澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-05-21

 In business, a multi-billion-dollar offshore¹ LNG facility has been given the green light off the WA coast. The Prelude², floating LNG plant has been developed by Royal Dutch Shell. It will be the first time that onshore processing techniques are used at sea. It's expected to add $1.8 billion a year to the economy.

 

In Japan, the president of TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, has resigned after the company reported a record loss of $15 billion. The plant was wrecked³ by this year's earthquake and tsunami⁴. Masataka Shimizu has resigned to take responsibility for the nuclear disaster. 

 

One of the owners of the oil well that was involved in the Gulf⁵ of Mexico oil spill has agreed to contribute $1 billion to BP's compensation fund. MOEX Offshore is a subsidiary of Japanese trading house Mitsui. It owned 10% of the Macondo well that leaked millions of barrels into the sea last year. 

 

And to the markets, the local share market ended the week about 0.5 per cent lower because of falls in the mining sector⁶. Elsewhere in the region, markets have traded lower except for Hang Seng, which was up about 36 points. In the United States, the Dow Jones and the S&P500 closed lower. And the Australian dollar is hovering⁷ around the 106 US cent mark.

1 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

2 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

3 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

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 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。