澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-04-05

There are fears that a coal ship stranded¹ on the Great Barrier Reef could break up, spilling more oil. The Chinese ship was off course when it ran aground in a protected area of the reef east of Rockhampton on Saturday. Up to four tonnes of oil has spilled from the ship and the race’s on to prevent further damage.

 

Catastrophic engine failure is being blamed for two separate fatal speedboat crashes at a competition on the New South Wales mid-north coast. Forty-four-year-old US national Dave Bryant was competing at Taree at the weekend when he was thrown out from his boat. A competitor from Tamworth also died.

 

A second boat of asylum² seekers has been intercepted³ this Easter weekend. It was stopped near Ashmore Islands, carrying 54 people. The Federal Opposition⁴ says the latest arrival shows the Prime Minister can't be trusted to manage Australia's future population growth.

 

And Pope Benedict's traditional Easter message has made no mention of the child sex abuse scandal that is dogging the Catholic church. Instead the pontiff told Catholics gathered in Rome, humanity needed a spiritual and moral conversion⁵. Other church leaders in the United Kingdom though have condemned⁶ crimes in their ranks.

 

We'll have more news later.

1 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。

2 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。

3 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。