Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-02-11

 Syria It is the only correct way to ease the Syrian crisis through the political solution

The second round of Syria peace talks have kicked off in Geneva.

The meeting is expected to focus on a ceasefire and the establishment of a transitional government inside the war-torn country.

UN mediator¹ Lakhdar Brahimi had met with delegates from the government and oppositions² seperately.

Brahimi is also due to meet with the Russian and US sides this Friday to discuss the Syrian issue.

Meanwhile the Organization for the Prohibition³ of Chemical Weapons, says a third shipment of chemical weapons material has left Syria.

The material is on board a Norwegian cargo⁴ vessel⁵ accompanied by a naval⁶ escort from China, Denmark, Norway, and Russia.

 

China expresses anger at Japan's heritage bid for the Kamikaze pilots letters

China's Foreign Ministry⁷ has released a new statement slamming plans by a Japanese city to apply for inclusion in a UN registry of historical documents with letters from kamikaze pilots.

The pilots carried out suicide missions on allied⁸ ships during World War Two.

Japan's city of Minami Kyushu submitted a letter of recommendation to UNESCO last week to add wills and farewell notes of kamikaze pilots to the World Register. 

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying says the Japanese side wants to beautify the Japanese militarist's history of invasion, which challenges the victory in the anti-fascist war and the post-war international order. 

Hua Chunying also warns the international community needs to be alarmed by Japan's recent right-wing moves.

Naoki Hyakuta, a board member of Japan's national broadcaster NHK, recently said Americans staged the post-war trial of Japanese leaders to cover up their own war crimes, including the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

The US side has reacted by calling the charges preposterous⁹, saying the Japanese side should avoid comments that inflame¹⁰ tensions in the region.

 

China reports first incoming tourist H7N9 case

A boy who entered the Chinese mainland from Hong Kong has been confirmed to have been infected with the H7N9 bird flu, the first case involving a tourist on the mainland.

The case was diagnosed in Shenzhen though officials have not released details about the boy's current condition.

The six year old first began showing symptoms in late January.

His case is one of more than 180 across the country so far this year.

There have been 47 deaths since the beginning of January.

 

IAEA official encouraged by Iran's stance on nuclear issue

United Nations inspectors¹¹ have started to look into allegations over Iran developing nuclear arms.

Despite making progress this weekend, the International Atomic Energy Agency cautions that the probe still has a long way to go before deciding if such suspicious are valid¹².

Iran has agreed to provide information on detonators used in nuclear devices, as one of seven steps aimed at allaying¹³ fears over its nuclear program. 

Iran's president Hassan Rouhani says his country will keep its doors open to the UN nuclear watchdog. 

Rouhani's comments came days ahead of a new round of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers in Vienna.

 

Two NATO Civilians¹⁵ Killed in Afghanistan

A suicide car bomb in Afghanistan has killed two NATO civilian¹⁴ contractors¹⁶ in the country's capital.

Islamist militant¹⁷ group Hizb-i-Islami has claimed responsibility for the attack saying they would drive all foreign forces from the country.

A police spokesperson says the attacker rammed¹⁸ an explosive-laden car into a convoy¹⁹ in the eastern part of the capital.

Several Afghan civilians were also wounded in the attack.

Afghanistan has seen an increase in violent attacks carried out by Taliban insurgents²⁰ as well as other militants²¹ in the final year of the 13-year combat mission in the country.

 

Reactions to Swiss Vote on Immigrants

European foreign ministers have reacted in dissapointment after Swiss voters narrowly backed a proposal to limit immigration.

French Foreign Minister Lauren Fabius says he's worried the outcome shows Switzerland wants to turn in on itself.

He notes agreements between Switzerland and the EU, which have been in place since 1999, must now be renegotiated.

50.3 percent of Swiss nationals voted yes on Sunday to reintroduce immigration quotas²² on EU citizens in a referendum.

According to the Swiss constitution, lawmakers now have 3-years to revise immigration legislation and put it into practice.

The latest decision will have far-reaching consequences for the hundreds of thousands of foreigners working in Switzerland.

 

Swollen²³ Thames threatens lives along riverside

The River Thames burst its banks after reaching its highest level in years on Monday, flooding riverside towns upstream of London.

Walton-on-Thames in the county of Surrey and Wraysbury in Berkshire were two of the hardest hit towns.

At least 25-hundred homes are in jeopardy²⁴.

Along with the rain, gale²⁵ force winds are expected across the country.

 

NASA finds clues to possible water flows on Mars

U.S. space agency NASA says its Mars Reconnaissance and Odyssey²⁶ orbiter have sent back clues that liquid water may still exist on Mars today. 

The spacecraft spotted²⁷ "dark, finger-like markings", which advance down some Martian slopes when temperatures rise, as well as corresponding seasonal²⁸ changes in iron minerals on the same slopes.

According to the space agency, researchers call these dark flows "recurring²⁹ slope lineae (RSL) " and so far they have found 13 confirmed RSL sites on Mars,. 

The researchers have also compared new observations with images from previous years, revealing RSLs are much more abundant in some years than others.

1 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

2 oppositions   

（强烈的）反对( opposition的名词复数 )； 反对党； （事业、竞赛、游戏等的）对手； 对比

参考例句：

• That's fine because all perihelic oppositions of Mars are spectacular. 但它和最近的几次区别不大，因为火星所有的近日对冲都很壮观。
• He tried his best to bear down all of his oppositions. 他尽全力击败一切反对意见。

3 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

4 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。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 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。

7 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。

8 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

9 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

10 inflame   

v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎

参考例句：

• Our lack of response seemed to inflame the colonel.由于我们没有反应,好象惹恼了那个上校。
• Chemical agents manufactured by our immune system inflame our cells and tissues,causing our nose to run and our throat to swell.我们的免疫系统产生的化学物质导致我们的细胞和组织发炎，导致我们流鼻水和我们的喉咙膨胀。

11 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

13 allaying   

v.减轻，缓和( allay的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Most important, improving the government's reputation means allaying political and human-rights concerns. 最重要的在于提高政府的声誉，这意味着需要缓和政治策略和关注人权间的矛盾。 来自互联网
• More reading may be allaying your doubt. 多读书或许可以减少你的疑惑。 来自互联网

14 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

15 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

16 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

18 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

20 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

21 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。

22 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

23 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

24 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

25 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

26 odyssey   

n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险

参考例句：

• The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
• His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程，到此结束了。

27 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

28 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

29 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。