Hourly News updated 10:00 2011/11/03

 Chinese spacecraft dock in orbit

China's unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft has hooked up with the Tiangong-1 experimental space laboratory, nearly two days after being launched.

Shenzhou-8 was the active craft in the docking, firing its thrusters to push its front end towards the docking port of Tiangong-1.

It took about 10 minutes from first contact to confirmation¹ of a seal.

Shenzhou 8 and Tiangong-1 will fly together for 12 days, and then separate.

Another docking is going to be performed afterward².

 

 

Chinese president calls for global efforts to tackle economic woes³

Chinese President Hu Jintao is putting out a call for the international community to work in the spirit of "all-in-the-same-boat" to cope with current economic woes.

He has made the comments following a meeting with IMF chief Christine Lagarde ahead of the G20 Summit in Cannes.

Hu Jintao notes while some developed countries are struggling with sovereign debt problems, emerging economies are trying to deal with inflation and "drastically" fluctuating cross-border capital flows.

The Cannes meeting is being dubbed⁴ as Europe's chance to explain to the world that it has taken the tough decisions to bring its debt crisis under control.

 

 

No concrete plan of EFSF investment yet: Chinese Vice⁵ FinMin

Chinese vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao is trying to tamp⁶ down speculation⁷ about any possible Chinese involvement in the European bailout fund.

Zhu has told reporters in Cannes that it's too early to talk about any possible investment in the European Financial Stability Facility.

At the same time, Zhu Guangyao also admits that the Greek referendum on its bailout deal has come "unexpectedly."

Speculation has been swirling⁸ ahead of the start of the latest session of the G20 about any role China might be able to play in the potential recovery of the eurozone.

 

 

Sarkozy, Merkel promise help, urge early Greece referendum

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor⁹ Angela Merkel are offering up further help to Greece.

At the same time, they're both urging the referendum announced by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to be held as soon as possible, in order to ease market uncertainties¹⁰.

Papandreou has announced that the referendum is likely to be held on December 4th.

Sarkozy says he "fully¹¹ trusts" that the Greek people will make the right decision.

A negative vote on the bailout referendum would likely force European leaders to kick Greece out of the eurozone to try to save the euro from collapsing¹².

 

 

Syria accepts new Arab League peace plan

The details of the Syrian government's acceptance of the peace plan put forward by the Arab League to end the violence in the country, have now emerged.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh al-Thani.

"The Syrian government has agreed to the following: an end to all acts of violence, from whichever source, for the protection of Syrian citizens. Secondly¹³, releasing the prisoners of the current events, thirdly, evacuating¹⁴ all cities and residential¹⁵ neighborhoods of armed forces."

The agreement also sets a timeframe for talks with the opposition¹⁶ and will allow journalists and human rights groups to move freely in the country to monitor the situation.

 

 

UN chief makes surprise visit to Tripoli

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made a surprise visit to the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

He is calling on Libya's interim¹⁷ leaders to secure the chemical weapons arsenals¹⁸ and nuclear materials in the country.

Both the Organization for the Prohibition¹⁹ of Chemical Weapons and the International Atomic Energy Agency are both planning to send a mission to Libya.

Meanwhile, Abdel Jalil, outgoing head of the ruling National Transitional Council, is making another push to try to get the international community to release Libya's frozen funds.

Billions of dollars of Libyan assets have been frozen since the outset of the civil war.

 

 

3 killed, 30 injured in Iraq bombings

Three people are dead, and at least 30 others hurt, after 3 motorcycle bombings in Iraq's southern port city of Basra late Wednesday.

The blasts have gone off near a number of popular cafes and restaurants in the city.

The extent of the injuries remains²⁰ unclear.

A series of bombings have been hitting Iraqi cities in recent weeks in the lead up to the withdrawal²¹ of US troops at the end of this year.

 

 

China to launch ethics²² training for civil servants

A new ethics training program is being launched for Chinese civil servants.

The training is being designed to try to improve their integrity and loyalty²³.

The training campaign comes amid a recent wave of allegations of improper²⁴ behavior by a number of this country's civil servants.

The authorities say they hope the ethics training will help prevent corruption²⁵ and appease²⁶ people's distrust of this country's civil servants.

 

 

Peking Opera Festival opens in central China

A Peking Opera Festival has kicked off in Hubei.

The festival, designed to try to revive interest in the classical Chinese artform, will feature 33 operas.

The festival will cover a wide range of Peking opera styles, including new versions of ancient operas, modern performances and traditional operas.

Peking opera became recognized as a form of intangible cultural heritage last year by UNESCO.

1 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

2 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

3 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

4 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 tamp   

v.捣实，砸实

参考例句：

• Then I tamp down the soil with the back of a rake.然后我用耙子的背将土壤拍实。
• Philpott tamped a wad of tobacco into his pipe.菲尔波特往烟斗里塞了一卷碎烟叶。

7 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

8 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

9 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

10 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

13 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

14 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

15 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

16 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

17 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

18 arsenals   

n.兵工厂，军火库( arsenal的名词复数 )；任何事物的集成

参考例句：

• We possess-each of us-nuclear arsenals capable of annihilating humanity. 我们两国都拥有能够毁灭全人类的核武库。 来自辞典例句
• Arsenals are factories that produce weapons. 军工厂是生产武器的工厂。 来自互联网

19 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。

20 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。

21 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。

22 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

23 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

24 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

25 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

26 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。