Obama to announce new pollution targets for power plants

The United States produces more greenhouse gases than any country in the world, apart from China. The plan to curb抑制 emissions排放 from fossil-fuelled power plants化石燃料發電廠 is the most ambitious雄心壯志的 measure proposed by President Obama in his efforts努力 to tackle應對 climate change.

The details of the plan will be laid out發布 by the Environmental Protection Agency環保署. It will give broad flexibility to states to decide how to meet carbon reduction targets, whether by closing coal-fired power stations燃煤電廠 and switching to cleaner sources of energy, or by creating cap-and-trade schemes上限與交易計畫. 

Some US media are reporting that by 2030 the government wants a 30% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions二氧化碳排放. Business groups and Republicans fiercely oppose強烈反對 the new regulations法規, and say they're likely to drive up提高 electricity prices電價. But for the president the measure is important for his environmental legacy and in order to show global leadership on climate change.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2014/06/140602_witn_obama_emissions.shtml

Prison bank

PISODE 140924 / 24 SEP 2014 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/witn/ep-140924

Some might say this is the safest bank in the world.

It operates經營 inside Peru's largest prison and is run entirely by inmates囚犯.

This prisoner - convicted被判定 of drug trafficking - is the bank manager.

It opened its doors about a year ago and has almost 120 customers - all of them are doing time.

The idea's to help the men save money, which will come in handy有用地 when they're released.

Vocabulary

inmates - prisoners

convicted - found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court

doing time - (here) being in prison for the duration of a prisoner's sentence

come in handy - be useful

released - freed

Driving change in the West Bank

Checking a bus engine is an unusual start to the day for a woman in the West Bank.

But there's nothing Najlaa Asia would rather do. She's the first woman licensed to drive public buses in the Palestinian city of Tulkarm.

Being a pioneer isn't easy. She had to pass 12 driving tests. But Najlaa encourages other Palestinian women to break with taboo禁忌, and compete on an equal footing平等 with men in all professions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2014/05/140528_vwitn_bus_driver.shtml

Hands-free on the road?

Google's driverless car project was officially launched推出 in 2010. Since then it says its test vehicles have completed more than a million kilometres on public roads. They've progressed from relatively simple driving on the Californian freeway to more complicated manoeuvring機動 in urban areas.

So far, Google has used a fleet of ordinary cars, which have been converted to carry self-driving technology. But now it wants to take the process a stage further by producing a purpose-built特製的 machine. It’s planning to create a fleet of about a hundred fully autonomous electric vehicles capable of carrying two people at up to 40 km per hour without any input from a human driver.

The ultimate aim最終目標 is to get rid of the controls altogether, although early versions will still need to have a steering wheel方向盤 and pedals.

Google believes it will be able to launch a pilot scheme using the new cars within the next two years. But the internet giant is far from being the only company working on self-driving technology. A number of major manufacturers have their own test programmes, among them Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen and BMW.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2014/05/140530_witn_driverless_car.shtml

Children aid幫助/援助 malaria vaccine疫苗 hunt

In an area of Tanzania where malaria is rife非常多的, scientists have found a small group of children who are naturally resistant 抵抗的 to the disease. Tests revealed透露 that their immune system produces an antibody that attacks the malaria-causing parasite寄生蟲.

It traps捕捉 the tiny organism in red blood cells, preventing it from bursting out爆發 and spreading蔓延 throughout the body. The team found that injecting a form of this antibody into mice小老鼠 protected the animals from malaria.

The scientists say the results are encouraging but further進一步的 trials in primates靈長類 and humans are needed to fully assess the vaccine's promise.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2014/05/140523_witn_malaria.shtml

Pompeii under threat

The newly appointed任命, 委派 Italian culture minister, Dario Franceschini, is already facing a huge challenge: how to save one of the world's most treasured珍貴的 archaeological考古 sites.

He's summoned招喚 officials from Pompeii to Rome to report on the state of the site, and explain why the wall of a tomb墓 and part of an arch of the Temple of Venus fell down after days of heavy rain this weekend.

This is not the first time that the site has suffered damage. There was an international outcry in 2010 after a series of wall collapses坍塌 in Pompeii. The ancient古老的 city was completely buried in ash in 79 AD after a volcanic eruption爆發, and rediscovered重新發現 in the 18th Century.

Critics say that, having survived for two millennia千, one of Italy's most popular attractions吸引力 is now being neglected.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2014/03/140303_witn_pompeii.shtml

Another side to Mogadishu

On the walls of a London gallery hang photographs that tell an altogether完全 different story of Mogadishu. The images, most of which have never before been seen in public, show the compact Arab-style Mogadishu of the thirteenth century. The elegant優雅 white Italian colonial buildings that gave it the name 'The Pearl of the Indian Ocean'. The stark socialist structures of the sixties and seventies.

The Somali architect, Rashid Ali, put together the exhibition. He is worried that the current rebuilding of the city, after the return of a degree of stability, will destroy forever what remains of its past…

Rashid Ali, architect:

When this transformation is not based on a kind of a knowledge and without any policies, it's very easy for these buildings to be entirely demolished拆除. My point of view is that these buildings should be preserved保存 and not destroyed at all because they are really important to the country's history.

As well as the photographs and videos in the exhibition, there's an architectural model built by Rashid Ali…

Rashid Ali, architect:

I see culture as a tool for revitalising振興 and rehabilitating修復 the city so this is what I call a miniature微型 city, which is a cultural hub中心 essentially… Artists' studio spaces, there's a library, there's a small cinema, there's a cafe, there's a book shop. It sits on top of a hillside山坡, so you can overlook Hamar Weyne which is the old city and look at the Indian Ocean.

It's as yet unclear whether Mr Ali's dream of a cultural centre for Mogadishu will become a reality. Or whether what remains of the city's past will be preserved. But this exhibition makes clear that Mogadishu has the potential to be a great African city, especially if its architectural past can be included in its future.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2014/03/140307_witn_mogadishu_art.shtml