英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0201 - 精华版英语篇

 Topic1 English proficiency¹ Should be Enhanced in CollegeA foreign language expert says the English-language standards for Chinese college students should be raised, not lowered, in any national reform of English education.

Cai Jigang, deputy director of the Foreign Language Research Institute of Fudan University in Shanghai, said this in response to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education's draft reform plan for English tests in the college entrance exams for 2014.

The plan, released late last year, would reduce the required English score from 150 to 100, and the vocabulary from 3,500 words to 3,080. The required vocabulary will decline further in the 2015 exams.

What’s the suggestion? Does it make sense?

Topic2 CET to be made harderThe Ministry² of Education has decided³ to make the College English Test, a requirement for graduation, harder.

Looking at the new test, do you think it will be all that different from the previous version? Will it make it harder to graduate from university?

Topic3 Tuhao may end up in English dictionaryWhile millions of Chinese are learning the English language, popular Chinese expressions are making their way into the English lexicon⁴.

China’s new buzzword, tuhao, may be in next year’s Oxford⁵ English Dictionary.

The word caught the attention of the dictionary’s editing team after BBC’s recent program on influential⁶ Chinese words.

Why is tuhao being considered?

Topic4 Cancel English Class in Primary Schools?

Wang Xuming, ex-spokesman of Ministry of Education suggests on his microblog that English language classes in elementary schools should be cancelled. He says private English training classes for children under 14 years old should also be cancelled. In the meantime he suggests enhancing education of traditional Chinese culture and history.

He ended his plea by saying “free the children and save Chinese language”. Is English being over-emphasized in primary education? And does it hamper⁷ Chinese language education?

Topic5 English Signs at StationsAccording to the Ministry of Railways, the official English names of all train stations are to be gradually unified⁸ to Hanyu Pinyin. This applies especially to station names with cardinal⁹ directions. For example, what was formerly¹⁰ known as "Beijing West Railway Station" will soon become "Beijing Xi Railway Station". Xi is the Chinese character for west.

1 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

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 lexicon   

n.字典，专门词汇

参考例句：

• Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
• Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。

5 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

6 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

7 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

8 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

9 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

10 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。