万花筒 2009-11-26&11-27 鹤岗矿难全国震惊

The fallout from China’s worst mining disaster in two years is now being felt here in Beijing. For the past few years the central government has been pushing a massive safety drive in the coal industry, mostly closing down small and often illegal operations.

But the pre-dawn blast on Saturday rocked a state-owned mine in the north of the country that produces more than a million tons of coal a year and is meant to have much higher safety standards. As the rescue operation continued over the weekend the state news agency reported that China’s President Hu Jingtao and Premier¹ Wen Jiabao were personally issuing instructions, while a vice² premier was dispatched to oversee³ the investigation⁴. The central government was quick to blame poor management for the high death toll⁵ of the mine.

"This was clearly a result of negligence⁶. We will continue to investigate and punish those responsible." Says this official.

The explosion happened 500 meters underground sparked by a buildup of toxic⁷ gases. In the hours after the blast the mine manager, his deputy and chief engineer were all removed from their posts. China relies on coal for more than 70% of its electricity, yet its coal mines are the deadliest in the world. More than 3000 miners died in workplace accidents last year and that is way down on previous years. After a sudden coal snap in recent weeks with the economy picking up, demand for coal has soared.

 

And state media reports the families of the victims will receive 50 kilograms of rice, 10 kilograms of dry noodles, some cooking oil as well as eggs , they’ll also receive a small bereavement⁸ payment.

John Vause CNN, Beijing.

 

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 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

7 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

8 bereavement   

n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛

参考例句：

• the pain of an emotional crisis such as divorce or bereavement 诸如离婚或痛失亲人等情感危机的痛苦
• I sympathize with you in your bereavement. 我对你痛失亲人表示同情。 来自《简明英汉词典》