英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0513 - 产房真人秀，感人还是吓人？

 Topic1 20 Years of Internet in ChinaThis year marks the 20th anniversary of China's first connection with the Internet -- a technological¹ breakthrough that has had a particularly massive impact on the world's most populous² country.

It was back in April, 1994, when folks at the Institute of High Energy Physics at China's Academy of Sciences built the country's first cable connection to the World Wide Web via facilities based at Stanford University's Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in California.

Over the past two decades, the Internet has brought profound changes to Chinese people's lives and became a great leveler in terms of access to knowledge, education materials, along with goods and services.

Today, we've invited Cheng Jian, editor-in-chief of Zhongguancun Online or ZOL, China's largest IT portal, to talk with us about the vast changes internet has brought to China.

Topic2 Colleges Expand Outside Downtown BeijingA number of higher educational institutions in Beijing are planning to relocate to the outskirts³ of the city. The aim is to accommodate their own development needs and balance educational resources within the Chinese capital.

Is it happening on a large scale?

Topic3 Come On Babies Reality ShowChina's first live television airing of the birth of a child on last Friday, which included footage of a cesarean section and a baby covered in blood, has sparked intense criticism online.

The show, called Laiba Haizi, or Come On Babies, was produced by Shenzhen Television and recorded women in labor⁴ at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital at Fudan University in Shanghai.

Do you think such a show is acceptable?

Topic4 VIP waiting area in hospitalA public hospital in Anhui province has decided⁵ to remove a controversial VIP waiting area previously⁶ set up outside the operating theatre.

The newly installed VIP lounge, charging 15 yuan per person, is next to a common waiting block that's usually crowded.

Chinese internet users have lashed⁷ out at the hospital management saying that they are turning a public service into a money making machine.

What's the controversy⁸?

1 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

2 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。