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Hello and Welcome to News and Reports on China Radio International.
In This Edition
US Senate kills a House's debt ceiling plan, dampening hope for a bipartisan deal before the Aug. 2 deadline.
The flag over Norway's parliament building is flying at half-mast one week after the country's worst peacetime massacre1.
Poland's defense2 minister resigns after a government report listed errors and neglect by the crew of the plane that crashed last year, killing3 President Lech Kaczynski.
Reconstruction4 is underway in a section of railways that was damaged by flood in eastern China.
Hot Issue Reports
US Senate vetoed House debt plan
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a debt ceiling plan in a vote on Friday evening, but the bill was quickly killed in the Senate, which further dampened hope for a bipartisan deal before the Aug. 2 deadline.
House Speaker John Boehner called on the President and the Senate to come to an agreement.
"I stuck my neck out a mile to try to get an agreement with the President of the United States. This House has acted and it is time for the Administration and time for our colleagues across the aisle5, put something on the table!"
President Barack Obama said a deal was urgently needed, and without it the U.S. government would face the danger next week of not having the authority to borrow money to pay its bills.
"I urge Democrats6 and Republicans in the Senate to find common ground on a plan they can get support -- that can get support from both parties in the House, a plan that I can sign by Tuesday. The debt ceiling does not determine how much more money we can spend, it simply authorizes7 us to pay the bills we already have racked up. "
Obama said without an increase in the limit on the nation's debt ceiling, the government might not to be able to send payments to government contractors8 or pay social security pension checks and veterans' benefits.
The U.S. economy slowed to an annualized growth rate of 1.3 percent during the second quarter of 2011, far short of market expectations. And the deadlock9 might cause the United States to lose its top-notch credit rating.
Flags fly at half-mast in Norway
The flag over Norway's parliament building is flying at half-mast one week after the country's worst peacetime massacre, while workers in Oslo repair bomb-damaged buildings and mourners continue to place flower bouquets10 around the city.
Earlier,Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg paid tribute to two young Muslims killed in the shooting rampage at a youth camp on Utoeya Island during the first funerals for the people who died there.
77 people died during the massive bomb blast in central Oslo and the island shootings.
Stoltenberg said the attacks had strengthened democracy in the country and that Norway's fundamental values remained intact.
"We will be one community regardless of ethnicity, gender12 and rank. We are Norway. Our fundamental values are democracy, humanity, openness. With that as a platform, we should tolerate differences, we should tolerate debate, wish for them even when they are unpleasant."
Paul Bjoerby from Bergen agreed that evil had brought out the best in Norwegians, but they now had to take a deep look at themselves.
"I believe that for many thousands of us there are issues that are not all that distant from the sort of the ramblings of hatred13 and estrangement14 and fear."
Norway plans to set up an independent "July 22 Commission" to examine the attacks, including an investigation15 of whether police reacted too slowly to the shootings on Utoeya Island when the perpetrator was able to kill for more than an hour.
11 Shiite Muslims killed in sectarian raid in Pakistan
Gunmen opened fire on a minibus carrying minority Shiite Muslims in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing 11 people, including a woman and two children.
Sardar Syed, relative of a victim, described the sectarian attack.
"A local Suzuki van was carrying passengers to Alamdar road, when they opened fire. The place is between frontier constabulary and police check post. Eleven people were killed."
Two people were also wounded in the ambush16. Dozens of angry Shiites briefly17 blocked a main road and torched cars and motorcycles. Police regained18 control of the situation with help from local Shiite elders.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities have blamed majority Sunni militant19 groups for such violence in the past.
Pakistan has a history of sectarian killings20. Although most majority Sunnis and Shiites live peacefully together, small extremist groups on both sides often target each other's leaders and activists21.
Polish Defense Minister resigns for air crash
Poland's defense minister has resigned after a government report listed errors and neglect by the crew of the military plane that crashed last year in Russia, killing Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk22 has accepted Bogdan Klich's resignation, but denied Klich's responsibility for the disaster.
"The issue of who is responsible for activities of administration, for negligence23, with no direct connection to the catastrophe24, is a completely different question."
The long-awaited 328-page report said the crew of the TU-154 Tupolev plane was poorly trained and ignored crucial safety regulations.
Analysts25 say Klich's resignation is unlikely to have much impact less than three months before a parliamentary election in Poland that Tusk's centrist Civic26 Platform is tipped to win.
"On the one hand, it excludes assassination28; but on the other, it includes what Russian aviation authorities' report did not touch. It points to the fact that there was negligence at the airport and errors made by air traffic control."
In its own report on the disaster issued in January, Russia placed all blame on the Polish crew, irritating Polish officials.
Tusk has named Tomasz Siemoniak, a deputy interior minister, as the new head of the defense ministry29.
