澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2012-11-06

 Presidential rivals Barack Obama and Mitt¹ Romney are in their final day frantic² campaigning to win the hearts and minds of America's voters. They are neck and neck in the national polls, but Barack Obama has a small lead in the swing states.

 

The Greens say the Federal Government has no choice but to stop live exports, after the Agriculture Department admitted it can't guarantee the humane³ treatment of the live stock overseas. It follows an investigation⁴ by the ABC's Four Corner's program which revealed more footage of a shipload of Australian sheep being culled⁵ in Pakistan last September.

 

Wild weather has caused widespread power cuts in South Australia. More than 100,000 lightening strikes have hit the state, sparking grass and scrub fires. Emergency crews have been working through the night to restore power to thousands of homes.

 

Bids are even for another interest rate cut when Reserve Bank board meets today, the rate is currently at 3.25%.

 

Top jockey Damien Oliver will ride the Melbourne Cup favorite Americain today under a cloud, he's being interviewed by stewards⁶ investigating allegations he broke the rules two years ago by betting on a race in which he rode. It'll be a case of Australia versus⁷ the world when the nation stops to watch the Cup, there are several international challengers, six of them are among the top 8 favourites.

1 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。

2 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

3 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 culled   

v.挑选，剔除( cull的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The herd must be culled. 必须有选择地杀掉部分牧畜。 来自辞典例句
• The facts were culled from various sources. 这些事实是从各方收集到的。 来自辞典例句

6 stewards   

（轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家

参考例句：

• The stewards all wore armbands. 乘务员都戴了臂章。
• The stewards will inspect the course to see if racing is possible. 那些干事将检视赛马场看是否适宜比赛。

7 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。