Urban-rural income gap gets bigger: report

 BEIJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The ratio of income earned by urbanites to that of rural residents is about 5.2, said a blue paper released by a major government think tank on Tuesday.

According to The Urban Blue Book: China City Development Report No. 5, published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the ratio of urbanites' disposable income to rural residents' net income reached 3.13 last year.

As about 40 percent of farmers' net income was used to purchase chemical fertilizer, pesticide¹, seeds and other means of production, deducting² these expenses, China's urban income was about 5.2 times that of the countryside, said the report.

The figure for income gap is about 26 percent higher than that of 1997 and 68 percent higher than that of 1985, it said, adding it far exceeded figures of the same kind in many foreign countries.

The Urban Blue Book also noted³ that the number of urbanites has surpassed the number of rural residents in China, with the urbanization rate reaching 51.27 percent, a significant change in the country's social structure which ushers⁴ in an era of "city-based society."

However, there is still a long way to go for China to become truly city-based, it argued, as the majority of migrant workers and farmers-turned-city dwellers⁵ find it hard to blend into urban life, and most Chinese cities lack distinguished⁶ features and cultures.

The next five to 10 years are a key period for China to turn from a village-based to a city-based country and enhance the quality of urbanization, the report said.

1 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

2 deducting   

v.扣除，减去( deduct的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Deducting drop size and velocity from circular blood stains. 如何从循环的血液中降低血滴的大小和速度。 来自电影对白
• Ordinary shareholders receive dividend from profit after deducting the preference shares dividend. 普通股股东可获派剩馀的盈利为股息。 来自互联网

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 ushers   

n.引座员( usher的名词复数 )；招待员；门房；助理教员v.引，领，陪同( usher的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Seats clicked, ushers bowed while he looked blandly on. 座位发出啪啦啪啦的声响，领座员朝客人们鞠躬，而他在一边温和殷勤地看着。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The minister then offers a brief prayer of dedication, and the ushers return to their seats. 于是牧师又做了一个简短的奉献的祈祷，各招待员也各自回座位。 来自辞典例句

5 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。