Report shows pilot errors outlined in 2009 air France crash
Meanwhile, the French Aviation Investigation Agency has issued an updated report on a fatal 2009 Air France crash, which says pilot misoperation largely resulted in the jet's plunge30 into the Atlantic Ocean.
The agency's findings indicate that the two co-pilots received faulty speed readings from unreliable sensors31 and repeated alarm signals.
Chief investigator32 Alain Bouillard says the air crash should have been avoidable if the plane had been correctly operated.
"The event which would have triggered it all was the disconnecting of the automatic pilot and then the loss of speed indicators33 most probably after the speed sensors froze with ice crystals. At that moment the pilot should have kicked off a procedure and taken a five-degree pitch attitude as required by the procedure, but he took a superior pitch attitude to that."
Bouillard added that the pilots were in a situation they didn't understand.
Families of some victims met with investigators34 in hopes of learning the truth behind the tragedy.
"It's mainly the technical elements that we are missing, and that's what we came here for, because it's completely unfair to accuse the pilots if we don't know what situation they were confronted with."
A final report on the air crash is expected in early 2012.
All 228 people aboard, including nine Chinese, were killed when the Airbus 330 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed during thunderstorms over the Atlantic on June 1st, 2009. It was the worst accident in Air France's history.
NATO troops withdraw from Kosovo
NATO troops in Kosovo withdrew to their barracks on Friday after ethnic11 Serbs blocked them from reaching peacekeepers deployed35 at border posts with Serbia to halt violence provoked by a customs dispute with Belgrade.
Hundreds of ethnic Serb civilians36 blocked two main roads in northern Kosovo that lead to Serbia with trucks, trailers, logs and car tires, stalling traffic to and from the border.
Serbs vowed37 to press on with road blocks and not allow KFOR to proceed until Kosovo agreed not to station its police and customs officers at the sensitive border posts.
After KFOR Commander Major General Erhard Buehler withdrew NATO troops from the area, he warned they would use force the next time the Serbs hindered their progress.
Borislav Stefanovic, the chief Serbian negotiator, said the situation must remain calm and under control.
"We managed to control the situation in a way that the general made the right decision to withdraw KFOR troops for now from this huge roadblock behind us. And we are continuing our discussion for the systematic38 solution for two administrative39 crossings."
The dispute flared40 on Monday when Kosovo sent ethnic Albanian special police units to the border posts staffed mostly by ethnic Serbs to enforce a ban on imports from Serbia.
Pristina imposed the ban after Belgrade blocked exports from Kosovo in a dispute over customs regulations.
NATO sent peacekeepers to quell41 a subsequent three days of violence in which one ethnic Albanian policeman was shot dead and hard-line Serbian nationalists set fire to one of the northern border crossings.
Peruvian President Gets Support on Country's 190th Anniversary
Peruvian President Ollanta Humala celebrated42 his country's 190th anniversary at a military parade on Friday, his first day as head of government.
Hundreds of military members marched in the parade, as thousands of attendees watched.
Leftist Humala was sworn in as Peru's president on Thursday, taking over the reins43 of one of the world's fastest-growing economies as poor voters increasingly demand a share of the country's boom.
The 49-year-old former army commander caused a commotion44 in Congress by promising45 to uphold the constitution of 1979 instead of the revised charter introduced in 1993 by jailed former President Alberto Fujimori who unilaterally shut down Congress to consolidate47 his power.
Legislators from Fujimori's party shouted throughout the ceremony waving copies of the 1993 revised constitution.
Parade attendee Giovanna Valladares said she approved the speech Humala gave.
"Regarding President Ollanta, I congratulate him because it seems to me that he's starting out right. His message from yesterday was excellent."
Humala has sought to distinguish himself from his predecessor48, Alan Garcia, who was criticized for leaving a third of Peruvians mired49 in poverty.
The former radical50, has promised to govern as a moderate and keep much of the country's existing free-market economic model intact.
Kenyans Complain about Govn't Neglect of Drought-hidden People
Kenyan pastoralists suffering from the worst drought ever are complaining that their government is neglecting their well-being51 as thousands of Somali refugees continue to cross the border in search of aid at Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp.
"Definitely, we are feeling neglected. People are just passing here, leaving dust. It's all in the name of helping52 others."
"We have come all the way from Wajir, and we've passed through several other villages. We've been across the border to Somalia. The conditions are just the same. Most people have fled from these towns. All we found were just animal carcasses. We are here for water and pasture, but the situation is not better."
The situation is severe right across the Horn in Somalia, northern Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia. Food shortages are expected to reach crisis levels in refugee areas in the coming two months as rain is not expected soon.
The United Nations declared a famine in two regions of southern Somalia where 3.7 million people are going hungry.
