英语听力：澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2014-04-08

 Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the historic free trade agreement with Japan will be worth billions of dollars to the local economy. The deal will see tariffs¹ on Australian beef halved² and Japanese cars become much cheaper for consumers. 

 

Oscar Pistorius has taken his stand for the first time at his murder trial to make a tearful apology to the family of Reeva Steenkamp. The South African paralympion told the court he was trying to protect Ms. Steenkamp and he's constantly thought of her family since the tragedy. Mr. Pistorius says he often suffers terrible nightmares and he's taking anti-depressants. 

 

 

Former Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes is spending his first night in jail after being found guilty of nine counts of sexual and indecent assault. The jury found the 65-year-old guilty of offenses⁴ dating back nearly 30 years. The victims were aged³ between 7 and 15 years old at the time. The jury will continue deliberating on another two indecency charges today. 

 

 

Police have arrested a man in connection with the murder of the French student Sophie Collombet. 25-year-old man Benjamin Milward was named as a person of interest last week after he was seen on security vision. He was arrested at Cpffs Harbor on the New South Wales mid-north coast, and he's expected to be extradited to Queensland. Ms. Collombet's naked body was found in a riverside park in Brisbane ten days ago. 

 

1 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

2 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法