【专题】慢速英语（英音）2016-08-29

英语环球 NEWSPlus Radio

This is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.
Chinese scientists are working on a new type of aerospace vehicle that will allow passengers to travel in space without any pre-training and at much lower cost.
China Central Television reports that scientists from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation have started work on the new vehicle integrating different kinds of engine technology.
The vehicle will use different air-breathing engines, allowing it to operate as a normal plane in the atmosphere. It will take off and land at a normal airport, instead of at special launch pads. The viehcle will be reusable, and cost will be greatly reduced.
Scientist from the corporation said they expect to master the key technology in around three to five years, and significantly improve the vehicle's capabilities during the application.
The vehicle is expected to be used for suborbital flight and orbital insertion by 2030. The expeditions will be between dozens to hundreds of kilometers from the earth.
Compared with spacecraft which use partially recovered carrier rockets, by integrating different engines, the new vehicle has many more advantages in maintenance and application.
In early July, it was reported that several institutes of the corporation were coordinating efforts to study the new vehicle.
An engineer at the corporation said that in around 10 years, passengers will not need special training to travel into space on the vehicle.
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Chinese scientists have defined a subset of a type of virus-specific cell that play a vital role in the control of viral replication in chronic viral infection. The discovery will possibly pave the way for new ways to treat chronic diseases including HIV/AIDS and cancer.
According to research published online by Nature magazine, virus-specific cells, CD8 +T, appear to deplete during chronic viral infection.
However, according to the research findings, the cells are able to control viral replication in both animal models and HIV infection.
Researchers found a unique subset that offers higher anti-viral potential than previously known, thus, showing greater therapeutic potential.
The research also identified an important regulator for the generation of this subset.
The research was led by the Third Military Medical University in Chongqing Municipality, with a number of partner institutions. It began in early 2013 with government financial support.
Current therapies can only contain viral replication, but cannot purge them completely in chronic diseases such as HIV.
Chinese researchers will now use the findings to further research into immunotherapy in cancer and HIV.
You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
A genome project for newborns has been launched in Shanghai to aid the early identification and treatment of hereditary diseases.
The project was jointly initiated by the Chinese Board of Genetic Counseling and the Children's Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai. It will carry out genetic testing on 100,000 newborn babies over the coming five years.
The findings will be recorded in a database and a genetic testing standard for hereditary diseases will be developed, which will improve the identification and treatment of such conditions.
Experts say early identification can help doctors make better treatment strategies and improve the patients' quality of life.
In another development, the Chinese Board of Genetic Counseling and Reproductive Hospital, which is affiliated with Shandong University, jointly launched China's embryo genome project.
An embryo genome database will improve research and understanding of the development of embryos and improve diagnostic rates.
There are some 7,000 kinds of inherited diseases and China sees around 900,000 babies born with birth defects every year.
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Health experts are calling for sex education to be included in China's school curriculum. They say the lack of formal tuition, allied with misunderstandings and outdated ideas, is putting young people at risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
The topic has recently been at the center of a heated debate on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, after campaigners condemned a sex education textbook that claimed premarital sex has a "tremendously negative psychological and physical impact on girls".
For thousands of years, sex could not be discussed openly in China. Even today, it is taboo in most of China's schools.
According to Gou Ping, a professor of psychology at Chengdu University, sex education is a comprehensive definition and is a fully developed concept related to many other issues. The university is the higher learning institute in the country that offers sex education as a minor course.
You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
Chinese firm FiberHome has developed a type of optical fiber that can transmit 400 terabytes of data per second, breaking the world record for the amount of data that can be transmitted using optic fibers.
Such capacity can allow for simultaneous phone calls by almost 5 billion people and the transmission of 40,000 blue-ray high definition films in one second.
The company is based in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei Province.
The transmission of 400 terabytes of data is accomplished on multi-core mono-mode optical fiber, which can be simply understood as breaking down the fiber into multiple paths to enhance transmission capacity.
Such expansion in transmission capacity is a welcoming development amid growing demand for high speed transmission of data for VR, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and other emerging technology.
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Consumers in China will be entitled to a full refund on unsatisfactory products purchased online, even if the packages have been unsealed.
A draft regulation that protects buyers' rights has been released by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and is based on China's consumer protection law. Public opinion is being sought until Sept 5.
The draft says businesses must provide refunds to consumers within seven days of receiving returned products.
The draft says the returned goods must be intact.
The rule does not apply to several types of goods including those that can pose hazards to personal safety or health after being opened, or perishable goods that are near their expiry dates.
Under China's consumer rights protection law, consumers can return goods for up to seven days, and get a refund for items that fail quality standards.
In the case of goods purchased online or by telephone or television, consumers can make returns within seven days and get a refund without specifying a reason for most products. The only exceptions are four types of goods, including those that are perishable and prone to spoilage, as well as videodiscs that have been opened.
This is the first draft regulation in China that specifies clearly that goods bought online can be returned for a refund, even if the packages have been opened.
The regulation was made because there have been a number of disputes in recent years involving businesses refusing to offer refunds for goods that they sold online, using the excuse that the packages have been opened.
You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at [e-mail]. That's [e-mail]. Now the news continues.
Archeologists have discovered more than 1,000 cliff paintings dating back more than 1,000 years in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Experts say the paintings are surprisingly well preserved, and feature sheep, camels, elks, tigers, wolves and people hunting.
The images are believed to have been engraved by the ancient tribal people 1,500 years ago.
The new findings are among many found across the Yinshan Mountains and will greatly inform research into ancient nomadic people.
More than 10,000 ancient cliff paintings have been discovered in the area.
In 2012, 18 cliff paintings dating back more than 4,000 years were discovered in the same area. Among them, a picture of seven human faces has been interpreted as the seven stars in the "Plough" constellation.
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China's largest Siberian tiger breeding center has announced that more than 50 tiger cubs have been born in the park so far this year.
Located in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the Siberian Tiger Park is home to more than 1,000 Siberian tigers. Scientists handpick certain tigers, using a DNA database, to breed the next generation every year.
Chief engineer Liu Dan said the park has been controlling the tigers' population to around 1,000 in order to maintain the ecological balance.
The peak season for the breeding of Siberian tigers is in May and June. The cubs will be sent to the semi-wild environment after living with their mothers for around 100 days to learn how to hunt.
Siberian tigers are among the world's most endangered species. They mostly live in northeast China and eastern Russia. The Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Park was established in 1986 for better protection of the species.
You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
Chinese internet company LeEco is in talks with online video-streaming site Netflix for possible cooperation in content. Details will be announced in September, as the Beijing-based firm steps up efforts to expand its presence in the United States.
Analysts say that the deal, if goes through, could also serve as a steppingstone for California-based Netflix to crack its China market, which it has been eyeing for a long time.
China Daily reports that LeEco was looking for content partners in the United States, where it will launch its smartphones and Televisions this year.
The deal with Netflix will be announced in September.
The news came shortly after LeEco spent 2 billion U.S. dollars acquiring Vizio, a major U.S. television manufacturer. It is expected to give LeEco around 20 million big-screen users. The firm also purchased land in California as the center for its overseas operations.
LeEco started as an online video-streaming site, but managed a rapid rise by selling internet-enabled devices that are bundled with video content.
Since January, the company has intensified efforts to go global, listing the United States, India and Russia as its key overseas markets.
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