英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0209 - 疯狂追剧是种病?

 Topic 1: First case of parents custody¹ withdrawn² in ChinaA local court in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province has ruled that custody of an 11-year-old girl be transferred from her parents to the local civil affairs department.

The ruling came after it was proven that the girl had suffered from sexual assault and abandonment.

It is the first such ruling in China.

Topic 2: The Continuing Sage³ of Tencent and Alibaba – This Time Its MusicChinese online giants Alibaba and Tencent appear to be escalating⁴ their battle once more, this time over music.

Starting from last week, WeChat users can't share songs with each other from Alibaba owned music apps any more.

The two have a history of going toe-to-toe with battles over everything online from taxi hailing to financial services.

Topic 3: Spring Airlines Standing⁵ TicketChina's first budget carrier, Spring Airlines, is considering seeking permission to have passengers stand during a flight in exchange for a lower price.

The question is, who dares to stand on a plane for the whole trip?

Topic 4: Binge-Watching TV: Sign of Depression, Loneliness?

Some say that TV binge-watching is a pandemic afflicting⁶ many people.

But recent studies may link binge-watching with feeling lonely and depressed⁷.

Topic 5: The syndromes⁹ before the Spring FestivalWith Spring Festival around the corner, you'd think that most would be looking forward to the happy family gatherings¹⁰. However, this does not seem to apply to some weibo users who say they have Spring Festival Syndrome⁸.

1 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

2 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

3 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

4 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 afflicting   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是困扰现代社会的严重问题之一。
• Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是危害社会的弊病之一。

7 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

8 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

9 syndromes   

n.综合征( syndrome的名词复数 )；（某种条件下有共同特征的）一系列表现（事件、举动等）

参考例句：

• Other agents can cause similar syndromes. 其它病原也可引起相似的综合症。 来自辞典例句
• They have pointed out the similarities of the sprue syndromes in man and TGE. 他们强调了人的鹅口疮综合症和TGE的共同点。 来自辞典例句

10 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。