

 The forecast number of asylum¹ seekers arriving in Australia this year has quadrupled, last year, the immigration department estimated almost half 5,5000 would seek asylum in 2012-13. But the immigration department secretary Martin Bowles has confirmed that more than 22,500 have arrived so far.

 

A federal labor² backbencher is planning voice concerns over the no advantage test for asylum seekers, he shall do that in the party's caucus³ meeting today. The government announced the principle after the release of the Angus Houston-led expert panel report. Laura Smyth wants to encourage a caucus debate to find a clearer definition of the test.

 

Labor is split over proposed changes to political party funding ahead of the caucus meeting this morning. Under the plan, parties would be paid a dollar a year for every vote they received, it would also see the threshold for disclosing priviate donations lowered to 5,000 dollars.

 

The father of two girls abused by a Catholic priest says that apologies by Cardinal⁴ George Pell are meaningless unless they're followed up with reelections. Cardinal Pell gave evidence of the Victorian inquiry⁵ into child sex abuse yesterday, admitting there had been a systematic⁶ cover up of child abuse. Anthony Foster hopes the inquiry leads to real changes to force the church to look at victims.

 

And at least 50 people have been killed in a series of car bombs in Iraq. The explosions went off in busy markets and shopping areas right across Baghdad.

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 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

4 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

5 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

6 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。