澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-05-07

In Britain, polls are due to close within the hour in the country's general election.Forty-four million people have registered to vote in what’s expected to be one of the country's highest turnouts at around 70%.The Conservatives are on course to regain¹ power after 13 years in Opposition².

US markets have fallen sharply overnight amid concerns about the high levels of European government debt. At one point the Dow Jones was down by more than nine percent, that's its worst fall since 1987, before starting to recover. The Dow and the S&P 500 both closed down by more than three percent.

The Greek parliament has voted in favor of steep spending cuts to rescue the country from its financial crisis. The vote was held as demonstrators gathered outside parliament to protest against the measures.

The only gunman to survive the 2008 attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai has been sentenced to death. 22-year-old Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani national, will be hanged for murder, waging war against India as well as conspiracy³ and terrorism offences.

And police investigating the disappearance⁴ of Perth millionaire Craig Puddy are now also looking for his former business partner. Mr. Puddy has been missing since Monday. And police have found blood in his Mt Pleasant home. There’re now also fears for his friend and former business partner Cameron Mansell.

1 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

2 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。

3 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

4 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。