Hourly News updated 14:00 2011/10/13

 China demands safe return of Chinese ships, sailors: FM spokesman

The Chinese government is working with Thailand, Myanmar and Laos to try to ensure the safe return of Chinese sailors who are currently stranded¹ on the Mekong River.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry² says the three countries are going to help assist Chinese patrol boats to reach the stranded ships to aid their safe travel back to China.

Numerous Chinese cargo³ boats, along with their crew members, are trapped along the Mekong River, after the major southeast Asian waterway was shut down to commercial boat traffic following last week's attack on Chinese crews that left 12 dead.

 

 

Mine owner detained after 13 miners trapped in NE China

The owner of a coal mine that flooded in northeast China's Heilongjiang province and trapped 13 miners has been detained.

The owner of the Jindi Coal Mine previously⁴ denied that there was anyone trapped underground after the mine became flooded late Tuesday afternoon.

He later confessed during a four-hour police interrogation that 24 people were underground at the time of the flooding, and that 11 of them managed to escape.

Rescue work is underway.

 

 

Controversial U.S. currency bill does "more harm than good": USCBC

The U.S.-China Business Council is now wading⁵ in on the controversial US Senate bill connected to China's currency, suggesting it would do more harm than good.

The USCBC has been a strong advocate for seeing the Renminbi become more in-line with the market.

However, it says the Senate bill could derail that.

The bill -- which still needs House and Presidential approval -- could lead to tariffs⁶ on countries the US feels artificially undervalue their currency.

 

 

Indonesia's strong quake injures at least 23, damages buildings

At least 23 people were injured after a shallow undersea earthquake struck Bali island in Indonesia.

The local disaster management agency says the 6.8-magnitude quake also damaged buildings. No tsunami⁷ was reported.

A foreign tourist was among the injured.

 

 

Gaddafi's fourth son captured in Sirte: NTC defense⁸ official

Fighters with Libya's transitional government say they've captured one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons in the city of Sirte.

Mutassim Gaddafi is the elder Gaddafi's 4th son.

He was a national security advisor⁹ under his father's rule, and is believed to have been coordinating¹⁰ the pro-Gaddafi stand in Sirte.

Meanwhile, an NTC official has suggested that they will announce they have complete control of Sirte in the next 24-hours.

 

 

8 dead in California hair salon¹¹ shooting

A gunman has opened fire in a busy hair salon in southern California, killing¹² eight people and critically wounding another.

The gunman got into a car and drove away after the shooting. He was stopped by police about a half-mile away and surrendered without incident.

Police are working to determine the motive¹³ for the killings¹⁴.

 

 

Heavy fog strands¹⁵ 170 ships on central China's Yangtze River

Heavy fog has stranded more than 170 ships in the Three Gorges¹⁶ section of the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei province.

The fog began to hit the area yesterday morning, reducing visibility to less than 500 meters.

The local navigation bureau has predicted that more fog will hit the region over the next few days.

 

 

China lends helping¹⁷ hand to cash-strapped small firms

China's State Council, the Cabinet, has given its formal approval to an earlier pledge by Premier¹⁸ Wen Jiabao to help out cash-strapped small businesses in the country.

The promise of more central government support comes following revelations that dozens of small business owners in the city of Wenzhou -- which is virtually all driven by small and medium-sized enterprises -- have either fled or killed themselves because of the massive debt they owe.

The business owners in Wenzhou began approaching private financiers amid the heavy tightening¹⁹ on bank loans this year.

 

 

Lenovo replaces Dell to become world's second largest PC maker²⁰

Computer and electronic device maker Lenovo, listed in both Hong Kong and New York, says it has replaced Dell to become the world's second largest PC company.

Lenovo cited figures released by International Data Corporation saying it has achieved record market share of around 13.7 percent and record quarterly shipment volume of some 12.6 million units, following five quarters as the fastest-growing PC maker among the world's top vendors²¹.

The Chinese multinational²² is a global Fortune 500 company with annual sales worth 21 billion U.S. dollars.

 

 

Guangzhou school under fire for testing pupils' IQ

A probe has been launched into why a school in southern China's Guangzhou city sent a group of struggling students to hospital for an IQ test.

Suifeng Primary School has come in for harsh criticism since it had doctors check the intelligence of 13 youngsters who performed poorly in exams.

Many believe the move was aimed at boosting the school's average academic record.

However, school officials insisted that they simply want to learn more about the children so they can better teach them in accordance with their aptitudes²³.

1 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

2 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。

3 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 wading   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The man tucked up his trousers for wading. 那人卷起裤子，准备涉水。
• The children were wading in the sea. 孩子们在海水中走着。

6 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

7 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

8 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。

9 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

10 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

11 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

12 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。

13 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

14 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。

15 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 gorges   

n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕

参考例句：

• The explorers were confronted with gorges(that were)almost impassable and rivers(that were)often unfordable. 探险人员面临着几乎是无路可通的峡谷和常常是无法渡过的河流。 来自辞典例句
• We visited the Yangtse Gorges last summer. 去年夏天我们游历了长江三峡。 来自辞典例句

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 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。

19 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

20 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

21 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

22 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

23 aptitudes   

（学习方面的）才能，资质，天资( aptitude的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They all require special aptitudes combined with special training. 他们都应具有专门技能，并受过专门训练。
• Do program development with passion. has aptitudes for learning. research. innovation. 热爱程序开发工作。具有学习。钻研。创新的精神。