China to set up early warning system for financial risks

Source: CRI  | 01-14-2008 16:04

China Securities Regulatory Commission says the US sub-prime lending crisis may affect the Chinese capital market.

Chairman Shang Fulin says that his commission will set up an early warning, control and prevention system for the financial risks.

"In a long run, the spreading of sub-prime lending crisis will decrease the external need for the Chinese economic development. It will affect the Chinese exporters and indirectly has impact on the listed companies in relevant sectors. It will also affect the stability of China's capital market."

Shang Fulin said his commission will keep an eye on the impact brought by the changing of external environment.

He added the commission will "expand the scale of fundraising in the capital market, increase the amount of tradable shares and push forward the listing of large companies and high-quality medium-sized companies."

Meanwhile, the government says it will also encourage brokerages to set up direct equity investments and let bigger, better-run securities companies grow and weed out poor ones.

Editor:Zhang

new words:

1. scale  n.
   刻度,衡量,比例,数值范围,比例尺,天平,等级
   vt.
   依比例决定,攀登,测量
   vi.
   剥落,生水垢,重,攀登,衡量
2. fundrasing  n.
   筹款, 募款
   adj.
   筹款的
3. weed up v.
   清除

UN, Iranian nuclear chiefs meet in Tehran

Source: CCTV.com | 01-12-2008 08:40

The IAEA chief and Iranian nuclear officials have been talking about ways to end the standoff between Iran and the UN Security Council.

The IAEA chief and Iranian nuclear officials have  been talking about ways to end the standoff between  Iran and the UN Security Council.(CCTV.com)

Mohammed Elbaradei's visit to Tehran is critical to a report that was supposed to be wrapped up by December, but was apparently postponed till March at Tehran's request.

Elbaradei said he has asked the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, for better transparency and assurances.

Mohammed Elbaradei, IAEA chief, said, "I think if we are able to clarify all the past activities and also have a good grasp of present nuclear activities that will facilitate building confidence about Iran's future nuclear activities."

The talks come at a time when international concerns over Iran's program have mellowed in the wake of a US intelligence report last month.

It concluded Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons program in late 2003 and had not resumed it since.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei, center, addresses the media, as Vice President and head of  Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh,  right, and Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh,  left, look on, following their meeting in Tehran, Iran,  Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In November, an IAEA report said Iran had been truthful about its past uranium enrichment activities.

Aghazadeh expressed confidence that the IAEA will be able to submit its final report in March.

He also said Iran will continue its cooperation with the IAEA to resolve all outstanding issues completely.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei

new words:

1. standoff adj.
   冷淡的, 有支架的
   n.
   离岸, 避开, 冷淡, 抵销, 和局, 平衡
2. council  n.
   政务会, 理事会, 委员会, 参议会, 讨论会议, 顾问班子, 立法班子
3. wrap up  v.
   掩饰, 伪装, 使全神贯注, 围好围巾, 包起来
4. transparency  n.
   透明, 透明度, 幻灯片, 有图案的玻璃
5. assurance  n.
   确信, 断言, 保证, 担保
6. grasp  vt.
   抓住, 抓紧, 掌握, 领会
   n.
   抓住, 抓紧, 掌握, 领会
7. mellow  adj.
   (因熟透而)醇香的、甘美的, (颜色)柔美的, (声音)圆润的, 成熟的, 老练的
   vt.
   & vi.使(变)醇香, 使(变)柔美, 使成熟
8. resume  n.
   摘要, 概略, <美> 履历
   vt.
   再继续, 重新开始, 重新占用, 再用, 恢复
9. enrichment  n.
   发财致富, 丰富, 肥沃, 浓缩, [矿]富集

1. envoy n.外交使节，特使
2.  Vice Foreign Minister 代替外交部长（的人）
3. phase  n.阶段，状态  v.定相
4. perseverance n.坚定不移
5. inventory n.详细目录，存货，财产清单，总量
6. fulfill v.履行，丝线，完成（计划等）
7. blueprint n.蓝图，设计图，计划  vt.制成蓝图，计划
8. in place  adv.适当
9.  

Bush arrives in Tel Aviv at start of Mideast tour

WATCH VIDEO

Source: CCTV.com | 01-10-2008 08:36

US President George W. Bush, has arrived in Tel Aviv at the start of his tour of the Middle East.

Bush is on a three-day visit to Israel and the West Bank to help push forward Israeli-Palestinian talks.

United States President George W. Bush, and Israeli  Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, right, arrive for a  joint press conference  in Jerusalem, Wednesday  Jan. 9, 2008. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, pool)

Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert welcomed President Bush at an official welcoming ceremony at Ben Gurion airport.

Shimon Peres, Isreaeli President, said, "The days ahead are fateful: if time is not utilized for peace-making, destructive armament, belligerence, and terror will capture centre stage. Wars are never too late. Peace is never too early. We have no right to miss this opportunity"."

Bush repeated his country's support for Israel.

George W. Bush, US President, said, "And the alliance between our two nations helps guarantee Israel security as a Jewish state. Each of our nation must guard against terror. We must firmly resist those who murder the innocent to achieve their political objectives."

Bush is scheduled to travel to the West Bank on Thursday for talks with the Palestinian leadership. The chances of completing a deal before Bush leaves office in January 2009 appear slim.

No breakthroughs are expected during the three days of talks he will have with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Olmert and Abbas on Tuesday agreed to begin peace talks on the thorniest issues despite major differences over Israeli settlement construction near Jerusalem. But neither side gave a starting date for the talks.

