Hourly News updated 17:00 2011/11/02

 G20 should ensure economic growth, says Chinese president

Chinese President Hu Jintao says the Group of 20 should give top priority to maintaining economic growth.

He made the remarks in a written interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro prior to attending the G20 summit in Cannes.

The Chinese president said G20 members should strengthen cooperation to promote the notable, sustainable, and balanced growth of the world economy.

To achieve the goals, Hu Jintao urged G20 member states to make joint¹ efforts to strengthen macro-economic policy coordination².

He said the summit should properly cope with sovereign debt and the high impact of large-volume commodities prices. 

He also asked for boosting the reform of the international monetary³ and financial system, opposing trade and investment protectionism, and motivating multilateral free-trade talks.

 

 

Greek cabinet backs PM's referendum plan

The Greece's cabinet has given unanimous approval to a plan by Prime Minister George Papandreou to hold a referendum on a EU debt rescue package.

At an emergency cabinet meeting, Papandreou said a referendum would offer "a clear mandate⁴" for austerity measures demanded by other eurozone members.

Stock markets worldwide plummeted⁵ after the referendum announcement was made. 

Germany's DAX index plummeted by five percent. The Stock Exchange in Athens saw its index shedding by more than eight percent.

A possible rejection⁶ of the requirements of austerity on Greece is now putting the positive effect of the recent EU summit decisions into question. 

Papandreou is due to meet European leaders in France on Wednesday.

 

 

Classes for 6,000 students suspended after massive blast damages schools in SW China

More than 6,000 students in a southwest China province have had their classes suspended since their schools were damaged by a nearby explosion.

The massive blast was from two cargo⁷ trucks loaded with about 70 metric tons of explosives, which blew up in front of a vehicle testing station in Fuquan city, Guizhou Province.

The blast killed 8 people and injured more than 200 others.

Four primary schools and two middle schools in the area were closed.

The education bureau is sending technicians to check the safety of the school buildings whose windows were shattered.

 

 

Moderate earthquakes hit western China

More earthquakes continue to rattle⁸ China's northwest.

The latest is a 4.5-magnitude quake which hit early this morning in Gansu Province, following a 5.1 tremor⁹ yesterday afternoon.

The quakes struck less than a day after a 5.5 shaker hit along the border area among Gansu, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces.

That was followed by a larger, and more devastating¹⁰ 6.0-magnitude quake which hit Xinjiang's northwest border area with Kazahkstan and Kyrgyzstan. 

No fatalities¹¹ have been reported.

 

 

Wikileaks' founder¹² to learn extradition¹³ fate

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is due to learn whether he will be extradited from Britain to Sweden over allegations of rape¹⁴ and sexual assault.

Two judges at the High Court in London will decide whether to uphold a court ruling in favour of extradition.

Assange is accused of raping¹⁵ one woman and sexually molesting¹⁶ and coercing¹⁷ another in Stockholm in August last year.

He denies the allegations and says they are politically motivated.

 

 

Thai flood death toll¹⁸ reaches 427

In Thailand, a total of 427 people have been confirmed dead in floods that have inundated¹⁹ the upper part of the country for almost three months.

Floods still prevail in 26 of 77 provinces and are affecting about 2.1 million people.

Nationwide, the floods have affected²⁰ about 3.3 million households and about 9.9 million people since late July.

 

 

Police nab 184 in raid on fake liquor copycats

Chinese police have broken up 97 criminal dens²¹ in a cross-provincial raid on high-end bogus liquor producers.

More than 180 suspects were arrested.

Police confiscated²² about 14,000 bottles of phoney branded wine and 30 million units of counterfeit²³ logo trademarks²⁴ and boxes copying those of expensive liquors.

It's estimated that if sold on the market, the faked goods would rake in more than 3 billion yuan or 474 million U.S. dollars.

 

 

Shanghai to lure²⁵ more financial pros²⁶

Shanghai plans to increase the number of financial professionals by about 40 percent in the next five years, the city's latest attempt to turn into an international financial hub. 

According to the plan, Shanghai aims to recruit 90,000 more financial workers to take the number of the total financial work force to 320,000 in 2015.

Many banks and securities companies in the city have been struggling with the lack of skilled financial professionals.

 

 

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

3 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

5 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

7 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

8 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

9 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

11 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

13 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

14 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

15 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

16 molesting   

v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• He was accused of sexually molesting a female colleague. 他被指控对一位女同事进行性骚扰。 来自辞典例句
• He was charged with molesting a woman. 他被指控调戏妇女。 来自辞典例句

17 coercing   

v.迫使做( coerce的现在分词 )；强迫；（以武力、惩罚、威胁等手段）控制；支配

参考例句：

• All of the children had atopic dermatis coercing at least 20% of their body surface area. 所有的患儿体表有超过20%的遗传性过敏症皮炎感染。 来自互联网
• I assured him that we had no intention of coercing Israel in response a Soviet threat. 我向他保证，我们无意强迫以色列对苏联的威胁做出反映。 来自互联网

18 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。

19 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 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。

21 dens   

n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋

参考例句：

• Female bears tend to line their dens with leaves or grass. 母熊往往会在洞穴里垫些树叶或草。 来自辞典例句
• In winter bears usually hibernate in their dens. 冬天熊通常在穴里冬眠。 来自辞典例句

22 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

23 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

24 trademarks   

n.（注册）商标( trademark的名词复数 )；（人的行为或衣着的）特征，标记

参考例句：

• Motrin and Nuprin are trademarks of brands of ibuprofen tablets. Nuprin和Motrin均是布洛芬的商标。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many goods in China have the trademarks of a panda. 中国的许多商品都带有熊猫的商标。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

26 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》