澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 澳大利亚山火持续蔓延 因性侵儿童入狱的红衣主教佩尔提起上诉

Fire crews in New South Wales have had an exhausting 24 hours, battling dozens of unpredictable blazes in catastrophic conditions. Authorities warn the worst could be ahead, with more than 70 blazes still burning, half are out of control. Early reports say at least a dozen homes have been damaged or destroyed. Despite the continuing threat, authorities are relieved that there have been no fatalities¹ in the past 24 hours, and the damage is not more widespread.

澳大利亚新南威尔士州的消防员度过了精疲力尽的24个小时，期间他们一直在对抗数十起无法预测的灾难性火灾。有关部门警告称，最糟糕的情况可能还未来临，因为目前仍有70余起火灾正在燃烧，其中半数处于失控状态。早期报道表示，至少已有12座房屋在火灾中受损或烧毁。虽然威胁依然存在，但过去24个小时没有出现伤亡而且受损范围没有继续扩大，这令有关部门松了口气。

Fire crews in Queensland are facing extremely challenging conditions today, with more than 50 bushfires still burning across the state. The wind change that caused havoc² across New South Wales yesterday is moving into southern Queensland, ramping³ up the fire danger. Five large blazes are currently burn at Watch and Act level in the state's east and southeast.

今天，昆士兰州消防员面临极具挑战性的天气条件，而该州目前仍有超过50起山火在燃烧。昨天在新南威尔士州造成严重破坏的风向变化正在向昆州南部地区移动，这会加剧火灾隐患。目前昆州东部和东南部正在燃烧的五起大火属于“观察和行动”级别。

Australia's most senior Catholic, cardinal⁴ George Pell, will today learn whether the high court will hear his appeal against his child abuse convictions. The 78-year-old is serving at least three years and eight months in jail, for sexually assaulting two choirboys in the 1990s, when he was the archbishop of Melbourne. The high court bid is the cardinal's last chance to clear his name.

今天，澳大利亚最资深的天主教神职人员、红衣主教乔治·佩尔将得知高级法院是否会审理他就性侵儿童指控提起的上诉。现年78岁的佩尔正在监狱服刑，他因在上世纪90年代担任墨尔本大主教期间性侵两名唱诗班男童而获刑3年8个月。高级法院的决定是这名红衣主教洗清罪名的最后机会。

1 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

3 ramping   

土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• The children love ramping about in the garden. 孩子们喜欢在花园里追逐嬉戏，闹着玩。
• Have you ever seen a lion ramping around? 你看到过狮子暴跳吗？

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。