联合国秘书长称赞奥巴马的气候计划

UN Chief Praises Obama’s Climate Plan 联合国秘书长称赞奥巴马的气候计划

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday for his "visionary and bold leadership" in moving forward a plan to cut carbon pollution produced by American power centers.

Mr. Obama's plan aims to cut carbon emissions¹ by 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Opponents are calling the plan too costly² and possibly illegal.

After meeting with Mr. Obama at the White House, the U.N. leader said, "On climate change, I highly commend President Obama's strong commitment since day one in his office up to now."

Mr. Obama said the environmental threat posed by climate change is "perhaps the critical issue" facing the world. The American leader said the Paris conference on global environmental standards this December needs "to be a success."

The two leaders said they also discussed crises in Syria, Yemen, Libya and South Sudan.

Ukraine grants citizenship³ to two well-known Russians

Ukraine has granted citizenship to the daughter of a former Russian prime minister and a well-known journalist. Both are critics of the Russian government.

Maria Gaidar and Vladimir Fedorin were given Ukrainian passports Tuesday by President Petro Poroshenko during a ceremony in Kyiv.

Ms. Gaidar is a politician and the daughter of Russia’s first post-Soviet prime minister Yegor Gaidar. She was appointed last month to serve as a deputy governor of Ukraine’s Odessa region. Her appointment caused anger in Russia, where many have accused her of betraying her homeland.

Mr. Fedorin is a well-known journalist and has been living in the Ukraine for many years. He described becoming a Ukrainian citizen as “likely the most pivotal decision in my life.”

Kerry welcomes progress toward Pacific nations trade deal

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that the 12 nations negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership⁴ trade deal have made "good progress" towards a final agreement.  He added that some details remain to be worked out.

Mr. Kerry discussed the goals for the deal as he spoke⁵ during a visit to Singapore. He said the deal would create economic opportunities for the countries involved, and serve as an example for "good governance, transparency and accountability."

The secretary of state is in Southeast Asia to bring attention to the importance of U.S. trade and investment for the Asian and U.S. economies. He arrived late Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, where he will attend the ASEAN meeting there Wednesday.

Pro-government forces recapture Yemeni base

Forces supporting Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi have retaken an important military base from Houthi rebels.

The pro-government forces took control of the Al-Anad air base, about 60 kilometers from the port of Aden. Saudi-led airstrikes provided support for the forces.

People supporting the government said the fighting left 24 pro-government fighters and 70 Houthi rebels dead. More than 20 Houthi rebels were captured.

Houthis still control large areas of Yemen including the capital Sanaa, which they seized nearly a year ago.

Words in the News

visionary –adj. and n. having or showing clear ideas about what should happen in the future

pivotal –adj. very important

transparency –n. the quality of being clear and open; able to be seen; not hidden

1 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。

2 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

3 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

4 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。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。