澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-03-22

Australian consular¹ officials will be barred from a Chinese court when industrial espionage² charges are heard against Australian Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu. Hu's trial starts in China today. He and three Chinese co-accused will face the Shanghai Intermediate People's Court. He was also charged with bribery³. Consular officials will be permitted in court for those charges.

Sydney police are questioning a 28-year-old woman over the death of her two-year-old daughter. Officers found the toddler's body at a home in the city's inner west last night.

It will be another two weeks before Tasmanians know the makeup⁴ of their new government. Elections at the weekend ended Labor⁵'s 12 years of majority rule, but two seats are still in the balance and the final outcomes are unclear. The state's Liberal Leader Will Hodgman has softened⁶ his stance on doing a deal with the Greens. Meanwhile in South Australia, the vote count will resume today, Labor is expected to win.

Demonstrators have gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington as the US Congress prepares to take a historic vote on health care changes. The vote in the US House of Representatives is tipped to be tight. But senior Democrat⁷ politicians are increasingly confident the bill will pass. President Barack Obama says it would extend health coverage⁸ to another 32 million Americans.

That's the latest ABC News.

1 consular   

a.领事的

参考例句：

• He has rounded out twenty years in the consular service. 他在领事馆工作已整整20年了。
• Consular invoices are declarations made at the consulate of the importing country. 领事发票是进口国领事馆签发的一种申报书。

2 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

3 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

4 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

5 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。

6 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。