VOA标准英语2009年-Australian Court Hears Case of Suspected Arsoni

A court in Australia has released the identity of a man accused of lighting¹ a fire in the southeastern state of Victoria. Brendan Sokaluk, faces charges of arson² causing death, intentionally³ lighting a bushfire and one count of possessing child pornography. More than 180 people died in Victoria's wildfire crisis and the government has announced details of a national day of mourning.

Brendan Sokaluk, 39, is the only arson suspect to be charged so far since bushfires engulfed⁴ Victoria. He chose not to appear in court, where a magistrate⁵ revealed his identity. Sokaluk has not entered a plea and will spend the next three months in protective custody⁶ until he is back in court.
　
A wind change opens up a 10km firefront which has ripped through nearly six thousand hectares of the pristine⁷ Wilson's Promontory⁸ national park southeast of Melbourne, 14 Feb 2009

Other fires are thought to have been started deliberately⁹, including the outbreak that destroyed much of the resort town of Marysville.

Victoria's police chief, Christine Nixon, says investigations¹⁰ continue.

"Look we certainly have beliefs about how the fire started, particularly in the Kilmore fire and we also are working strongly on ranges of evidence around the Marysville fire," said Nixon. "But the teams are working very hard with fire experts to understand what caused these fires and obviously then whether they were intentionally lit."

Survivors¹¹ are starting to decide whether to rebuild their incinerated homes and businesses or walk away and relocate elsewhere.

Farmer Rod Thomas saw flames more than 11 meters high tear through his cattle ranch¹² near the town of Yea, destroying about 80 percent of the land and many buildings.

He is prepared for what will be a massive rebuilding effort.

"I've spent 11 years sort of turning this place into what was actually a beautiful property. So, I guess what's happened is my clock has been wound back 11 years," he said. "I don't mind. I had a lot of fun doing it but for some people they won't have the energy to do it.'

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised to rebuild devastated¹³ towns "street by street and brick by brick."

A national day of mourning will be held on Sunday as Australia's remembers this unprecedented¹⁴ disaster which has left scores dead and more than seven thousand people homeless.

Officials say that favorable weather conditions over the next few days should help fire-fighters control eight blazes that still burn out of control in Victoria.

1 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

2 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

3 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

4 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 magistrate   

n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官

参考例句：

• The magistrate committed him to prison for a month.法官判处他一个月监禁。
• John was fined 1000 dollars by the magistrate.约翰被地方法官罚款1000美元。

6 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

7 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

8 promontory   

n.海角；岬

参考例句：

• Genius is a promontory jutting out of the infinite.天才是茫茫大地突出的岬角。
• On the map that promontory looks like a nose,naughtily turned up.从地图上面，那个海角就像一只调皮地翘起来的鼻子。

9 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

10 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

11 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

12 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

13 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

14 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。