澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2009-11-18

The remaining asylum¹ seekers on board the Oceanic Viking are preparing to disembark. The Australian customs ship will leave Indonesian waters later today if the 56 Sri Lankans still on board honor a commitment to come ashore² in Indonesia. Australian and UN officials have already started interviewing the 22 asylum seekers who left the boat last Friday. They've agreed to a deal which means those with refugee status and family connections in Australia could be resettled within a month.

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has accused the Church of Scientology of being a criminal organization. He told the Senate last night he's received letters from former followers³ alleging⁴ criminal activity.

"Scientology is not a religious organization, it's a criminal organization  hides behind its so-called religious beliefs." Senator Xenophon says there should be a parliamentary inquiry⁵ into the organization and a review of its tax-exempt status. The Church of Scientology says the comments are an abuse of parliamentary privilege.

And Wall Street ended its session fairly flat after the 2nd biggest discount retailer⁶ in the U.S. Target offered a cautious outlook for the Christmas season. The Dow added 30 points, the S&P 500 just one and NASDAQ just up four points.

That's the latest ABC News.

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 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

4 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

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 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。