英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0515 - 四合院保护怎么办？

 Topic1 Banks urged to support first-home buyersChina's central bank has urged commercial lenders to give priority to first-home buyers, who are currently suffering a loan-supply shortage.

The People's Bank of China has called on 15 commercial banks, including the Big Five to offer first-home buyers more efficient mortgage services.

Is there a problem with loan supplies?

Topic2 C-section on the rise in ChinaJournalists interviewed some hospitals in Hebei Province and found C-section is being used unnecessarily. C-section rates of 6 cities in Hebei surpassed the national average of 46%; one of them is as high as 66%.

A WHO survey found that nearly one in two births in China are delivered by cesarean section, of which a quarter are not medically necessary.

Why?

Topic3 Yao Ming SuedFormer NBA star Yao Ming is being sued by Beijing resident Feng Changshun for endorsing¹ a health food product that Feng said misleads consumers. This is one of the first consumer rights cases involving a celebrity² since a new protection law was enacted³ in March.

Does Feng's claims hold up? Does he have a case?

Topic4 Anti-Terrorism Major in CollegeA new anti-terrorism major will be offered at a Chinese university to meet increasing demand for the expertise⁴ and strengthen the prevention of terror attacks.

The major, part of a new research area of the intelligence department of the People's Public Security University of China, will help train anti-terrorism police officers nationwide.

What exactly is this major about?

Topic5 Courtyard homes in Beijing need better preservationThe first ever official directory of siheyuan – the traditional courtyard homes of Beijing – is expected to be published by the end of this year.

Nearly 1,000 siheyuan have been logged in the directory. Half of them are found to have deteriorated⁵ over the years.

The question now is how to preserve these courtyard houses, which has become a controversial subject.

Should we care?

1 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

2 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

3 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

5 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。