英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable1106 - 有多少人敢于出柜？

 Topic1 China Mobile Plans to Experiment Free Text MessagesIndustry insiders reveal that China's largest telecom carrier, China Mobile, is planning to integrate its instant messaging services.

It means text messages and multimedia¹ messages won't be charged per message, but on the basis of the data flow involved instead.

The plan is expected to be announced at the end of this year and put into operation before the end of next year.

Is it something that they should do or should have done?

Topic2 Should handing in discovered antiques be rewarded?

An ordinary construction company employee in Northwest China has been rewarded 500 yuan after handing in a 3,000 year-old relic² he accidentally discovered.

Li Lei, from Danfeng county of Shaanxi Province, found a bronze sword dated back 3,000 years ago while operating his forklift truck.

He was also given a certificate of honor in addition to the monetary³ prize, which he described as "too little" for he had expected several thousand yuan at least.

Is 500 yuan too small a reward?

Topic3 LGBT Coming Out ReportRecently, Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly confirms he is gay in an opinion piece, making him the highest-profile chief executive to come out. He also says he is proud to be gay.

In China, not many gay people have the gut⁴ to come out.

So what's the situation like here? Are people less willing to admit their sexual orientation⁵?

Topic4 Summarizing Main Theme BoringWhat do you hate the most in your Chinese class when you were a student? When being asked this question, many people would answer 总结中心思想, or concluding the main message of an article.

Recently, ex-spokesman for the Education Ministry⁶ Wang Xuming says that this part of teaching is totally unnecessary and should be excluded from the Chinese language education.

Do you agree with what he said?

1 multimedia   

adj.多种手段的，多媒体的；n.多媒体

参考例句：

• Multimedia is the combination of computer and video technology.多媒体是计算机和视频技术的结合。
• Adam raised the issue of multimedia applications and much useful discussion ensued.亚当提出了多媒体应用的问题，从而引发了许多有益的讨论。

2 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

3 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

5 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

6 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。