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（1）Gas blast in China restaurant kills 2, injures 12

煤气爆炸事件致使两人死亡十二人受伤

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-06-01 15:29

NANJING - Two people died and 12 were injured following a gas explosion in a restaurant in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province Thursday morning, police said.

The accident occurred in Huaian city around 9：30 a.m., the city’s public security bureau said in a statement.

生词：public security bureau=公安局 n.

An initial investigation suggested a gas tank exploded in the restaurant located in Qingjiangpu district, causing damage, it said.

生词：initial=初步的 adj.

Rescuers retrieved 14 people from the rubble, but two later died despite emergency treatment. The 12 survivors are still in hospital.

生词：retrieve 找回 vt.  rubble 碎石堆 n.

（2）Rare Yunnan insect looks like a ‘leaf’ that can walk

云南罕见的昆虫长得像会走路的叶子

By Li Yingqing and Li Xinyi | chinadaily.com.cn | 2017-05-31 20:44

The leaf-like insect stands on wood in Southwest China’s Yunnan province, May 4, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A walking ‘leaf’ found in New Century Lesser Panda Manor in Pu’er, Yunnan province on May 4 excited scientists who discovered it is a rare insect.

The insect is about 10 cm long. Its exterior has very clear venation on its wide, flat body, which makes it look exactly like a green leaf. The wings look like two leaves.

生词：exterior= 外部    venation=叶脉

“This type of stick insect is rarely to be seen in nature and we don’t have specific protection or research about it yet,” a professor at the Pu’er national park management bureau said.

As masters of disguise in the woods, the insect’s main defense is basically blending into the background. They look so much like natural leaves that sometimes they even sway in the wind, so it’s very difficult to spot them.

生词：disguise= 伪装    blend into sth=融入…当中

（3）AI robot to sit China’s college entrance exam

人工智能机器人参加高考

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-06-01 20:32

CHENGDU - Are artificial intelligence robots smart enough to sit the gaokao, China’s national college entrance exam?

This year, an AI robot will take the math test of the gaokao, the country’s famously difficult college entrance exam, which will kick off on June 7.

生词：kick off=start/begin 开始（非正式用语）

The robot AI-MATHS was developed by an AI company in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu.

AI-MATHS will answer different paper versions of the math test over two hours on the test day.

In February, the robot scored 93 on one math test, slightly higher than the passing grade of 90.

“We have been working to improve its performance in logical reasoning and computer algorithms in the past year,” said Lin Hui, CEO of the AI firm Chengdu Zhunxingyunxue Technology.

生词：algorithms =算法

China’s Ministry of Science and Technology has announced a plan to develop gaokao robots. Under the plan, by 2020, AI robots will be smart enough to gain admission to leading universities through the entrance exam.

（4）13 injured in Central China fire

13人在大火中受伤

WUHAN — Thirteen people were injured when an apartment building caught fire early Wednesday in Central China’s Hubei province, the local government said. 

The fire broke out at around 2 am in a three-story building in Jiangxia district of the provincial capital Wuhan, the district government said in a statement. 

生词：break out=突然发生，爆发

The fire started in an electricity meter box on the ground floor and was extinguished after 40 minutes. 

生词： electricity meter box=电表箱     extinguish=扑灭

All the residents woke up in time to escape, but 12 suffered burns and one was slightly injured after jumping from a window sill, the document said. 

生词：window sill=窗台

The injured residents are being treated in the Third People’s Hospital in Wuhan and are all in a stable condition.

（5）Typhoon Merbok to hit southern China coast Monday night

台风“苗柏”周一夜晚将袭击华南海岸

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-06-12 13:02

BEIJING - China’s national observatory on Monday issued a blue alert for typhoon Merbok, which is expected to hit the southern Guangdong Province on Monday night.

At 8 am Monday, the eye of Merbok, this year’s second typhoon, was above the South China Sea some 295 km to the south of Shenzhen, packing winds of up to 20 meters per second, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said in a statement.  

生词：pack=夹带着
[T] ~ sthto have sth 夹带着
A storm packing 75 mph winds swept across the area last night.
昨晚暴雨和着每小时 75 英里的狂风横扫该地区。

The NMC forecast that Merbok would move northwestward at a speed of 20 km per hour toward Guangdong and make landfall on the coast between Zhuhai and Shantou on Monday night.

生词：make landfall=登陆

But the center expected the typhoon to weaken gradually after its landfall.

From Monday to Tuesday, parts of South China Sea and the eastern coast of Guangdong will experience strong winds, while storms with up to 180 mm of precipitation are expected to affect parts of southeast Guangdong.

The NMC suggested local governments take precautions against possible geological disasters, and ships in affected areas should go back to ports.

生词：precaution 预防措施        geological disaster 地质灾害

China has a four-tier color-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

生词：four-tier 四级的    color-coded 颜色编码的 

（6） Huge fire engulfs tower block in London

大火包围伦敦高层建筑

A huge fire has broken out on Wednesday morning at a tower block on the Lancaster West Estate in North Kensington of London, UK, the London Fire Brigade confirmed on its official Twitter account.

