News & Reports 2011-02-19

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In This Edition

Chinese authorities step up spot checks of fresh milk supplies, with reports swirling¹ that a toxic² substance found in milk powder a couple of years ago is now making resurgence³.

Mourners call for the downfall of Bahrain's ruling monarchy⁴, as they bury those killed during an assault on pro-reform protesters that has brought the army's tanks into the streets.

Belgium breaks Iraq's world record of 249 days without government.

And we'll have a professor from Britain's Warwick University share his views on the international credit rating system following major economic problems.

Hot Issue Reports

Revived Worry over Milk Power, Ministry⁵ Says No Leather Protein Tested
Chinese authorities are stepping up spot checks of fresh milk supplies, with reports swirling that a toxic substance found in milk powder a couple of years ago is now making a resurgence.

Thousands in Bahrain Mourn Deaths, Dozens Killed in Libya Protests
Thousands of mourners have called for the downfall of Bahrain's ruling monarchy, as burials took place Friday, after a deadly assault on pro-reform protesters that has brought the army's tanks into the streets.

The outcry against Bahrain's Sunni monarchy reflects an escalation⁶ of the demands from the Shiite majority in the tiny island nation.

The attack on a protest encampment in Bahrain's capital has left at least five dead and more than 230 injured.
Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid Al Khalifa says the crackdown was necessary.

"The country was walking on the brink⁷ of a sectarian abyss. So it was a very important step that had to happen.
Police took every care possible. There's nothing that guarantees, that mishaps⁸ would happen, and that unfortunately led to deaths, but now deaths are investigated."

In Libya, soldiers have also been deployed⁹ on the streets of the country's second biggest city of Benghazi, after thousands of people took to the streets overnight to protest the security forces killing¹⁰ of more than 20 protesters.

The killings¹¹ have come as opponents of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's leader for more than 40 years, have designated a day of protest to try to emulate¹² the uprisings in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia.

Al-Arabiya TV is reporting that Libya, the holder¹³ of the Arab summit's rotating presidency¹⁴, is now delaying the summit amid the unstable¹⁵ situation in the Arab world.

Meanwhile in Yemen, the streets of Sanaa appear calm, despite calls on social networking sites urging Yemenis to join a so-called "Friday of Rage" in all Yemeni cities.

In Aden, in the south of Yemen, hundreds of protesters demonstrated until the early hours, demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years.

"Change is imperative¹⁶, but through peaceful democratic means guaranteed by institutions."

"We ask the President to take care of Yemeni people, to look after everyone, not just certain groups. We want him to take care of poor people."

For more on analysis on the protests in the Gulf¹⁷ and North Africa, we spoke¹⁸ earlier to Li Guofu, Director of the Center of Middle East Studies, at the China Institute for International Studies.

That was Li Guofu, Director of the Center of Middle East Studies, at the China Institute for International Studies.

Presidential Election in Uganda Begins, Mouseveni Expected to Win
Voters in Uganda have been casting their ballots¹⁹, in an election that is widely expected to see incumbent²⁰ Yoweri Museveni extend his 25-year grip on power.

Edward Scicluna is European Union's Chief Observer in Uganda.

"We are glad to observe that no significant violence has taken place and the process is done in a peaceful manner. That is very, very important and is the foundation of everything."

This voter says he hopes his vote will make a difference.

"It's a human right, it is our civic²¹ right to decide who leads us into the next five years and we hope that it shall matter."

Opposition²² threats of street protests and the looming²³ start of oil production has raised the stakes in the vote - just the second multiparty election to be held in Uganda in 30 years.

Museveni faces a record seven challengers.

The president faces his stiffest competition from former ally and personal physician Kizza Besigye.

Belgians 'Celebrate' 249 Days Without a Government
What would be a humiliation²⁴ for many has now turned into a party for Belgium, as people in the country mark 249 days without a government, a figure that they are treating as a world record in political waffling.

On every other day, the crisis pits the leaders of Belgium's 6 million Dutch-speakers against those of the 4.5 million French speakers.

But people from across the country put aside their differences to celebrate the occasion.

Around 500 Belgian demonstrators gathered in the French-speaking student town of Louvain-la-Neuve, to mark what many claimed is a new world record.

