CNN 2012-08-23

 First up today, we are heading over to Asia, specifically to the East China Sea. You can see it coming up here on this map in just a moment, on one side of it, there is China, on the other side, Japan. There is a chain of islands in the East China Sea. China calls these islands Diaoyu, Japan calls them Senkaku.

 

 

 

No one lives on the islands, they are uninhabited. But when someone lands on one of them, like this group of Japanese did on Sunday, it can lead to serious anger. For example, this was the reaction in China after the Japanese landing. Angry protesters gathered in cities around China. They turned over Japanese cars and they burned Japanese flags. The explanation for the anger is that China and Japan each say that the islands belong to them. The reason that matters, is because whichever country owns the islands, gets exclusive rights to the oil, minerals and fishing in the water around the islands. This dispute is going on for decades, and the Japanese landing on Sunday wasn`t the first from either country. In fact, a group of Chinese landed on that same island last week.

 

 

 

We are going to stay in Japan for our next story. Last year, an earthquake and tsunami¹ caused a disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Two months later, researchers started looking at how the nuclear disaster might impact the environment around it. One thing they found, mutants. And not people, we are talking about butterflies. Some of them had abnormal legs or antennae². Others had dents³ in their eyes. There were also changes in some of the butterflies` wings and color patterns. The scientists determined<sup>4</sup> that the radiation from the nuclear plant disaster caused genetic<sup>5</sup> damage to the insects. One researcher said humans shouldn`t have to worry about this kind of mutation⁶, because people are more resistant⁷ to radiation.

 

 

 

Time for the "Shoutout." What city is hosting this year`s Republican National Convention? If you think you know it, then shout it out! Is it Charlotte, North Carolina, Tampa, Florida, St. Paul, Minnesota or Denver, Colorado? You`ve got three seconds. Go. Tampa is hosting this year`s Republican Convention, which starts next Monday. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

 

 

 

 

 

That convention doesn`t start until next week. But a group of Republicans is in Tampa right now and what they are working on could guide the political party for the next four years. The group is called the platform committee. It comes up with the party`s official position on a wide range of political issues. Things like government spending, immigration, taxes. Coming up with the platform is an important job and a tough one. Within one party, there could be different opinions on an issue. If the committee comes up with a platform that most party members agree with, it can create unity⁸. If the platform has some controversial positions, it can lead to debate among the party members. One of the first things that happens at a national convention is that the convention delegates vote on whether to adopt the platform. So that platform can set the tone for the entire event. We have a lot more coverage⁹ on the conventions, the Republicans next week and the Democrats¹⁰ the week after. So keep an eye out for that on CNN STUDENT NEWS.

 

 

 

A significant and positive time for Augusta National Golf Club. Now, that`s how the club`s president, Billy Payne described the decision that changed Augusta`s membership policy. For the first time since it opened 80 years ago, women will be allowed into the private club. These are the first two women who will become members of Augusta National. On the left, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; on the right, South Carolina businesswoman Darla Moore. Augusta is home to the Masters, one of golf`s biggest tournaments. There were times in the past decade or so, when that tournament was nearly overshadowed by the controversy¹¹ surrounding the private club`s former men-only membership policy.

1 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。

2 antennae   

n.天线；触角

参考例句：

• Sometimes a creature uses a pair of antennae to swim.有时某些动物使用其一对触须来游泳。
• Cuba's government said that Cubans found watching American television on clandestine antennae would face three years in jail.古巴政府说那些用秘密天线收看美国电视的古巴人将面临三年监禁。

3 dents   

n.花边边饰；凹痕( dent的名词复数 )；凹部；减少；削弱v.使产生凹痕( dent的第三人称单数 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等）

参考例句：

• He hammered out the dents in the metal sheet. 他把金属板上的一些凹痕敲掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Tin dents more easily than steel. 锡比钢容易变瘪。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

6 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

7 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

8 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。

9 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。