每日一篇之英语新闻

mirandawang

E. coli: Germany says worst of illness is over

Germany's health minister says new E. coli infections from a deadly outbreak are dropping significantly and the worst of the illness is over.

Daniel Bahr said he was cautiously optimistic the outbreak had peaked, but warned that more deaths were expected as new cases emerged each day.

The outbreak has so far left 24 dead, infected 2,400 and left hundreds with a complication that attacks the kidneys.

complication n. [ˌkɑmplɪˈkeʃən]<医>并发症

Germany has been criticised across Europe for its chaotic response.

Health authorities initially wrongly blamed Spanish cucumbers. Then an organic bean sprout farm in northern Germany - the centre of the outbreak - was thought to be responsible.

sprout [spraʊt] vi. 出现

Scientists are still examining samples taken from the farm. While some of the samples have tested negative for the rare strain of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), the results of other tests are still pending and expected later on Wednesday.

enterohaemorrhagic adj. 肠出血性

Farmers across the continent have suffered hundreds of millions of euros of losses as fresh vegetables have been thrown away and sales and prices have slumped.

slump vi. [slʌmp] 大幅度下降, 暴跌

Earlier, the EU proposed 150m euros (£134m) of compensation for farmers.

But agriculture ministers said they wanted much more and that their producers of fruit and vegetables should be compensated for the full amount of their losses, estimated at up to 417m euros (£372m) a week.

compensate [ˈkɑmpənˌset] vt. 补偿, 弥补

'Gradually improving'

Fresh cases of the new strain are still being reported every day, including 94 in Germany on Tuesday.

Mr Bahr told ARD television: "There will be new cases and unfortunately we have to expect more deaths but the number of new infections is dropping significantly.

"I cannot sound the all clear, but after analysing the latest data we have reasonable cause for hope. The worst of the illness is behind us."

Under fire for its handling of the crisis both inside Germany and from the wider EU, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government is holding an emergency summit in Berlin on Wednesday to assess the situation.

Mr Bahr will be joined at the meeting by Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner, EU Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner John Dalli, government representatives from each of Germany's 16 states as well as health experts.

Critics argue there are too many different agencies involved and this has led to a bungled investigation, says the BBC's Tristana Moore in Berlin.

critic [ˈkrɪtɪk] n. 批评者

bungled adj. 失败的

The government is still warning consumers to avoid eating raw foods such as tomatoes, cucumbers, salad and bean sprouts.

Mr Dalli earlier warned Germany against issuing any more premature - and inaccurate - conclusions about the source of contaminated food. Information had to be scientifically sound and foolproof before it was made public, he said.

premature adj. [ˌpriməˈtjʊr, -ˈtʊr, -ˈtʃʊr] 草率的，仓促的

foolproof adj.     [ˈfulˌpruf] (方法、计划、系统等设计得)万无一失的,肯定成功的

"It is crucial that national authorities do not rush to give information on the source of infection that is not proven by bacteriological analysis," he told the European Parliament.

crucial adj. [ˈkruʃəl]     决定性的, 紧要关头的, 至关重要的

parliament n.     [ˈpɑrləmənt] 议会, 国会

"This spreads unjustified fears [among] the population all over Europe and creates problems for our food producers."

But Hamburg state's senator for health, Cornelia Pruefer-Storcks, defended the local authorities' decision to issue a warning about Spanish cucumbers at the beginning of the crisis.

"We had a different situation here in Hamburg when we put out the warning about Spanish cucumbers and removed them from the shelves," she told a news conference.

"In two lab tests we had positive E. coli results, which were confirmed twice by the government laboratory and the EU laboratory, and so this was not a process of consideration but rather it was imperative."

imperative adj. [ɪmˈpɛrətɪv] 紧急的, 极重要的，迫切的

Ms Pruefer-Storcks also said that all test results so far on bean sprouts, which were thought on Sunday to be the source, had been inconclusive.

But she nevertheless said that clinics dealing with the outbreak had told "us that the situation is gradually improving".

"We are seeing the first patients discharged, others are getting much better, so the first glimmers of hope are on the horizon."

glimmer n. [ˈɡlɪmɚ] 微光,闪光

on the horizon 几乎肯定会很快发生的

Germany's national institution responsible for disease control and prevention, the Robert Koch Institute, said the number of new cases had declined, but added that it was not certain whether it would continue.

Meanwhile, Dr Guenael Rodier, director of communicable diseases at the World Health Organisation (WHO), said that if the origin of the infection was not identified soon it might never be found.