The World Food Program says it cannot reach more than two million Somalis facing starvation in areas controlled by Islamist militants53 who imposed a food aid ban in 2010 and regularly threaten relief groups.
Residents of Conakry Views Mix of Kahn's Accuser Nafissatou Diallo
Residents of the West African country Guinea are divided over how to react to the public appearance of Nafissatou Diallo, the housekeeper54 who has accused former International Monetary55 Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her in a New York hotel.
Diallo broke her silence four days ago in interviews with "Newsweek" and ABC News. She also gave an emotional public appeal at a press conference for people to believe her story and thanked those she said had supported her since the case broke.
The case against Strauss-Kahn has teetered for weeks after prosecutors56 disclosed they had uncovered several discrepancies57 in Diallo's accounts and questioned her credibility.
Diallo said the case would be difficult because it involved the rich and the poor, and that if she did not get support, she would have problems finding a way out.
Strauss-Kahn, who had been widely seen as a leading contender for the French presidency58, has denied the sexual assault allegations.
Conakry resident Mamadou Diallo said:
"It is a political affair because when you see DSK, he wanted to run (for election) as a serious and popular candidate. It is just because of that, it is a political (plot) to say he raped59 a Guinean woman named Nafissatou Diallo."
Others like Mohamed Diaby believe the only way to uncover the truth is to rely on the justice system.
Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have called on Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance to drop the case, while Kenneth Thompson, the attorney for Diallo, said on Thursday he planned to file a civil lawsuit60 soon.
Reconstruction of China's Flood-damaged Railways Underway
Reconstruction is underway in a section of railways that was damaged by flood in eastern China.
The section is between Taocun and sea port city of Weihai in east China's Shandong Province.
The railway has been suspended for five days. Now the rescue work has entered the sprint61 stage for an early restoration.
Rescue workers say that the second bridge pier62 of the railway bridge leaned under the impact of the flood discharged along a water course. And the track on the bridge became twisted as a result.
Wang Zhenjun is a chief engineer from the Ministry of Railways.
"We are putting up two steel pylons63 on both sides of the pier. The pylons can support the upper part of the bridge, reducing the pressure on the pier. But it is difficult to put up the steel pylons on the original basis. So we have to first set up the steel pylons away from the bridge and then moved them horizontally and laterally46 to the bridge."
The engineer adds the rescue work would enable trains soon to operate with limited speed.
More People to Benefit from Charity Volunteers' Help
Volunteers are becoming more commonplace in Beijing, providing unpaid64 services at railway stations, residential65 communities and university campuses, thanks to a new volunteer association.
At the launching ceremony of the Beijing Charity Volunteer Association on Saturday, Chen Zhibin, the association's secretary general, said the organization already completed a series of charity activities this year that provided a total of 2,677 hours of volunteer service. He estimated that nearly 3,000 Beijing citizens benefited from these services.
Twenty-six-year-old Li Mingye started to work as a charity volunteer in 2006 and was one of the people involved in creating the Beijing Charity Volunteer Association.
Li said setting up such an organization was necessary because it provides a platform for people who are willing to help others according to their abilities.
"I used to work for a website company during which I found many people were willing to do something meaningful within their abilities. But without attending any charity organization, ordinary volunteers would be inclined to quit although they had an ambitious start. So a well-arranged organization was needed to help ensure these volunteers were able to realize their ideals about volunteer service."
A recent report on Chinese citizens' volunteer service in 2010 says nearly 40 percent of citizens 18 and older were involved in some kind of volunteer work.
Researchers estimate the value of volunteer services provided nationwide last year topped 100 billion yuan, amounting to some 0.3 percent of China's GDP.
China Daily: Beijing's GDP Growth Rate Slower but Better
Beijing's gross domestic product growth rate was slower than the GDP growth rate of rest of the country in the first half of the year.
In the first two quarters, the capital's GDP grew 8 percent year-on-year, the lowest rate among the 18 provinces, autonomous66 regions and municipalities that have published their economic data for the same period.
The 8-percent growth also meant Beijing was the only region in China with a growth rate below the country's 9.6-percent average.
The figure can partly be attributed to the city's policies to restrict home purchases and car consumption.
But an editorial in the English language newspaper, "China Daily" says this should not be seen as a sign of an economic slowdown, but rather as a positive result following the capital city's efforts to break from the past GDP-focused economic development model and the city's determination to promote economic restructuring.
The editorial points out that the slower economic growth pace together with a considerable decline of energy consumption for every unit of GDP indicate that Beijing's economy is still in good shape and its growth is now on healthier, sounder and more sustainable footing.
The paper argues that if Beijing makes substantial progress in its goal to develop a green, innovative67 and consumption-driven economy, the country's other regions will likely follow suit.
