Extensive Reading Lesson 40

“超级巴士”有效缓解拥堵

据《纽约时报》17日报道，深圳一家公司发明了一种外形绝对奇特、超宽超高的巴士，载客量多达1200人，更神奇的是，它不占道路面积，而且还可以利用太阳能。由深圳华世未来泊车设备有限公司发明的这种所谓“立体巴士”，看起来更像是火车，但它不需要铺设高于地面的轨道，也不需要挖隧道。载客车厢部分横跨两条车道宽，靠两侧支撑柱远离地面，在固定轨道上行驶，普通轿车可以从它底下穿过。这个宽达6米的大家伙可以通过使用市政供电，也可以由车顶或公交站顶部的太阳能板提供动力。它的平均时速达40公里，可降低城市主干道交通拥堵25%-30%。目前北京正在准备试点，多个城市也表示有兴趣引进。

央行辟谣新版500元钞票

《人民日报》周三（18日）报道指出，中国人民银行对网上流传已发行新版500元人民币的消息进行了辟谣。有日本媒体称，中国正在研究发行印有孔子肖像的500元钞票，从而更利于人民币国际化。央行强调说，这种谣言会影响人民币的正常流通，危害金融秩序。央行已请求警方对谣言的源头进行调查。

我国2020年提供百兆带宽

据新浪网消息，国务院信息化专家咨询委员会常务副主任周宏仁在今天举行的“2010中国数字电视产业高峰论坛”上表示，宽带是信息化向高端发展的基础，中国将在2020年前后为大部分家庭提供100M宽带服务。他说100M是多数国家认可的一个目标，比如美国国家宽带计划目标是2020年至少有一亿美国家庭实现下行大于100M，上行大于50M的宽带接入。澳大利亚国家宽带计划是到今年90%家庭能够100M上网，其余10%家庭可以无线接入。

中国将开放国内银行间债券市场

据英国《金融时报》报道，中国将允许境外央行和银行投资中国国内银行间债券市场，此举旨在“鼓励跨境贸易人民币结算”，并且“拓宽人民币回流渠道”。北京方面正试图鼓励在贸易活动中使用人民币进行结算，这是一项长期计划的一部分，目的是推动人民币成为一种储备货币，并减轻中国的美元敞口。目前中国的大部分贸易活动用美元结算。

中国吸烟问题严重 堪比SARS

周二，世界卫生组织驻华代表蓝睿明向法新社表示：“中国应像关注SARS或H1N1爆发一样，关注国内大众长期而普遍的烟瘾问题。”中国疾病预防控制中心在同一天发布的数据显示，中国有52.9%的男性是烟民，现今吞云吐雾的成年人达3.01亿，较之前的统计数据3.5亿有所下降。共有13354人接受了相关调查。此项调查还显示，不吸烟的成年人中，每周平均有70%的人接触二手烟。中国是世界上最大的烟草消费国，每年有100万人死于吸烟引起的肺癌或心血管病。

七成青年尽孝难

《中国青年报》的一项调查显示，逾7成年轻人感到照顾父母力不从心。在1612名受访者中，有74.1%的人表示虽然愿意好好照顾老人，但是自身经济状况不容许；58.3%的人愿意住在父母附近；43.5%的人愿意跟父母住在一起；24.8%的人表示父母在异地居住，只能节假日时前去探望；7%的人愿意让社区看护员照顾老人；仅有6.9%的人愿意把父母送到养老院。双方都是独生子女的夫妻所面临的压力更大。没有任何兄弟姐妹的帮助，他们将不得不挑起同时照顾四位老人的重担。

