Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-10-15

China, Vietnam able to handle differences properly: Chinese premier¹

Chinese Premier Le Keqiang has met with Vietnam's President as part of his state visit to the country.
Li Keqiang has told Truong Tan Sang China and Vietnam have the ability and wisdom to settle their bilateral² differences in a proper manner.
The Chinese Premier notes the two sides have already managed to sign off on a number of cooperative agreements during his time there.
For his part, Truong Tan Sang says his side is "content" with the progress the two sides have made during Li Keqiang's time in Vietnam.
Vietnam is the last stop on Li Keqiang's trip to Southeast Asia, which has also taken him to Thailand and Brunei.

Ashton expresses "cautious optimism" ahead of nuclear talks with Iran

The European Union's foreign policy chief is expressing 'cautious optimism' about the forthcoming talks among Iran and the P5+1 grouping.
Catherine Ashton says the talks in Geneva should provide an opportunity to explore proposals they've put on the table.
She also says they're also looking forward to hearing the ideas Iran is going to bring to the table.
Iran and the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, are due to meet for two days in Geneva starting later on this Tuesday.

Syria becomes 190th party to Chemical Weapons Convention

Syria has officially become the latest member of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The Organization for the Prohibition³ of Chemical Weapons has officially made Syria its 190th member.
As part of an agreement to avoid potential international intervention⁴ into its civil war, the Syrian government agreed to enter into the Chemical Weapons Convention and give up its chemical weapons stockpiles.
That process is already underway.
It's expected Syria's chemical weapons will be dismantled⁵ and destroyed by the middle of next year.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is an international organization designed to police the 1993 convention banning chemical weapons.

20 people killed in blast in northwestern Syria

A car bomb explosion has killed at least 20 people in northwestern Syria.
Local media and activists⁶ have reported the blast in the town of Darkousk in Idlib province.
No further details have been released.
The deadly explosion came after two suicide bombers⁷ detonated their explosive-laden cars near the state TV headquarters in the capital Damascus on Sunday evening.
No one was killed in that incident.

Progress is being made to raise the debt ceiling: Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama says progress is being made in negotiations⁸ to raise the debt ceiling.
Obama has been meeting with senior lawmakers from both the Republican and Democrat⁹ sides.
House Speaker John Boehner has also been holding separate meetings with Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell to see if the Republicans can generate enough support within the party itself.
Many in the conservative Tea Party caucus¹⁰ of the Republican party have expressed an unwillingness¹¹ to make concessions¹².
They've been demanding the delay of Obamacare, which is set to come into effect at the beginning of next year.
Obama and the Democrats¹³ are refusing to budge¹⁴ on that issue.
The US government is going to lose its ability to pay its bills if the debt ceiling isn't increased by Thursday.

Muslims from around the world pray at start of annual pilgrimage

Muslims from around the world are converging¹⁵ on Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
It's estimated around 2-million people are making the pilgrimage this year.
This is down significantly from the roughly 3-million who made the pilgrimage to Mecca last year.
Pilgrims have been gathering¹⁶ around Mount Arafat, which is about 20 kilometers east of Mecca.
Amid concerns about the potential spread of MERS, or the Middle East Respiratory Syndrom, Saudi authorities sharply cut back on visas for the elderly, pregnant women, and those with chronic¹⁷ illnesses.
The new coronavirus killed 2 men near Riyadh earlier this month.
Of the 138 people who have come down with the virus, 60 have died.

All 86 tourists evacuated¹⁸ from Mount Qomolangma camp

A total of 86 tourists have been rescued from the base camp on Mount Qomolangma, otherwise known as Mount Everest, in Tibet.
The tourists became stranded¹⁹ after heavy snows blocked the roads leading down from the base camp.
8 of them were stranded at the Rongbuk monastery²⁰, which is some 51-hundred meters above sea level.
The rest were trapped for a time at base camp.
Around 40 people had to be mobilized to clear the road to reach the tourists.
 

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 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

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 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

5 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

10 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

11 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

12 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

13 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。

15 converging   

adj.收敛[缩]的，会聚的，趋同的v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的现在分词 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Plants had gradually evolved along diverging and converging pathways. 植物是沿着趋异和趋同两种途径逐渐演化的。 来自辞典例句
• This very slowly converging series was known to Leibniz in 1674. 这个收敛很慢的级数是莱布尼茨在1674年得到的。 来自辞典例句

16 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

17 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

18 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

19 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

20 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。