【专题】慢速英语（英音）2016-04-25

英语环球 NEWSPlus Radio

This is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.
President Xi Jinping has called for "more tolerance and patience" towards internet users and welcomed online criticism, "whether mild or fierce", as long as it arises from goodwill.
Xi made the remarks at a rare high-profile meeting as the country's 700 million internet users get more say in social governance and public events.
The president also urged speeding up legislation of a cyber-law, improving legal supervision and preventing risks caused by the internet.
Xi said the government should take constructive advice from netizens, help those who are in difficulties and explain to those who don't understand the situation. Netizens' complaints should be addressed quickly, and incorrect online attitudes should be corrected.
He added that government officials should get close to the people through the internet, listen to online public opinions and suggestions, and answer the public's concerns in a positive manner.
The meeting was attended by entrepreneurs of internet giants including Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu, as well as experts on media research and officials of internet management.
During the meeting, Xi talked with 10 representatives from colleges, companies and government departments and heard their suggestions on cybersecurity, core technology and public opinions.
Noting China's large number of internet users, Xi said that cyberspace should be regulated to make it a clean place for netizens, especially adolescents.
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The latest results from experiments aboard China's SJ-10 recoverable satellite prove for the first time that early-stage mammal embryos can develop in space.
China launched the country's first microgravity satellite, SJ-10, on April 6. The return capsule will stay in orbit for several more days before heading back to Earth. An orbital module has been used to carry out experiments.
High-resolution photographs sent from SJ-10 show that mouse embryos continued to successfully develop throughout a 96-hour period.
Duan Enkui is a professor at the Institute of Zoology affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the principal researcher involved with the experiment. Duan says the human race may still have a long way to go before they can colonize space but, before that, people have to work out whether it is possible for them to survive and reproduce in outer space like they do on Earth.
He says the experiments have finally proven that the most crucial step in human reproduction, early embryo development, is possible in outer space.
The first attempt to develop mammalian embryos in space was carried out by NASA's STS-80 Spacecraft in 1996. However, none of the 49 mouse embryos on board successfully developed.
In 2006, China launched the recoverable satellite SJ-8, which carried four-cell embryos in its orbital module. Scientists successfully received high-resolution pictures of those embryos. However, none grew.
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Chinese scientists have wrapped up another scientific expedition to Antarctica as the country's icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, returned to Shanghai.
The 158-day expedition started in November last year. The icebreaker traveled 30,000 nautical miles carrying around 300 scientists.
During the mission, China's first fixed-wing aircraft for polar flight, the Snow Eagle, completed flights totaling 80,000 kilometers in 260 hours.
The aircraft conducted airborne remote sensing and transport tasks. Experts say China will develop a squadron of such fixed-wing aircraft and it will need to set up a professional Antarctic aviation team.
The expedition team conducted marine environmental assessment in waters around the Antarctic Peninsula. They confirmed earlier speculation about the South Pole being home to the world's largest canyon. Many subglacial lakes and currents connected to the canyon, form a giant "wetland" beneath the Antarctic ice.
The scientists also collected 630 meteorite fragments. China now has more than 12,000 meteorite fragments, trailing behind only Japan and the United States.
Thirty-three members of the team remain in Antarctica for further research.
You are listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection has started an investigation into what caused around 500 students at Changzhou Foreign School in Jiangsu province to come down with a range of pollution-related illnesses.
The school had relocated in September to a facility built on a toxic site.
The spate of illnesses that had flared since then includes leukemia, dermatitis, eczema, bronchitis and blood abnormalities.
According to the school, 641 students were examined recently by doctors, and 493 were diagnosed with various diseases and conditions.
The local government confirmed that the new campus was built on a brownfield site that had housed three chemical factories. The plants had produced highly toxic chemicals.
People who formerly worked in the factories said they had buried toxic chemicals near the plants to save time and money. They also spoke of discharging untreated wastewater into rivers.
An environmental report showed that soil and nearby groundwater contained organic pollutants. Heavy-metal pollutants including mercury, lead and cadmium were also found.
The concentrations of chlorobenzene in the groundwater and soil greatly exceeded normal levels.
