Week 7 - 喜馬拉雅山雪崩

Nepal blizzards and avalanches claim many lives

15 October 2014

A blizzard and several avalanches in the Himalayas in central Nepal are reported to have killed at least 26 trekkers and three farmers.

The highest number of deaths - two Israelis, two Poles and eight Nepalese - happened when a blizzard hit a point on the Annapurna Circuit. Many trekkers returning from the circuit remain out of contact. BBC South Asia Editor Charles Haviland says it is one the deadliest spells of bad weather ever seen in the region. Avalanches to the east and west have left 10 more people dead or presumed dead, among them Canadians, Slovaks and an Indian as well as local people. A French man also died after slipping into the Budhi Gandaki river in heavy rains. Severe rain and snowstorms in Nepal appear to have been triggered by Cyclone Hudhud in neighbouring India.

Analysis: Phanindra Dahal, BBC Nepali, Kathmandu

It has not been good a year for Nepal's trekking and mountaineering industry. An avalanche on Mount Everest in April killed 16 Sherpas - and resulted in a massive reduction of expeditions to the world's highest peak during the spring season.

The latest disaster comes during the peak trekking period. Thousands of tourists head to Nepal in October, and many of them enjoy its high altitude mountain passes and pristine beauty. The freak heavy snowfall caught the trekkers off guard.

The tragedy will badly hurt Nepal's tourism, with officials worried about the wider negative message it sends. Trekking and mountaineering are the key backbones of the industry - the major foreign exchange earner for Nepal.

An army official co-ordinating the search operation said two military helicopters had been sent from the capital Kathmandu to assist the rescue operation. Thousands of trekkers visit the Annapurna Circuit every October, when weather conditions are usually favourable for hiking trips. What appears to be a freak snowstorm a little under the highest pass caused mayhem, with many people still believed to be trapped in snow. Only a little to the east, near Mount Manaslu, a French man died after being swept into a river. The deaths come just months after 16 Sherpa mountain guides died in Nepal's worst ever accident on Mount Everest. Nepal's high peaks attract some of the world's best climbers - but trekking is generally safe and appeals to masses of ordinary outdoor enthusiasts.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29625605

Structure of the lead :

WHO - 26 trekkers and three farmers

WHEN - 15 October 2014

WHAT - A blizzard and several avalanches in the Himalayas in central Nepal are reported to have killed at least 26 trekkers and three farmers.

WHY - the bad weather and the freak heavy snowfall such as severe rain and snowstorms in Nepal 

WHERE - In the Himalayas in central Nepal

HOW - not given

Keywords :

1. avalanche (n.) 雪崩

2. trekker (n.) 登山者

3. out of contact 失聯

4. presume (v.) 推測 ; 假定

5. hudhud 炫風

6. mountaineering (n.) 登山運動

7. expedition (n.) 探險隊

8. pristine (a.) 清新的 ; 美麗的

9. freak (a.) 反常的

10. co-ordinating (a.) 協調的

11. favourable (a.) 有利的

12. mayhem (n.) 大混亂

Week 6 - 年輕演員吸毒

Jackie Chan's actor son Jaycee formally arrested on drug charges

Thursday, 18 September, 2014

Jaycee Chan has been formally arrested on drug charges, nearly a month after he was caught smoking marijuana in Beijing.

The prosecutor's office, or procuratorate, in Beijing's Dongcheng district approved the arrest of Jaycee Fong Cho-ming, son of international kung fu icon Jackie Chan, on suspicion of "accommodating drug users".

This signals that authorities are moving forward with the case against Jaycee, who is currently in detention.

Jaycee, 32, was taken away by police on August 14 with his friend Taiwanese actor Ko Chen-tung, 23, for doing drugs at a foot massage parlour in Beijing.

Police recovered more than 100 grams of marijuana from Chan's home in Beijing.

Mainland media reported that Jaycee Chan admitted that he first abused drugs in the Netherlands in 2006, while Ko did so for the first time in Jaycee’s home two years ago.

The public security bureau of Dongcheng had sought the procuratorate’s approval for Chan’s arrest on September 10, the statement on Weibo said.

Chinese police need official approval from prosecutors to formally arrest a suspect. During a period of formal arrest, police can continue to investigate. If they decide to criminally charge him, a trial would follow.

The maximum sentence for allowing others to take drugs in a property, workplace or hotel is three years’ imprisonment.

Ko was given a sentence of 14 days in administrative detention after he admitted using marijiuana.

On his release, he appeared at a news conference with his parents and agent and apologized for smoking the drug.

Jackie Chan, who was named an anti-drug ambassador in 2009 by Chinese authorities, has publicly apologized for his son’s drug use and pledged to work with him on his recovery.

A series of celebrities have been detained on drug charges following a declaration in June by President Xi Jinping that illegal drugs should be wiped out and that offenders would be severely punished.

Performing arts associations and theater companies in Beijing have pledged not to hire any actors connected with drugs, and national associations representing film actors, directors and producers have reportedly issued a notice saying members who repeatedly take drugs will be expelled and banned from making movies.

http://www.scmp.com/article/1594668/procuratorate-approves-arrest-jaycee-chan-drug-charges

Structure of the lead:

WHO - Jaycee Chan with his friend Taiwanese actor Ko Chen-tung,

WHEN - August 14

WHAT - Jaycee Chan has been formally arrested on drug charges, nearly a month after he was caught smoking marijuana in Beijing.

