英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0120 - 大学生英语还不够好

 Topic1 Gu Junshan Corruption¹ CaseLast week, 20 paramilitary officers spent two nights seizing four trucks of possessions from one of the ancestral homes of Gu Junshan, who is a disgraced deputy military logistics chief.

This is the biggest People's Liberation Army graft² case in recent years. How big are we talking about?

Topic2 "Naked Officials" Can't Be PromotedChinese civil servants with immediate³ family members living overseas - so-called "naked officials" - will be disqualified from promotion⁴, according to an updated guideline recently released by the Communist Party's central committee.

Naked official has been a growing phenomenon, with more officials sending their wives or children to live abroad. But is such a strict move necessary?

Topic3 Peking and Tsinghua top in donations from gradsRenowned universities get their fame not only for academic accomplishments⁵ but also for their billionaire alumni.

An annual billionaire alumni list, compiled by China University Alumni Association and released last week, shows that Peking University and Tsinghua University take the top two spots on the 2014 list, with 98 and 95 billionaire alumni respectively.

The combined wealth of all alumni of the two universities reaches 400 billion yuan.

The report also points out only one out of ten super rich alumni have made donations to their alma maters.

Do billionaires skimp⁶ on donating to alma maters?

Topic4 English proficiency⁷ should be toughened, expert saysA foreign language expert says the English-language standards for Chinese college students should be raised, not lowered, in any national reform of English education.

Cai Jigang, deputy director of the Foreign Language Research Institute of Fudan University in Shanghai, said this in response to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education's draft reform plan for English tests in the college entrance exams for 2014.

The plan, released late last year, would reduce the required English score from 150 to 100, and the vocabulary from 3,500 words to 3,080. The required vocabulary will decline further in the 2015 exams.

What's the suggestion? Does it make sense?

Topic5 publishing industry in ChinaChinese people are buying fewer books in 2013. They've also been reading less literary works, and more books derived⁸ from pop culture. Beijing OpenBook, a company offering data and analysis services for book industry, recently released 2013 China Book Retail⁹ Market Report, which told us about these trends.

Have Chinese people been reading less?

Topic6 Sing My Song ControversyRecently two songs presented in TV talent show Sing My Songs (中国好歌曲) received public attention as well as controversy¹⁰. Entitled Not Going to Work Tomorrow and I Will Die In Your Hand If I Have To Die, the songs are criticized for promoting negative and wrong attitude towards work, love and life. Do they?

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

5 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 skimp   

v.节省花费，吝啬

参考例句：

• She had to skimp to send her son to college.她必须节俭来供她儿子上大学。
• Older people shouldn't skimp on food or heating.老年人不应过分吝惜食物或取暖方面的开销。

7 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

8 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

10 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。