Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-02-08

 Sochi Winter Olympics opens, Chinese president attends opening ceremony

The 22nd Winter Olympic Games opened on Friday night in a spectacular ceremony which was attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Putin declared the Games open at the Fisht Olympic Stadium following a speech by Olympic chief Thomas Bach, who stressed "the Olympics are about building bridges to bring people together." 

President Xi Jinping rose from his seat and waved to the Chinese delegation¹ which was led into the stadium by star figure skater and flagbearer Tong Jian in the athletes parade. 

Xi Jinping's appearance at the Sochi Olympic opening ceremony was the first attendance by a Chinese president at a major overseas sports event, signaling China's strong support for the Olympics and Russia's efforts to host the Games. 

China sent a 138-member delegation including 65 athletes to the first ever winter Olympics held in Russia. 

The Chinese president met Chinese athletes and coaches earlier in the day, giving a boost to their morale².

 

Chinese president, UN chief vow³ to promote world peace, development

The Chinese President met with the UN Secretary General ahead of the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics.

China is proposing and implementing⁴ multilateralism in supporting UN peace and development efforts.

The Chinese president stresses that China's development cannot continue without a peaceful and stable external environment. China will vigorously participate in UN efforts to settle international disputes.

 

Airplane from Ukraine forced to land in Istanbul after hijack⁵ attempt

A passenger plane en route from Ukraine to Turkey made an emergency landing in Istanbul on Friday after a passenger attempted to hijack the airliner⁶ to divert it to Sochi, Russia, where the Winter Olympics are taking place. 

The pilot of the airplane, which departed from Kharkov, Ukraine, sent a hijack signal on the air. Turkey then scrambled⁷ a F-16 military jet to force the plane to land at Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul, according to a statement of the Turkish Ministry⁸ of Transportation.

 

China says U.S. "irresponsible" over South China Sea ADIZ

China's Foreign Ministry says some U.S. officials are "extremely irresponsible" after the U.S. accused China of planning to set up an Air Defense⁹ Identification Zone over the South China Sea.

A Chinese official says the accusations¹⁰ are groundless.

Japan's daily newspaper reported last week that China had drafted proposals for an ADIZ. An U.S. official responded by repeating warnings to China.

China says the allegations are aimed to shift international attention away from Japan in order to cover up Japan's plan to change its pacifist constitution and expand its military power. 

China maintains that it has legitimate¹¹ rights to adopt all measures to safeguard national security, including setting up an ADIZ.

 

China, India to meet on border issues

Chinese and Indian officials will meet to discuss border issues between the two nations.

The talks, to be held in India, are the 17th round of discussions of their kind.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei describes the border issues between the countries as "problems left over by history."

He notes that progress has been made in easing tensions.

Special representatives were appointed in 2003 to help the two sides work on border-related issues.

 

Syrian gov't to partake in 2nd round of Geneva II talks

A Syrian official has confirmed his government will take part in the second round the Geneva II conference. 

The delegation will focus on the Geneva I communiqué and putting an end to terrorism in Syria.

The first round of Geneva II talks ended without achieving significant results.

The opposition¹² coalition¹³ is demanding a Syrian transitional government with full executive. 

They say President Bashar al-Assad must have no role in the transitional government.

 

Spring Festival tourism revenue up 16.4 pct

Tourism revenue generated during Spring Festival is up more than 16 percent compared to a year ago.

The National Tourism Administration says the sector¹⁴ did more than 126 billion yuan worth of business during the holiday this year, the equivalent of just over 20 billion US dollars.

There were more than 231 million tourists during the holiday, an increase of 14 percent over last year.

 

Zhang Yimou fined 7.48 mln for over-production

Movie director Zhang Yimou has been fined 7.48 million yuan for violating China's family planning policy.

Zhang and his wife have been fined after he acknowledged to having two sons and a daughter. 

The amount of the fine is calculated based on the couple's income and the cost of social maintenance.

1 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。

2 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

3 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

4 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

5 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

6 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

7 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

11 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

12 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。

13 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

14 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。