BBC News, this is Mike Cooper.
A United States presidential commission investigating last year's catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has recommended a series of wide-ranging reforms. In its final report, the commission calls for the creation of an independent safety agency, tougher government regulation, and more money and training for federal agencies. From Washington, here's Paul Adams.
The report urges adoption of a safety case approach similar to that used in Europe's North Sea since the British Piper Alpha disaster in 1988. This requires that companies conduct a thorough evaluation of all risks associated with drilling a particular well before work begins. In a strongly-worded statement, one of the commission's co-chairs, William Reilly, said last year's accident was the almost inevitable result of years of industry and government complacency and carelessness.
The head of the American negotiating team on Sudan has hinted at the possibility of the normalisation of relations between Sudan and the US. US ambassador Princeton Lyman told the BBC Arabic Service that to achieve this, the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir would need to recognise the eventual outcome of the referendum on possible independence for the south which is currently taking place.
"If the referendum is effective and the results are recognised by the government of Sudan, the president would indicate his intention to start the process for removing Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. And then it takes several months to complete that process and consultations with Congress."
Following another day of violence in Tunisia, the communications minister has told a news conference that the number of dead has reached 21 since the weekend. But local residents say the number is much higher.
Thousands more Australians have been forced to leave their homes around the Queensland capital Brisbane as the state's worst floodwaters for 50 years continue to rise. Further upstream, the town of Toowoomba was hit on Tuesday night by what was described as a terrifying "inland tsunami" raging through the streets. Ten people were killed, and almost 80 are said to be missing.
Egypt has recalled its ambassador to the Vatican. The move comes a day after Pope Benedict's strongly-worded appeal to the governments of predominantly Muslim countries to do more to protect their Christian minorities. Here's David Willey.
Egypt has accused the Pope of meddling in its internal affairs. The Egyptians insist that they are capable of protecting all their citizens and blame foreign elements for the New Year's Day suicide bomb that killed more than 20 worshippers and policemen at a Coptic church in Alexandria, and left dozens more injured. There was no immediate comment from the Holy See, but off the record, the Pope's advisers admit that they were expecting this type of reaction from the Muslim world.
World News from the BBC
Doctors treating the American congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords say she's breathing on her own. However, they say she remains critically ill. Ms Giffords was shot in the head in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday in an attack in which six people were killed, including a nine-year-old girl. President Obama is expected to travel to Tucson on Wednesday for a memorial service.
German investigators looking into the contamination of animal feed with dioxin say it's now been found in pork. The chemical had already been detected in eggs and poultry. Several hundred pigs at a farm in northern Germany were slaughtered after levels of dioxin were found to be 50% above permitted levels. From Berlin, here's Tristana Moore.
The farm used contaminated animal feed that has been traced back to a company in northern Germany which distributes oil for use in animal feed production. Government officials say polluted fats may have been used in making up to 150,000 tonnes of animal feed, which ended up in hundreds of farms all over Germany. While government experts insist the dioxin levels are not dangerous, consumer groups accuse the authorities of playing down the risk to human health and are calling for tougher regulations to be imposed on the animal feed industry.
The online social networking site MySpace is to cut nearly half its global workforce. Around 500 jobs will go in the company, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. MySpace has been eclipsed in popularity by Facebook, but its founder Mark Zuckerberg is also facing problems. A court in San Francisco is hearing a fresh claim by two brothers, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who say they invented Facebook.