生词：tower block高层建筑  Fire Brigade 消防队

The fire was reported at 1:16 a.m. local time (0016GMT). Pictures taken by twitter users show the 24-story building was engulfed by huge flame. 

生词：engulf 包围，吞没

At least 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters have been dispatched to battle against fire, officials said. 

生词：dispatch 派遣

The Metropolitan Police said two people have been treated for smoke inhalation and an evacuation process is underway.

生词：Metropolitan 大都市的  evacuation 疏散

This is an ongoing story. Stay tuned to CGTN for the latest updates.

（7）E-commerce giant launches robot courier

知名电商推出快递机器人

A student picks up a delivery from a JD.com robot courier at Renmin University in Beijing on June 18. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

By Ma Chi | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-06-20 11:14

JD.com Inc, one of China’s biggest online marketplaces, has launched its first robot couriers.

生词：courier=快递员

A robot courier delivered the first item to Renmin University, the alma mater of CEO Liu Qiangdong, in Beijing on Sunday. Other schools the robot couriers sent packages to include Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University and Chang’an University.

生词：alma mater 母校

The vehicles follow optimal routes based on calculation, and send messages to recipients five minutes before reaching the destinations. The recipients obtain the packages with facial recognition or by inputting a code.

生词：recipients 收件人

The robot couriers, equipped with laser radars and cameras, are capable of avoiding obstacles on routes and recognizing traffic lights. With different sizes, they move three to four km/hour and can deliver six to 20 items in one trip.

生词：laser radar 激光雷达

JD.com will further expand its Fleet of robot couriers to more than 100 this year, mainly in universities and residential communities in Beijing, Hangzhou of Zhejiang province, and Xi’an of Shaanxi province.

生词：Fleet 车队

（8）Parents saved by their baby’s cries at dawn

孩子的哭声救了父母一命

Qiao Daochun, an infant whose crying awoke his parents and helped save them from the landslide, is transferred to a hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan province.Yang Li / For China Daily

By China Daily | China Daily | Updated: 2017-06-26 07:03

An infant saved his parents and himself from almost certain death in a landslide that buried about 120 people in Southwest China on Saturday morning, Chengdu Economic Daily reported.

生词：山崩，塌方  

Xiao Yanchun and her husband, Qiao Dashuai, both 26, live in Xinmo village, Maoxian county, in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture of Sichuan province. At about 5:40 am, their 38-day-old son was crying, so Xiao got up to change his diaper.

生词：尿布

When she was about to go back to bed after taking care of the baby, she heard a strange sound outside the door and felt the earth shaking.

Seeing stones, water and mud flooding into the room, she grabbed the infant and struggled to get out.

She and her husband literally swam through the moving mud as they attempted to get out, and were finally able to run to a safe area as the whole village was engulfed.

At about 9 am, the family was sent to Maoxian County People’s Hospital.

“Mud is all over our bodies,” Xiao said. She said her baby swallowed mud and later, when it appeared in his excrement.

生词：excrement 排泄物

The three remained in the hospital for treatment on Saturday evening, but their injuries are not life-threatening, the report said.

However, the fate of Xiao’s grandmother, parents and 3-year-old daughter, who were in a different house, is still unknown, according to media outlet The Paper.

 生词：media outlet 媒体机构

（9）Woman under investigation for flipping coins in aircraft engine

女子因为往飞机发动机扔硬币而被调查

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-06-28 09:18

SHANGHAI — A woman has been placed under investigation in Shanghai for flipping coins into an aircraft engine to “pray for safety.”

生词：flip（用手指）轻抛，轻掷

The suspect, an 80-year-old passenger surnamed Qiu, tossed coins to the engine while boarding flight CM380 operated by China Southern Airlines on Tuesday.

The plane was scheduled to fly from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Guangzhou, capital of South China’s Guangdong province, at 12:40 pm, but was delayed for more than five hours due to the incident.

Passengers on the plane alarmed police when they spotted Qiu flipping the coins. Police later found 9 coins at the site, including one in the engine. 

生词：alarm police 报警

According to airport police, Qiu has been cleared of mental illness and has no criminal record.

The airline company conducted a thorough investigation of the plane, before it took off at 6:16 pm.

Neighbors of the suspect said that Qiu believes in Buddhism.

（10）Man gives 84-year-old mother a motorcycle ride to Tibet

男子骑摩托车带84岁老母亲去西藏

84-year-old woman takes a ride on a motorcycle to Tibet in June 2017. [Photo/VCG]

Ecns.cn | 2017-07-04 13:42 

(ECNS) — Song Jianhui, 54, and his 84-year-old mother arrived safely at their home in Southwest China’s Sichuan province on July 1, after making a trip to Tibet on a motorcycle, the Chengdu Business Daily reports.

They spent 17 days traveling a total of 5,000 kilometers.

