英语听力：澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-11-14

 Both sides of politics have paid tribute to Kevin Rudd after he announced that he is to quit politics. The two-time prime minister's made a tearful farewell to Federal Parliament, saying he wants to spend more time with his family. Mr Rudd's retirement¹ ends a turbulent era for the Labor² Party. 

 

And Prime Minister Tony Abbott has denied Indonesia is calling the shots on asylum³ seekers. Mr Abbott has refused to comment on the stand-off with Indonesia over his turn back the boats policy. He says he's not interested in a testosterone contest and insists he's not buckling⁴ to Indonesia over asylum seekers. 

 

Melbourne's Catholic Archbishop, Denis Hart, has apologized for the church's treatment of child sex abuse victims. Archbishop Hart has defended his record in the wake of a parliamentary inquiry⁵, which has recommended changes to the state's child protection laws. 

 

The Philippines government is facing its biggest ever logistical challenge as it struggles to deal with the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan. Aid is slowly beginning to arrive in the worst affected⁶ areas. Eight people were crushed to death when a huge crowd stormed a rice warehouse⁷ on Layte Island.

 

And a large fire has seriously damaged a storage facility in Sydney's southwest. The building at Punchbowl was well alight when fire crews arrived at around 3 o'clock this morning. They managed to stop the blaze spreading to a joining building that was feared a person was trapped inside. But everyone has now been accounted for. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

1 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 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。

4 buckling   

扣住

参考例句：

• A door slammed in the house and a man came out buckling his belt. 房子里的一扇门砰地关上，一个男子边扣腰带边走了出来。
• The periodic buckling leaves the fibre in a waved conformation. 周期性的弯折在纤维中造成波形构成。

5 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。