European astronomers have given a jubilant account of what they say are stunning discoveries made by the Planck space telescope. In its quest to search for more clues to the origin of the Universe, it's identified 15,000 new objects, among them clusters of galaxies that are some of the largest structures ever seen in the cosmos.
BBC News
负责调查去年墨西哥湾灾难性的漏油事故的美国总统委员会建议进行一系列广泛的改革。在最终报告中,该委员会呼吁成立独立的安全机构,进行更加严格的政府调控,对联邦机构投入更多资金,进行更多训练。华盛顿,Paul Adams报道。
该报告敦促采取类似于1998年英国帕玻尔·阿尔法(Piper Alpha)灾难后欧洲北海采取的安全方法。这要求所有公司在工作开始之前彻底评估与特定的油井开采有关的所有风险。在言辞强烈的声明中,该委员会联合主席William Reilly表示,去年的灾难几乎是石油行业和政府自满疏忽的必然结果。
美国赴苏丹谈判小组负责人暗示了苏丹和美国关系正常化的可能性。美国大使普林斯顿·利曼(Princeton Lyman)告诉BBC阿拉伯服务,为了达到这一目标,苏丹总统巴希尔将必须认可南苏丹目前正在举行的独立公投的最终结果。
“如果公投有效,投票结果也得到苏丹政府的认可,总统将表示从恐怖主义发源国名单中清除苏丹的过程。完成该过程以及与国会磋商可能要需要几个月的时间。”
突尼斯又一天的暴力过后,通讯部长告诉新闻发布会,自周末以来的死亡人数已经达到21人。但是当地居民称实际数字要高的多。
在澳大利亚昆士兰州首府布里斯班,由于该州50年来最严重的洪水袭击,又有数千人被迫背井离乡。在上游,Toowoomba镇周二晚上被街道上涌起的恐怖的“内陆海啸”袭击。据称共有10人死亡,大约80人失踪。
埃及召回驻梵蒂冈大使。此举发生在教皇本笃言辞激烈地要求穆斯林主宰的埃及政府采取更多措施保护基督教少数派。David Willey报道。
埃及指控教皇干涉其国内事务。埃及人坚持称他们有能力保护所有公民,并指责外国势力发动了新年当天的自杀式爆炸袭击。袭击造成20多名礼拜者和警察在亚历山大的天主教堂遇难,此外还有几十人受伤。天主教教廷没有立即发表评论,但是教皇的顾问已经非正式地承认,他们认为穆斯林世界将会做出同样的反应。
BBC世界新闻。
为国会女众议员吉佛兹(Gabrielle Giffords)提供治疗的医生表示她现在已经可以自行呼吸。然而,他们说,她的情况依然非常危险。吉佛兹于周六在亚利桑那州的图桑头部中枪,6人在袭击中遇难,包括一名9岁的女孩。预期奥巴马总统周三将前往图桑参加追悼会。
对动物饲料二恶英污染事件进行调查的德国调查人员表示,现在已经在猪肉中发现了二恶英。这种化学物质已经在蛋类和禽类中检查到。德国北部一家农场发现二恶英的含量超过允许水平的50%以后宰杀了几百头猪。柏林,Tristana Moore报道。
这个农场使用了污染了的动物饲料,归根结底是由于德国北部一家公司,该公司提供生产饲料所需的油。政府官员表示,在制造150,000吨动物饲料的过程中可能使用了污染了的脂肪,这些饲料销往德国各地数百个农场。而政府专家坚持称,二恶英的含量还没有达到危险水平,消费者权益保护组织指控当局故意淡化二恶英对人类健康的危害,要求对动物饲料行业进行更加严格的监管。
社交网络MySpace决定将全球的工作人员裁减一半。该公司将减少500个工作岗位。该网站归Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation所有。
MySpace的受欢迎程度已经不如Facebook,但是Facebook的创始人Mark Zuckerberg也面临着一些问题。旧金山一家法庭接到新的指控,Cameron和Tyler Winklevoss两兄弟声称Facebook是由他们发明的。
欧洲天文学家称,普朗克天文望远镜做出了惊人的发现,他们对此欢呼庆祝。在探寻宇宙起源的更多线索的过程中,该望远镜发现了15,000多种新的物体,其中包括许多星系,这是目前为止在宇宙中发现的最大的结构。
1.catastrophic a.悲惨的,灾难的
例句:It has been predicted that the Earth will tilt on its axis,causing catastrophic famine and disease.
有人曾预言地球会导致大荒灾和疾病。
2.recommend vt.推荐, 介绍, 赞许某人[某事物]
例句:Can you recommend a classmate who can take up the job?
你能不能推荐一位能承担这项工作的同学?
3.inevitable adj.不可避免的, 必然发生的,不能防止的
4.complacency n.满足,自满,得意
例句:Complacency is a drawback to progress.
自满是进步的障碍。
5.indicate vt.标示, 指示, 指出
例句:She indicated where I should go.
她指出了我该去的地方。
象征; 表明或暗示…的可能性
例句:The snow indicates the coming of winter.
这场雪表明冬天来临。
6.upstream adv. adj.向上游(的);逆流(的)
例句:The ice blocks up the river, making the upstream water unable to flow.
冰把河道堵住了, 上游的水流不下来。
7.predominantly adv.占主导地位地;占优势地;显著地
例句:The workforce is predominantly male.
劳动力中男性占绝大多数。
These people are predominantly Russian Orthodox by religion.
这些人大多是俄罗斯东正教信徒。
8.contamination n.污染;弄脏;毒害
例句:panic about food contamination
食物污染的恐慌
tests for pesticide contamination in food
对食物中农药污染的检验
9.eclipse n.(日、月)食; 日蚀;月蚀
例句:There was a total eclipse showing up in the sky on July 22, 2009 in China.
2009年7月22日,中国的天空上呈现了一场日全食。
消失, 黯然失色,(重要性、权势等的)丧失, 暗淡
例句:During the seventies, her acting career was in eclipse.
在七十年代, 她的表演生涯黯然失色。
1.The report urges adoption of a safety case approach similar to that used in Europe's North Sea since the British Piper Alpha disaster in 1988.
similar to跟...类似得,与...同样的
2.The head of the American negotiating team on Sudan has hinted at the possibility of the normalisation of relations between Sudan and the US.
hint at暗示(某事)
例句:What on earth are you hinting at?
你到底在暗示什么?
I hinted at his imprudence.
我曾暗示他的不谨慎。
3.The Egyptians insist that they are capable of protecting all their citizens and blame foreign elements for the New Year's Day suicide bomb that killed more than 20 worshippers and policemen at a Coptic church in Alexandria, and left dozens more injured.
be capable of能够…,可以…,做得出…
例句:It should be capable of detecting exoplanets smaller than the Earth.
这架望远镜能够侦测到体积比地球还小的系外行星。
4.The farm used contaminated animal feed that has been traced back to a company in northern Germany which distributes oil for use in animal feed production.
trace back to追溯到…
例句:His family traces back to the Norman Conquest.
他的家世可追溯到诺曼人征服英国的时代。
His father claims to be able to trace the family back to many centuries ago.
他父亲声称能把家世追溯到许多世纪之前。
5.While government experts insist the dioxin levels are not dangerous, consumer groups accuse the authorities of playing down the risk to human health and are calling for tougher regulations to be imposed on the animal feed industry.
play down轻描淡写, 故意缩小…的重要性
例句:She tried to play down his part in the affair.
她极力贬低他在这一事件中的作用。
Somehow Harriet always tried to play herself down to her friends.
不知为什么, 哈丽特总是竭力使自己在朋友们中间显得无足轻重似的。