澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-09-16

The Opposition¹ isn't backing Rob Oakeshott's bid to become Speaker. The government is seeking legal advice, but one constitutional expert says there is no legal reason stopping the move. George Williams warns though, it will make the operations of Parliament much more complicated.

BHP Billiton is urging the government to act on climate change. The company's chief executive Marius Kloppers says there needs to be a price on carbon. He says any money raised by a carbon tax needs to be returned to the community if the government is to get widespread support. He warns Australia's economy will be damaged if it doesn't act.

The former Australian Federal Police chief Mick Keelty will testify today in a bid to save the life of one of the Bali Nine. Scott Rush is making a last-ditch attempt to avoid the death penalty. Mr Keelty is expected to tell the Denpasar Court Rush was a minor² player in the smuggling³ ring. It was the AFP which originally tipped off the Indonesians to the group's activities.

Violence in Gaza has marked the second day of the Middle East peace talks. Israeli planes have bombed targets in Gaza, killing⁴ one Palestinian, in response to mortar⁵ and rocket attacks by militants⁶. It coincides with the visit by the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to Jerusalem, where peace talks enter their second day.

And police reinforcements are on their way to a remote central Australian community to help quell⁷ an outbreak of violence. Police say up to 30 people armed with iron bars and sticks have set fires to cars and a house in Yuendumu.

1 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。

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。