冲浪者遭大白鲨攻击身亡

英国《每日邮报》报道，昨天，31岁的冲浪者尼古拉斯•爱德华兹在西澳大利的西南海岸遭大白鲨袭击身亡。据传，这头庞然大物是在追逐一群海豹时咬伤该冲浪者的。爱德华兹被咬后奋力游向海岸，另一些冲浪者急忙跑过来将他拖到岸上。他的一条腿被撕破，失血严重。尽管人们全力施救，已是两个孩子父亲的爱德华兹还是在被送往医院不久后死亡。报道称，该海域中常有大白鲨出没，清晨冲浪尤其危险。6年前，一个叫布拉德•史密斯的人在这段海岸冲浪时也被鲨鱼咬死。

世界最好国家——芬兰

据《赫尔辛基时报》消息，美国《新闻周刊》将芬兰排在“最适合生活的100个国家”榜首。该调查结果根据各国的五项幸福衡量标准而出炉，分别是：教育、健康、生活质量、经济竞争力和政治环境。参选国还被按照面积大小和收入情况分类。总体而言，北欧国家表现较好，瑞典排名第三，挪威第五，丹麦第十，均是小巧而富足的国家。瑞士排名第二，美国这次跌出前10 （位列第11），中国排在第59位。

皇马宣布签下厄齐尔

《卫报》消息，西甲豪门皇家马德里今天宣布签下了现为云达不莱梅效力的德国前腰厄齐尔。皇马为这名21岁的球员支付了2000万欧元的转会费。厄齐尔与皇马的合同为期6年，年薪500万欧元。

歌手脱衣，被判缓刑

路透社消息，在达拉斯的迪利广场，即美国前总统约翰•F•肯尼迪遇刺地，节奏布鲁斯歌手埃里卡•巴杜为拍摄音乐录影带脱去衣衫，为此她付出了500美元的罚金，并判处缓刑6个月。这个39岁的乐坛明星由于拍摄裸体镜头于4月份被控告妨害治安。

微型猪广告被禁

据《卫报》报道，位于剑桥郡的小猪农场在广告中称其销售“易于照料的”宠物猪，并称这种猪是“英国最小的”，长成后只有12至16英寸（30至40厘米）。英国昆昆猪协会向广告标准局投诉，认为此广告颇有误导性，一来“没有一种猪长成后只有16英寸高”，二来协会认为猪会长得较大，这样“把猪作为宠物来照料就困难了”。广告标准局同意协会的观点，取缔了此广告。
 

'Super bus' planned to beat jams

A Shenzhen company has developed a decidedly odd-looking, extra-wide and extra-tall vehicle that can carry up to 1,200 passengers, takes up no road space and is partly solar powered, the New York Times reported yesterday. Called the "straddling bus," by Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment, it resembles a train and runs along a fixed route - but it requires neither elevated tracks nor extensive tunneling. Its passenger compartment spans the width of two traffic lanes and sits high above the road surface supported by stilts that allow ordinary cars to pass underneath. The outsize vehicle is powered by a combination of municipal electricity and solar power derived from panels mounted on the roofs of the vehicles and at bus stops. It will travel at an average speed of 40 kilometers an hour - could reduce traffic jams by 25 to 30 percent on major roads. There are plans to test the vehicle in Beijing and other Chinese cities have shown interest.

Central bank says no 500-yuan note

The People's Bank of China has denied Internet rumors that it has released a new 500-yuan note, the People's Daily said Wednesday. Japanese media recently claimed China was considering introducing a 500-yuan note bearing a portrait of Confucius in order to give the Renminbi wider international appeal. The central bank said the rumors could affect the normal circulation of the Renminbi and jeopardize financial security. It called on the police to launch an investigation into the source of the rumor.

Superfast broadband by 2020

Most homes will have Internet access with the speed of 100 megabits per second by 2020, Sina.com.cn reported today, citing an IT expert. Bandwidth is the foundation of a high-end information society, Zhou Hongren, deputy director of the State Council Advisory Committee for Informatization told the 2010 Digital TV Industry Summit. He said 100 megabits is a target accepted by most countries. The US plans to give 100 million homes access to the Internet at downstream speeds of 100 megabits and upstream speed of 50 megabits by 2020. Australia's goal is to give 90 percent of homes superfast broadband and the remaining 10 percent access through wireless networks.

