英语听力：澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-10-21

 Authorities in New South Wales are warning that the state is facing an unprecedented¹ bushfire danger. A state of emergency has been declared with weather conditions set to worsen in the next three days. Authorities worry that three large fires in the Blue Mountains could merge² to form one massive fire front.

 

 

The royal commission into child sex abuse will investigate the YMCA when public hearings resume in Sydney today. The organization's recruitment and child protection policies in New  South Wales will be under scrutiny³.

 

 

A suicide bomb attack has killed at least 30 people and injured dozens more in the Syrian city of Hama. A truck packed with more than a ton of explosives targeted an army checkpoint on a busy road on the outskirts⁴ of the city. The blast appeared to have ignited a nearby petrol tanker⁵.

 

 

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has released details of a security incident at Manus Island.He says staff at the detention⁶ centre were told on Friday about a disturbance⁷ between PNG police and military personnel. It's believed the trouble started the night before and it appears the defence personnel were seen carrying rocks and sticks.

 

 

And in an interview recorded just days before he died, Mark Chopper Read has confessed murdering four people. Read was one of Australia's most notorious criminals, but he had never been convicted of murder. His confition(口误), confession⁸ was filmed two weeks before he died from liver cancer earlier this month.

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

3 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

4 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

5 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

6 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

7 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

8 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。