CRI 中国国际广播电台 2010-06-05

Hello and Welcome to News and Reports on China Radio International.

In This Edition

Japanese lawmakers elect Naoto Kan as the country's new prime minister, following the resignation of Yukio Hatoyama.

The death toll¹ from the huge residential² fire in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka stands at 117.

China says the upcoming Tashkent summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is expected to approve a regulation allowing more countries to join.

And Britain's new Chancellor³ of the Exchequer⁴ George Osborne chooses China for his first international visit ahead of the G20 finance ministers' meeting in South Korea city Busan.

Hot Issue Reports

Naoto Kan becomes Japan's new prime minister

Japanese lawmakers have elected Naoto Kan as the country's new prime minister, two days after the resignation of Yukio Hatoyama.

The 63-year old Kan, the outgoing finance minister, is promising⁵ a "new start" after the ruling Democratic Party chose him as their new leader.

"Following the Hatoyama cabinet, we want to keep on their dreams to build together a true government. I need your help, please support me. Thank you very much."

Kan now becomes Japan's fifth prime minister in three years, taking the helm as the country struggles to rein⁶ in a huge public debt, engineer growth in an ageing society, and manage ties with its security ally in Washington.

He defeated Shinji Tarutoko, who was hand-picked by the former Secretary General of the DPJ, Ichiro Ozawa, who was widely believed to be the power behind Hatoyama.

Kan is expected to form a cabinet in the next few days, and to be sworn in by Emperor Akihito next week.

Mr Hatoyama resigned as prime minister earlier this week in a dispute over a US military base in southern Japan.

Bangladesh Apartment Fire Kills At Least 117

The death toll from the huge residental fire in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka stands at 117.

The massive fire raced through several apartment buildings and devastated⁷ a rooftop wedding party.

Fire officials say the blaze started when an electric transformer exploded, igniting a three-story apartment building in the compact area of old Dhaka before spreading to several other buildings.

Iqbal Hossain watched helplessly as the deadly fire raged.

"What I saw here can only be described as scenes from hell - there was nothing we could do - we had to stand at a distance and watch people burning and dying. Down this street the fire was advancing like lava⁸ - in every direction it was like lava was flowing through the streets. And everywhere people were running and screaming in pain and fear."

The fires are now under control.

A local TV station is reporting that the fire had spread to at least 20 apartment complexes, leaving the nearby medical college hospital overflowing⁹ with burn patients.

The fire is the 2nd mass tragedy in Dhaka over the last 48-hours, after a 5 storey building collapsed¹⁰ onto a tin-roofed shantytown, killing¹¹ around 30 people.

Obama to visit India in November

US President Barack Obama has announced that he now plans to visit India in November.

Obama has told visiting Indian officials in Washington that relations with Delhi are among his highest priorities.
Meanwhile, after holding a strategic dialogue with Indian Foreign Minister S.M.Krishna, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the U.S.'s relationship with India is at a pivotal moment.

"We are collaborating¹² on a counter-terrorism co-operation initiative to improve information sharing and capacity building, and we agreed to expand co-operation in cyber security. We are deepening our already extensive military-to-military partnership¹³."

For his part, Krishna says a segmented approach is unlikely to work in countering terrorism.

"We agreed that terrorism, terrorist groups operate as a syndicate leveraging¹⁴ each others' assets and strengths and are increasingly converging¹⁵ together on motivation and targets. Hence, a segmented approach towards terrorism, especially in our neighbourhood would not succeed. We are pleased with the way our counter terrorism co-operation has progressed and today we have agreed to intensify¹⁶ it further."

Obama's announcment of a trip to India comes at virtually the same time he, for the 2nd time, has cancelled a trip to Indonesia and Australia.

After first putting off the trip to battle to get his coveted¹⁷ healthcare legislation passed, Obama is now cancelling his trip to Indonesia and Australia to personally deal with the Gulf¹⁸ oil spill.

FM: Upcoming Tashkent Summit Expected to Approve Regulation on Adding new members

The upcoming Tashkent summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, is expected to approve a regulation allowing more countries to join.

Cheng Guoping, the Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister, has revealed that the document is under discussion among all the SCO countries.

"The summit will review the SCO development over the past year and set agenda for further development.

Approving this new addition regulation is the first step in forming the basis for expanding SCO membership. The regulation would become a cornerstone of the organization's rules on membership expansion."

Cheng adds that the idea has been mulled over the past two years.

