Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-05-04

China says "deeply concerned" over Ukraine's violence escalation¹
China says it is "deeply concerned" by the escalating² Ukraine crisis with violence and clashes causing numerous casualties in east and south Ukraine.
Foreign Ministry³ spokesman Qin Gang said Saturday China calls on all parties in Ukraine to stay calm and exercise restraint.
Qin Gang urged the concerned parties to back the Geneva agreements reached by Russia, the United States, the European Union and Ukraine on April 17, which called for an immediate⁴ halt of violence in Ukraine and practical steps to de-escalate the tension.
He said China hopes all sides can give up the use of force or violence that could deteriorate⁵ the situation, and start political dialogue and reconciliation⁶ process as soon as possible, in a bid to ease the situation.
 
OSCE observers freed in Ukraine: RIA news agency
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation of Europe (OSCE) held by pro-Russian activists⁷ have been released in Ukraine.
Local media quoted Russia's presidential special envoy⁸ to Ukraine, Vladimir Lukin, as saying that all the 12 people who are on his list have been freed.
 
255 buried bodies identified in N. Afghan deadly landslide⁹: official
Up to 255 victims have been identified out of hundreds of villagers buried under their collapsed¹¹ houses in a deadly landslide in northern Afghan province of Badakhshan.
The natural calamity¹² was triggered by recent heavy rains in the mountainous province.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has issued an order announcing Sunday, May 4, as a national mourning day to observe the catastrophe¹³.
A local official says more than 2,100 people were confirmed dead following two mudslides within an hour on midday Friday.
No official statement was released by government to confirm the exact number of deaths as of Saturday night.
 
Malaysia Airlines: Representatives in touch with families of those onboard missing plane to initiate¹⁴ advance compensation payment
Malaysia Airlines says in a statement that its representatives have been in touch with the families of those onboard the missing MH370 flight to initiate an advance compensation payment process.
It says this is to assist the family members in meeting their economic needs and will not affect their rights to claim compensation according to the law at a later stage, adding that it would be calculated as part of the final compensation.
 
Death toll¹⁵ rises to 236 in S.Korean ferry sinking disaster
Death toll in a South Korean ferry sinking disaster continued to rise to 236 on Saturday as rescue operations lasted despite rapid currents and floating objects.
As of Saturday evening, 236 people have been confirmed dead as eight more bodies were recovered from the sunken vessel¹⁶. The number of missing passengers fell to 66, with those rescued remaining unchanged at 174.
 
President Xi tells youth to realize dreams at grassroots
President Xi Jinping has encouraged young people to build up establishment at grassroots level and contribute to building a greater nation ahead of China's Youth Day which falls on Sunday.
Xi Jinping made the remarks in a letter to 15 volunteer teachers who graduated from Hebei's Baoding University in 2000 and have been working at a secondary school in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous¹⁷ Region since then.
He praised those who have volunteered to support education in China's western regions for their dedication¹⁸ to economic and social development and ethnic¹⁹ unity²⁰.
The president said it is the right way for the youth to serve the people and contribute to the country, expressing hope that more Chinese young people will work at grassroots level to realize their dreams.
 
China bridge collapse¹⁰ toll rises to seven
The death toll from a bridge collapse in south China's Guangdong Province rose to seven after two seriously injured people died in hospital.
A local official says the stone arch bridge in Liangkengkou village, Gaozhou City collapsed Saturday afternoon.
More than 300 rescuers pulled 26 people out of the debris²¹, with five of them dead and eight others seriously injured.
The rescue operation ended late night Saturday after an investigation²² showed no more people were buried.
 
China's non-manufacturing PMI rebounds²³ in April
The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector²⁴ gained 0.3 percentage points from a month earlier to 54.8 percent in April according to new data.
The index, tracking activity in a number of sectors²⁵, including construction, software, aviation, railway transport and real estate, is released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation²⁶ of Logistics and Purchasing.
 
Beijing hosts 5.5 mln tourists in Workers' Day holiday
Beijing hosted 5.5 million tourist arrivals in its 150 major scenic²⁷ spots during the three-day Workers' Day holiday.
The historical and cultural scenic areas as well as amusement-related venues²⁸ received 3.2 million tourists, a slight increase compared with the same period last year according to the Beijing Municipal Tourism Development Commission.
 
China cartoon festival sees 2.2 bln USD transaction
The contracted transactions reached 13.8 billion yuan (2.2 billion U.S. dollars) at the 10th China International Cartoon & Animation²⁹ Festival which closed Saturday.
The six-day event held in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, attracted a record high of 1.36 million participants.

1 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

2 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

6 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

7 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》

8 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

9 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

10 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

11 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

12 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

13 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

14 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

15 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。

16 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

17 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

18 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

19 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

20 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

21 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。

22 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。

23 rebounds   

反弹球( rebound的名词复数 )； 回弹球； 抢断篮板球； 复兴

参考例句：

• V is the velocity after the gas particle rebounds from the wall. V是粒子从壁上弹开后的速度。
• In the former case, the first body rebounds with practically its original velocity. 在前一种情况下，第一个物体实际上以原来的速度弹回。

24 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

25 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

26 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。

27 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

28 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

29 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。