澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-11-15

 Freed Burmese Opposition¹ leader Aung San Suu Kyi has offered an olive branch to the country’s military junta². She says she’s willing to talk to the regime about ways to establish democracy in the country. She says she also wants to speak to western leaders about reducing sanctions that have been applied³ to Burma. 

 

A new report says making teachers more effective would achieve better results than reducing class sizes, as Michael just mentioned. That report by the Grattan Institute says increasing teachers’ effectiveness by just 10 per cent would make Australia’s education system one of the best in the world. It says it would also improve productivity, potentially lifting economic growth by $19 million by 2050. 

 

That latest OECD report on Australia is a mixed bag for the Gillard government. It says the planned mining tax should be reworked, because the rate is too low. It also questions the structure of the National Broadband Network, saying it could stifle⁴ competition. But the report does support pricing carbon as soon as possible. 

 

The Greens’ chances of winning Lower House seats in this month’s Victorian state election have been dealt a serious blow. The Liberals have decided⁵ to direct preferences to Labor⁶ instead, significantly improving the LP’s chances of hanging on to some vulnerable inner-city seats.

 

And Somali pirates have freed a retired⁷ British couple who’ve been held hostage for more than a year. Paul and Rachel Chandler were kidnapped after their yacht was hijacked⁸ by pirates off the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean in October last year. 

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 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。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。