人生|言叶

[C+sing./pl. v.] a group of specialists who give their advice or opinion about sth; a group of people who discuss topics of interest on television or radio:
- an advisory panel; an Iraqi judicial panel
- a panel of experts
- We have two politicians on tonight’s panel.
- a panel discussion

[vn] [usually passive] to aim an attack or a criticism at sb/sth:

- The missiles were mainly targeted at the United States.
- The company has been targeted by animal rights groups for its use of dogs in drugs trials.

TEXT 

It's been a day of violence in Iraq with militants launching attacks both inside and outside Baghdad. North of the capital a suicide bomber drove a fuel tanker into an Iraqi army barracks in Mosel. Thirteen soldiers died in the massive explosion. Elsewhere a roadside bomb killed 5 soldiers in the city of xxx. While in southern Baghdad gunmen open fire on a crowded market, killing at least six people. Earlier rockets were fired into central Baghdad heavily defended green zone.
We don't know who is responsible for these incidents. Motor attacks on the green zone are quite common and sometimes blamed on ____ of the biggest of the Shiite militias, the Mahdi Army, who ignored their leader's order to cease fire. Senior US military officers say the number of high-profile insurgent attacks, like the one in Mosel, is creeping upwards ,even as the overall number of attacks continues to decline.

American and Afghan forces have carried out a big ground and air operation against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. The Afghan government spoke of dozens of Taliban being killed, including a well-known commander.

A joint patrol of Afghan and American troops was ambushed by insurgents in the xxx district of xxx province, which neighbours xxx and Kandahar, in the rest of South of the country. A statement from US forces said they were attacked by small arms fire and rocked propelled grenades, an that in a return of fire more than a dozen insurgents were killed. The province is under the command of Dutch forces, but has a strong American presence. The US troops, working under Operation Enduring Freedom and outside the remit of NATO, brought in air strikes to target the insurgent positions.

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan has pledged his full support to the incoming coalition government consisting of his political opponents. Mr. Musharraf said a new era of democracy was beginning, and he felt proud to have put his homeland on the path of progress.

The American vice-president Dick Cheney, speaking after talks in the West Bank with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the establishment of a Palestinian state is long overdue, but it will depend on painful concessions by the Israelis and Palestinians.

Dick Cheney said that future belonged to Israeli and Palestinian advocates of peace. He said it was extremists that were damaging hopes, referring to rockets fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip. President Abbas himself criticised the militants but pointed a finger too at Israel, saying peace couldn't be achieved with continued illegal settlement building, movement restrictions, and ____ killings by the Israeli army. Palestinian negotiators have been critical of the perceived lack of American pressure on Israel to make any concessions. They would ____ little ____ Mr Cheney to convince them that's going to change.

NOTE

launch attacks
drive ... into ...
a massive explosion
open fire on => fire on => fire into
heavily defended ...

be responsible for
be blamed on sb.
even as
creep upwards => decline

carry out a big ground and air operation against ...
spoke of ... being killed

small arms fire
rocked propelled grenades
in a return of fire
under the command of ...
have a strong ... presence
outside the remit of ... =>作为回应，卡伯恩先生说收购行动并没有违反公司法，阻止这个就超出了他的部门的职能范围。In response, Mr Caborn said the takeover did not break company law and was outside the remit of his department.

pledge one's full support to ...
consist of ...
put ... on the path of ...

... is long overdue.
depend on ...(eg. painful concessions)

criticise sb. 谴责某人
point a finger at ...
be critical of sth. 对某事表示谴责
the(a) perceived lack of ... pressure on ...

TEXT 

The exile Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has called for an end to the violence in Tibet following days of demonstrations against Chinese rule. He said if the violence slipped out of control he might have to step down as the political leader of the Tibetan people. But he rejected accusations by the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, that he had organised the rioting in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. 

Asked by the BBC for his response to scenes of Tibetans attacking ethnic Chinese people and property, the Dalai Lama said it is wrong. His message to Tibetans he said was "Don't commit violence. Burning is violence. Killing is violence. We must live side by side with Chinese people." He described the recent events as a very very sad ____. The Dalai Lama rejected accusations made by China's Premier Wen Jiabao that he had organised the recent demonstrations, and said Chinese officials were welcome to come to investigate all his files and speeches. He called for an international investigation into the events in Tibet.

Reports from Lhasa said the authorities have been conducting house-to-house searches and arresting suspected protestors. Our BBC correspondent in Western China says he has seen long convoys of military vehicles heading over the mountains into Tibet.

