Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-04-22

Bodies of two Chinese passengers found in sunken ferry
The death toll¹ in the South Korean ferry sinking accident has surged to 87, as more bodies were pulled from the wrecked² ship on Monday.
That includes the remains³ of two Chinese nationals.
The Chinese embassy in South Korea has confirmed that the two Chinese nationals were on the list of missing passengers.
Earlier, the embassy said four Chinese, including two men and two women aboard the ill-fated ship, were missing.
215 people are still missing.
The search operation will continue as tidal currents are forecast to slow down till Thursday.
 
Navy plane continues search for missing Malaysian plane
At least one aviation expert seems to believe that it could be some time before the mystery of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is solved.
Over the weekend, Malaysian authorities suggested they may be getting closer to pinpointing⁴ where the wreckage⁵ of the plane is.
But aviation experts suggest the authorities should not back down in their search.
So far, no trace of the Malaysia Airlines passenger jet has been found despite nearly two months of searching on the surface and two weeks of searching underwater.
Authorities warn that the search may be affected⁶ as a tropical cyclone⁷ moves south over the ocean.
 
Joe Biden visits Ukraine
US Vice-President Joe Biden is now visiting Ukraine in an effort to push for the implementation⁸ of an international agreement tailored to de-escalate tensions with Russia.
It is reported that Biden also plans to announce new technical support for Ukraine's government to assist its energy reforms.
Biden's trip comes a day after at least three people were killed in a shootout at a checkpoint manned by pro-Russian activists⁹ in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has blamed the Ukrainian government for the attack.
Meanwhile, pro-Russian militias¹⁰ have continued to hold key regional administrative¹¹ buildings across eastern Ukraine.
Earlier, it is reported that three foreign journalists were detained by pro-Russian activists in the region.
 
Top UN officials warn against Syrian presidential elections
Top United Nations officials are warning that Syria's newly announced presidential election may undermine efforts to achieve a political solution to the country's three-year-old civil war.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Syria mediator¹² Lakhdar Brahimi issued the warning after Syria announced a presidential election would be held on June 3.
The Syrian parliament on Monday opened the registration¹³ for presidential candidates in its upcoming election.
This will be the first multi-candidate election since the adoption¹⁴ of the current constitution.
President Bashar al-Assad has not publicly said he will run, but is widely expected to win another seven-year term.
 
Death Toll from U.S. Drone Strikes Rises to 55 in Yemen
The death toll of multiple U.S. drone strikes launched on Sunday against al-Qaeda training camps in Yemen's southern provinces has risen to 55.
The Yemeni Interior Ministry¹⁵ says three local militant¹⁶ leaders are among the dead.
It said that its security services are working to identify the nationalities of foreign fighters who were killed during the airstrikes.
The drone attack has been described as the strongest assault launched against the militants¹⁷ since 2012, when the army retook several southern cities after months of fighting.
In a reaction to the air raids, the militants assassinated¹⁸ three senior intelligence officials on Monday in two separate attacks.
 
9 killed, 37 wounded in Iraq's car bombs
Nine people have been killed and 37 others wounded in four car-bombs attacks in Iraq.
The explosions took place on Monday in the capital Baghdad's eastern, northern and central areas.
The latest surge of violence came less than 10 days ahead of landmark¹⁹ parliamentary elections on April 30.
It'll be the first such election in the country since the withdrawal²⁰ of U.S. troops in late 2011.
 
6 killed as gunmen attack police vehicle in NW Pakistan
At least six people have been killed, including five police officers, after unknown gunment opened fire on a police vehicle in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar City.
Local media has reported that at least four other people have been injured.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
Police cordoned²¹ off the area and kicked off search operation.
 
China to Tighten²² Crackdown on Illegal Fund-raising
Chinese authorities will intensify²³ their crackdown on fraud.
China's public security departments cracked 3,700 cases of what they refer to as "illegal fund-raising" last year.
Officials say this resulted in the recovery of over 6 billion yuan in stolen money, about a billion US dollars.
The kinds of fraud they are refering to include false wealth management products, valueless commemorative coins, stamps and currency notes, as well as the sale of sham²⁴ stocks by self-proclaimed private banks to investors²⁵.
Meanwhile, online peer-to-peer (P2P) business has also become a risky²⁶ area where illegal fund-raising has occurred, along with the rising fashion of Internet finance in the country.
 
Wild Animal Eaters May Face Jail Time
Draft legislation tabled on Monday in China could lead to jail time for people who eat endangered wildlife.
The new draft aims to clear up ambiguities²⁷ by clearly defining that eating endangered animals, or buying them for this or any other purpose, is illegal.
The legislation includes prison terms up to 10 years, depending on the severity of the offense²⁸.
The bill was submitted at the start of the bimonthly session of the Standing²⁹ Committee of the National People's Congress, or NPC.
 

1 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。

2 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 pinpointing   

准确地找出或描述( pinpoint的现在分词 )； 为…准确定位

参考例句：

• The difficulty of pinpointing primitive and derived characters remains. 要正确地指出原始性状和次生性状仍然感到困难。
• Pinpointing the true source of power in Japan is a notoriously slippery task. 要准确指出日本真正的权力来源，是一项非常困难的任务。

5 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。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

8 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

9 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》

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 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

12 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

13 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

14 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

15 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。

16 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

17 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

18 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

19 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

20 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

21 cordoned   

v.封锁，用警戒线围住( cordon的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the area until the bomb was defused. 警方封锁了这个地区直到炸弹被拆除为止。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

23 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

24 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

25 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

26 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

27 ambiguities   

n.歧义( ambiguity的名词复数 )；意义不明确；模棱两可的意思；模棱两可的话

参考例句：

• His reply was full of ambiguities. 他的答复非常暧昧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Fortunately, no ambiguities hang about this word or about its opposite, indeterminism. 值得庆幸的是，关于这个词和它的反义词，非决定论都不存在多种解释。 来自哲学部分

28 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

29 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。