Song, a resident of Leshan city, loves outdoor sports, and is especially good at swimming and motorcycling.

One day in early June, Song asked his mother if there was a place she wanted to visit most. She answered immediately: “Tibet!”

The senior has traveled extensively, and Tibet had been her lifelong dream. Song said going to Tibet by motorcycle was also his wish. “It’d be too late if we didn’t go for it right away.”

生词：extensively 广泛地

After making necessary preparations, they set out on June 16 and arrived in Lhasa on the afternoon of June 21. “Mum was very happy and excited upon stepping on this pure land of Tibet,” said Song.

During their two-day stay in Lhasa, they visited famous sites such as the Jokhang Temple and the Potala Palace.

On the morning of June 23, they left Tibet for home. In order to enjoy different scenery, they chose a different route.

Commenting on Tibet, the mother said: “It was beautiful! Beautiful scenery, with good air quality, too!”

For safety concerns, Song said his mother had taken medicine to prevent possible altitude sickness before the trip, and that they would have retreated if she had showed any sign of it.

However, at an altitude of 5,130 meters, “I had no reaction (to the high altitude) at all,” said the mother. She had even asked her son, “Is this the highest mountain along the way to Tibet, with such a small height? It’s simply a wet blanket!”

On their previous motorcycle trips, she was always as excited as a child, said Song. “What else would make me happier than seeing my mother so happy?”

“I love to travel everywhere on a motorcycle,” said the mother. Next, she wanted to visit Northeast China.

（11）Gas pipeline explosion kills 5, injures 89 in NE China

煤气管道爆炸造成5人死亡89人受伤

A fire truck joins the rescue after the explosion in Songyuan city, Northeast China’s Jilin province, July 5, 2017. [Photo/Sina Weibo]

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-07-05 08:10

CHANGCHUN - Gas pipeline explosion that happened Tuesday has left at least five people dead and 89 others injured in Songyuan city in Northeast China, local government said Wednesday.

The accident occurred at around 2:45 pm Tuesday when workers were repairing a section of pipeline where gas leaked. The explosion affected patients and staff in a nearby hospital.

As of 6 am Wednesday, five were confirmed dead and 89 injured in the accident, including 14 people who were seriously injured.

Rescue operation is under way and cause of the accident is being investigated.

（12）8 killed, 2 injured in North China construction site collapse

工地坍塌造成8人死亡2人受伤

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-07-12 10:43

HOHHOT — Eight people were killed and two others injured after a collapse at a construction site in northern China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region Tuesday.

The accident, which happened at 5:20 pm in Ejin Horo Banner, Ordos city, initially left eight severely injured and two slightly injured. They were all sent to a local hospital, but the eight severely injured died Wednesday morning, according to the emergency rescue headquarters.

An investigation is underway.

（13）Man executed for driving into crowd

男子因故意开车撞死人而被执行死刑

By China Daily | China Daily | Updated: 2017-07-12 07:22

A man who killed four people and injured another 18 in Jiangxi province by deliberately driving a vehicle into the victims was executed on Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The publicity department of the Fengxin county government said on Tuesday on its WeChat account that the execution of Hu Jiabing was carried out after approval was received from the Supreme People’s Court.

生词：publicity department宣传部

The incident occurred on Jan 19 last year as a number of students were on their way to school. Most of those killed and injured were students. Hu was arrested at the scene soon after the incident.

Hu was convicted of endangering public security by dangerous means and was sentenced to death on Aug 23 at his first trial. The court also asked Hu to pay the families of six victims who sued him for civil compensation.

Hu, 44, was convicted of disrupting public functions and sentenced to 11 months in prison by a court in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, in 2013.

生词：public function 公共职能（法律用语）

（14）60-year-old donates blood 137 times in 15 years

60岁老人15年内献血137次

By Yang Jie | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-07-13 14:48

A retired soldier in East China’s Jiangxi province celebrated his 60th birthday by donating blood for free on Monday, reported jxnews.com.cn.

Kuang Xiaohua, who started donating blood for free in 2002, has donated it 137 times after finding out that blood donation has no adverse effect on health.

生词：adverse effect 不良影响

“Donating blood is a natural thing,” said Kuang. “It’s because blood donation keeps me healthy that I feel more energetic and motivated to keep doing it.”

Kuang retired from the army in 1979 and has kept the habit of having cold water bath in both summer and winter.

“Instead of feeling like a blood donation addict, I like to be called life-saving addict,” said Kuang. He said donating blood was the best last gift on his 60th birthday. As he is 60, he will not be allowed to donate blood anymore.

“I wish our country would extend the age range for blood donation,” said Kuang. “A man as fit as I am can sure donate blood for three or five more years.”

According to law, blood can be donated for free. The government encourages healthy citizens between 18 and 55 to donate blood voluntarily.