Share prices have made up some of their losses in Asia and Europe after the latest turmoil on world markets. Here's our economic correspondent xxx.
The leading European markets, London, Frankfurt and Paris, are are up around 2%. They lost more than that on Monday but it is still a significant rebound. Asian markets also rose 1.5% in the case of Hong Kong and Tokyo. After the turmoil caused by the crises the American Investment Bank there stirs, investors are looking ahead now to a decisional intrest rates by the US Federal Reserve, in a few hours' time, just about all expect a cut. Meanwhile the US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has acknowledged the economy has turned down sharply, but he declined to label it "a recession". The troubled British bank Northern Rock which was taken under state control last month after investors withdrew their savings en masse, says it will cut its staff by around 1/3(a third) and close its operations in Denmark. The bank said it will complete the redundancies by 2011.

A Ukranian policeman with United Nation's police force in Kosovo has died of the injuries he has sustained in a battle of Monday to control Serb rioters.
Senior lieutenant xxx died of his injuries in hospital late last night. He was 25 years old. A spokesman for the United Nations in Kosovo told the BBC that he was injured by a hand grenade during fighting between international forces and Serb protestors in the divided town of Mitrovica. This is the first fatality as a result of Monday's clashes during which over 130 people were wounded. One Serb demonstrator is said to bee in a coma after being shot in the head.

NOTE

slip out of control
reject accusations => deny accusations => deny allegations

in the case of ... and ...
... commodity prices rose sharply in the case of oil and metals.
be taken under state control
en masse = all together

die of ...(eg. disease) => die from ...(eg. accident)
the injuries he has sustained => sustain ...(eg. serious/severe) injuries
be in a coma

TEXT

A new parliament has begun its first session in Pakistan with the deputies being sworn in. This sets the stage for a likely confrontation between Pesident Musharraf and the new coalition government, as Babara Plats reports from Islamabad.
The new national assembly opens with the promise of restoring democracy after eight years of military rule under President Musharraf. The government willl be formed by the Pakistan People's Party of the assassinated Benazir Bhutto and the Muslim League of the former Prime Minister Minister Nawaz Sharif. They were bitter enemies in the 1990s, but have now vowed to work together to strengthen Parliament by reducing the president's powers. The biggest threat he faces is their pledge to restore some 60 judges he purged during a state of emergency last year, apparently as they were poised to rule him ineligible for another presidencial term.

A suicide bomb attack came at a NATO military convoy at southern Afghanistan has killed three soldiers. The Danish military says two of its soldiers were among the dead. There are also unconformed reports of civilian casulties. The attack took place in Helmand province where British soldiers make up the bulk of the NATO-led international force.

The American Vice-President Dick Cheney has arrived in Iraq on a previously unannounced visit. He comes just ahead of the 5th anniversary of the US-led invasion. Mr. Cheney is expected to meet, among others, the American military commander General David Petraeus and the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.

Voters in France have delivered a rebuke to President Nicolas Sarkozy handing substantial gains to the opposition Socialists. With nearly all the results declared in local elections, the left is taking control of a string of important cities. The outcome is likely to make it harder for the government to persue its reform programme. The French Prime Minister Francois Fillon insisted the results shouldn't be seen as a comment on government policies.
In 2001, the right wing and center largely won the municipal elections. Today the left wing has regain some ground. Each city, each district has its own particular issues. So it's a mistake to draw conclusions at the national level from this vote.

Tibetan exiles in India say that they've heard reports that the authorities in the Tibetan capital of Lasa have been rounding up political dissidents. China has given protestors in the city until midnight tonight local time to give themselves up or face consequences. The Tibetan sources say that although Lhasa itself is quiet, there've been a number of demonstrations elsewhere.

The lawyer representing an alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout who was arrested in Thailand ten days ago has complained that the authorities have still not laid any specific charges against his client. Mr Bout was detained in a Bangkok hotel after an operation by US agents posing as Colombian rebels trying to buy weapons. His lawyer said the Thai authorities were pressing Mr Bout to agree to go to the United States which is seeking his extradition.

NOTE

swear in =  administer a legal or official oath to: swear in a mayor => be sworn in
set the stage for ...

session => assembly => conference => meeting => summit
bitter enemies
vow to do => be bound to do / be about to do
purge his enemies from the Party => restore
be poised to ...
rule sb. ineligible for ...

bulk = [sing.] the ~ (of sth) the main part of sth; most of sth:
The bulk of the population lives in cities.

deliver a rebuke to sb.
hand substantial gains to ...
take control of ...
a string of ...
local elections => municipal elections => parliamentary elections

round up ...(eg. political dissidents)

lay ...(eg. criminal/terrorism/murder/assault) charges against sb.
pose as sb.
press sb. to do

TEXT

Officials of the India-based Tibetan government in-exile say they have received reports confirming that at least 30 Tibetan demonstrators were killed by the Chinese security forces in the Tibetan capital Lhasa on Friday. They say they've had reports that more than 100 people died but cannot confirm this. China's state media has said that ten innocent ethnic Chinese civilians were burnt to death in the violence. The Chinese authorities in Tibet have meanwhile set a deadline for those involved in the rioting to surrender.
China says anyone who took part in the demonstrations must give themselves up by midnight, local time, on Monday. The authorities have set up a cordon around the old quarter where much of Friday's violence took place and there's a heavy security presence in the area. Some clashes are still taking place and the situation is extremely tense. The world is now watching and waiting to see what happens next.

