澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2016-02-03

 Good morning everyone.

Adani Group proposed Carmichael coal mine has been given final environmental approval by the Queensland government. Now that, the mine, which would become the biggest in the world, has been given the green light with 140 conditions in place. Adani still needs to get a mining lease from the state, but before that, the company needs to finalize¹ compensation agreements with landholders and local government. The project also faces at least two federal court challenges. Environmentalists have expressed outrage² at the decision, but Andani spokesperson welcomed the approval. 

 

Profits in some of the world's largest oil companies have more than halved³ due to the fall in global oil prices. US oil giant ExxonMobil reported that its profits fell 58 percent in the three months to December compared with the same period a year ago. The results come after rivals Chevron⁴ and BP, also reported large losses for the fourth quarter. BP's underlying⁵ fourth quarter profit sank to 196 million dollars. That's compared with 2.2 billion for the same period in 2014. That's the biggest loss for BP in more than two decades. BP also announced a further 3,000 job cuts.

 

Let's go to the global markets and there've been some big falls in Australia overnight. And the Dow and S&P500 fell around 1.8 percent. The Nasdq finished 2.3 percent lower while in London, the Footsie fell 2.3 percent at close as well.

 

Checking commodity prices, West Texas Crude is at 30 US dollars a barrel, Tapis Crude is at 34 US dollars a barrel and Gold is trading at 1129 US dollars an ounce. The Australian dollar is currently buying 70 US cents, 65 Euro cents and 49 pence sterling⁶.

1 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

3 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 chevron   

n.V形臂章；V形图案

参考例句：

• He wore shoulderstrap rank slides with sergeant's chevrons.他佩戴标示级别的肩章，上面有中士的V形标志。
• The chevron or arrow road sign indicates a sharp bend to the left or right.V形或箭头路标表示有向左或向右的急转弯。

5 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

6 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。