澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-09-02

 Labor¹'s primary vote has slumped² to 33 per cent in the latest Newspoll as the federal election campaign enters the final crucial week. Tony Abbott has overtaken Kevin Rudd as preferred prime minister for the first time. The prime minister says Labor has a tough fight ahead, but can still win the election.

 

The United States says it has evidence that the Syrian regime used sarin in last month's suspected chemical attack. US Secretary of State John Kerry says blood and hair samples collected from victims show traces of the deadly nerve gas.

 

Veteran British broadcaster Sir David Frost has died of a heart attack at the age of 74. Sir David's career spanned more than 50 years. He'll be best remembered for his revealing interviews with former US president Richard Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

 

And former South African president Nelson Mandela has returned to his home Johannesburg after three months in hospital with a recurring³ lung infection. Mr Mandela's condition remains⁴ critical and at times unstable⁵, but his doctors believe he can receive proper care at home.

 

And the Transport Safety Bureau is preparing to interview witnesses to a fatal air ambulance rescue in Victoria's northeast. A 68-year-old Sydney man fell thirty metres to his death while being winched to safety from a remote area near Mansfield at the weekend.

1 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。

2 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

3 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。