The commentary concludes that China should reduce its dependence68 on GDP growth and shift its focus from the past pursuit of economic quantity to economic quality.
点击收听单词发音
1 massacre | |
n.残杀,大屠杀;v.残杀,集体屠杀 | |
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2 defense | |
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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3 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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4 reconstruction | |
n.重建,再现,复原 | |
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5 aisle | |
n.(教堂、教室、戏院等里的)过道,通道 | |
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6 democrats | |
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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7 authorizes | |
授权,批准,委托( authorize的名词复数 ) | |
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8 contractors | |
n.(建筑、监造中的)承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
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9 deadlock | |
n.僵局,僵持 | |
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10 bouquets | |
n.花束( bouquet的名词复数 );(酒的)芳香 | |
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11 ethnic | |
adj.人种的,种族的,异教徒的 | |
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12 gender | |
n.(生理上的)性,(名词、代词等的)性 | |
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13 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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14 estrangement | |
n.疏远,失和,不和 | |
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15 investigation | |
n.调查,调查研究 | |
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16 ambush | |
n.埋伏(地点);伏兵;v.埋伏;伏击 | |
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17 briefly | |
adv.简单地,简短地 | |
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18 regained | |
复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 ); 赢回; 重回; 复至某地 | |
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19 militant | |
adj.激进的,好斗的;n.激进分子,斗士 | |
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20 killings | |
谋杀( killing的名词复数 ); 突然发大财,暴发 | |
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21 activists | |
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 ) | |
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22 tusk | |
n.獠牙,长牙,象牙 | |
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23 negligence | |
n.疏忽,玩忽,粗心大意 | |
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24 catastrophe | |
n.大灾难,大祸 | |
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25 analysts | |
分析家,化验员( analyst的名词复数 ) | |
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26 civic | |
adj.城市的,都市的,市民的,公民的 | |
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27 bilateral | |
adj.双方的,两边的,两侧的 | |
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28 assassination | |
n.暗杀;暗杀事件 | |
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29 ministry | |
n.(政府的)部;牧师 | |
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30 plunge | |
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
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31 sensors | |
n.传感器,灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 ) | |
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32 investigator | |
n.研究者,调查者,审查者 | |
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33 indicators | |
(仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的)指针( indicator的名词复数 ); 指示物; (车辆上的)转弯指示灯; 指示信号 | |
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34 investigators | |
n.调查者,审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
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35 deployed | |
(尤指军事行动)使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 ); 施展; 部署; 有效地利用 | |
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36 civilians | |
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓 | |
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37 vowed | |
起誓,发誓(vow的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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38 systematic | |
adj.有系统的,有计划的,有方法的 | |
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39 administrative | |
adj.行政的,管理的 | |
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40 Flared | |
adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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41 quell | |
v.压制,平息,减轻 | |
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42 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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43 reins | |
感情,激情; 缰( rein的名词复数 ); 控制手段; 掌管; (成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的)保护带 | |
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44 commotion | |
n.骚动,动乱 | |
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45 promising | |
adj.有希望的,有前途的 | |
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46 laterally | |
ad.横向地;侧面地;旁边地 | |
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47 consolidate | |
v.使加固,使加强;(把...)联为一体,合并 | |
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48 predecessor | |
n.前辈,前任 | |
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49 mired | |
abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德(色温单位)v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50 radical | |
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的 | |
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51 well-being | |
n.安康,安乐,幸福 | |
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52 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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53 militants | |
激进分子,好斗分子( militant的名词复数 ) | |
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54 housekeeper | |
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家 | |
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55 monetary | |
adj.货币的,钱的;通货的;金融的;财政的 | |
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56 prosecutors | |
检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 ); 告发人; 起诉人; 公诉人 | |
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57 discrepancies | |
n.差异,不符合(之处),不一致(之处)( discrepancy的名词复数 ) | |
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58 presidency | |
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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59 raped | |
v.以暴力夺取,强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 );强奸 | |
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60 lawsuit | |
n.诉讼,控诉 | |
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61 sprint | |
n.短距离赛跑;vi. 奋力而跑,冲刺;vt.全速跑过 | |
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62 pier | |
n.码头;桥墩,桥柱;[建]窗间壁,支柱 | |
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63 pylons | |
n.(架高压输电线的)电缆塔( pylon的名词复数 );挂架 | |
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64 unpaid | |
adj.未付款的,无报酬的 | |
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65 residential | |
adj.提供住宿的;居住的;住宅的 | |
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66 autonomous | |
adj.自治的;独立的 | |
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67 innovative | |
adj.革新的,新颖的,富有革新精神的 | |
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68 dependence | |
n.依靠,依赖;信任,信赖;隶属 | |
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