澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-04-15

 The Federal Government is facing a union revolt over its carbon tax. The Australian newspaper is reporting unions are threatening to withdraw their support for the tax if it costs one single job. The Australian Workers Union will hold crisis talks today to discuss the impact of the tax. 

 

Two Australia’s top car makers¹ are cutting jobs and production. Ford² is axing 240 jobs from its two Victorian plants because of a drop in demand for larger cars. Toyota is halving³ its production for the next two months because of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami⁴. 

 

NATO’s warplanes have been hitting more targets in the Libyan capital Tripoli, but it seems there’s not enough of them. The alliance’s secretary general has told foreign ministers meeting in Germany that the operation needs a few more aircraft. Britain and France have already been trying to persuade NATO members to step up their military commitments. 

 

Queensland’s flood inquiry⁵ will today again focus on the role played by the state’s dams during the recent floods. Some property owners are blaming the sudden release of water from the Wivenhoe Dam for the devastation⁶. One resident told the inquiry yesterday it was the water release and not the floods that damaged her property. 

 

And Denmark’s closely guarded secret is out. The royal couple has named their recently born twins Vincent and Josephine. The twins have just been baptised in Copenhagen. It’s a royal tradition not to reveal the names until after the christening.

1 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

3 halving   

n.对分，二等分，减半[航空、航海]等分v.把…分成两半( halve的现在分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• You searched those halving your salary cut your enthusiasm. 你呈现，薪水减半降低了你的任务热情。 来自互联网
• Halving the repeater spacing made it possible to quadruple the bandwidth. 把增音机间隔缩小一半，就能使带宽增加三倍。 来自互联网

4 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

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 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》