澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-01-21

 A cruise ship hasrescued a French sailor who's been stranded¹ in rough seas in the southern oceanfor three days. Alain Delord had to abandon his yacht on Friday when its mastwas torn down in a gale² about 900 kilometres southwest of Tasmania.

 

Fire fighters in Victoria have been backburning in an effort to contain a large bushfire in Gippsland in the state'seast. The fire has killed one man and destroyed at least 21 homes. In New South Wales, amassive fire near Coonabarabran in the state's northwest is now contained.

 

Student debt hashit a record high in Australia.A report by the Grattan Institute has found the total debt owed by students hasreached more than 26 billion dollars. It says a quarter of that is likely tonever be repaid. The report also finds there's been an increase in enrolment insome areas where there are skill shortages, like health and engineering.

 

Barack Obama hasbeen officially sworn in for a second term at a small ceremony in the WhiteHouse. Large crowds are expected to attend the public inauguration³ which willtake place early tomorrow morning, Australian time.

 

There are reportsfive militants⁴ involved in Algeria'shostage crisis have been captured alive. The Algerian army has been trying tosecure the remote gas plant since a botched rescue operation ended at theweekend. At least 23 hostages and 32 kidnappers⁵ are confirmed dead, butthere're fears the death toll⁶ could rise.

1 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

2 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

3 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。