He told the Associated Press that the German investigation had been "erratic" but that solving such an outbreak was "not an impossible task".

erratic adj. [ɪˈrætɪk]不可靠的

mirandawang

Western-Arab talks to focus on Libya after Gaddafi

Western and Arab nations are to meet in the United Arab Emirates to discuss how events in Libya might develop if Col Gaddafi were no longer in power.

The so-called Contact Group is also expected to firm up its pledge to set up a fund to help the Libyan rebels.

firm up 把…安排得更稳妥, 牢靠

pledge n. [plɛdʒ] 协议

rebel n. [rɪˈbɛl] 反政府的人

The meeting comes as Nato intensified its air strikes on government targets in Tripoli.

Meanwhile, 14 rebels were reportedly killed in the city of Misrata as they tried to push back government troops.

troop n. [trup] 军队, 部队

Health officials and a rebel spokesman said more than 20 others were wounded when government forces responded with heavy artillery fire.

artillery [ɑrˈtɪləri] n. 炮, 大炮

In a separate development, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) said there was evidence that Col Gaddafi had ordered the rape of hundreds of women as a weapon of war against rebel forces.

And in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council is due to debate a report on alleged human rights violations allegedly committed by both government troops and the rebels.

alleged adj. [əˈlɛdʒd, əˈlɛdʒɪd] 声称的,所谓的

'End game'

Top government officials from the Contact Group - which includes Britain, France and the US, as well as Arab allies Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar - will be meeting in Abu Dhabi later on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has already arrived in the UAE.

Ahead of the talks, a senior US official was quoted by Reuters as saying that "the international community is beginning to talk about what could constitute [an] end game" to the Libyan conflict.

Reuter n. [ˈrɔɪtɚ] 路透社

"That would obviously include some kind of ceasefire arrangement and some kind of political process... and of course the question of Gaddafi and perhaps his family is also a key part of that," added the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

ceasefire [ˈsi:sfaiə] n.  (通常指永久性的)停火; 停战

anonymity n. [ˌænəˈnɪmɪti，ˈænə'nɪmətɪ] 匿名

British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt, who is also expected to attend the talks, said that "the contact group will also reiterate the unequivocal message... that Gaddafi, his family and his regime have lost all legitimacy and must go so that the Libyan people can determine their own future".

reiterate [riˈɪtəˌret] vt. 反复地说,重申

unequivocal [ˌʌnɪˈkwɪvəkəl] adj. 只有一种含意的;清楚明白的

"Until Gaddafi does so, the pressure will increase across the board: economically, politically and militarily," Mr Burt said.

At least two powerful explosions rocked Tripoli late on Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear what was targeted in the air strike, but it reportedly happened close to Col Gaddafi's residence.

Last week, Nato extended its air operations for another 90 days and increased the scope of its UN-mandated campaign to protect civilians. Since then, attack helicopters have gone into action and command centres in Tripoli pounded.

mandated adj. 委托统治的

Viagra pills     

The report the UN Human Rights Council will debate in Geneva on Thursday contains what the authors say is evidence of war crimes - including murder, torture, and indiscriminate attacks on civilians - committed by the Libyan regime, and of serious violations by rebel forces too.

indiscriminate adj. [ˌɪndɪˈskrɪmənɪt]随意的,恣意的

Col Gaddafi is sending government representatives from Tripoli to answer the charges in this report after his usual diplomatic team to the UN in Geneva defected en masse in February.

defect      [ˈdiˌfɛkt, dɪˈfɛkt] vi. 变节, 叛变

en masse [ɑn ˈmæs] v. 全体地,一同地

On Wednesday, the ICC's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was looking into allegations that hundreds of women had been raped on Col Gaddafi's orders.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo said rape was a "new aspect of repression" by Col Gaddafi's regime.

allegation [ˌælɪˈɡeʃən] n. 指控

regime [reˈʒim, rɪ-] n. 政治制度, 政权, 政体

The prosecutor said he was also looking at possible evidence that pro-Gaddafi security forces had been given medication such as Viagra to enhance their sex drive.

sex drive 性欲冲动

In March, a Libyan woman, Eman al-Obeidi, made headlines around the world after she burst into a Tripoli hotel and said she had been raped by Col Gaddafi's troops. She is recovering at a refugee centre in Romania.

burst into 匆匆进入(某处)

Testimony from captured Libyan soldiers that rape was used as a systematic weapon of war was taken by the BBC's Africa correspondent Andrew Harding in May.

testimony [ˈtɛstəˌmoni] n. 证明, 证据

There has so far been no comment on the allegations by the Libyan authorities.