WHY - not given

WHERE – Beijing

HOW – Jaycee and his friend Taiwanese actor Ko Chen-tung,23, did drugs at a foot massage parlour in Beijing. Jaycee Chan admitted that he first abused drugs in the Netherlands in 2006, while Ko did so for the first time in Jaycee’s home two years ago. Ko was given a sentence of 14 days in administrative detention. On his release, he apologized for smoking the drugs.

Keywords:

1. marijuana (n.) 大麻

2. prosecutor (n.) 起訴人

3. procuratorate (n.) 檢查機關

4. suspicion (n.) 懷疑

5. detention (n.) 拘留

6. parlour (n.) 會客室

7. seek (sought) (v.) 搜索

8. trail (n.) 蹤跡

9. anti-drug (a.) 反毒的

10. ambassador (n.) 大使

11. pledge (v.) 發誓

12. detain (v.) 扣押

13. wipe out 徹底摧毀

14. offender (n.) 冒犯者

15. expel (v.) 驅逐

Week 5 - 高雄氣爆

Kaohsiung rocked by underground blasts

By Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

Sat, Aug 02, 2014

A series of suspected gas explosions that shook Greater Kaohsiung from late Thursday night to early yesterday morning claimed at least 26 lives and injured 269 people.

The blasts tore through the city’s roads and dug a 100m trench up to 1.8m deep. At least 1.5km of roadways were damaged.

Cars and fire trucks were trapped and overturned in the rubble. Vehicles were hurled through the air, landing on the roofs of houses. Flames erupted from manholes after their covers were blasted off, with gouts of fire reaching 15 stories high.

According to the Greater Kaohsiung Government, at 8:46pm on Thursday it received reports of manholes spewing white smoke and the suspected smell of gas near Kaisyuan 3rd Road and Ersheng 1st Road in Cianjhen District (前鎮). A few hours after the first report, a series of explosions took place on Yisin Road, Ersheng Road, Sanduo Road and Guanghua Road in the same district, and in neighboring Lingya District (苓雅).

At press time, city government information showed that the incident had claimed 26 lives and injured 269. Among the 26 confirmed dead were three firefighters and one volunteer who rushed to the scene after residents smelled gas. Rescuers were also searching for two others who went missing.

At 8:30pm yesterday, two people were reportedly discovered alive under debris, and rescue workers were trying to free them using excavators, shovels and their bare hands. It has not been confirmed whether the two men are the two firefighters who were reported missing.

Some of the fatalities were homeowners checking out their properties after being informed about the first blasts.

Two injured people rescued from a fourth-floor balcony said that they had been propelled to the rooftop by the blasts.

The Chinese-language Apple Daily newspaper’s reporter Wei Bin (魏斌) was injured by the explosions, receiving second and third-degree burns over about 50 percent of his body, the paper reported.

Schools and work were called off in Cianjhen and Lingya districts yesterday.

Hundreds of troops and firefighters from neighboring Greater Tainan, Chiayi City, Taitung County and Pingtung County were deployed to support the rescue effort.

Yesterday morning, fires still burned on the streets, but the local government said that they were left burning to avoid further explosions, adding that the firefighting crew was on the scene to keep the fire from consuming nearby buildings.

The cause of the explosions had not been determined, with authorities now focusing on the volatile chemical propene — which is carried in pipelines that run alongside the city’s underground sewage system in the area — as the suspected cause.

Chemical companies such as CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油), China Petrochemical Development Corp (中石化), China General Terminal and Distribution Corp (CGTD, 華運), LCY Chemical Corp (李長榮化學) and Hsin Kao Gas Co Ltd (欣高), which have pipelines in the area, were called in by the city government’s emergency response center amid the inquiry into the cause of the fatal blasts.

Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) said yesterday morning that natural gas has been excluded from the list of possible causes, adding that gas check valves in the area have been closed.

The Greater Kaohsiung Government said a 4-inch pipeline carrying propene was found to have encountered a pressure anomaly between 8:40pm and 9pm on Thursday night.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/08/02/2003596471

Structure of the lead:

WHO - gas explosion

WHEN -  late Thursday night to early yesterday morning

WHAT - A series of suspected gas explosion claimed at least 26 lives and injured 269 people.

WHY - The volatile chemical propene, which is carried in pipelines that run alongside the city’s underground sewage system in the area.

WHERE -  Kaisyuan 3rd Road and Ersheng 1st Road in Cianjhen District. Later, the explosion took place on Yisin Road, Ersheng Road, Sanduo Road and Guanghua Road in the same district, and in neighboring Lingya District (苓雅).

HOW - Cars and fire trucks were trapped and overturned in the rubble. Vehicles were hurled through the air, landing on the roofs of houses.Flames erupted from manholes after their covers were blasted off, with gouts of fire reaching 15 stories high.

Keywords:

1. suspected (a.) 可疑的

2. shake (v.) 使震驚 ; 使心煩意亂

3. claim (v.) 奪走

4. trench (n.) 溝渠

5. trapped (v.) 被困住的

6. rubble (n.) 碎石 ; 瓦礫

7. hurl (v.) 用力投擲

8. gout (n.) 一團

9. spew (v.) 噴出

10. press time 緊迫時刻

11. debris (n.) 殘骸 ; 碎片

12. excavator (n.) 挖掘機

13. shovel (n.) 鏟子

14. fatality (n.) 死亡

15. propel (v.) 驅使 ; 推動

16. call off 取消

17. crew (n.) 全體人員

18. consume (v.) 毀滅 ; 燒毀

19. volatile (a.) 不穩定的 ; 爆炸性的

20. propene (n.) 丙烯

21. sewage (n.) 下水道 ; 污水

22. valve (n.) 閥門

23. anomaly (n.) 不規則