【专题】慢速英语（美音）2016-08-09

英语环球 NEWSPlus Radio

This is Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news.
President Xi Jinping's wife Peng Liyuan says people from all walks of life should do more to support children orphaned by HIV and AIDS.
Peng made the remarks at an opening ceremony for the 2016 summer camp for Chinese and African children. The event, entitled "Love in the Sunshine", has been held at the Palace Museum in Beijing. Peng is the World Health Organization goodwill ambassador for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
Peng said that despite their nationality or race, children orphaned by AIDS are the future of the world. It is the common responsibility of society to love and care for children orphaned by HIV and AIDS, so that they can grow up soundly and happily.
The event was a part of the follow-up actions of a China-Africa anti-AIDS advocacy campaign launched last year by Peng and the Organization of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS.
The summer camp is sponsored by the Chinese Association of STD and AIDS Prevention and Control, and is the 7th in a row since the camp began in 2010.
Fifty-seven children orphaned by AIDS from China, South Africa, Ghana and Zimbabwe attended this year's summer camp.
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With its open culture and growing economy, China is becoming a popular destination for higher education seekers in Australia.
According to a report by The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday, there are 5,000 Australians studying in Chinese universities, up by 83 percent compared with the figure in 2011.
The report said the number of Australian students studying in China has kept growing in recent years, attributing the change to China's open society and healthy economy.
A Chinese education expert was quoted as saying that local Chinese companies are rising and they are becoming more and more competitive. Other factors have also contributed, including economic growth, a more service-orientated economy, and a more technologically-focused economy.
Though the number of Australian students in China is increasing, it pales comparing with that of Chinese students heading to Australia and non-Australian international students in China.
According to the Chinese Education Ministry, Chinese universities have an enrolment of almost 200,000 international students last year, surging 12 percent from a year earlier.
Last year, students from South Korea, the United States and Thailand ranked the three biggest groups in China, while Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang province in eastern China are the top three destinations of foreign students.
China now has 2,800 higher educational institutions, the second biggest number in the world. Aiming to attract up to 500,000 foreign students in 2020, China has kept increasing its educational input in recent years.
You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing.
China is planning to build its first domestically produced polar icebreaker.
The Shanghai-based Jiangnan Shipyard has made the announcement, saying construction will start by the end of this year.
China's current largest polar icebreaker, the "Xuelong", or Snow Dragon, was bought from the Ukrainian in 1993. China refitted it into a polar research vessel at a cost of 31 million yuan, almost 5 million U.S. dollars. The icebreaker was put into service the following year. So far, it has completed 32 expeditions in Antarctica and is now on its 7th Arctic expedition.
The new home produced vessel will be 120 meters long which is smaller than the "Xuelong", but with stronger icebreaking power. The "Xuelong" can work non-stop, breaking 1-meter thick ice at a sailing speed of 2 knots; while the new vessel is designed to break 1-and-a-half-meter thick ice at a sailing speed of 3 knots.
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China will expand international exchange in the training of astronauts in a bid to push it closer to becoming a space power.
The Astronaut Center of China made the announcement recently while briefing an international training mission for astronauts. Chinese astronaut Ye Guangfu participated in the mission.
Ye is the first Chinese citizen to receive "CAVES" training organized by the European Space Agency. "CAVES" is short for Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behavior and performance Skills. It is an advanced training course for astronauts.
The training took place in underground caves in Sardinia in Italy. Prospective astronauts from Japan, Russia, Spain and the United States also took part in the training.
The Astronaut Center of China says that in the future, China will strengthen international communication in astronaut training while also relying on its own efforts. It is not known whether further Chinese astronauts will be selected for CAVES training.
China is considering the possibility of starting its own CAVES program, and had examined several potential sites.
Ye and five others spent several days underground from July 1-7, simulating a mission exploring another planet. CAVES training puts them in environments that simulate spaceflight, as well as improving leadership, teamwork, decision-making and problem-solving skills.
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Relocation of two top Chinese airlines to a new airport in Beijing will help cut airfares for international passengers. The move will also improve services for national flagship carrier Air China, which will remain at Beijing Capital International Airport.
China Eastern and China Southern Airlines, along with some other SkyTeam Alliance members, will move to Beijing's new international airport when it begins operation in 2019.
Other carriers to be relocated will include Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air.
National carrier Air China and other Star Alliance partners, including United Airlines, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines and Japanese airline ANA, will stay.
Slot shortages at Beijing Capital International Airport have made it increasingly difficult for airlines to add flights and launch new routes.
The ultra-large new airport will be in Daxing district in Beijing's southeastern suburbs. It is expected to serve those who travel to and from Beijing and its neighbors Tianjin and Hebei province.
As the southern part of Beijing further develops, with more businesses and government agencies moving there, passengers will find it increasingly convenient to use the new airport.
Since the new airport will be almost 50 kilometers from the downtown area, airline companies based there will likely offer cheaper ticket prices to attract passengers and tour groups.
You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price 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.
China will spend 36 million yuan, roughly 5 million US dollars, on geological disaster surveys in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Starting in July, the fund will be allocated over three years to launch systematic surveys in two counties in the northern part of Kunlun Mountain, which is susceptible to frequent earthquakes.
The surveys will focus on disaster risk levels and monitoring to help locals improve their ability of pre-warning and damage prevention.
Satellites and drones will be used to collect data and monitor disasters in the area, while locals will attend training sessions on prevention.
Xinjiang has complex weather and natural conditions, with 1 million square km, or 64 percent of the region's area, prone to geological disasters.
A massive landslide killed 35 people in a village and forced the relocation of 200 others last month.
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Beijing's green industries could be worth 250 billion yuan, roughly 38 billion U.S. dollars, by 2020, particularly those focused on recycling and waste treatment.
By the end of 2020, Beijing intends to employ some new technology including wastewater management and plastic recycling.
A municipal official said recently that Beijing has laid out a plan to develop cutting-edge technology for environmental protection, including garbage processing and fuel control in some industries.
According to Beijing's Action Plan on Technological Innovation, by next year, 20 major innovation projects will be carried out, some of which will improve the quality of the water discharged from wastewater recycling plants.
One such project is an underground network that will benefit around 11 million residents in central China.
Other projects have helped make it easier for local residents around Beijing to recycle household items including plastic bottles, electronic waste and clothes.
Automatic recycling machines for plastic bottles were introduced in Beijing in 2012, allowing users to process used bottles and get paid directly through their smartphones.
You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing.
More than half of Chinese children aged six months or younger are purely breastfed. The National Health and Family Planning Commission made the announcement to mark the 2016 World Breastfeeding Week last week.
The breastfeeding rate for newborns under six months was 59 percent in 2013, a surge from 28 percent in 2008.
The commission will formulate guidelines to standardize breastfeeding rooms in public places. It encourages public and private entities to set up such facilities in workplaces and public venues, to address the problem of insufficient and substandard breastfeeding sites in the country.
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