澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-12-27

 A bus crash in Egypt has killed eight American tourists. The tour bus was traveling to some ancient temples when it collided with a truck. Twenty-one others were injured; two of them remain in a critical condition in hospital in Cairo.

 

In Nigeria, violence between Christians¹ and Muslims is continuing. At least 38 people have so far died in the attacks that erupted over the weekend. Most of them died in a series of bomb blasts that rocked villages across central Nigeria.

 

While Queensland is sick of all the rain, they are praying for it over in the west. Parts of Western Australia are in the grip of a heatwave where temperatures are again approaching 40 degrees today. There's a total fire ban surrounding Perth as well as in the south and central areas of the state. Fire authorities are warning residents to remain on alert.

 

While people weren't spending in the lead-up to Christmas, they are making up for it now. Thousands have descended² upon shopping centres and department stores searching for a bargain. It's one of the best starts to the post-Christmas sales. Retailers³ are hoping to reap about $7 billion.

 

And Europe's icy weather has moved east, causing chaos⁴ in Russia. Moscow's largest airport is closed and more than 200,000 people are facing freezing conditions without electricity. Public transport has also been severely⁵ disrupted. 

1 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

2 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

3 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。