（15）Hero uses his boat to save hundreds

英雄用他的船拯救数百人的生命

Tang Wei stands beside his boat, which he used to carry more than 300 people to safety during a flood last month in Nanping village, Ningxiang city, Hunan province.[WEN XINZHENG/CHINA DAILY]

By FENG ZHIWEI/YANG WANLI | China Daily | Updated: 2017-07-14 09:33

A 34-year-old man who saved more than 300 people from rising floodwaters is a hero in his hometown.

In Nanping village, Hunan province, Tang Wei is now a widely known name, and he’s receiving a lot of praise. For many, he was literally a lifesaver.

Heavy rains from late June to early July caused flooding along several tributaries of the middle and lower Yangtze River. The level of the Xiangjiang River in Changsha, Hunan province, stood above 38.3 meters at 11:42 am on June 30, well past the warning level of 36 meters, according to the Hunan Hydrological Bureau.

生词：tributary 支流

The rain triggered flash floods, damaged mountain roads and saturated the ground, raising the risk of landslides. Fifty kilometers northwest of Changsha, Nanping found itself in the center of the flood zone.

生词：saturate 浸透

Early in the morning on July 1, Tang was busy working at a home-decoration company when he received a call from his mother, who was shouting for help. He rushed home to find water at the doorstep.

Fortunately, his family had already been transferred to safety. But instead of retrieving valuable property in the house, Tang turned to save other residents.

Situated in a low part of a mountainous area, Nanping experiences flooding almost every year. In 2013, Tang spent 10,000 yuan ($1,470) to buy a boat for emergencies. A few days ago, he used it to save more than 300 people.

Tang Guobin, 70, whose family of four were all saved by Tang Wei, has seen many flood seasons.

“I’ve never seen such heavy flooding in my whole life. Floods do happen, but in most cases it doesn’t pose a threat to our lives or property,” he said.

Days before, the local government had sent alerts, but most residents didn’t think flooding would be heavy and many remained at home.

Zhao Jianhua, 54, stayed home with his wife until there was no escape. They were saved by Tang Wei 30 minutes before their house collapsed.

“We were standing on a narrow wooden board on the roof and were shaking with fear and cold. If Tang hadn’t been there, it might have been our last day,” Zhao said.

From 9 am on July 1 until 4 am the next day, Tang and three of his friends worked to rescue people－from infants to the elderly－who were trapped by the flood. While hundreds were rescued, Tang’s own house was soaked, including appliances and a motorbike that had cost him a year’s salary.

In the 18 hours of rescue and relief work, Tang ate only a few cookies and drank a little water. Residents said he has put the interests of others above his own since he joined the Communist Party of China in 2011.

Speaking of his actions during the flood, Tang was modest: “I grew up here. Our village is small. We look at each other as family members. To save them is just an instinct that needs no explanation.”

（16）China’s first crawfish college to add more taste to industry

中国出现首家小龙虾学院

By Ma Chi | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-07-18 10:31

A popular snack in China, crawfish has spawned a new professional industry with an occupational school in Hubei province set to train students in all aspects of the crustacean, reported thepaper.cn.

生词：spawn 引发   crustacean 甲壳纲动物

The Jianghan Art Vocational College in Qianjiang city has enrolled 86 students in crawfish-related majors. From the fall semester, students will study 2-3 year courses on catering management, marketing, and cooking and nutrition.

The city is one of the major producers of crawfish in China. Cooking and exporting the freshwater crustacean is a main income source for local farmers.

In May 2016, the college set up a crawfish school, the only one of its kind in China, as the city aimed to boost the industry by cultivating more crawfish breeders, cooks and opening more crawfish restaurants.

“Despite the rapid growth of the crawfish industry, managerial professionals are still in shortage,” Xia Zhizhong, a recruitment officer at the school, said.

China is the world’s largest crawfish producer. By mid-2016, the number of restaurants selling crawfish was triple the number of KFC outlets in China.

（17）Poor kid successfully fights way to top university

穷孩子考上清华大学

By ZHANG YU | China Daily | Updated: 2017-07-15 06:48

A student from a poor family in Hebei province, who scored high on college entrance exams and was admitted to one of the country’s top universities, has refused all financial aid that swarmed in after his plight was reported by media.

生词：plight 困境

Pang Zhongwang, 18, a high school graduate in Cangzhou, scored 684 out of 750 points on China’s national college entrance examination.

He has been admitted by Tsinghua University and is expected to receive the school’s letter of admission around Monday, according to Fan Hongqi, vice-president of Wuqiao High School where Pang graduated.

“Before I came to visit his home three years ago, nobody knew his family faced so many difficulties,” said Li Ying, one of Pang’s teachers.

His father, who is schizophrenic, can only do simple manual work, while his mother’s lower limbs are disabled and she must be taken care of by his grandparents.

“You can’t see one piece of decent furniture or appliance at his home,” said a reporter surnamed Zhou with a local newspaper who visited Pang’s family on Thursday.

“It’s hard to imagine that such an excellent boy grew up in such a difficult situation, for which he definitely deserved special bonus scores,” Zhou said.