The first final-status talks in seven years were supposed to get under way soon after the Annapolis conference in November, but the Palestinians demanded Israel first commit to ceasing all settlement expansion.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei

new words:

1. fateful  adj.
   宿命的, 重大的, 决定性的, 致命性的, 预言性的
2. armament n.
   军备, 武器
3.  innocent  adj.
   (～ of) 清白的, 无罪的, 天真的, 无知的
4. slim adj.
   苗条的, 纤细的, 不足取的, 无价值的, 细长的
   v.
   变细, 减肥
5. breakthrough n.
   突破
6. thorny adj.
   多刺的, 痛苦的

US: Iranian boats harass US navy ships

Source: CCTV.com | 01-08-2008 09:00

The US says Iranian boats harassed and provoked three US Navy ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz Sunday.

But Iran denies the accusation, suggesting it is an issue of mistaken identity.

The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and the  USNS Arctic sailing side-by-side in the Gulf.  (Xinhua/AFP File Photo)

The US Navy 5th Fleet in Bahrain said the incident occurred Sunday morning local time while three US warships were on their

way into the Persian Gulf and passing through the strait which is a major oil shipping route between Iran and the Saudi peninsula.

They say US ships were in international waters at the time.

The Pentagon says five Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats "seriously provoked" the warships and made threatening radio transmissions.

The US warships manned gun positions and were prepared to shoot, but the Iranian boats suddenly turned away.

Iranian Navy boats during 2000 maneuvers.  (Xinhua/AFP File Photo)

Vice Admiral Kebin J. Cosgriff, Commander of US Naval Forces, said, "At one point during this encounter the ships received a radio call that was threatening in nature to the effect that they were closing our ships and that the US ships would explode. Subsequently, two of these boats were observed dropping objects in the water, generally in the path of the final ship in the formation, the USS Ingraham. These objects were white box-like objects that floated and obviously, the ship passed by them safely."

The Iranians have played down the incident, saying it is "something normal".

A Revolutionary Guard says there wasn't any unusual confrontation between Iranian patrol boats and US vessels.

He says guard boats were patrolling in the Strait when they saw US ships and routinely asked the ships to identify themselves.

He says the US ships did so and continued their path.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei

new words:

1. harass  v.
   烦恼
2. fleet  n.
   舰队(尤指有固定活动地区的舰队), 港湾, 小河
   adj.
   快速的, 敏捷的, 浅的
   adv.
   浅
   vt.
   消磨
   vi.
   疾驰, 飞逝, 掠过
3. peninsula n.
   半岛
4. Pentagon n.
   五角形, 五边形（五角大楼）
5. man  vt.
   为...配备人手, 操纵, 在...就位, 使振奋
6. Subsequently  adv.
   后来, 随后
7. formation n.
   形成, 构成, 编队
8. patrol v.
   出巡, 巡逻
   n.
   巡逻

China to add and upgrade 270,000 km of rural highway in 2008

Source: Xinhua | 01-07-2008 08:39

BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- China is set to build and upgrade 270,000 kilometers of rural highway in 2008, a move to further modernize the country's transportation system in its vast rural areas, said Chinese Communications Minister Li Shenglin Sunday.

"The central and local governments will continue to allocate fund to support the countryside highway build-up and step up construction quality supervision this year," said Li at the ministry's annual conference held in Beijing over the weekend.

Statistics from the Ministry show that the country built and upgraded a record-high 423,000 kilometers of countryside highway in 2007, and 98.54 percent of villages and towns had been connected by highways nationwide by the end of 2007.

The country started large-scale countryside highway building and upgrading in 2003. In 2006, 320,000 kilometers of rural highway were built and revamped nationwide.

Li added that special supports shall be extended to those border and poverty-stricken areas as well as areas inhabited by ethnic minority groups.

Editor:Zhang Ning

new words:

1. rural  adj.
   乡下的, 田园的, 乡村风味的, 生活在农村的
2. supervision  n.
   监督, 管理
3. revamp   v.
   修补
4.  inhabited  adj.
   有人居住的
5. ethnic  adj.
   人种的, 种族的, 异教徒的

Exit poll: Saakashvili heading for Georgia election win

Source: CCTV.com | 01-06-2008 09:44

In Georgia, exit polls indicate President Mikhail Saakashvili is headed for victory in the country's election. But the former hero of democracy now faces accusations of authoritarian leanings.

The exit poll shows Saakashvili winning Saturday's election with more than 50 percent of the vote.

But he needs an absolute majority to avoid a run-off election in two weeks.

The opposition, which claims the exit poll and the vote have been rigged has called its supporters onto the streets Sunday in protest.

Saakashvili's leading challenger, Levan Gachechiladze, received just over 28 percent of the vote, according to the exit poll.

If a second vote is held, it could allow the opposition, now split among six candidates, to unite behind Gachechiladze.

Saakashvili's opponents took to the streets in November. They accused him of ignoring the needs of the poor and showing a tendency toward authoritarianism.

He defused the crisis by calling an early election, cutting short his own five-year term.

After casting his ballot in Tbilisi, Saakashvili said he was dedicated to having a free and fair election.

The head of an election-monitoring mission says there does not appear to be anything to suggest any wrongdoing with the vote.

One-thousand international election observers are expected to play an important role in determining the legitimacy of the election.

Editor:Du Xiaodan

new words:

1. accusation n.
   谴责, [律]指控
2. leaning n.倾斜, 倾向, 爱好
   v.
   清洁,清洗
3. run-off (=runoff) n.(最后一次)决赛, 决定性竞选, <美> 流走之物
4. rigged adj.
   作弊的, 非法操纵的
5. protest  n.
   主张, 断言, 抗议
   v.
   主张, 断言抗议, 拒付
6. cut short  v.
   打断, 缩减(有时作cut shorter)
7. cast the ballot 投票
8. wrongdoing n.
   坏事, 不道德行为
9. election-monitoring adj.选举监视的
10. defuse  vt.
    去掉...的雷管