There have also been anti-Chinese demonstrations by Tibetan monks in Gansu province on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. Tear gas was fired at the xxx Monastery. Our China coorespondent, James Marals, has visited the monastery and sent this report.
The xxx Monastery is high up on the Tibetan plateau. To get that, we drove for five hours past glaciers and snowcapped hills. As we got closer to the monastery, we passed a convoy of Chinese security forces, striving on an empty road. Near the monastery itself, we saw a row of riot police standing on a bridge. Beyond the riot police, the Lebrun monastery was open, Tibetan monks in scarlet robes walk(ed) in and out. They told us that there had been further demonstrations earlier in the day and that the Chinese security forces had used tear gas to break up the protest.

A powerful series of explosions has struck an army ammunitions depot near the Albanian capital, Tirana. The Albanian Prime Minister, Sali Berisha, is quoted as saying that a number of people were killed. Reports (were) speaking of at least 150 people injured. Here's our Balkan correspondent, Helen Forks.
The explosion happened as ammution was being destroyed at an Albanian military base. According to the Prime Minister's spokesman, three teams of 21 people were working in the area at the time, and it’s feared they've been killed or seriously injured. He said that several of the people were US citizens. Albanian's Health Minister said that around 150 people had been injured including many children. The depot, which was on the outskirts of the capital, is used as a location to destroy obsolete ammunition. It's reported that the blast set off ammunition and there was a series of explosions which lasted for more than two hours. The force of the blast was felt in Tirana, some 20 kilometers away. Windows of the airport in the capital were also damaged.

NOTE

set a deadline for sb. => give sb. an ultimatum
take part in => involve in
surrender => give oneself up
old quarter => old Tibet court
tense situation

break up the protest => disperse the protest

be quoted as saying ...
It's feared (that)...
on the outskirts of ...

TEXT 

The Environmental Protection Agency in the United States has tightened air quality standards to help improve public health. Industry lobbied for them to be left alone, but campaigners including the Environmental Defence Fund wanted tougher measures. It's spokesman is Dr. John Balbus.
The first part was a modest improvement in the health standard, but the other two parts were not very good in what them do. The health standard that EPA announced will tighten that the level that's allowed and that __ identify as being healthy or unhealthy for people, but they only lowered a little bit. The top scientists __ the EPA and asked them to lower to a range of 60 to 70 parts per billion. And just by comparison, the European Commission's target is 61 parts per billion. [Reference]

The Serbian president Boris Tadic has dissolved parliament and called an earlier general election. It'll be held on May 11. The move follows the collapse of the Serbian government over differences on the Kosovo issue.

Plant scientists have warned that a virulent strain of wheat fungus could further put up crises and cause hunger in many countries. The strain of black stem rust known as Ug-99 originated in East Africa in 1999. By last year, it has spread to Yemen and it's now been found in Iran. The fungus stops wheat plants absorbing nutrients and can wipe out whole harvest. The scientists in Britain and Mexico say few of the wheat varieties grown in Africa and Asia have immunity to Ug-99. They're testing other NATO varieties and said breeding resistent crops could take several years.

Leaders from the 27 European Union member states are gathering later today in Brussels for a summit expected to focus on climate change, energy security and concerns about the global economy. The EU is seeking to lead global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The summit will try to work out how to implement 20% reduction by 2020. From Brussels xxx reports.
Many leaders argue that time is the essence if European Union is to take a lead in the international negotiations. The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to be one of those calling for cuts in purchase taxes on energy-saving goods. One thing that's caused a stir in the run-up to the summit has been a report that the leaders would have __ them __ by the EU's foreign policy chief xxx. It warns of the possibility of mass migration into Europe as a result of the effects of climate change. The leaders will also be looking at the issue - security of energy supplies, and they'll discuss the slow-down in the global economy and the upheavals in the world financial markets.

Police in India have arrested more than 100 Tibetan exiles who were persisting with attempts to march to the border with Tibet. The authorities have warned the Tibetans on Monday that they wouldn't be allowed to proceed. The marchers who oppose Chinese rule in their homeland wanted to protest at China's staging of this year's Olympic Games.

