澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-10-05

Sydney police are investigating a second death linked to a Taser. A man died when police used a Taser while trying to arrest him in Sydney's west. A day earlier, another man died when police tried to subdue¹ him during a brawl². They denied a witness’s accounts that a Taser was used. And in Western Australia, the state's Crime Commission has found police are misusing³ Tasers. In one incident, a man was tasered 13 times at a Perth watchhouse.

NATO secretary general is calling for stronger ties with Australia. Anders Fogh Rasmussen has praised Australia’s commitment to Afghanistan during a meeting with the prime minister in Brussels. He's told Julia Gillard he'd like to promote closer ties with Australia at a Lisbon summit next month.

Homeowners are bracing⁴ for another interest rate rise today. The Reserve Bank has tipped to increase interest rates by a quarter of one per cent despite the monthly inflation gauge⁵ hardly moving in September.

Australian swimmers have won three gold and two silver medals at the Commonwealth⁶ Games. The 4x100m relay team capped off a good night in the pool by beating England and defending champion South Africa. The men's artistic⁷ gymnastics team also won their first ever gold medal.

A pioneer of IVF has won this year's Nobel Prize for medicine. Eighty-five-year-old British Robert Edwards began working on IVF in the 1950s. In 1978, Louise Brown became the first baby born using the fertility treatment. The Vatican has criticized the award, describing IVF as immoral⁸.

1 subdue   

vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制

参考例句：

• She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
• He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

2 brawl   

n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂

参考例句：

• They had nothing better to do than brawl in the street.他们除了在街上斗殴做不出什么好事。
• I don't want to see our two neighbours engaged in a brawl.我不希望我们两家吵架吵得不可开交。

3 misusing   

v.使用…不当( misuse的现在分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• This means we must stop misusing them. 也就是说，我们已必须停止滥用抗菌素不可了。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器
• Misusing organic fertilizer may cause a decrease in the soil's quality. 滥用有机肥料可能会导致土地的土质下降。 来自互联网

4 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

5 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

6 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

7 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

8 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。