Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-06-01

ALexWorld leaders start G7 meeting
Leaders of the world's major economies are gathering¹ in Brussels for the Group of Seven summit, but without Russia.
Moscow has been exlcuded by western leaders because of the Kremlin's role in the Ukraine crisis.
Ahead of the meeting, German Chancellor² Angela Merkel said the group will follow its three-stage approach: to support Ukraine, to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis through talks with Russia, and finally, further sanctions against Russia would be possible if the situation in Ukraine gets worse.
Moscow has reacted, blaming the West for sparking the crisis.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticised western leaders for ignoring Russia's interests and refusing to treat it as an equal partner.
 
Ukraine leader says to unveil peace plan soon
Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko says he will unveil a plan for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in his country after he takes office on Saturday.
He didn't elaborate.
The comment comes amid intense government operation in the estern part of the country.
Ukrainian troops have launched an offensive against rebels in the eastern city of Slovyansk and advanced through the city's outskirts³.
More than 300 rebels are reportedly killed during the operation.
 
Bashar al-Assad wins presidential election
Syria is going to miss the June 30th deadline to completely destroy its chemical weapons, but such remaining munitions⁴ are said to be "out of harms way."
That statement is from the UN agency overseeing the elimination⁵ of the country's chemical stockpile.
It comes after the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has secured a third term in office after winning over 88 percent of the vote in the presidential election.
The ongoing⁶ civil war in Syria has been blamed for an estimated 160-thousand deaths. Millions have been forced from their homes.
Meanwhile China has released another statement on the Syria crises, calling for a ceasefire.
China is urging all sides to proceed with the Geneva negotiations⁷ and a political settlement to the crisis.
 
Hamas, Fatah set to form reconciliation⁸ committee
Discussions are underway between the Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement and Fatah party to form a follow-up committee that will implement⁹ the landmark¹⁰ national reconciliation deal.
The two Palestinian former rivals agreed in April to end their political differences and formed a unity¹¹ government earlier this week.
The new committee will work to solve any problems that the reconciliation deal might face.
Those include integrating the government institutions and security apparatuses¹² as well as the return of the employees who stopped working since 2007.
 
Libyan PM's office hit by grenade
The office of Libya's new prime minister Ahmed Maitiq has been hit by a rocket propelled grenade.
An assistant to the prime minister says the grenade hit the government building in the early hours on Wednesday, leaving a crater¹³ on Matiq's office.
The prime minister was not in the building when the incident happened.
No one has claimed responsibility yet for the hit.
 
Russia, China inch toward another gas contract
Russia and China may be on the verge¹⁴ of signing a second major energy-related contract, following the landmark 30-year gas deal that was agreed to last month in Shanghai.
The new deal is for a gas pipeline¹⁵ construction project.
A Russian official says the contract could be inked "in the very near future."
The long-awaited gas deal in Shanghai ended a decade of natural gas supply talks between the two neighbors.
 
China 'strongly dissatisfied' with US tariffs¹⁶ on solar panel imports
CHina has expressed strong dissatisfaction with new US duties on Chinese solar panel imports.
The decision came after the US Department of Commerce ruled that Chinese companies including Trina Solar and Wuxi Suntech Power have benefited unfairly from Chinese government policies.
The preliminary duties range from around 18 percent to around 35 percent.
The Ministry¹⁷ of Commerce said in a statement, that the US ignored facts and applied¹⁸ contradictory¹⁹ "country of origin" trade rules.
And is says the US abused trade measures to protect its own industry, adding the US actions will inflame²⁰ trade tensions in the solar industry.
Just recently, similar anti-dumping duties on steel wire from China were issued by the US government.
 
China faces "serious" environmental challenges
China has released an official report highlighting the challenges that it is facing in protecting its water, air and soil.
The report comes out ahead of World Environmental Protection Day today.
According to the report, in 2013, among China's top 10 river valleys, about 9 percent of water sections were classified as the worst level.
It also says that according to the newly released air quality standards, among 74 major cities, only 4.1% have met it.
Besides pollution and degradation²¹, the report finds that almost one third of the country's land area is threatened by soil erosion.
Against that backdrop, authorities have called for improvements to the legal system, a more environmentally friendly development outlook, and better institutions to protect the worsening environment.
 
S. China downpours cause casualties, economic losses
A new round of rainstorms has been wrecking²² havoc²³ in south China, causing casualties and economic losses.
Four people have been killed and two remain missing in southwest China's Guizhou Province.
More than 200 thousand people in the province's 14 cities and counties have been affected²⁴.
In Sichuan, a 70-year-old villager was killed by mountain torrents²⁵ while rescuers are trying to save a woman buried in a landslide²⁶.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 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。

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

4 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

5 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

9 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

10 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

11 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

12 apparatuses   

n.器械； 装置； 设备； 仪器

参考例句：

• That magazine covers all kinds of heating apparatuses. 那本杂志论及所有暖气装置。 来自辞典例句
• Apparatuses and methods for preparing sol-gel solutions are provided. 提供制备溶胶-凝胶溶液的装置和方法。 来自互联网

13 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

14 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

15 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

16 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

17 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。

18 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

19 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

20 inflame   

v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎

参考例句：

• Our lack of response seemed to inflame the colonel.由于我们没有反应,好象惹恼了那个上校。
• Chemical agents manufactured by our immune system inflame our cells and tissues,causing our nose to run and our throat to swell.我们的免疫系统产生的化学物质导致我们的细胞和组织发炎，导致我们流鼻水和我们的喉咙膨胀。

21 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

22 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

23 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

24 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。

25 torrents   

n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断

参考例句：

• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Sudden rainstorms would bring the mountain torrents rushing down. 突然的暴雨会使山洪暴发。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

26 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。