英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0105 - 中国人爱看烂片？

Topic1 Harbin fire

 

Five firefighters are now confirmed dead after a warehouse¹ caught fire in the northeast of China.

 

The fire broke out at midday January 2nd in a lower-floor warehouse of an eleven-story residential² building in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province.

 

An investigation³ is underway into the fire that has affected⁴ more than 2,000 people.

 

What happened? Was something really wrong?

 

Topic2 Science Magazine Printed TCM Issue

 

Recently, America's Science Magazine has published a series of articles about Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, which sparks huge controversy⁵ in the country. Is it a big step for TCM or not?

 

What seems to be the controversy? Why should we care?

 

Topic3 1 in 10 drivers admit they drive after drinking

 

More than 10 percent of Chinese drivers admitted that they occasionally drive after drinking, according to a recent report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and US insurance company AIG.

 

Are you surprised? What did the report say?

 

Topic4 Do Chinese People Love Crappy Movies?

 

It's beginning of the year. Reviewers and media are busy working on their own movie lists. British magazine "The Economist⁶" predicted earlier that China's box office revenue will exceed 30 billion Yuan in 2014. However, the final figure stops at a bit more than 29 billion, even with much-anticipated movies like Jiang Wen's "Gone with The Bullets". Why is it that insiders' favorite can't win box office? Do we only like crappy movies?

 

Why do crappy movies sell well?

1 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

2 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 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。

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。