英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0320 - 北京超半数年轻人租房

 Topic1 Baoding become deputy policital center?

Media reported yesterday that Baoding city in Hebei province was going to be the deputy political center after Beijing.

According to a report from Caijing.com.cn on Wednesday, Baoding in Hebei province has been preliminarily considered to be the first choice for a deputy political center, sharing the political function of Beijing, which is the agreement reached by the three governments.

Response from official sources later was that this is not happening. Is it rumor¹ or not?

Topic2 Pilot property tax systems have failed: former tax officialA former tax office head says pilot property tax systems in Chongqing and Shanghai have failed.

Xu Shanda, former deputy director of the State Administration of Taxation², says the tax not being expanded to other regions in China has prompted the government to discard the current model and move ahead with legislation for a new one.

How has the property tax been faring?

Topic3 Tap Water QualityIn the first 3 months of this year, media has reported more than 10 stinky tap water incidents around the country. Relevant departments have responded to 6 of the cases later, saying the tap water samples are up-to-standard.

Can we believe these results?

Topic4 Survey Finds Half of Young People in Beijing Live in Rented ApartmentA recent survey shows more than half of young people in Beijing live in rented apartments and they change apartments every 7 months on average.

The survey of 5,000 respondents has targeted those who were born after the 1980s.

Survey researchers say the housing predicaments faced by these youngsters also pose a challenge to the mega city's public management.

Is it a problem that over half of the surveyed youth live in rented apartments and change residence frequently?

Topic5 Song Dandan Vs. ScreenwritersRecently, there is a big dispute in the showbiz circle. It is started by famous actress Song Dandan, who says filming crews should not stick to the screenplays. Then she is accused by several screenwriters for not respecting the scripts and improvising³ too much during the shooting.

What happened?

1 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

2 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

3 improvising   

即兴创作（improvise的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• I knew he was improvising, an old habit of his. 我知道他是在即兴发挥，这是他的老习惯。
• A few lecturers have been improvising to catch up. 部分讲师被临时抽调以救急。