澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-10-17

 It's expected to be a firing meeting of Federal Cabinet later today after damaging leaks were made to the media over the weekend. Those leaks reveal deep divisions within Cabinet about how to deal with the political deadlock¹ over offshore² processing. The Fairfax Nielson Poll that's out today also shows a slight rise in Labor's primary vote and Julia Gillard's satisfaction rating.

 

Qantas passengers are facing another week of disruptions. The airline will ground five of its planes from today because of a maintenance backlog³. And a Qantas flight bound for Sydney has had to return to Bangkok because of mechanical problems. The pilot manually shut down the engines when there was a loud bang heard and excessive shuttering 10 minutes after the plane took off.

 

Israel's preparing to release almost 500 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Now the names of the released have been published and Israeli's(口误，应为Israel’s) President Shimon Peres has begun the process of pardoning them. Another 500 prisoners will be freed after Sergeant⁴ Shalit is returned to Israel. He was seized by Palestinian militants⁵ in Gaza five years ago.

 

Rome is counting the cost of yesterday's violent protests. Hooded⁶ protesters torched cars and attacked banks and a church. This was part of protest in 80 countries that began with the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations⁷ in New York a month ago.

1 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

2 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

3 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

4 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

5 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。

6 hooded   

adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的

参考例句：

• A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
• Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句

7 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。