Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-12-16

 China announces Chang'e-3 mission "complete success"

China has announced its Chang'e-3 lunar probe mission "a complete success" following photographic confirmation¹ that both the lander and moon rover are functioning well.

Now the rover Yu'tu or Jade² Rabbit and the lander have separated for their own scientific exploration. Yutu is being tasked with surveying the moon's geological structure and surface substances as well as looking for natural resources.

It will work on the moon for three months with a speed of 200 meters per hour.

While at the same time, the lander will conduct in-situ exploration at the landing site for one year.

Chang'e-3 landed on the moon's Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows on Saturday, making China the third country in the world to carry out such a rover mission after the United States and Soviet³ Union.

This is also the world's first soft-landing on the moon in nearly four decades. 

Chinese scientists are now eyeing the next mission to bring samples from the moon back to the Earth on an unmanned craft before 2020, paving the way for sending men to the moon.

 

Chinese FM Middle East, Syria with Kerry over phone

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has discussed the Middle East peace talks and Syrian situation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry via telephone.

Wang Yi is set to leave for his first Middle East trip later this week since taking office, while Kerry has just concluded his visit there.

When it comes to the Syrian issue, Kerry says the U.S. government attaches great importance to China's role in resolving the crisis and is willing to stay in touch with the Chinese side over the matter.

 

Mandela laid to rest

South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela has been laid to rest at his home village of Qunu, buried next to his deceased relatives at the family's grave site.

Three military helicopters flew low over the cemetery⁴ as Mandela's casket was placed into the wreath-ringed grave.

A battery of cannons⁵ fired a 21-gun salute⁶, sending booms reverberating⁷ around the hills of the Eastern Cape⁸, before five fighter jets roared over the valley.

450 relatives, political leaders and foreign guests including Britain's Prince Charles attended the more private burial ceremony.

Mandela died on December 5th at the age of 95 after a long illness.

 

Ireland first to emerge from financial bailout

Ireland has pulled out of the IMF/EU bailout program, making it the first nation to work its way free of rescue loans. 

However, the country has yet to break free from the strict austerity measures which have characterized the bailout period.

The Irish economy is still under threat, with weak domestic demand eroded⁹ by the austerity measures that came with the bailout.

Ireland asked for a bailout from the Troika in November 2010, when the country was on the brink¹⁰ of bankruptcy¹¹. It received nearly 70 billion euros, nearly 100-billion US dollars, to implement¹² austerity measures in exchange for aid.

 

One Chinese shot dead in Madagascar's capital

A Chinese national was shot dead on Sunday in An-tan-an-arivo, capital of Madagascar.

The 54-year-old victim hailed from China's northeastern province of Jilin. 

The victim was said to be on a lorry heading home Sunday morning when two gunmen rushed the lorry in an attempt to seize the vehicle's key.

 

150,000 people evacuated¹⁴ in S China downpour

Some 150-thousand people have been evacuated after heavy rainfall inundated¹⁵ several villages and townships in south China's Hainan.

Local authorities have dispatched speedboats to evacuate¹³ local residents from flooded areas.

Meteorological authorities say the heavy rain is expected to last through Monday in the east of the province.

 

China reports new H7N9 case

Health authorities in south China's Guangdong have confirmed a new H7N9 bird flu case.

The 39-year-old man is in serious condition. 

All 53 people who had close contact with the patient have been through health checks with no abnormity reported.

The Chinese mainland has reported 141 human infections of H7N9 so far.

 

Tianjin issues anti air pollution policies

In the country's latest efforts to curb¹⁶ air pollution, east China's Tianjin Municipality has rolled out a set of new policies, including traffic control and license¹⁷ plate restrictions¹⁹.

The city is imposing²⁰ a quota²¹ on its new car plates, requiring buyers to enter a lottery²² system or bid in auctions²³ to win a plate.

Tianjin will also follow the capital Beijing's step in adopting a similar traffic restriction¹⁸ scheme, which blocks cars from streets depending on the last digit²⁴ of their plates.

Local officials say the ban, which will take effect in March, is expected to take one fifth of the city's private cars off the road on workdays.

 

Guangzhou Evergrande beat African champions to set up Bayern Munich clash

Guangzhou Evergrande has beaten African champions Al-Ahly 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup in Morocco.

Brazilian striker Elkeson and Argentina's playmaker Dario Conca scored in the second half for the Asian champion.

Marcello Lippi's Guangzhou will next meet European champions Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.

The semi-final between Guangzhou and Bayern begins at 3:30 am Wednesday morning Beijing time.

1 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

2 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

5 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

7 reverberating   

回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射

参考例句：

• The words are still ringing [reverberating] in one's ears. 言犹在耳。
• I heard a voice reverberating: "Crawl out! I give you liberty!" 我听到一个声音在回荡：“爬出来吧，我给你自由！”

8 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

9 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

10 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

11 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

12 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

13 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

14 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

15 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

17 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

18 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

19 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

20 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

21 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

22 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

23 auctions   

n.拍卖，拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They picked up most of the furniture at auctions in country towns. 他们大部分的家具都是在乡村镇上的拍卖处买的。 来自辞典例句
• Our dealers didn't want these cars, so we had to dump them at auctions. 我们的承销商都不要这些车子，因此我们只好贱价拍卖。 来自辞典例句

24 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。