"We are here to show how fed up we are, because it is not about the languages, it is not about the different communities, it is about one country, we have a common history and we want to have a future, and that's it, we are fed up, we are really fed up."

Some are calling this the "Fries Revolution".

Fries, like the king and the under-performing national football team, are one of the few symbols that still unites Belgians.

Q&A: How to Reform of the Credit Rating System?
The world's credit-rating agencies have been under a bit of fire in recent years, given that many of them have been unable to accurately²⁵ predict major economic problems.

Some have pointed²⁶ the finger at the agencies for not being able to predict the current European debt crisis, among other things.

For more on the international credit rating system, our Zheng Chenguang ealier talked with Timothy Sinclair, a professor in the field of international credit rating system with the Warwick University in the UK.

That's Timothy Sinclair speking with our Zheng Chenguang.

Mars "Landing"
People taking part in the "Mars-500" project, a simulated journey to Mars, have been conducting experiments on the red planet's virtual surface, simulating the terrain²⁷ of Mars. Russia's Alexander Smoleevsky and his Chinese college Wang Yue are now stepping onto the surface of the imaginary Red planet to collect soil samples.

China Olympic Athletics²⁸ Team Choose Leeds as Base
As the countdown continues to the Olympic Games in London in 2012, many federations²⁹ are now entering their final phase of preperations.And for most, that means deciding where they will be based in the host country as they look to acclimatize. The Chinese squad³⁰ has announced that it will be based in Leeds in the northern region of Yorkshire, England.

Tibet-related Movies to Release
Two Chinese movies shot in Tibet are now being unveiled.

The first movie is called "Once upon a Time in Tibet" ("西藏往事"), which will open on March 25th.

It revolves³¹ around a struggling romance between a troubled American Air Force pilot and a Chinese woman during the Second World War.

Another adventure film "Zhuan Shan"(转山) produced by Chen Kuo-fu, is adapted from a bestselling novel of the same title, and recounts the danger and excitement of a young man from Taiwan who cycled solo from Lijiang in Yunnan to Lhasa.

During his nearly 2,000 kilometer journey, he only spent 1,300 yuan, or $200 US dollars.

Media Digest

From the Chongqing Evening News: Police in Chongqing this week had to react quickly, after discovering a toddler riding a three-wheel mini bike on a busy highway in the city.

The three-year-old boy, named Wei Wei pedaled on the highway which goes from Chongqing to Yibin in Sichuan for about a kilometer when he was finally spotted³² by traffic police.

The boy says he didn't know how he got to the highway. He "only followed others."

Wei Wei's grandma says he was riding the bike around their block about 3 kilometers away from the highway.

She suddenly recalled she forgot to turn off cooking gas and hurried home before telling the boy to stay where he was.

When she returned 10 minutes later, the boy was gone. Police eventually caught up to the adventurous³³ youngster in traffic, and safely returned him to his grandmother.

*********************************

From the Shanghai Daily: The Huayi Brothers Media Group is now set to work with the District of Jiading District in Shanghai to build, what is being described as a grand Culture Town.

The Culture town is going to be set up in an existing Industrial Zone in Jiading.

The total cost of the Town hasn't been revealed, but the investment is expected to be in the range of several billion yuan.

The Culture Town will cover an area of over 666-thousand square meters.

Construction will start at the end of this year and the first phase should be completed in 2013.

1 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

2 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

3 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

4 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

5 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。

6 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

7 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

8 mishaps   

n.轻微的事故，小的意外( mishap的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a series of mishaps 一连串的倒霉事
• In spite of one or two minor mishaps everything was going swimmingly. 尽管遇到了一两件小小的不幸，一切都进行得很顺利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 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

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

13 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

14 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

15 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

16 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

17 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

18 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

19 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

21 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

22 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。

23 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

24 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

25 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

26 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

27 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

28 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

29 federations   

n.联邦( federation的名词复数 )；同盟；联盟；联合会

参考例句：

• These problems are women's special problems and special work of women's federations. 这样的问题，就是妇女的特殊问题，就是妇联的特殊工作。 来自互联网
• The Bridge Federate is a feasible solution to achieve multi-federations interconnection. 基于桥接成员实现多联邦互连是目前较为通用和可行的方法。 来自互联网

30 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。

31 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

33 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。