Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-03-07

 Chinese Premier¹ calls for stronger initiatives to fight smog

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has issued a new call for stronger initiatives to fight pollution, saying China can't wait for changes in weather to deal with smog.

Li Keqiang has made the comments while sitting in on a meeting among National People's Congress deputies from Shandong.

At the opening of NPC session, Li Keqiang has described smog as "nature's red-light warning against inefficient² and blind development," saying his administration has declared "war" on pollution.

The central authorities here in China have announced plans to cut steel production by 27-million tones this year, slash³ cement production by 42-million tones and shut down 50-thousand small coal-fired furnaces.

Industrial production is considered one of the leading factors behind the air pollution in northern China.

 

No leniency⁴ for terrorists: Xinjiang Party chief

The regional head of the CPC in Xinjiang is promising⁵ a "harsh and lasting⁶ crackdown" on terrorists.

Zhang Chunxian, secretary of the CPC Xinjiang Autonomous⁷ Regional Committee, has made the comments on the sidelines of the National People's Congress here in Beijing.

Zhang says terrosim is the common enemy of all ethnic⁸ groups in Xinjiang.

His comments come days after knife-wielding terrorists murdered 29 people and injured 143 others at Kunming's main railway station.

Evidence has linked the attack to separatists from Xinjiang.

 

Xinjiang chairman blames overseas forces for separatist activities

A leading government official from Xinjiang is pointing to separatists from outside of China as one of the key reasons for the unrest in the region.

Nur Bekri, chair of the Xinjiang regional government, has made the comments as part of an NPC session. 

As part of his speech to lawmakers, Bekri has also promised a harsh crackdown in Xinjiang.

In making the comments Nur Bekri says terrorists do not represent any ethnic group or any religion, suggesting people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang strongly condemn⁹ terrorism.

 

Ukraine initiates¹⁰ proceeding¹¹ over Crimea parliament decision to join Russia

Ukraine's Secret Service has initiated¹² an official inquiry¹³ into the move by authorities in the Crimea to become part of Russia.

The official vote is scheduled to take place in 10-days.

The proceedings¹⁴ have been initiated on charges of "encroachment¹⁵ on the territorial¹⁶ integrity and inviolability of Ukraine." 

Ukranian authorities in Kiev contend the Crimean parliament has approved the vote in violation¹⁷ of Ukranian constitutional norms.

Crimean authorities have already voted to become part of Russia in a vote to be held on March 16th.

The Crimea, which is made up predominantly of ethnic Russians, was ceeded to Ukraine in 1954 by the former Soviet¹⁸ Union.

 

Russia slams U.S. for double standards over Ukraine

Russian authorities are accusing the United States of applying double standards to Moscow's intentions in Ukraine.

Russia's Foreign Ministry¹⁹ says the U.S. State Department is -quote- "trying to play on a shamelessly one-sided interpretation²⁰ of events."

The comments follow a statement by the US side, which has been criticial of Russian President Vladimir Putin's handling of the situation in Ukraine.

The comments come after the local government in the Crimea voted to hold a referendum next week on whether to join Russia.

U.S. President Barack Obama says the proposed referendum is a violation of Ukraine's Constitution and international law.

 

U.S. House Passes Aid Bill for Ukraine -- Update

The US House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to provide financial assistance to Ukraine's interim²¹ government. 

The House has voted 385-23 to allow the Obama administration to provide loan guarantees for Ukraine. 

The legislation helps keep a White House promise to provide 1-billion US dollars in loan guarantees to Ukraine. 

House lawmakers are also said to be looking at new sanctions that could go beyond what the Obama administration already has at its disposal.

 

UN chief launches "Children, not soldiers" campaign

The United Nations has launched a new campaign against child soldiers.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon is calling for the zero use of children in military roles by 2016.

The United Nations estimates there are currently some 250-thousand child soldiers around the world.

 

ECB keeps interest rates unchanged despite low inflation

The European Central Bank has decided²² to keep its interest rates unchanged at 0.25 percent.

ECB head Mario Draghi says the governing council has made the decision following the release of largely positive data in February. 

GDP in the euro area rose 0.3-percent in the last quarter of 2013, marking the euro zone's 3rd consecutive²³ quarterly increase. 

Markit's eurozone purchasing managers' index has also jumped to 53.3, up from 52.9 in January. 

Euro zone services' business activity index has come in at 52.6.

 

China Railway to seek private investment

The China Railway Corporation has become the latest State-Owned entity²⁴ to announce plans to try to lure²⁵ private investment.

The initiative, a fund for investors²⁶, is expected to be launched later this year.

The move is part of the Chinese government's plan to open up mostly state-owned industries such as finance, petroleum²⁷, power, telecom and railways to private investors.

China Railway Corporation, set up a year ago to replace the railway ministry's business, is expected to spend over 100 billion US dollars on more than 66-hundred kilometers of new railway lines this year.

 

1 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。

2 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

3 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

4 leniency   

n.宽大（不严厉）

参考例句：

• udges are advised to show greater leniency towards first-time offenders.建议法官对初犯者宽大处理。
• Police offer leniency to criminals in return for information.警方给罪犯宽大处理以换取情报。

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

7 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。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

10 initiates   

v.开始( initiate的第三人称单数 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• The booklet initiates us into the problems of living abroad. 这本小册子使我们对国外的生活情况有了初步了解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Everybody initiates and receives messages in some form or other. 每个人都以各种不同的方式发出并接收信息。 来自辞典例句

11 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

12 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

13 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

14 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

15 encroachment   

n.侵入，蚕食

参考例句：

• I resent the encroachment on my time.我讨厌别人侵占我的时间。
• The eagle broke away and defiantly continued its encroachment.此时雕挣脱开对方，继续强行入侵。

16 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

17 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

18 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。

19 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。

20 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

21 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

22 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

23 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

24 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

25 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

26 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

27 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。