Experts specializing in environmental issues say the environmental assessment report that justified the construction of the new campus did not look for pesticides; and builders had used heavily polluted groundwater during the construction process.
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China's health authorities have stressed the important role of vaccination in disease control, urging the public to have their children vaccinated in a timely manner.
Judging from queries received by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, some people are still confused or skeptical about vaccination in the wake of a scandal where a large quantity of improperly stored or expired vaccines was allegedly sold across the country from 2011 onwards.
The commission says the immunization program is the most economic, effective and safest way of preventing, controlling and eradicating communicable diseases. And vaccination under the national immunization program has proved quite fruitful in the control of preventable diseases.
Since China introduced the immunization program in 1978, the rate of hepatitis B in children aged below five has been greatly reduced, and incidences of encephalitis B and epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis hit historical lows.
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China is to build a database of overseas talent as part of a digital platform to match foreign experts with potential employers.
The platform will include all legally employed foreign workers' nationalities, areas of expertise and industry, their employer and city of residence. It is the first big-data project of its kind in the country.
Between 2011 and 2015, foreign experts paid more than 3 million visits to China, including short trips and longer-term employment. This is a 30 percent increase compared with the period from 2006 to 2010.
The State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs say most expats work in eight provinces and cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang province in eastern China.
The administration says that in the past, overseas talent introduction was led by government policies and talent projects. But that cannot react to market changes dynamically. Instead, the market should lead overseas talent recruitment, and the government should create a friendly environment for overseas talent including a simplified visa application process.
It says the digital platform will also bridge the information gap between demand and supply.
As China develops, emerging industries are springing up and are facing a shortage of overseas talent.
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.
Foreign families, especially in the United States, are increasingly willing to adopt Chinese orphans with special needs.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs says there were almost 3,000 intercountry adoptions of Chinese children in 2014, accounting for around 13 percent of the 23,000 Chinese children adopted. Of the foreign adoptions, 2,000 children went to families in the United States.
Although no official statistics track how many of the adopted children had disabilities, experts believe they can see a pattern in the willingness of foreigners to adopt children with special needs.
Ian Milligan is international lead of the Centre for Excellence for Looked-after Children, an organization based in Scotland. He says it comes from a combination of relative wealth, the state of development of healthcare and social services systems, mature attitudes and Christian values.
Milligan says people with faith are more willing to adopt or foster children with special needs; and it seems that Christian families, or people in the Christian community, are more willing to take disabled children.
The head of the Children's Research Institute of China, Tong Xiaojun, agreed. Tong says most children adopted by overseas families in recent years have special needs; and many overseas adoptions are done for philanthropic reasons.
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The mountains of Beijing have been crawling with new creatures in recent weeks, and locals aren't happy about the new additions to the food chain.
More than 300 foxes and raccoon dogs were released in Beijing's Huairou District without authorization. The captive animals were reportedly set free by Buddhists as a way of showing benevolence and earning merit.
The tradition has caused controversy in recent years after guinea pigs and venomous snakes were reportedly released into the wild, causing public panic.
There were reports that the animals attacked chickens, causing complaints among locals.
The local forestry bureau told the media that all the freed animals were arctic foxes, which are not a protected species in China. The foxes and raccoon dogs were all raised in captivity.
Staff with the bureau said they have retrieved more than 100 foxes, many of them already dead, presumably from starvation as the animals were not equipped to survive in the wild.
A similar incident was reported earlier in east China's Anhui Province.
The recent cases have fueled online debate, with Internet users remaining divided on the issue. While many argue that the practice conforms to Buddhist belief, others say the practice disturbs the ecological balance and harms society.
You are listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
Reality shows with celebrity children are no longer allowed to be produced and broadcast on television.
China's media regulator, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television announced the ban, saying reality shows must be strictly controlled.
Following the announcement, some local TV stations have already canceled programs starring celebrities and their children, including the popular "Dad! Where Are We Going?" and "Dad Came Back".
Last year, more than 100 entertainment programs were broadcast on TV nationwide, many of which were reality shows featuring children, generating over 10 billion yuan, roughly 1.6 billion U.S. dollars, in advertising revenue.
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