CRI Hourly News 2012 08 30

 15 dead, 32 confirmed trapped after SW China colliery blast

 

The death toll¹ from a coal mine gas blast in southwest China's Sichuan province has risen to 15 while 32 mine workers remain trapped underground.

A total of 152 miners were in the pit when the accident occurred Wednesday afternoon. 102 of them were subsequently lifted out the mine, but three of them died later in hospital.

Rescuers have pulled six miners alive from the mine in the coal-rich Panzhihua city and found the bodies of 12 others.

The miners may have died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The search and rescue operation is being hampered² by the complicated structure in the pit and the high concentration of carbon monoxide.

 

 

China approves new measures to narrow education gap

 

China has said it will strive to narrow the gap in fundamental educational levels between the nation's urban and rural areas.

The State Council, or the cabinet, says the government will improve educational facilities in rural schools and encourage excellent teachers to work there.

Children in China have 9 years of compulsory³ schooling⁴, but the quality of education differs among regions and institutions.

The central government is calling on local authorities to guarantee the equal rights to children of migrant workers and orphans⁵ in education.

Measures unveiled at the meeting also call on schools to guide students to nurture⁶ their sense of social responsibility and creativity.

 

 

UN Security Council to meet on humanitarian⁷ situation in Syria

 

The UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss the humanitarian situation in Syria on Thursday.

This comes following reports that the number of Syrian refugees fleeing to neighboring countries has doubled over the past week.

Turkey, which has hosted some 40 percent of all Syrian refugees, announced yesterday that it would open 4 new camps to deal with the increasing influx⁸.

 

 

UN voices deep concern over reported massacre⁹ in eastern DRC

 

The United Nations is raising the alarm over a reported massacre of civilians¹⁰ in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UN high commissioner¹¹ for human rights, Navi Pillay, says that the killings¹² in the Masisi territory are still being verified, but the preliminary findings suggest a significant number of people -- most of them women and children -- had been slaughtered¹³.

The killings are believed to have been triggered by fighting between rival armed groups close to the Masisi territory, which lies near the Rwanda border.

 

 

Shafiq placed on airport watch list

 

Former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq has reportedly been placed on an airport watch and travel ban list, as a corruption¹⁴ investigation¹⁵ against him continues.

It means that Shafiq could be arrested if he tries to return from the United Arab Emirates, where he has been since losing the presidential election to Mohammed Morsi in June.

Ahmed Shafiq was appointed Prime Minister by former leader Hosni Mubarak shortly before he was ousted¹⁶ last year.

 

 

Paralympics open with spectacular ceremony

 

The 2012 Paralympic Games have opened in London with a spectacular ceremony watched by some 80,000 spectators.

Centred on the theme of "Enlightenment", Professor Stephan Hawking¹⁷ delivered the opening address, speaking of the quest for understanding of the universe.

The Paralympics will run for 11 days and will feature more than 4,000 athletes from 165 countries.

China finished top of the medals table at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing four years ago, winning 89 gold medals.

 

 

Isaac downgraded but still pummels New Orleans

 

Hurricane Isaac has weakened to a tropical storm but continues to lash¹⁸ New Orleans with strong winds and drenching¹⁹ rains.

Isaac arrived on the US Gulf²⁰ coast exactly 7 years after the much stronger Hurricane Katrina, which broke levee defences and devastated²¹ much of the city.

A sea wall to the south of the city centre has been breached²², but the multi-million dollar sea defences upgraded in the wake of Katrina have so far held film.

The mayor of New Orleans has declared an overnight curfew in the city.

 

 

Refinancing Business Gets Green Light

 

The operation to re-lend borrowed money and securities to finance margin²³ trading here in China has got underway.

Shanghai Securities News reports that the first batch²⁴ of 11 securities dealers²⁵ has got the OK to conduct re-lending business.

Securities houses can apply for as much as 500 million yuan of refinancing value.

Also, the establishment of China Securities Finance will help lend to brokerages.

The company has a registered capital of 12 billion yuan, or some 1.9 billion US dollars.

Under the scheme, securities firms are allowed to re-lend money and securities borrowed from lenders, insurance companies and mutual²⁶ funds to their clients in margin trading.

 

 

Details set for VAT²⁷ reform in Guangdong

 

Guangdong, the largest provincial²⁸ economy in China is set to roll out a value-added tax trial this November.

The program is to replace business tax with VAT to lower the tax burden especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Similar to those in Shanghai, pilot schemes in Guangdong will cover transport and six modern service industries, such as Research and Development and IT services.

Companies of less than 5 million yuan annual sales will enjoy a 3 percent VAT rate.

1 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。

2 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

3 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。

4 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

5 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

6 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

9 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

10 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

11 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

12 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

13 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

15 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

16 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

17 hawking   

利用鹰行猎

参考例句：

• He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
• We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。

18 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

19 drenching   

n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• A black cloudburst was drenching Siena at midday. 中午，一场天昏地暗的暴风雨在锡耶纳上空倒下来。 来自辞典例句
• A drenching rain poured down and the rising hurricane drove it in sheets along the ground. 一阵倾盆大雨泼下来了，越来越大的狂风把它顺着地面刮成了一片一片的雨幕。 来自辞典例句

20 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

21 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。

22 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

23 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

24 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

25 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

26 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

27 vat   

n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶

参考例句：

• The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
• His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。

28 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。