China opens interbank bond market

The Financial Times reports that China is to allow foreign central banks and overseas lenders to invest in its domestic interbank bond market, in a move to "encourage cross-border Renminbi trade settlement" and "broaden investment channels for Renminbi to flow back (to China)." Beijing is trying to encourage use of the yuan in trade deals as part of a long-term plan to promote it as a reserve currency and reduce China's exposure to the US dollar, which is currently used for most Chinese trade.

Smoking in China 'as bad as SARS'

"China's longstanding high prevalence of tobacco addiction deserves the same level of concern as an outbreak of SARS or H1N1," Michael O'Leary, the head of the World Health Organization in China told AFP on Tuesday. According to data released on the same day by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 52.9 percent of men in China smoke and China has a total of 301 million smokers - down from a previous high of 350 million. A total of 13,354 people across China took part in the survey which also revealed that 70 percent of non-smokers were exposed to second-hand smoke each week. China is the world's biggest consumer of tobacco and up to one million people in the country die every year from lung cancer or other smoking-related diseases.

Young unable to care for parents

More than 70 percent of China's young people say they will not be able to take proper care of their parents, according to a survey by China Youth Daily. Researchers interviewed 1,612 people from all over the country. 74.1 percent said they were willing to take care of their parents but their finances were inadequate; 58.3 percent said they would live near their parents; 43.5 percent would like to live with their parents. But 24.8 percent said their parents live in another city and they can only visit them during holidays. 7 percent said they would prefer their parents to be cared for by community nurses, and 6.9 percent were willing to send their parents to an old people's home. The pressure is greater on couples who are both only children. They face the challenge of taking care of four aged parents without help from siblings.

Surfer killed by great white shark

31-year-old surfer Nicholas Edwards died after being attacked by a great white shark off Western Australia's south-west coast yesterday, the Daily Mail reported. The huge creature was chasing a group of seals when it attacked Edwards. As he battled to reach the safety of land, other surfers raced to help him, dragging him ashore, but described the loss of blood from his shredded leg as 'just terrible'. Despite desperate rescue efforts, the father-of-two was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at hospital. Great white sharks are common along the Western Australian coast and surfing in the early morning is regarded as risky. Six years ago another surfer, Brad Smith, died in a shark attack at the same beach.

Newsweek names Finland best country

U.S. Newsweek magazine ranked Finland the best out of 100 countries to live in, Helsinki Timesreported. The survey measured five categories of national well being: education, health, quality of life, economic competitiveness and political environment. Countries were also divided into groups based on size and income. Overall, Nordic countries did well in the ranking. Sweden was third, Norway fifth and Denmark 10th, all being small but wealthy. Switzerland was second, while the U.S. didn't squeeze into the top 10 (ranking 11th). China came in at 59.

Mesut Ozil moves to Real Madrid

Real Madrid announced today that they have signed German midfielder Mesut Ozil from Werder Bremen, the Guardian reports. Real are understood to have paid €20 million for the 21-year-old, who has signed a six-year deal and will earn €5 million a year.

Singer gets probation for stripping

R&B singer Erykah Badu was fined US$500 and given six months probation for stripping while filming a music video in Dallas' Dealey Plaza where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Reuters reported. The 39-year-old music star was charged with disorderly conduct in April over her nude video shoot.

Micro pig farm ads banned

The British Kune Kune Pig Society has complained to the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about advertisements from Cambridgeshire-based Little Pig Farm that offer "easy to care for" pigs as pets that are the "smallest in the UK", measuring just 12in to 16in (30cm to 40cm) when fully grown, the Guardian reports. The society argued the ad was misleading because there is "no breed that would grow only as tall as 16 inches" and reckoned the pigs would grow much larger and would thus "become difficult to care for as pets". The ASA agreed with the society and banned the advertisement.