澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-06-28

 The Libyan government has scoffed¹ at the International Criminal Court's bid to arrest Colonel Gaddafi for crimes against humanity. The court has now issued an arrest warrant for the Libyan leader, for his son Saif al-Islam and his intelligence chief. The rebels are celebrating the move, but the government says the tribunal has no authority.

 

An Australian citizen accused of working with Hamas has faced court in Israel. Eyad Abu Arja was arrested in March. He's been accused of training with Hamas in Syria and then being recruited by them to spy in Israel. He's yet to make a plea, but he has denied ever undertaking² that training.

 

More than 150 Syrian dissidents are meeting in the capital Damascus to discuss a peaceful transition to democracy. This is the first such gathering³ since the uprising began in March. The United States has described the development as "significant". The Syrian government has also invited the opposition⁴ to a conference in two weeks' time to discuss political reform.

 

One of the rising stars of America's Tea Party movement has thrown a hat into the ring for the Republican presidential nomination⁵. Michele Bachmann is trying to establish herself as the main alternative to Republican front-runner Mitt⁶ Romney. One recent opinion poll put her just one percentage point behind Mr Romney.

 

And one of New Zealand's top surgeons has operated on an ailing⁷ Emperor penguin⁸. The wayward penguin nicknamed "Happy Feet" was found on a beach near Wellington last week 3,000 kilometers from its Antarctic home.

1 scoffed   

嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scoffed at our amateurish attempts. 他对我们不在行的尝试嗤之以鼻。
• A hundred years ago people scoffed at the idea. 一百年前人们曾嘲笑过这种想法。

2 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 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。

5 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

6 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

7 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

8 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。