英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0512 - 大妈独占鳌头，大爷去哪儿了？

 Topic1 Taxes on Cigarettes Are Increased to 11%If you're a smoker¹ in China, you'll be paying about a penny more per puff², now that the Chinese government has decided³ to hike taxes on cigarettes.

The State Council, China's cabinet, said it would raise the tax on cigarettes to 11% from 5%, beginning May 10. The higher tax on cigarettes will be passed on to wholesalers and then consumers.

How much will it help curb⁴ smoking?

Topic2 Why There's No Talk of DayeWhile Chinese dama are all over the news, both domestic and international, Chinese daye, or the male equivalent of dama, are much more low-key.

If you google Chinese daye, the amount of entries are only 14% of that of dama.

Why is that?

Topic3 Kids Wear Monitor Watch to SchoolChinese parents are always innovative⁵ in children education. Recently, in Shenyang some parents have equipped their kids with monitor watches when they go to school. How do you think about the "third eye"?

What's going on?

Topic4 Over-certified job-seeker is rejectedSun Haitao is about to graduate from Anyang Institute of Technology with 65 certificates, 6 are of national level and 15 are provincial⁶ level. As graduation is around the corner, he has applied⁷ for jobs in 50 companies, but has been rejected by all.

This left him puzzled. What went wrong?

1 smoker   

n.吸烟者，吸烟车厢，吸烟室

参考例句：

• His wife dislikes him to be a smoker.他妻子不喜欢他当烟民。
• He is a moderate smoker.他是一个有节制的烟民。

2 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

3 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。

4 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

5 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

6 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。