澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2009-12-22

Cyclone¹ Laurence has been downgraded to a category three system after leaving a trail of damage across Western Australia's north. The tropical storm was a category five when it crossed the Pilbara coast at 80 Mile Beach. It caused significant damage to some buildings, but there've been no reports of any injuries. Emergency services will assess the extent of the damage this morning.

The Opposition² leader Tony Abbott is expected to press for a referendum on health funding. Fairfax Newspapers say Mr. Abbott will target Kevin Rudd's pledge to fix public hospitals. The Coalition's plans reportedly include federal funding for new local health and hospital boards.

The extreme weather in Europe is continuing to cause chaos³. More than 40 people have died in Poland while temperatures have plunged⁴ to minus 33 degrees in southern Germany. The snow has also played havoc⁵ with transport, flights have been cancelled and highways are closed. But Eurostar says it may resume limited services between Britain and France.

And Ireland's iconic Guinness factory in Dublin has been badly damaged by fire. The fire began in an unoccupied storage facility while construction workers were repairing the roof. It took three hours to bring the blaze under control. Two firefighters were taken to hospital for gas inhalation.

I’ll have more news later.

1 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

2 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。

3 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。

4 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

5 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。