澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-01-08

The US President Barack Obama has taken responsibility for the foiled¹ Christmas Day plane bombing, saying the buck² stops with him. Security reviews into the attempted attack are now complete. Mr. Obama says the incident wasn't the fault of a single individual but a widespread system failure. He's ordered a range of improvements to strengthen security.

The Sea Shepherd's anti-whaling vessel³, the Ady Gil has sunk in the southern ocean. It was badly damaged in a collision with a Japanese whaler and was being towed⁴ when it sank early this morning. Meanwhile, government officials from Japan and New Zealand have met in Wellington to discuss who was responsible for the crash.

Police say a number of suspects remain in the murder of Sydney businessman Michael McGurk following a re-enactment of his death last night. Police recreated the moments in which the 45-year-old was gunned down outside his north shore home in September. The operation found it's most likely Mr. McGurk's attacker killed him with a handgun at a short range.

And today it's said to be the coldest so far in northern Europe. The conditions have left many people dead and another Eurostar train stranded⁵ in the Channel Tunnel. Yesterday the average temperature in Britain was only two degrees warmer than the North Pole.

I'll be back with more updates later.

 

1 foiled   

adj.有叶形装饰的v.挫败，使受挫折( foil的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• We foiled his attempt to escape. 我们挫败了他逃跑的企图。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were foiled in their attempt. 他们的企图成了泡影。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

3 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

4 towed   

v.拖，拉，拽( tow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Our car was towed away by the police. 我们的汽车被警察拖走了。
• The tugboat towed the damaged ship into port. 拖船把坏了的船拖进港口。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。