澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-09-21

A group of asylum¹ seekers is refusing to leave the roof of the Villawood Detention² Centre following the death of a fellow detainee. Eleven men say they won't come down unless authorities agree to review their asylum applications. The Immigration Department says efforts are being made to convince the men to end their protest.

The Opposition's asking for a legal assessment³ of the deal struck with the independents on parliamentary reform. The Coalition⁴ raised concerns about the legality of the agreement if independent Rob Oakeshott were to become speaker. Mr Oakeshott has now dropped his bid for the role after meeting with Tony Abbott, saying he wants to maintain an independent vote.

The United States has officially recovered from its 18-month recession. The National Bureau of Economic Research says the recession ended in June last year. More than eight million jobs were lost in the slump⁵ triggered by the Subprime Lending Crisis.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has told a meeting of world leaders that global poverty can be halved⁶ by 2015. But he's warned the clock was ticking for the Millennium⁷ Development Goals. World leaders met to review the goals aimed at reducing poverty and increasing health standards.

And Perth police are investigating the death of a three-year-old boy. The toddler died from serious injuries and police say he was found inside a washing machine. The boy had lived with his mother and her de facto partner. Police say the death is suspicious and are questioning the toddler's mother.

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 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

3 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

6 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。