英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0214 - 情人节？情人劫！

 Topic1 Beijing UninhabitableSevere pollution in Beijing has made the Chinese capital "barely suitable" for living, according to an official report published by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. In the meantime, Beijing Commission of Transport admits that the city's traffic congestion¹ problem worsens during the past year.

Is the capital really that not livable?

Topic2 City Rich ListShanghai, Beijing and Tianjin are the richest cities in the country, according to a government finance ranking released by Wuhan-based newspaper China Investment Network. Guangzhou fails to make the top 5, surprisingly.

What exactly does a rich city mean, according to this list?

Topic3 NBA Class Game in Small TownTalking about spring festival celebration in small towns and villages, people often think of dragon dance or temple fairs, but what about top class basketball game played by NBA and China's national team members?

On 10th February, such a game was held in Tongmu, an upland town in Jinxiu Yao Autonomous² County. It includes two US players who played for the New York Knicks for two seasons.

Should we care? Is there a problem?

Topic4 Check cellphone every 6 minutesIn a recent internet conference in Munich, Hubert Burda Media says that 1.83 billion people in the world use smartphones in 2013, and on average everyone checks their phones 150 times per day. Mobile is changing every aspect of our lives.

Stefan Winners, executive board member of the media group, says by the end of this year, the mobile Internet usage will outperform desktop³ for the first time. In China, the number of mobile internet users (388 million) surpassed computer internet users (380 million) in 2012.

How large of an influence does mobile internet have? What do people do with mobile internet?

Topic5 Valentine's Day SpendingWhether you love it or hate it, Valentine's Day is a big business.

Chinese romantics are increasingly buying premium⁴ chocolate and other confectionaries for the romantic day, which happens to fall on the same day when the Chinese celebrate the traditional Lantern Festival.

Restaurants are expected to be fully⁵ booked by lovers longing⁶ for a romantic dinner. The prices of roses are skyrocketing.

But does the romantic occasion have to be about money?

Is it necessary to celebrate Valentine's Day, give it some careful thought, and plan gifts?

Topic6 Chinese parents' tricks on puppy loveIt is quite common for Chinese parents to persuade their children to find a boyfriend or girlfriend and arrange blind dates for them, when they become adults.

But ironically when their children are younger, many Chinese parents would try more than you can imagine to nip a young puppy love in the bud.

A Sina Weibo blog asking "what have your parents done to prevent you from engaging in puppy love" became the social networking's most-commented one in 24 hours, with more than 12,000 weibo users providing various answers as of this morning.

Why the tricks?

1 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

2 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

3 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

4 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。