澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2015-05-14

 The Federal Government’s family package is facing some serious hurdles¹ in the Senate. A battle’s growing over a plan to stop mothers taking the government paid parental² leave scheme on top of the employer provided scheme. Senior Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos admitted language like ‘double dipping’ and ‘rots’ has been unhelpful. ‘I think the problem is it’s not a good look to be having a go at the young mothers or the new mothers of Australia, right? And I think some of the language’s been a bit unfortunate. We should be a bit more empathetic.’

Officials say speed may be to blame for that train derailment in the United States that killed seven people and injured more than two hundred others. Investigators³ have recovered the train’s black box and say it was travelling at twice the speed limit before it crashed. The train was on its way to New York when it came off the tracks in Philadelphia. 

Iraq says a US-led coalition⁴ air strike in north of the country has killed Islamic State second in command. It says Abdul Rahman Mustafa Mohammed, also known as Abu Alaa al-Afari was at a mosque⁵ when he was targeted by coalition jets. US denies its jets have bombed the mosque.

Federal Government’s National Ice Taskforce will hold its first public consultations⁶ in the South Australian city of Mount Gambier today. Local doctors and police will outline the drug’s impact on the city and how it’s been dealt with. Prime Minister Tony Abbot announced the Taskforce last month in an effort to tackle the ice epidemic⁷.

1 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

2 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

6 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。