Hourly News updated 17:00 2011/10/02

China's railways carried record number passengers on National Day

China's railways carried a record nine million passengers throughout the country on Saturday. 

The Ministry¹ of Railways says the figure soared 7.7 percent from the previous National Day . 

A total of 310 temporary trains were put into service on the first day of the week-long holiday . 

Train stations in major cities such as Taiyuan, Wuhan, Jinan, Guangzhou and Urumqi handled 20 percent more passengers than the same time last year.

 

Investigators³ say bus crash victims were families on picnic trip

Investigators said that the 16 people killed and 19 others injured in a bus crash in central China's Hubei Province Saturday afternoon were mostly families on a picnic trip.

Correcting what previous reports of 34 passengers, the local government says a total of 35 passengers were on board the sleeper⁴ coach that plunged⁵ into the river dozens of meters below a highway in the city of Yichang.

The injured passengers, including eight in serious condition, are being treated in the local hospital. 

An investigation⁶ into the cause of the accident is underway.

 

Authorities Urge Holiday Travelers to Respect Quarantine Regulations

Quarantine authorities are warning millions of holiday revelers not to bring hazardous⁷ plants and animals into the country when they return from trips abroad during the National Day holiday.

More than 530 million people are expected to travel during the week. That's an increase of nearly 10 percent from the same period last year.

Experts warn that recent disease outbreaks, including Dengue Fever in southeast Asian countries, West Nile fever in parts of Europe and cholera⁸ in African countries, are making travelers more and more likely to pose a hazard to public health when they return. 

Quarantine authorities in many places including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous⁹ Region say that they will conduct stricter inspections¹⁰ in order to prevent diseases from spreading to China.

 

Minister of Commerce official urges the government to attach importance to imports

China's Vice² Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan says that the time has come for the government to attach equal importance to imports and exports. 

Addressing a forum¹¹ on imports held in Shanghai, he says China should boost imports to balance trade as the country has emerged as a major global importer,

The second largest importer in the world, China witnessed its imports expand 3.7 times from 2002 to 2010.

 

Rainstorms to pelt¹² south China as Nalgae approaches

Rainstorms are expected to pelt south China during the next three days as Typhoon Nalgae approaches.

According to the National Meteorological Center, Nalgae was centered about 940 km southeast of Sanya City, Hainan Province on Sunday morning. 

Rainfalls spawn¹³ by the typhoon are expected to sweep the eastern areas of south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan and south China over the next three days.

Meanwhile, a cold wave was forecast to grip parts of the Yangtze-Huaihe region, regions south of the Yangtze River, and south China over the coming three days

 

Roadside bomb kills 9 Afghan soldiers

Nine Afghan soldiers lost their lives as a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Paktia province, 100 km south of Kabul on Saturday. 

Spokesman for the provincial¹⁴ administration Ruhullah Samoon told Xinhua that all the victims are Afghans. 

He blamed the enemies of peace, a term used by Afghan officials against Taliban militants¹⁵ for organizing the attack.

 

More than 500 anti-Wall Street protesters arrested

More than 500 anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested Saturday as they tried to block traffic lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge, forcing the authorities to shut it down for several hours.

The march was part of the "Occupy Wall Street" protest that railed against corporate¹⁶ greed, global warming and social inequality.

The group has been camping in the park for two weeks and clashed with police on earlier occasions. Members of the group have vowed¹⁷ to stay at the park through the winter.

 

U.S. warns citizens against retaliatory¹⁸ attacks

The United States has warned its citizens in a worldwide travel alert of potential retaliatory attacks worldwide following the killings¹⁹ of two senior al-Qaida members in a U.S. air raid in Yemen a day earlier. 

U.S. and Yemeni government officials have confirmed that dual²⁰ U.S.-Yemeni citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, the external operations leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and Samir Khan, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent who was co-editor of al-Qaida' s English-language magazine "Inspire," were both killed in U.S. drone attacks in northeastern Yemen on Friday.

 

Arrest of Gaddafi's spokesman untrue: source

A source close to Libya's ruling National Transitional Council denied on Saturday reports saying that Moussa Ibrahim, spokesman of the fallen Muammar Gaddafi administration, had been arrested. 

The source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity²¹ that the reports are completely untrue, and the spokesman is still at large.

1 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。

2 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。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

5 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

6 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。

7 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

8 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

9 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

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 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。

12 pelt   

v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火

参考例句：

• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
• Crowds started to pelt police cars with stones.人群开始向警车扔石块。

13 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

14 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。

15 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

16 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

17 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

18 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

19 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。

20 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

21 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。