Hourly News updated 17:00 2011/10/30

 Chinese president leaves for Austria, to attend G20 summit 

Chinese President Hu Jintao has left Beijing to pay a state visit to Austria and attend the sixth Group of Twenty (G20) summit, which is scheduled to be held in the southern French city of Cannes from Nov. 3 to 4.

During his stay in Austria, Hu JIntao will hold talks with his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer and meet with Austrian Chancellor¹ Werner Faymann and the Speaker of the Parliament Barbara Prammer.

The two sides will sign seven intergovernmental framework agreements, covering economics and trade, environmental protection, water conservancy, education and culture.

 

Chinese premier² expresses sympathy with Thai flood victims, announces more aid 

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has called his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra to express sympathy with the flood victims of the Southeast Asian nation and provide fresh aid.

In the phone conversation, Wen Jiabao said Beijing has decided³ to provide more assistance to Thailand after previous aid. 

The premier said China is closely following the developments in flood-hit Thailand. 

He urged the two nations to join hands to face the common challenges, safeguarding and promoting common interests.

 

29 killed in coal mine in central China's Hunan 

The death toll⁴ in a coal mine gas explosion in central China's Hunan Province has risen to 29 as the last trapped worker was found dead this morning .

A total of 35 miners were working underground as the mishap⁵ happened yesterday in the Xialiuchong Coal Mine in the city of Hengyang. Of them, six have been rescued and sent to hospital for treatment, according to the rescue headquarters. 

Head of the State Administration of Work Safety and governor of Hunan Province have reached the site to direct the rescue operation and investigate the blast.

 

6.5-magnitude quake hits northeast of Taiwan 

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake jolted⁶ sea area off northeast Taiwan today according to Taiwan's meteorological department.

Residents in Taipei did not feel the quake. There is no immediate⁷ report of casualties.

The quake was measured as 5.7 magnitude on the Richter scale by the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

 

China's safety authority urges efforts to prevent road accidents 

China's work safety authority has called for intensified⁸ efforts to prevent road traffic accidents after a car crash killed 12 people in northwest China last Sunday.

The Work Safety Commission of the State Council, or China's Cbinet, asked local authorities to learn from the accident, raise residents' road safety awareness⁹, take action against vehicles ferrying passengers illegally, and step up road-safety inspections¹⁰, especially in accident-prone areas.

It says drivers will be severely¹¹ punished for offences such as drunk driving, speeding and driving while tired.

 

China International Forum¹² on Climate Change opens in Beijing 

The 2011 China International Forum on Climate Change opened in Beijing today to discuss ways to balance economic and environmental priorities, develop green industry and construct low-carbon cities.

The forum was attended by more than 200 officials, scholars and entrepreneurs from China and European countries.

Delegates are expected to suggest new ways to curb¹³ greenhouse gas emissions¹⁴ and develop carbon-trading markets in the hope of providing insights for next month's climate talks in Durban, South Africa.

 

Death toll rises to 582 in quake-hit Turkey 

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that hit southeastern Turkey rose to 582 and the number of injured was over 4,100.

Nearly 187 people have been rescued, but chances of finding more alive decreased after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Turkey six days ago. 

Search and rescue operations are underway at nine sites in Ercis, which suffered the most serious damage with scores of buildings collapsed¹⁵. 

The Chinese government has pledged to send one million U.S. dollars of aid to Turkey while the Chinese Red Cross has already donated 50, 000 dollars for the survivors¹⁶.

 

China to properly fine tune¹⁷ macro policy, price control continues

China says it will make proper fine tuning¹⁸ on its macro policy, keeping it "more targeted, flexible and forward-looking," and continue measures to control consumer prices.

China's State Council, or Cabinet says the government should maintain control of the intensity¹⁹, pace and focus of economic regulation and grasp the changes in economic development trend.

It says strong measures should be continued to keep consumer prices stable, and price subsidies²⁰ should go to the needy²¹ timely with a moderate increase.

 

China funds tuition for college students serving in army 

Starting from the fall semester 2011, China will fund tuition for college students who suspend their studies to serve compulsory²² military service, in a bid to encourage them to serve in the army.

According to an official document issued recently by finance and education ministries²³ and General Staff Headquarters of People's Liberation Army, China will fund each college student tuition of up to 6,000 yuan (around 948 U.S. dollars) for each academic year. 

The document says the policy initiative will help improve military recruits' quality and boost the national defense²⁴ and PLA's modernization²⁵ drive.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

5 mishap   

n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸

参考例句：

• I'm afraid your son had a slight mishap in the playground.不好了，你儿子在操场上出了点小意外。
• We reached home without mishap.我们平安地回到了家。

6 jolted   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• She was jolted out of her reverie as the door opened. 门一开就把她从幻想中惊醒。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

10 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

12 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

13 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

14 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

15 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

16 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

17 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

18 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

20 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

22 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

23 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

24 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

25 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。