Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-02-07

 Chinese, Russian presidents hold talks on bilateral¹ ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi ahead of the opening ceremonies for the Olympics.

On top of exchanging diplomatic niceties, the two leaders also talked about bilateral cooperation in large projects and people-to-people exchanges.

This is the first time a Chinese leader has attended a major international sports event outside China.

China has sent a 139-member delegation², including 66 athletes, to the Sochi games. 

The event will start from today to Feb. 23 in the Black Sea city.

 

Baucus confirmed as new ambassador to China

US Senator Max Baucus has been confirmed by the US Senate as the next ambassador to China in a unanimous vote of 86-0.

The 72-year old Democrat³ from Montana breezed through his earlier confirmation⁴ hearings, saying he feels the China-US relationship is one of the most important in the 21st century.

Baucus is due to take over for Gary Locke, who is stepping down as the US ambassador to China after serving only 2.5-years in the office.

Baucus' appointment is widely viewed as an attempt to try to ease trade frictions⁵ between China and the US, as Baucus holds a lot of experience as a trade facilitator.

Ahead of accepting the appointment, Baucus had already announced his plans to retire from the US Senate in 2015 following the next mid-term elections.

 

UN welcomes a humanitarian⁶ pause in Homs

The United Nations is welcoming a humanitarian pause in the fighting in the beseiged Syrian city of Homs.

The Syrian government's announcement of a temporary ceasefire in Homs comes just hours after the rebels declared a new offensive in the northern province of Aleppo.

At the same time, head of the international chemical weapons mission in Syria says more cooperation is vital to meet an end-of-June deadline.

.Syria has failed to meet a deadline of February 5th to move all of its declared chemical substances and precursors⁷ out of the country. 

The final deadline is for all of Syria's declared chemical materials to be destroyed is by the end of June.

 

First official meeting between Pakistan Taliban and Govt started

Peace talks between the Pakistani government and representatives of the Taliban are underway after a short delay.

This is being seen as the first test for the government's plan to find a peaceful resolution to the country's bloody⁸ insurgency⁹.

The two sides have also issued a joint¹⁰ statement, saying both sides want to avoid any steps that could disrupt the peace process.

The Pakistani Taliban, an offshoot of the former ruling Taliban forces in Afghanistan, has been fighting to try to upstage the government and enforce stronger Sharia law across Pakistan.

 

China reports five new H7N9 human cases

5 more people have been confirmed infected with the H7N9 bird flu through Thursday, including another in Beijing.

A 73-year-old chicken farmer in the Beijing suburb of Huairou is in critical condition.

He is now the second H7N9 bird flu victim diagnosed in the capital this year. 

The first victim has already died.

The other cases reported on Thursday are in Jiangsu, Hunan and Guangdong.

 

Police evacuates¹¹ 1,000 after largest WWII bomb found in HK Island

Over a thousand people had to be evacuated¹² after a World War II bomb was found in a construction site in Hong Kong.

The bomb, weighing some 9-hundred kilograms, is said to be the largest one ever unearthed¹³ in Hong Kong.

Local police say it appears the bomb was dropped by US forces while they were bombing Japanese military facilities during the height of the war.

The bomb disposal squad¹⁴ is planning to move the bomb, rather than detonate it, noting it would cause extensive damage if it were to go off. 

Japan occupied Hong Kong from 1941 to 1945.

Numerous World War II-era bombs have been discovered in Hong Kong since the end of the war.

 

China sees surging retail¹⁵ sales during Spring Festival

Official stats from the Ministry¹⁶ of Commerce here in China has confirmed previous speculation¹⁷ about a significant rise in spending through the now-concluded Spring Festival.

The MOC is reporting retail sales gained 13.3-percent this Spring Festival compared with last year.

This, despite a decline in the sale of luxury goods.

Consumer sales amounted to 610.7-billion yuan through the holiday.

This, despite a massive drop in the sale of luxury items such as high-end liquor and expensive dinners across the country.

 

ECB keeps interest rates unchanged

The European Central Bank has decided¹⁸ to keep its interest rates unchanged.

The ECB's Governing Council says the key lending rate will remain unchanged at 0.25-percent.

This, despite growing concerns about deflationary trends in europe.

Annualized inflation in the eurozone through January is expected to fall to 0.7-percent, down from 0.8-percent in December.

This had prompted a growing number of calls for more easing.

However, the ECB executive has decided to maintain the status-quo, and has offered little signs of changing its policies anytime soon.

ECB President Mario Draghi says the ECB decided to maintain the status-quo because of the complexity¹⁹ of the situation, saying they need more time to gather more information before any policy changes will be brought into effect.

Low interest rates have helped bolster²⁰ flagging economies.

However, they also create deflationary trends, which can also undermine economic growth.

1 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

2 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 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。

5 frictions   

n.摩擦( friction的名词复数 )；摩擦力；冲突；不和

参考例句：

• Family frictions can interfere with a child's schoolwork. 家庭中的争吵会影响孩子的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As far as we are concerned, these frictions are not of our own making [have been imposed on us]. 就我们来说，这种摩擦是被动式的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 precursors   

n.先驱( precursor的名词复数 )；先行者；先兆；初期形式

参考例句：

• Phenyl (or polyphenyl) substituted epoxides serve as excellent precursors to phenyl (or diphenyl) carbenes. 某些苯代（或多苯）环氧乙烷是制取带苯环（或二苯）碳烯的极好原料。 来自辞典例句
• Note the presence of megakaryocytes, erythroid islands, and granulocytic precursors. 可见巨核细胞，红细胞岛和粒细胞前体细胞。 来自互联网

8 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

9 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

10 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。

11 evacuates   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的第三人称单数 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• Special brand-new back film evacuates moisture effectively, let you feel more comfortable. 特有的全新透气底膜，有效地疏散湿气，让你倍感舒适。
• Evacuates the danger zone immediately, when has the wind must attention running free runs. 马上撤离危险地带，在有风时要注意顺风跑。

12 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

13 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

14 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

15 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

16 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。

17 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。

18 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

19 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

20 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。