Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-10-04

Chinese president arrives in Kuala Lumpur for state visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Kuala Lumpur for a state visit to Malaysia.
It is the second leg of President Xi Jinping's maiden¹ trip to Southeast Asia since he assumed presidency² in March.
During his stay in the country, the Chinese President is scheduled to meet Supreme³ Head of State Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah.
He will also hold talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The two leaders will attend the China-Malaysia Economic Cooperation Summit.

Gunshots fired outside Capitol Hill

Gunshots has been fired outside the US Capitol in Washington.
The incident began after police began a chase after a car which tried to ram⁴ through a White House barricade⁵.
This led to an entire lock-down of the Capitol complex for about an hour.
It also forced both houses of Congress into recess⁶.
The vehicle was driven by woman who had a one-year old child with her.
The woman has been confirmed killed after a crash involving her vehicle.
The child has since been taken to hospital.
The condition of the child hasn't been disclosed.
Authorities say there is no connection to terrorism.
Ahead of the disruption, US lawmakers had been trying to find common ground to try to end the government shutdown.
The House had just finished approving legislation aimed at putting National Guard and Reserve members back on the job.

130 killed as boat capsized off an Italian island

At least 130 African migrants have died, and many more are missing, after their boat capsized off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.
It's being reported the ship caught fire, with passengers reportedly throwing themselves into the sea to escape the smoke and flames.
Over 150 have survived.
The number of missing is still unclear.
The wreck⁷ is one of the worst such disasters to occur off the Italian coast in recent years.
A day of national mourning has been declared.
Earlier this week, 13 migrants drowned while trying to reach Sicily.
In wake of the latest incident, the Italian government is calling on its European Union partners to take more collective responsibility.
The United Nations says a growing number of people trying to make it to Italian shores are from Syria.

Tropical Storm Karen forms in Gulf⁸ of Mexico

A new tropical storm has formed in the Gulf of Mexico.
Forecasters in the US are projecting tropical storm Karen is going to hit the US Gulf Coast.
Currently its tracking toward New Orleans, and may make it there later on this Friday.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has already delcared a state of emergency for the state.
In the meantime, Karen is bringing heavy rains to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
Mexico is still trying to recover from Hurricane Ingrid and tropical storm Manuel.
The two storms hit on both sides of the country at virtually the same time, leaving at least 159 people dead in Mexico.
The storms also forced tens of thousands people out of their homes.

New radioactive water leak found at Fukushima plant

Tokyo Electric Power or TEPCO has found a fresh leakage⁹ in a storage tank reported to be holding highly radioactive water.
They admit the contaminated water may have entered the Pacific Ocean.
TEPCO official suggested the overflow¹⁰ was the result of a worker misjudging the capacity of the tank that is tilting¹¹ due to an uneven¹² location.
An estimated 400-litre's of water has leaked and may reach the sea via a ditch next to a concrete barrier surrounding the tank and four others.
The plant has experienced several leaks since being crippled by an earthquake and tsunami¹³ in 2011.
TEPCO discovered a leak of at least 300-tonnes of highly radioactive water at a different part of the plant last month.
Japanese authorities are reportedly unsatisfied with TEPCO's handling of the radioactive water.
The government announced this month a hundred-million-dollar plan of building a frozen wall around the plant to stop the leaks.

NW China wasp¹⁴ attacks leave 42 dead

At least 42 people have been killed after a surge in the number of wasp attacks in China's northwestern Shaanxi Province.
Some 16-hundred-and-40 people have been injured in the spate¹⁵.
Most of the attacks have involved farmers and other people working outside.
At the moment experts say they dont know what has caused the unusual attacks.
Fire departments in the province have started removing and destroying hundreds of hives around the province.
A guideline for diagnosing and treating wasp attack victims has been issued.
Local agencies have been urged to follow procedures and ensure patients get early treatment.

Pink diamond expected to fetch over $60 million

A pink diamond unveiled by Sotheby's is set to be the most expensive diamond ever be auctioned¹⁶.
The 59.60-carat oval cut pink diamond, the Pink Star, is estimated to be worth over 60 million US dollars once it goes under the hammer.
Sotheby's says it has received the highest colour and clarity grade from Gemological Institute of America.
The original rough diamond was mined in Africa in 1999 and cut and polished over two years.
The gem¹⁷ is more than twice as large as the former record holder¹⁸ the Graff Pink, which was sold for around 50 million US dollars in 2010.
 

1 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

5 barricade   

n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住

参考例句：

• The soldiers make a barricade across the road.士兵在路上设路障。
• It is difficult to break through a steel barricade.冲破钢铁障碍很难。

6 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

7 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 leakage   

n.漏，泄漏；泄漏物；漏出量

参考例句：

• Large areas of land have been contaminated by the leakage from the nuclear reactor.大片地区都被核反应堆的泄漏物污染了。
• The continuing leakage is the result of the long crack in the pipe.这根管子上的那一条裂缝致使渗漏不断。

10 overflow   

v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出

参考例句：

• The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
• After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后，河水可能溢出岸来。

11 tilting   

倾斜，倾卸

参考例句：

• For some reason he thinks everyone is out to get him, but he's really just tilting at windmills. 不知为什么他觉得每个人都想害他，但其实他不过是在庸人自扰。
• So let us stop bickering within our ranks.Stop tilting at windmills. 所以，让我们结束内部间的争吵吧！再也不要去做同风车作战的蠢事了。

12 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

13 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

14 wasp   

n.黄蜂，蚂蜂

参考例句：

• A wasp stung me on the arm.黄蜂蜇了我的手臂。
• Through the glass we can see the wasp.透过玻璃我们可以看到黄蜂。

15 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

16 auctioned   

v.拍卖( auction的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was sad to see all grandmother's lovely things being auctioned off. 眼看着祖母那些可爱的东西全都被拍卖掉，心里真不好受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

18 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。