A disabled woman's letter to Chinese Premier

    BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- "Dear Premier¹(总理) Wen, I'd like to tell you the good news first. The problem I brought up at the seminar last year has been solved in Beijing," wrote 34-year-old, wheelchair-bound Li Nan to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Jan. 20 this year.
    The problem Li referred to was the high prices of one-off hygiene² products that had plagued people with work-related spinal³ cord injuries for a long time.
    On Jan. 31, 2010, Wen talked with a group of ordinary people in Chaoyang District in Beijing to get their opinions on the draft of a government work report that will be submitted to the national legislature in March.
    Wen asked Li to be the first to voice her views at the seminar. Li said that patients with spinal cord injuries had to spend about 2,000 yuan (303 U.S. dollars) a month on one-off hygiene products because of their incontinence.
    "My injury allowance is roughly 2,000 yuan a month. I have to live on my parents' pension," she said.
    She suggested giving more attention to the employment and mental health of the disabled, and also for some revisions（重新审查） on the catalogue of drug and auxiliary⁴ devices for those disabled by work-related injuries. She also proposed more subsidies⁵ for these people.
    Responding to the suggestions, Wen said, "Li Nan's case is far from an individual（个体的） one. The disabled are a very large group of people in China who need more attention... We need to study, revise and renew the government regulations on work-related injury insurance."Wen also encouraged Li to be optimistic in face of ordeals⁶.
    Li, who graduated from Beijing Youth Politics College in 1997, was once a prize-winning amateur dancer. However, she became confined to a wheelchair after a traffic accident in 2003.
    On March 5 last year, Li beamed with pride as she watched TV. Premier Wen was delivering the government work report at the annual session of the national legislature.
    Wen pledged to "work harder to build the social security and social services system for people with disabilities." The premier also promised that "Workers' compensation will be extended to all of the 1.3 million workers injured in previous jobs who are not receiving benefits.""I am thrilled to see that my advice on improving social security for the disabled was included in the government work report," Li said in her letter, which summarized the changes she experienced in the past year because of the improved social security system.
    The Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau announced last year that people would be reimbursed⁷ for one-off diapers and urine bags under the municipal work-related injury insurance program beginning June 2010.
    "The Beijing policy has relieved our heavy economic burdens and ensured the quality of our life," Li wrote.
    Li, however, said that though some places has begun to give living and nursing subsidies for the disabled, the policy needs to be extended to other parts of the country.
    After reading the letter on Jan. 31, Wen Jiabao instructed relevant organs in the State Council, or Cabinet, and the Beijing municipal government "to conduct research and set down policies to better protect and aid people with serious disabilities, and to help them solve their difficulties and improve their quality of life."（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

3 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

4 auxiliary   

adj.辅助的，备用的

参考例句：

• I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
• The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。

5 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ordeals   

n.严峻的考验，苦难的经历( ordeal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• London had stood triumphant through all her ordeals. 伦敦在经历考验之后仍巍然屹立。 来自辞典例句
• He's come through some bad personal ordeals. 他个人经历了一些沉痛的考验。 来自辞典例句

7 reimbursed   

v.偿还，付还( reimburse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on the firm's business will be reimbursed. 由公司业务产生的开销都可以报销。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Employees are reimbursed for any legal fees incurred when they relocate. 员工调往异地工作时，他们可以报销由此产生的所有法律服务费用。 来自《简明英汉词典》