Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-04-18

 S. Korea steps up rescue efforts as shipwreck¹ death toll² keeps rising
The death toll from South Korea's ferry disaster has risen to 20, as 270 people are still listed as missing, including two from China.
South Korean authorities are sending more aircraft and ships to the scene, including three large salvage³ vessels⁴.
The country's coast guard has dispatched a total of 29 planes and 171 ships to aid the rescue and recovery effort.
Military and civilian⁵ divers⁶ have already made dozens of attempts to enter the ferry. But rising winds, waves, and rain have hampered⁷ efforts.
Meantime, family members of the missing passengers have been allowed to board rescue vessels to visit the shipwreck site.
China's foreign ministry⁸ has asked South Korea to provide information on the two Chinese nationals on board the ship.
The cause of the sinking is not known, though it's been speculated that the ship ran aground.
It first turned on its side and floated for a couple of hours before finally sinking off the country's southwest coast on Thursday.
The ship's captain and crew are being questioned by police.
 
12 aircraft take part in day's search for Malaysia Airlines plane
Australian authorities say the underwater search for flight MH370 will not be called off, even if the current effort does not yield any results.
Earlier, Prime Minister Tony Abbott stated that the international search would stop and regroup if nothing is found in the area of seabed that is being examined.
Abbott's office has now clarified the statement, saying authorities may change the search area, but the effort will not be stopped.
So far, the US Navy Bluefin-21 remote sub that has been taking 3-D pictures of the ocean floor has found no trace of wreckage⁹ from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.
 
Ukraine, Russia Agree to Framework to De-Escalate Ukraine Tensions
Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a series of steps to ease tensions in Ukraine.
Those include demobilizing militias¹⁰, vacating seized government buildings, and establishing a political dialogue that could lead to more regional autonomy in Ukraine.
The plan has backing from the US and Europe.
However, the deal has left many unasnwered questions on such specific issues as how international monitors can "play a leading role in assisting Ukrainian authorities and local communities" on implementing¹¹ the deal.
The deal doesn't require Russia to pull its troops back from the border with Ukraine, either.
 
U.S. releases 450 mln USD of Iran's frozen funds
The United States is taking steps to release nearly half-a-billion dollars to Iran, under the terms of the interim¹² nuclear agreement reached late last year.
The move follows a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirming that Iran has completed the dilution¹³ of the agreed amount of 20 percent enriched uranium.
Under the deal it reached with the U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany, Iran is taking steps to halt its controversial nuclear program in exchange for an easing of sanctions that have crippled its economy.
 
Peru evacuates¹⁴ 4,000 near active Ubinas Volcano
Evacuation orders have been issued near a volcano in Peru.
Some 4 thousand people living near the Ubinas (oo-BEAN-yas) volcano have been told to leave their homes following an increase in volcanic¹⁵ activity.
The authorities expect it will take up to three days to safely remove those people from the area.
Thirty-thousand heads of livestock¹⁶ are also being removed.
The volcano has been spewing a steady stream of smoke and ash, sending a plume¹⁷ nearly 5 kilometres into the air. There has also been an increase in ground tremors¹⁸.
Ubinas is the most active volcano in Peru right now. It's 12-hundred kilometres south of the capital, Lima.
 
Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez dies
Nobel prize-winning Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez has died in Mexico aged¹⁹ 87.
A spokeswoman for the family announced the news on Twitter.
The cause of his death has not been released.
He was recently hospitalised for a lung and urinary tract²⁰ infection in Mexico City.
Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos has paid tribute to the renowned²¹ author on Twitter.
He wrote, "One Hundred Years of Solitude²² and sadness for the death of the greatest Colombian of all time."
Garcia Marquez has been considered one of the greatest Spanish-language authors.
His masterpiece of magic realism, One Hundred Years of Solitude, has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.
 
Researchers find counterintuitive way to reverse depression
Researchers in the US have made a discovery that could lead to new seemingly-counterintuitive methods for treating depression.
Instead of dampening neuron firing found with stress-induced depression, researchers demonstrated for the first time that further activating²³ these neurons can also help completely abolish depression in mice.
The research was carried out by scholars at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York.
The findings, published in the U.S. journal Science, may lead to totally new therapies that promote a natural resilience to depression in humans.
Lead researcher Ming-Hu Han, assistant professor at the school, describes the potential therapy using an old Chinese saying: wu ji bi fan.
It means things will develop in the opposite direction when they become extreme.

1 shipwreck   

n.船舶失事，海难

参考例句：

• He walked away from the shipwreck.他船难中平安地脱险了。
• The shipwreck was a harrowing experience.那次船难是一个惨痛的经历。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

4 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 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。

6 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

7 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

8 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。

9 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

10 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

11 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 dilution   

n.稀释，淡化

参考例句：

• There is no hard and fast rule about dilution.至于稀释程度，没有严格的规定。
• He attributed this to a dilution effect of the herbicide.他把这归因于除草剂的稀释效应。

14 evacuates   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的第三人称单数 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• Special brand-new back film evacuates moisture effectively, let you feel more comfortable. 特有的全新透气底膜，有效地疏散湿气，让你倍感舒适。
• Evacuates the danger zone immediately, when has the wind must attention running free runs. 马上撤离危险地带，在有风时要注意顺风跑。

15 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

16 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

17 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

18 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

19 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

20 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

21 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

22 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

23 activating   

活动的，活性的

参考例句：

• "I didn't say we'd got to stop activating the masses! “我并没说就此不发动！ 来自子夜部分
• Presumably both the very small size and activating influence of fluorine atoms contribute to this exception. 这大概是由于氟原子半径小和活性高这两个原因的影响，氟原子对这种例外做出了贡献。