VOA常速英语2021--澳大利亚年底前全民接种疫苗目标夭折（在线收听）

This is VOA news. Via remote, I'm Diane Roberts. Seven Catholic clergy, including two French citizens, were kidnapped Sunday in Haiti, according to a spokesperson of the Bishop's Conference for the island nation, which has been rocked by unrest. Five priests and two nuns were abducted in the morning in a commune northeast of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where they were "on their way to the installation of a new parish priest," a priest told AFP. He added the kidnappers had demanded a $1 million ransom for the group, which includes one French priest and one French nun. Haitian authorities suspect an armed gang called "400 Mawozo," which is active in kidnappings, is behind the abduction, according to a police source.

欢迎收听美国之音新闻，我是黛安·罗伯茨，为您远程报道。据海地主教会议发言人称，7名天主教神职人员周日在海地被绑架，其中包括两名法国公民。海地一直受到动乱的冲击。一名神父告诉法新社记者，5名神父和2名修女上午在海地首都太子港东北部一个公社被绑架，他们当时“正前往安置新教区神父的途中”。他补充道，绑匪要求教区支付100万美元赎金，其中包括一名法国牧师和一名法国修女。据警方消息，海地当局怀疑一个名为“400 Mawozo”的武装团伙是绑架案的幕后主使。

Australia has abandoned a goal to vaccinate nearly all of its 26 million population by the end of 2021. This follows advice that people under the age of 50 take Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine rather than AstraZeneca's shot. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a Facebook post Sunday afternoon Australia had banked on the AstraZeneca vaccine for the majority of its shots and had no plans to set any new targets for completing its vaccination program. Australia raced to double its order of the Pfizer vaccine last week. It had originally planned to have its entire population vaccinated by the end of October.

澳大利亚已经放弃了到2021年底为其2600万人口几乎全部接种疫苗的目标。此前，有人建议50岁以下的人接种辉瑞公司的新冠疫苗，而不接种阿斯利康疫苗。澳大利亚总理莫里森周日下午在脸书上发表文章称，澳大利亚大部分疫苗都是依靠阿斯利康疫苗，没有计划为完成疫苗接种计划设定任何新目标。澳大利亚上周迅速将辉瑞公司的疫苗订单翻了一番。它原本计划在10月底之前给所有人接种疫苗。

Massive power outages struck the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent before dawn Sunday as officials recorded more explosive activity at a long-dormant volcano that launched into a series of eruptions. After remaining quiet for nearly 42 years, La Soufriere rumbled back into life Friday, blanketing the island in ash and permeating the air with the stench of sulphur. The Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan will begin Tuesday, April 13th, in Egypt and Lebanon. Religious authorities in the two countries announced Sunday. The start of Ramadan is set by both lunar calculations and physical sightings that determine when one month ends and another begins. Via remote, Diane Roberts.

周日黎明前，加勒比海圣文森特岛发生了大规模停电事故，官员们记录到一座曾经爆发多次但长期处于休眠状态的火山产生了更多的爆发活动。在沉寂了近42年之后，苏弗里耶火山于上周五重新恢复生机，圣文森特岛被火山灰覆盖，空气中弥漫着硫磺的臭味。穆斯林斋月将于4月13日星期二在埃及和黎巴嫩开始。两国宗教当局周日发布了通知。斋月的开始是由月球预测和物理观测确定的，可以决定一个月的结束和另一个月的开始。我是黛安·罗伯茨，为您远程报道。