澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-02-08

 Residents in the Perth hills are counting the cost of bush fires that have burnt out of control for two days. Sixty-eight homes in the suburbs of Roleystone and Kelmscott have been destroyed - that's a new figure this morning. Another 32 houses have been damaged. Firefighters continue to monitor the fires, and there are still concerns they could flare¹ up again.

 

The Government's economic credentials² will be front and centre today when Parliament starts debating the flood recovery package this week. Julia Gillard is yet to convince key Independents on the merits of a flood levy³. And the Opposition's planning to unveil its own spending cuts to pay for the flood recovery.

 

Egypt's political crisis remains⁴ in a stalemate. The country's new cabinet has met to try and get the economy back on track, and it's announced a 15 per cent rise to public servants' pay and pensions. But Egypt's currency has hit a six-year low, and protesters are saying they are not going anywhere.

 

Lawyers for Julian Assange say he'd be denied justice if he's tried for rape⁵ in Sweden. A British court has begun an extradition⁶ hearing against the Wikileaks founder⁷. Mr Assange denies claims that he sexually assaulted two women in Sweden.

 

Cambodia wants the UN Security Council to intervene in its border dispute with Thailand. The armies of both countries have exchanged fire across their border for a fourth day. Each side is accusing the other of starting the fighting. Cambodia and Thailand are disputing the ownership of an ancient temple.

1 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

2 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

3 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

6 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。