Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-12-21

 China, U.S. annual trade talks conclude

China and the United States have concluded their annual trade talks.

The talks are co-chaird by Chinese Vice¹ Premier² Wang Yang with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Trade Representative Michael Froman at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. 

Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Chao has hailed the talks as a "success".

Penny Pritzker says the talks are very important given the current economic situation worldwide.

The annual forum³ was launched in 1983 for the two countries to address trade and investment issues.

 

China launches communication satellite for Bolivia

China successfully sent a Bolivian communications satellite into orbit with its Long March-3B carrier rocket from southwest Xichang Satellite Launch Center Saturday morning.

Bolivian President Juan Evo Morales Ayma was present, the first time a foreign head of state has witnessed a satellite launch in China. 

The satellite was produced by China Aerospace⁴ Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) with a designed longevity⁵ of 15 years. It is Bolivia's first communications satellite and will be used in areas including broadcasting, education and medical services.

 

DPRK threatens South Korea with attack

The Foreign Ministry⁶ of China has released a new statement, opposing to any move that may threaten peace on the Korean peninsula.

It also urges all parties involved to remain calm and refrain from taking moves that may escalate⁷ tensions.

The comment comes after the South Korean side confirmed that it had received threat from North Korea.

 

China's Yutu "naps", awakens⁸ and explores

China's moon rover, Yutu (Jade Rabbit), continued exploring after a "nap", according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence.

At about 8:00 p.m. on Friday, the six-wheeled rover started moving again after shutting down its subsystems on Dec. 16. 

Yutu has had to deal with direct solar radiation raising the temperature to over 100 degrees centigrade on his sunny side, while his shaded side simultaneously⁹ fell below zero. 

Yutu will survey the moon's geological structure and surface substances and look for natural resources for three months, while the lander will conduct in-situ exploration at the landing site for one year.

 

Obama nominates senator Max Baucus as new ambassador to China

U.S. President Barack Obama has announced his nomination¹⁰ of Senator Max Baucus as new ambassador to China to replace Gary Locke, who will step down early next year.

Obama said in a statement that for more than two decades Max Baucus has worked to deepen the relationship between the United States and China. The economic agreements he helped forge have created millions of American jobs and added billions of dollars to the US economy, and he's perfectly¹¹ suited to build on that progress in his new role.

Obama's pick of the six-term senator must be confirmed by the Senate, which is not expected to debate the nomination until early next year.

 

At least 20 civilians¹³ killed in UN base in South Sudan

The UN Mission in South Sudan says at least 20 of the civilians who sought refuge in a UN base in the country's northeast have been killed in an attack, which also left two Indian peacekeepers dead.

It was the first announcement of UN fatalities¹⁴ from this week's upsurge of ethnic-based violence in the country. 

The mission says When the attack happened, 43 Indian peacekeepers, six UN police advisers¹⁵ and two UN civilian¹² staffers were at the base, which also housed about 30 South Sudanese seeking shelter from the turmoil¹⁶ plaguing areas of Akobo County.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has strongly condemned¹⁷ the deadly attack on the UN base sheltering civilians in South Sudan, calling on all parties concerned to exercise restraint and to cease hostilities¹⁸.

 

Putin pardons decade-jailed tycoon¹⁹ Khodorkovsky

Russia's president has granted a pardon to a former oil tycoon.

Vladimir Putin says the release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky is based for humanitarian²⁰ reasons.

Khodorokovsky has already been released.

He was the CEO of a company called Yukos before his arrest in 2003.

In 2005, he was sentenced to nine years in prison for fraud and tax evasion²¹.

That sentence was later reduced to eight years.

In 2010, Khodorkovsy received a 14 year sentence for oil theft, later cut to 13 years.

Last year, a Russian court revised his prison term, making it expire in August of next year.

The former oil tycoon has maintained he is innocent of the charges, saying they criminal case was politically motivated.

 

China tightens²³ bird flu precautions

China's top health authority has told health departments at all levels to tighten²² supervision²⁴ of new pneumonia²⁵ and flu cases..

Winter and spring are traditionally the worst seasons for infectious respiratory disease.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

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 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。

4 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

5 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

8 awakens   

v.（使）醒( awaken的第三人称单数 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• The scene awakens reminiscences of my youth. 这景象唤起我年轻时的往事。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The child awakens early in the morning. 这个小孩早晨醒得早。 来自辞典例句

9 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

10 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

11 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

12 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

13 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。

14 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

16 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

17 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

18 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

19 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

20 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。

21 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

22 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

23 tightens   

收紧( tighten的第三人称单数 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• One set of provisions tightens emission standards. 一套使排放标准更加严格的规定。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Requires no special tools or fittings; hand tightens to relief valve outlet. 不需要专用工具或管件；用手将其紧固到安全阀上即可。

24 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

25 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。