NOTE

lobby = seek to influence (a legislator)
lobby for sb. to do sth.
lower a little bit

dissolve =  formally end or annul (an assembly, marriage, etc.)

crisis => crises
put up ...(eg. crises)
stop ... doing sth. (eg. stop wheat plants absorbing nutrients / stop me going out of the door)
wipe out =  destroy completely (eg. wipe out whole harvest)
have immunity to ...

focus on ...
concerns about ...
seek to do sth.
lead ...(eg. global) efforts to do sth.
Time is the essence.
take a lead in ...
taxes on ...
run-up = the preparatory period before a notable event
in the run-up to ...(eg. the summit / the game)
It warns of the possiblity of ...
the slowdown in ...
upheaval = a violent or sudden change

persist with ... (eg. He persisted with his questioning.)
at ...(eg. China's / this year's) staging of ...

WASHINGTON – The air in more than 300 U.S. counties is simply too dirty to breathe, the government says, ordering a multibillion-dollar expansion of efforts to clean up smog in a host of cities and towns nationwide.

Scientists say the federal action, which will lower ozone limits, is still not enough to significantly reduce heart and asthma attacks from breathing smog-clogged air, and they want the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a more stringent requirement.

Electric utilities, oil companies and other businesses have lobbied hard for leaving the smog rule alone, saying the high cost of lower limits could hurt the economy and noting that many communities still haven't met requirements set a decade ago.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, already a target of intense criticism over emissions linked to global warming and regulation of mercury from power plants, decided to take the middle ground when it comes to smog.

The EPA at a news conference Wednesday planned to direct that air must contain no more than 75 units of ozone, or smog, for every billion units of air in order to be considered healthy, a reduction from the current maximum concentration of 80 to 84 parts per billion.

The new ozone standard will serve as the benchmark for state and local officials as they design pollution control measures. The EPA gives states years to meet the needed reductions, and areas with the worst pollution are likely to have as long as a decade to comply.

Ozone is a product of nitrogen oxides and other organic chemical compounds from motor vehicles, power plants, manufacturing and industrial plants. As it comes into contact with the sun's rays it is seen as the smog that hangs in much of the nation's air, aggravating respiratory problems for tens of millions of people.

An estimated 85 counties of the more than 700 that have monitoring stations exceed the current 80 parts per billion concentration, according to the latest EPA calculations. More than 320 counties exceed the tighter 75 parts per billion standard.

Health experts say smog under the current ozone regulation – even in areas where the limit is being met – causes hundreds of premature deaths among the elderly and health problems for thousands of young children and people with asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

An independent EPA advisory group of scientists last year said an ozone standard of 60 to 70 parts per billion is needed to provide an adequate margin of protection for the millions of people susceptible to respiratory problems. A similar conclusion was reached by a second advisory board on children's health.

In December, 111 health scientists, in a letter to Johnson, urged the EPA to adopt the science panels' findings.

Clean air advocates called the latest EPA reduction a move in the right direction – but also a political compromise that does not go far enough.

“It's disheartening that once again EPA has missed a critical opportunity to protect public health and welfare by ignoring the unanimous recommendations of its independent science advisers,” said William Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, whose members will be developing programs to meet the federal air quality requirement.

Becker acknowledged that the tighter the standard the more difficult it will be to meet, but he said: “The public deserves the right to know whether the air they breathe is healthy.”

In recent weeks, some of the most powerful industry groups in Washington have waged an intense lobbying campaign at the White House, urging the administration to keep the current standard.

Electric utilities, the oil and chemical industries and manufacturing groups argued that lowering the standard would require states and local officials to impose new pollution controls, harming economic growth, when the science has yet to determine the health benefits conclusively. The 80 parts per billion standard was enacted by the EPA in 1997, but its implementation was delayed for several years because of court challenges by industry groups.

“Hundreds of counties haven't been able to meet the current standard set a decade ago,” said John Kinsman, senior director for environment at the Edison Electric Institute, which represents most of the country's power companies. “Moving the goalpost again will inflict economic hardship on those areas without speeding air quality improvements.”

The EPA has said, based on various studies, cutting smog from 80 to 75 parts per billion would prevent between 900 and 1,100 premature deaths a year and mean 1,400 fewer nonfatal heart attacks and 5,600 fewer hospital or emergency room visits. A separate study suggests that tightening the standard to 70 parts per billion could avoid as many s 3,800 premature deaths nationwide.

The EPA by law is not supposed to consider economic cost in establishing the federal health standard for air quality. The agency has estimated that new pollution control efforts to comply with a 75 parts per billion standard would cost as much as $8.8 billion a year, although it acknowledged that does not take into account reductions in health care costs that could be even greater.