The bonus scores Zhou mentioned were 60 points, provided by Tsinghua University, which has a special program for outstanding students from rural areas. Under the program, Pang can be enrolled at a score 60 points lower than a normal enrollment line.

“Even without the bonus, his score ranks first in Cangzhou, which has about 30,000 graduates this year,” Li said.

Zhou was lucky to have met him, because Pang is occupied with teaching physics classes as a part-time job during his summer vacation, striving to earn the tuition fees for his first semester at Tsinghua.

“My classes are full, and I don’t want to be disturbed or reported on by media,” Pang was quoted as saying.

According to Li, Pang has refused all financial aid from people or social institutions who wanted to lend a hand.

“The most difficult time for me and my family has passed and I think I can live on my own right now,” Pang said, adding that his school and many warmhearted people have helped him a lot during his three years in high school.

The attitude of Pang toward difficulties puts the saying “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” into practice.

He was diagnosed with congenital heart disease at 7.

Though he recovered after a surgery, Pang felt sorry because the surgery put his already-poor family into greater debt.

Since then, he started to pick up waste materials along roads after school every day and sold them to earn money.

“He is very optimistic with a strong personality,” Li said.

（18）Qingdao bride drives bus to wedding

青岛新娘开公交车结婚

Wuzheng drives a new energy bus to her wedding in Qingdao’s Huangdao district on Sunday.

By Xie Chuanjiao in Qingdao | chinadaily.com.cn | 2017-07-13 15:44 

Forget the romance of a horse-drawn carriage — this couple in eastern China decided to go green and drive to their wedding in a new energy bus.

Wu Zheng and Sun Hai tied the knot in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Sunday.

“I actually met my husband on the bus,” said Wu, who works as a bus driver in the coastal city. “I love my job. The bus I drive is like a friend, so I wanted it to be a part of my wedding.”

Wu drove one bus while five others followed behind with the wedding guests.

The couple said their choice of nuptial carriage was to promote low-carbon transportation and raise awareness about environmental protection.

 生词：nuptial carriage 婚车

（19）Disabled man uses street art to survive

残疾男子靠街头艺术谋生

By China Daily | China Daily USA | Updated: 2017-07-26 07:05

Using the street as his canvas, a one-legged man spent around six hours making a chalk drawing of Leonardo di Vinci’s Mona Lisa on a hot summer day in Linyi, Shandong province, last week.

Despite the temperature reaching 38 C, Cong Langui remained patient, making sure his artwork was as perfect as possible. He stood up every now and then to check his work from a distance, while pedestrians gathered to observe and make donations.

The 55-year-old, who learned how to draw by reading books and watching videos, has been drawing replicas of Mona Lisa for more than 10 years. Cong said he enjoys drawing on the street, even though it usually takes several hours and the artwork disappears soon after it is completed.

He had his left leg amputated when he was 16 years old due to a bone tumor. “I felt inferior after I had my leg amputated, but now I am positive and optimistic about my life.”

生词：amputate 截肢      inferior 下等的

Cong defines himself as “a beggar who understands a little bit about art”.

“I don’t need much money. People can watch me produce my artwork for free. Some people who are impressed by my drawings leave as much as 100 yuan ($15) as a donation,” he said.

Although physically challenged, Cong has produced artwork on the streets of several cities in China, including Xi’an in Shaanxi province and Shenzhen in Guangdong province. He also plans to leave his mark on the streets of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

（20）Chinese woman has plastic surgery to avoid debts

中国女子整容逃债

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-07-29 07:02

WUHAN — A Chinese woman had plastic surgery in an attempt to disguise herself to avoid paying massive debts.

Zhu Najuan, 59, underwent plastic surgery and disappeared after a court in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei Province, asked her to pay off huge debts of over 25 million yuan ($3.71 million) earlier this year.

In July, Zhu was reported to be in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, where police officers from the Intermediate People’s Court of Wuhan detained her and were astonished by her brand new face.

“We were very surprised at the scene,” a policeman said. “She looked in her thirties and was different from the photos we had.”

Zhu was detained and confessed that she had used people’s ID cards to buy high-speed train tickets and borrowed bank cards to support her face-changing “career.”

Recently, Wuhan judicial authorities launched a series of crackdowns on debt avoidance. The city’s courts detained 186 people for debt avoidance in the first half of the year.

China is building a “credit society.” On July 16, more than 300 Chinese cities jointly released a declaration about enhancing the credit system to improve people’s credit rating.

（21）Woman’s hair reaches nearly 2 meters 25 years later

一名女子的头发将近2米

Fan Lili stands on a stool showing that her hair exceeds her height, Zhengzhou, Henan province, on July 30, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

By Guo Kai | chinadaily.com.cn | 2017-08-01 10:19 

A woman in Zhengzhou, Central China’s Henan province tends to draw crowds when she goes out in public due to her 1.93-meter-long hair.

Fan Lili, 49 years old, living in Zhengzhou, said that she stopped cutting her hair 25 years ago.

“My mother said my hair has good quality and she would like me to keep it, and other family members also agreed,” Fan said.

