11-26-07

中國接收到嫦娥一號首批月表照片 (China Receives its First Images of Moon's Surface)

中國星期一舉行儀式，公佈“嫦娥一號”探月衛星傳回的第一組月球照片，這標誌著這枚衛星月球表面探測使命的正式開始。中國總理溫家寶在北京航太飛行控制中心舉行的儀式上發表講話，盛讚“嫦娥一號”的成功，並說這是中華民族千年奔月的夢想成真。

中國10月發射了這枚探月衛星。中國希望“嫦娥一號”能在明年年初之前探測整個月球表面。官方的新華社網站上登載的一張照片顯示了灰色的月球表面，上面佈滿了隕石坑。中國希望在2012年以前發射無人登月探測器，然後還要把人送上月球。

China unveiled the first images of the moon captured by its lunar satellite at a ceremony Monday, marking the formal start of its mission to document the lunar landscape. Speaking at a ceremony at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center today, Premier Wen Jiabao hailed the Chang'e one's accomplishment as a major step in the "Chinese race's thousand year-old dream" of exploring the moon. 

China hopes the probe, which was launched late October, will survey the entire surface of the moon by early next year. A picture posted on the official Xinhua news agency Web site showed the gray surface of the moon splotched with craters. China hopes to land an unmanned rover on the moon's surface by 2012 and later put a man on the moon.

日本聲稱反對聲浪不會阻其捕鯨 (Japan Says Opposition Will not Halt Whale Hunt)

日本為在南極海洋捕鯨的計劃進行辯護，表示來自反對捕鯨國的阻力阻止不了它所說的“捕鯨研究項目”。美國、澳大利亞和紐西蘭都敦促日本停止捕鯨。不過，澳大利亞一直髮出反對日本捕鯨的最強烈聲音。星期六贏得議會選舉的澳大利亞工黨呼籲針對日本的捕鯨採取更強硬的行動。

日本政府發言人星期一對媒體說，日本不可能突然改變自己的項目。日本說，日本需要捕殺鯨類，以便研究它們的繁殖和捕食規律。日本還說，日本捕殺的鯨類數量很少，不會威脅到它們的總數目。每次捕獵之後，鯨肉會被出售。

Japan is defending its plans to hunt whales in the Antarctic Ocean and says opposition from anti-whaling nations will not stop what it calls a "research whaling program." The United States, Australia and New Zealand have all urged Japan to call off the hunt, but Australia has been one of Tokyo's most vocal opponents. Australia's Labor Party, which won parliamentary elections Saturday, has called for tougher action against Japan's whaling. 

A Japanese government spokesman told reporters Monday that it could not change its program abruptly. Japan says it needs to kill whales to conduct research on their reproductive and feeding patterns, and says the number it kills is too small to endanger their populations. The whale meat is sold after the hunt.