澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-02-18

 More voters prefer Tony Abbott as Prime Minister. That's according to latest Fairfax&Nielsen Poll. It's the first time in seven months the Opposition¹ leader has led Julia Gillard as preferred Prime Minister. The same poll shows Kevin Rudd is almost twice as popular as the Prime Minister.

 

The fomer prime minister John Howard has weighed in the US gun debate. He's written an opinion piece for the New York Times about his crackdown on gun ownership in Australia in the wake of Port Arthur Massacre².  Mr Howard has also given an interview to the cable network CNN.

 

Fire authorities in Victoria have once again downgraded a large bushfire burning in the Grampians to a watch-and-act. Earlier, they re-issued a emergency warning for the 800-hectare blaze, which has been threatening the farming community of Mirranatwa. Authorities are worried about the strong, northerly winds due in that area later this morning.

 

New research shows the changing role of firefighters is taking a heavy toll³ on those who do the job. The report by the University of NewCastle has found firefighters are not just battling fires, but they are also dealing⁴ with other emergencies such as suicides and car accidents. It says that's causing high level of stress among firefighters.

 

And Victorian filmmaker Nicholas Clifford's this year's Tropfest winner.  His film “We've all been there” took out the top award at the world's  largest short film competition. The film's actress Laura Wheelwright was voted best female actor.

1 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。

2 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

3 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。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。