Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-03-21

Australian search operation failed to locate assumed aircraft debris¹
A day of searching yesterday in the waters off the west coast of Australia has so-far failed to detect any sign of possible debris from the missing Malaysian Airlines flight first spotted² by satellite imagery.
As darkness fell, the day-long air search for two objects that could be part of missing flight MH370 ended without any success.
Meanwhile, a Norwegian ship has been diverted from its journey from Madagascar to the area where the two floating objects were spotted.
In the wake of the possible discovery, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot have held a telephone conversation, with Abbot updating Xi Jinping on the latest developments.

Russia produces tit-for-tat sanction list against U.S.
The Russian government has responded to the most recent US sanctions by imposing³ a set of its own on US politicians.
Moscow has barred a total of nine of US politicians from entering the country.
Among those banned include US House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority leader Harry⁴ Reid, former US Presidental candidate and senator John McCain, along with three other lawmakers.
Three of US President Barack Obama's leading advisors⁵ are also being barred from entering Russia.
The Russian sanctions come three days after the United States imposed sanctions against a number of leading Russian officials and lawmakers in the fallout from the absorption of Crimea into the Russian Federation⁶ this week.

Syrian troops recapture key town in Homs
Syrian government forces are reporting another key victory in their fight against rebel forces.
Government troops have re-captured a strategic town near the city of Homs in central Syria.
In taking the town of al-Husn, Syrian government forces have also reclaimed⁷ control of a centuries-old castle, raising a Syrian government flag above the heritage site as a sign of victory.
The re-taking of al-Husn comes on the heels of another major victory for Syrian government forces, who earlier this week seized the community of Yabroud north of Damascus.
Yabroud is a key intersection⁸ point between Lebanon and the Mediterranian Coast, which has been used as a key transit⁹ area for rebel forces.
Syrian government forces have been making gains in recent weeks, as rebel forces have been forced to split their time fighting both government troops and Islamic jihadists.
The jihadist groups, once on the side of the rebels, have since turned against their former partners, creating a factional divide among forces hoping to oust¹⁰ the administration of Bashar al-Assad.

Progress reported in removing Syrian chemical weapons material
A new report is suggesting more than half of Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles have been removed from the war-torn country as of this week.
The head of a joint¹¹ mission helping¹² oversee¹³ the elimination¹⁴ of the deadly arsenal¹⁵ has made the statement from the Syrian port of Latakia.
This is the location where the shipments of Syria's chemical weapons are transferred to cargo¹⁶ ships for eventual¹⁷ destruction.
Sigrid Kaag says 53.6-percent of Syrian chemical weapons have been removed from or destroyed in the country as of Thursday.

French PM urges "everything" to block far-rightists in local elections
France's Prime Minister has put out an urgent call for right-wing parties to "do everything" to stop members of the extreme-right Front National Party from being elected.
Jean-Marc Ayrault's plea comes just over a week ahead of municipal elections across France.
The far-right FNP campaigns on an anti-immigration and anti-EU platform.
The Front National Party is hoping to see upward of 15-hundred of its candidates elected in the forthcoming vote, which is scheduled for March 30th.

More Chinese kindergartens investigated over drug scandal
At least two more kindergartens are being investigated amid allegations they have been feeding antiviral drugs to children.
Local authorities in Hubei say a legal representative of a Kindergarten in the city of Yichang has been detained in connection with the latest allegations.
A number of parents say their children at the kindergartens told them they were asked to eat "bitter tablets."
Word of the investigation¹⁸ comes on the heels of revelations that authorities at some kindergartens in Shaanxi's capital Xi'an had been illegally giving children small doses of anti-viral drugs.
Those involved say they took part in the scheme to try to help the children resist the spread of viruses during the spring and fall months.

China to relax green card policy
The Chinese government is preparing to relax its policies of awarding permanent residency, Chinese Green Cards, to expats.
The relaxed policies appear to be targeted toward members of the overseas Chinese community.
The head of the State Council's Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, Qiu Yuanping, says the plans include tightening¹⁹ the protection of domestic investments by overseas Chinese.
The new rules will also make it easier for them to obtain education, employment and social insurance.
The government began relaxing the Green Card rules here in China last year.
 

1 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

2 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。

3 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。

4 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

5 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

6 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

7 reclaimed   

adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

9 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

10 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 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。

13 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

14 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

15 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

16 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。

17 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

18 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。

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。