The long hair has brought joy to her life. When she goes in public, many people admire her hair and chat with her. Some men even pursue her, though her husband is not so happy about that.

Maintaining her long hair also creates problems, such as washing.

Fan said that she has to take a shower for about one and a half hours in order to wash her hair, using about 200 millimeters of shampoo every time. She can’t use common chemical shampoos, only natural.

Drying is another thing. Fan does not use a hair drier but leaves her hair to dry naturally. The catch is it takes about two days to dry.

生词：catch 隐藏的困难，隐患

When going out in the day, Fan has to put up her hair, and releases it at night to put by the bedside to sleep.

An 80-year-old man surnamed Feng said that it was the first time he’s met a person with such long hair in Zhengzhou, and another old man even questioned that her hair was fake.

“I will keep the hair to see if it will grow as long as twice my height,” Fan said.

（22）A rabbit with a taste for more than carrots

一只爱吃辣椒的兔子

By Liu Jing | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-08-02 13:51

People in Southwest China’s Chongqing are known for their love of hot and spicy food. Now even a local pet rabbit is reported to be addicted to the pungent flavor.

生词：pungent辛辣的

Huang Chao, 31, first discovered his rabbit’s taste for spicy food last December when his wife accidentally spilt a bag of dried red peppers.  

Just as Huang was about to clean the floor, he was stunned to see his rabbit gobbling down the peppers, reported cqcb.com.

生词：gobble 狼吞虎咽地吃，贪婪地吃

Huang said he was then worried that the bunny may suffer diarrhea or other problems. However, it seemed normal the next day as if nothing unusual had happened.

生词：diarrhea 腹泻

After that, Huang fed his rabbit some more dried red peppers and fresh green peppers and it seemed to enjoy them each time.

Huang also noticed his pet has a better appetite after eating peppers. 

For example, the rabbit eats three carrots every day on average. After eating peppers, it can devour another two. Now peppers are on its daily menu.

生词：devour（尤指因饥饿而）狼吞虎咽地吃光   

“I understand Chongqing people love spicy food. But I don’t know why my rabbit is so fond of peppers,” Huang said.

Wang Xiaoyou, a researcher at Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, said he had never heard of such a case, although it’s possible wild rabbits eat one or two peppers occasionally. 

Online research shows that some owners feed their rabbits a small amount of dried peppers in winter to keep them warm and to promote appetite. The effect is not confirmed by researchers.

Xiong Bibo from Xinsanlidikang, a rabbit breeding company in Chongqing, said this was a one-off.   

生词：one-off 非经常的，个例的

“Maybe the bunny’s stomach was stimulated since it was little and gradually got used to the flavor,” Xiong said.  

（23）Giant mushroom discovered in Southwest China

云南发现巨型蘑菇

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-08-06 15:04

KUNMING — A giant mushroom has been discovered in Southwest China’s Yunnan province, authorities said Sunday.

The mushroom was found in the Pu’er Sun-River National Park in Pu’er city. It has a circumference of 1.8 meters and weighs 8 kilograms, according to staff at the park.

生词：circumference 周长

“Half of it was covered by leaves and the other half was in the air,” said a staff. “It had different layers, and appeared brown. It had many wrinkles.”

The mushroom is the biggest ever discovered in the region. Mycologists say that it is not edible.

生词：mycologist 真菌学家

“I have been living here for more than 40 years, but I have never seen anything quite like this before!” said a local villager.

The park is at the transitional area of tropical zone and subtropical zone, and it boasts a variety of plants and wildlife.

（24）Rare monkey is a trouble-maker in Southwest China

珍稀猴子袭击村民

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-08-06 18:45

KUNMING — A rare wild monkey has recently become a trouble-maker by attacking a villager, pigs and stealing fruit in Southwest China’s Yunnan province.

Dai Yongcui, a resident of Galabo Village in Gongshan Dulong and Nu autonomous county, was attacked by an Assam macaque, a Class I protected wild animal in China, on her way home on Thursday. The monkey bit her thighs and ears.

生词：Assam macaque 阿萨姆猕猴，恒河猴

“I did not see clearly what it was, and I thought I was bitten by a dog,” Dai said. She later had stitches and rabies vaccination.

On Friday, another villager said he saw the monkey stealing pig fodder and peaches. It also bit five pigs a villager raised.

生词：fodder 饲料

Police used a tranquilizer to catch the monkey when it came back to the village for food on Saturday.

生词：tranquilizer 镇静剂

The wild animal has been sent to a nature reserve for treatment and observation. It is in stable condition.

（25）Rare ants discovered in South China

广西发现罕见的蚂蚁品种

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-08-06 16:18

NANNING — A rare ant species has been discovered in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, local authorities said Sunday.

Opamyrma hungvuong, an ancient ant species, was spotted for the first time in Guangxi by experts on an ant survey at a national reserve near Guangxi’s tourist city of Guilin.