Last month, Mr Moreno-Ocampo asked ICC judges to approve arrest warrants for Col Gaddafi, his Saif al-Islam, and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi.

intelligence n. [ɪnˈtɛlədʒəns] 情报人员

mirandawang

China accuses Vietnam in South China Sea row

China has accused Vietnam of "gravely violating" its sovereignty in an escalating
row over disputed waters in the South China Sea.

row n. [rəu]争吵, 吵闹

sovereignty [ˈsɑvərɪnti, ˈsɑvrɪn-] n. 国家的主权

gravely adv. [ˈɡrevlɪ] 严重地

escalate vt. & vi.[ˈɛskəˌlet](使)逐步升级; (使)逐步扩大

disputed adj. 有争议的

Beijing said Vietnam had endangered Chinese sailors' lives and warned it to stop "all invasive activities".

invasive adj.     [ɪnˈvesɪv] 有扩散危害的; 扩散性的

It follows an accusation by Vietnam that a Chinese fishing boat rammed cables from an oil exploration vessel inside its exclusive economic zone.

accusation n. [ˌækjuˈzeʃən] 指责；指控

ram vt. [ræm] 猛撞,撞击

China is engaged in maritime border disputes with several countries.

The South China Sea includes important shipping routes and may contain rich oil and gas deposits.

deposit n. [dɪˈpɑzɪt] 矿藏

The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have rival claims in the area; China's claim is by far the largest.

rival [ˈraɪvəl，'raɪvḷ] adj. 竞争的

The US has also expressed concern about China's rising naval ambitions.

Escalating dispute     

China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Chinese fishing boats were chased away by armed Vietnamese ships on Thursday.

chase away 赶走, 驱逐

He said that during the incident the fishing net of one of the Chinese boats became tangled with the cables of a Vietnamese oil exploring vessel which continued to drag the Chinese vessel for more than an hour before the net had to be cut.

tangle v. [ˈtæŋɡəl] (使)缠结, (使)乱作一团

drag vt. [dræɡ] 拖, 拉, 拽

China insists the Vietnamese vessel was operating illegally in the area.

"By conducting unlawful oil and gas surveys in seas around the Wanan Bank of the Spratly archipelago and by driving out a Chinese fishing vessel, Vietnam has gravely violated China's sovereignty and maritime rights," said Mr Hong.

archipelago [ˌɑrkəˈpɛləˌɡo] n. 群岛,列岛

"China demands that Vietnam cease all violations," he said, adding that Vietnam should "not take actions that would complicate and expand the dispute".

Beijing's strong-worded statement followed Vietnam's accusation that a Chinese fishing boat had "intentionally rammed" the exploration cables of a Vietnamese boat - the second such incident in two weeks.

That vessel, chartered by state energy giant PetroVietnam, was conducting a seismic survey inside its 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone on Thursday, said foreign ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga.

seismic [ˈsaɪzmɪk] adj. 震撼世界的

She described the "premeditated and carefully calculated" attack as part of China's attempts to control disputed waters.

premeditate     [priˈmɛdɪˌtet] v. 预谋,预先考虑

"This is unacceptable to Vietnam," she said, adding that her colleagues had met Chinese embassy officials "to express our opposition to such acts".

On Thursday, hackers from both countries planted patriotic messages on hundreds of websites, including government sites.

patriotic adj. [ˌpetriˈɑtɪk] 爱国的, 有爱国心的

It follows anti-China protests by hundreds of Vietnamese over the weekend.

Seeking resolution     

China's ambassador to the Philippines, Liu Jianchao, has insisted China's intentions were peaceful and said that China was not looking for oil in the disputed waters and, therefore, no other country should.

"We're calling on other parties to stop searching for the possibility of exploiting resources in these areas where China has its claims," he told reporters.

"We will never use force unless we are attacked," he said.

The Philippine government has accused two Chinese patrol boats of harassing a Philippine oil exploration ship on 2 March this year.

harass vt. [ˈhærəs, həˈræs]侵扰；骚扰

The Philippines has said it has seen new structures being built on islands which it claims.

"That's part of our exercise of jurisdiction. It's not harassment," Mr Liu said.

jurisdiction n. [ˌdʒʊrɪsˈdɪkʃən] 管辖区域；管辖范围

He also rejected the involvement of the United States in regional attempts to resolve the long-running territorial dispute.

territorial adj. [ˌtɛrɪˈtɔriəl, -ˈtor-] 土地的;领地的;属地的

China prefers to tackle each conflicting claim with each country separately.

Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines have led regional efforts to seek a multilateral resolution of the conflict.

multilateral adj. [ˌmʌltɪˈlætərəl] 多方面的;多边的