The SCO is currently made up of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran and India currently have observer status.

The delgates attending the summit next week, which will include President Hu Jintao, will also talk about ways to streamline¹⁹ the organizations internal procedures.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer urge U.K. and China to fight protectionism

Britain's new Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne chose China for his first international visit ahead of the G20 finance ministers' meeting in South Korea city Busan.

Speaking at the UK embassy in Beijing, Osborne said that protectionism will be on the agenda of the G20 talks.

"I actually think China and Britain can be allies in making a broader argument in the world against protectionism, and for free trade, because both our economies benefit when that happens."

Osborne also went to Shanghai for a brief visit to the country's national pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo this morning, before heading to South Korea.

"In Britain, we as a new government are committed to reducing our budget deficit²⁰ and I will have a budget myself on the 22nd of June, in two and a half weeks time, where we will show people that we can reduce the deficit and make sure that there is stability for the future so the whole world economy can grow" .

He also told UK business leaders in Shanghai that the new coalition²¹ government sought to establish strong relations with Beijing.

Thousands of Isaeli's Gather in Support of Military Raid on Gaza Bound Aid Ships

More than a thousand Israelis have demonstrated in front of the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv in support of the deadly naval²² raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla of aid ships.

The protesters waved Israeli flags and held signs saying Israel has the tight to defend itself.

"We are here to support the Israeli Defense²³ Force and to tell Turkey this is hypocrisy²⁴ and when talking about human rights they should remember the Turkish and Armenians and not hypocritically blame us for everything happening."

Israel maintains the commandos only opened fire as a last resort after they were attacked.

9 passengers, 8 Turks and one American of Turkish descent, were killed in the dramatic predawn raid earlier this week that has set off worldwide condemnation²⁵ and a diplomatic crisis.

BP Places Cap on Blown-out Well, Oil May Reach Florida and Beyond

A cap has now been placed atop the blown-out Gulf of Mexico well, but the volcano of oil has obscured it from the view of the underwater camera, making it impossible to tell if BP's latest attempt to curtail²⁶ the worst spill in America is having any success.

Robots a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico positioned the inverted²⁷ funnel-like lid over the main pipe on the leaking well.

BP says it doesn't know yet if the cap has been successfully attached.

Meanwhile, Synte Peacock with the National Centre for Atmospheric²⁸ Research, says the oil may be entering the Gulf loop current and could reach Florida, and possibly as far north as North Carolina.

"It has to go somewhere. The ocean is always moving, it's full of eddies²⁹ and currents. It doesn't stay still, it's not going to stay still."

Anywhere between 80 to 174 million liters of oil has spewed into the Gulf from the spill, which is now continuing into its second month.
 

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 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

3 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。

4 exchequer   

n.财政部；国库

参考例句：

• In Britain the Chancellor of the Exchequer deals with taxes and government spending.英国的财政大臣负责税务和政府的开支。
• This resulted in a considerable loss to the exchequer.这使国库遭受了重大损失。

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

6 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

7 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。

8 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

9 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

10 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。

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

12 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

13 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

14 leveraging   

促使…改变( leverage的现在分词 )； [美国英语]杠杆式投机，（使）举债经营，（使）利用贷款进行投机

参考例句：

• De-leveraging is a painful process: it has barely begun. 去杠杆化是个痛苦的过程：它才刚刚开始。
• Archimedes said, saying: Give me a fulcrum, I can leveraging the Earth. 阿基米德说过一句话：给我一个支点，我可以撬动地球。

15 converging   

adj.收敛[缩]的，会聚的，趋同的v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的现在分词 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Plants had gradually evolved along diverging and converging pathways. 植物是沿着趋异和趋同两种途径逐渐演化的。 来自辞典例句
• This very slowly converging series was known to Leibniz in 1674. 这个收敛很慢的级数是莱布尼茨在1674年得到的。 来自辞典例句

16 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

17 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 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。

19 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

20 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

21 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。

22 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

23 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。

24 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

25 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

26 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

27 inverted   

adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Only direct speech should go inside inverted commas. 只有直接引语应放在引号内。
• Inverted flight is an acrobatic manoeuvre of the plane. 倒飞是飞机的一种特技动作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

29 eddies   

（水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Viscosity overwhelms the smallest eddies and converts their energy into heat. 粘性制服了最小的旋涡而将其能量转换为热。
• But their work appears to merge in the study of large eddies. 但在大旋涡的研究上，他们的工作看来却殊途同归。