Staff with Huaping National Nature Reserve said that the ants live under some small bush-covered rocks in a primary forest with moderate humidity. About 30 ants were collected for research.

The discovery of Opamyrma hungvuong will provide new evidence for the evolution and distribution of ants, according to staff with the nature reserve.

Opamyrma hungvuong mainly feeds on tiny Arthropoda species. The ant only lives in well-preserved primary forests with little human activity, and is a good indicator of the environmental quality.

生词：Arthropoda 节肢动物

The Huaping National Nature Reserve was among the first nature reserves established in China.

（26）Man braves floodwaters to save shopkeeper

男子冒险救女店主于洪水中

Liu Hongbo tries to help a shopkeeper when severe rainstorm hits Zhangguying county in Yueyang, Hunan province, Aug 12, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] 

By Feng Zhiwei in Changsha | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-08-15 18:49

Severe rainstorms flooded stores and houses throughout Zhangguying county in Yueyang, Hunan province, on Saturday.

A shopkeeper was swept from her shoe store while trying to prevent stock from being washed away.

Seeing the woman being dragged from her shop, a man, Liu Hongbo, jumped into the rapidly flowing floodwaters to help the woman.

Liu tied her to a steel pipe using rope, but as the rope was not long enough for them both, he had to clutch onto the pipe.

After about 10 minutes, a truck arrived to rescue them. “If I didn’t help her, I would have felt guilty,” Liu said after the incident.

Zhang Yi contributed to this story.

（27）Girl, 4, hanging from 19th floor saved by security staff

保安冒死拯救四岁女童

chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-08-17 14:54

A four-year-old girl was found hanging from the 19th floor with her head stuck between the burglar mesh on Aug 15, reported a local newspaper of Hainan province.

生词：burglar mesh 防盗网

A child who was playing at home on the 15th floor of another building in the same community first spotted the girl at 9:00 am.

The child’s mother immediately contacted the community security chief Cheng Shaosheng.

“A child’s life is more important than anything else,” Cheng said. “I along with three other people went to the house and loudly knocked on the door, but no one answered.”

The girl could’ve fallen any minute. Cheng decided to try to break the door with the fire axe as he did not want to risk her life by waiting for professional locksmiths.

Four of them took turns to open the door and managed to break it in about 10 minutes.

They discovered that the girl was hanging to her life by her chin which was stuck in the burglar mesh and her whole body was dangling in the air. They soon carried her out after breaking the mesh.

According to the paper, the girl climbed onto a couch on the balcony and got stuck in the mesh. When her mother came back to the house she was shocked to hear about the incident.

She said she had locked her four-year-old alone at home as she had gone downstairs just for a few minutes to pick up her older daughter and a parcel.

She never thought that her act would put her daughter in danger. Now she has learned her lesson. “I can never thank enough to those who saved my child.”

People of the community praised the security staff members. One of the residents said they were very brave to try to save the life right away rather than wait for police and stay out of the matter.

（28）Student pedals bike 4,300 km to start university

大一新生骑车4300公里上大学

Lin Jinmin in the Qiqihar Medical University in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province. [Photo/Heilongjiang TV]

By Guo Kai | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-08-30 11:32

A freshman was so excited to be admitted to a university this year that he rode a bike more than 4,300 kilometers across the country to his university in 22 days.

Lin Jinmin, who lives in Pingnan county, Guigang of Southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, received an admission letter from the Qiqihar Medical University in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province on July 23.

Lin said that it is a very important achievement for a person to be admitted to a university, and he decided that riding his bike would be a unique way to get there, rather than taking more conventional transportation, such as the trains, plane or a bus.

“Riding there, I want to hone the spirit of persistence and fearlessness,” he said.

生词：hone 磨练  fearlessness无畏

Lin started his journey on Aug 1, riding across eight provinces and two municipalities, and finally reached his university on Aug 22.

During the journey, he encountered wind and rain, suffered through traffic congestion, roadwork, tire punctures and hunger. When he reached a university, such as Tsinghua University, Harbin Institute of Technology and Northeastern University, he would take a photo in front of the university’s gate as a souvenir.

His cross-country feat has made him famous among his classmates. Lin said he will take another ride in the future.

（29）Move over bike-sharing, here comes ‘shared boyfriend’

共享单车靠边站，共享男友来了

By Liu Wei | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-08-29 14:32

After sharing bikes, sharing umbrellas, sharing cars, can you guess the latest entrant in the sharing economy? Maybe not.

生词：entrant 新成员

A man wearing the Spider-Man costume appeared in Sanlitun area of Beijing on Chinese Valentine’s Day with a board saying he’s a “shared boyfriend who can perform all duties of a boyfriend – although for a charge.

On the board, he listed several items along with the price. Holding hands once cost one yuan ($0.14), hugging three yuans and kissing 7 yuans.

He also offered service as a companion. The Spider-Man can go shopping, eating and watching films for around 30 yuan per hour.

If anyone needs him to show off in front of their ex-boyfriends, he can do the job for 77 yuan per time.

