英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0210 - 公务员升迁潜规则

 Topic1 Beijing may introduce congestion¹ charge in 2015Beijing is to unveil plans for a low-emission zone and vehicle congestion charge by the end of the year, with the measures to come into effect as early as 2015.

Environmental officials say they are consulting with experts on whether to adopt a scheme similar to those followed in London or Milan.

In London, the congestion charge is only imposed in some parts of the low-emission zone, while a fee is collected from every driver entering the low-emission zone in Milan.

Finally…it seems this will be happening after long time talk?

Topic2 Beijing Works to Build Wholly Foreign-Funded HospitalsThe Beijing municipal government says it is seeking central government support to build wholly foreign-owned medical establishments.

Han Xiaofang, chief of the municipality's medical reform office, says the city is making active efforts to seek approval from higher authorities to spearhead the country's deepening medical reforms.

Will wholly foreign-owned hospitals hopefully help ease the pressure on the current medical system?

Why is Beijing thinking about doing it?

Topic3 Building Buhhda for TourismWhen talking about giant Buddha² statues in the country, most of us will probably think of the stone one in Leshan, which is over 1,200 years old. However, if compared to some modern ones, it can not be called "giant" any more.

In recent years, some local tourism bureaus and developers are racing³ to build ever-higher statues of Buddha.

How common has this become?

Topic4 Food Safety Crisis in Rural AreaJust when Chinese urban citizens are trying to stay away from gutter⁴ oil, tainted⁵ milk, GM soybeans and envy green and natural vegetables, eggs and meat their rural counterparts are enjoying, journalists warn that rural citizens' health is severely⁶ threatened by fake, expired and shoddily produced food products.

How big of a problem are we talking about? Is there a crisis?

Topic5 Promotion⁷ Rules for Civil ServantsA post about career rules for civil servants went viral on the internet. The writer, Qi Tiantian, said she recently found a job in a government office after five years of working in an enterprise. She used to get compliments about her appearance, efficiency and intelligence, but in her new office, her boss told her these qualities don't matter that much. If she wants to get promoted, good performance is not enough, as she needs someone to back her up.

Qi also summarizes 22 hidden rules for government office workers who have career ambition.

Do these rules make sense?

Topic6 Things You're Most Disappointed ByA ranking of what make people disappointed is very popular on weibo recently. According to the original post, the results are voted by more than 60,000 net users.

Let's see if you can sympathize with some of the situations or not.

1 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

2 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

3 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

4 gutter   

n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟

参考例句：

• There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
• He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。

5 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。