A woman, who paid for hand-holding, jokingly said it seemed he took advantage as he held her hand for half a minute.

（30）Distracted driving is major accident cause

分心驾驶是交通事故主要原因

By Shi Xiaofeng in Hangzhou | China Daily | Updated: 2017-08-25 09:40

Distracted driving, including using a cellphone behind the wheel, is the major cause of car accidents in Zhejiang province, according to the Zhejiang Public Security Department’s traffic control bureau.

A total of 1,855 people died in accidents involving distracted drivers in 2016 in the province, accounting for 44.3 percent of total traffic deaths. Drunken driving accounted for 1.6 percent and speeding 2.7 percent, according to a report, which was released this month by the bureau.

The report said that using a bluetooth headset or a car phone does not eliminate risk.

生词：car phone车载电话

（31）Japan’s Princess Mako giving up royal status to marry commoner

日本公主放弃王室身份下嫁平民

TOKYO — Japanese Emperor Akihito’s oldest grandchild, Princess Mako, says she is getting married to her university classmate who won her heart with bright smiles and sincerity.

Mako and her fiancé Kei Komuro told a joint news conference Sunday their relationship started when Mako sat behind him at a campus meeting five years ago at Tokyo’s International Christian University, where they graduated from.

Palace officials say their wedding is expected next year.

Mako says she fell in love with his “smiles like the sun,” sincerity and a big heart.

Mako’s 83-year-old grandfather, Emperor Akihito, is expected to abdicate in late 2018. He’ll be succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito.

Mako does not qualify as women aren’t allowed to succeed the throne. She’ll lose her royal status after marrying the commoner.

（32）One man wounded, another shot to death in front of his children on Brooklyn street

纽约布鲁克林街发生枪击案，造成一死一伤

One man was critically wounded and another was killed in front of his young sons Sunday during shootings a mile apart in Brooklyn.

Cops said the 49-year-old dad was outside with a friend and his two sons on Nostrand Ave. at Herkimer Place in Bedford-Stuyvesant when shots rang out just after 8:45 p.m.

One bullet struck him in the head. Medics took him to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

About two hours later, a gunman dressed in black opened fire on a 44-year-old man near the corner of Sterling Pl. and Schenectady Ave. in Crown Heights, striking him in the chest.

Witnesses saw the victim run diagonally across the street, finally collapsing on Schenectady Ave., in front of a tent decorated with Jamaican flags.

Medics frantically tried to revive him before taking him to Kings County Hospital in critical condition.

Both shootings happened near the area in Crown Heights where Monday’s J’Ouvert and West Indian Day Parade will take place.

Carnival floats were being set up about a block from the fatal shooting, but police said the violence didn’t appear to be connected to the upcoming festivities.

（33）Man earns 100,000 yuan a month by cooking Chinese dishes in Morocco

男子在摩洛哥做中餐月入十万

Wang Luping works at his restaurant.[Photo/Chinanews.com]

People’s Daily Online | Updated: 2017-09-08 08:41

Wang Luping, a post-80s man from Zhejiang province, China, earns 100,000 RMB (about $15,000) a month by running a Chinese restaurant in Morocco to offer Sichuan cuisines to Chinese tourists in the country, China News reported on Sept 7.

There were less than 1,000 Chinese tourists in Morocco when Wang first came to the country. However, the number has skyrocketed by a factor of six since Morocco started letting Chinese tourists enter the country without a visa in June 2016.

Wang opened the restaurant to offer Sichuan cuisines to Chinese visitors, as they usually have a hard time getting used to the local food. He decorated it with Chinese elements, including lanterns, couplets, and old-fashioned wooden armchairs, and named it the “Great Wall”. The restaurant provides him a monthly income of 100,000 RMB.

In addition, with more exchanges between China and Africa, people in Morocco are excited about learning Chinese. Wang said that sometimes people ask him questions about China, which makes him feel valued.

（34）120 children poisoned; bad cakes blamed

变质蛋糕导致120名儿童中毒

Medical personnel at Jiangxi Provincial Children’s Hospital in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, treat a boy for food poisoning on Wednesday. [Photo by WANG JIAN/CHINA DAILY]

By WANG JIAN/ZHANG YI | China Daily | Updated: 2017-09-07 09:16

Tainted food sickened 120 children in three kindergartens in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, on Tuesday, and the cause－which some believe was cake－is under investigation, the city’s education authority said on Wednesday.

As of 11:30 pm Tuesday, 120 children had been diagnosed with food poisoning at Jiangxi Provincial Children’s Hospital. Of those, 36 were hospitalized, 62 were held for observation and 22 who had mild symptoms were sent home after treatment.

Symptoms included vomiting, dizziness and abdominal pain, but no fever.

Feng Shengzhe, a 3-year-old boy, was among the sick children. His father, who declined to give his name, said the boy ate a cake on Tuesday afternoon at the kindergarten and started vomiting at around 5 pm before dinner.

“More than 40 children in my son’s kindergarten ate the cake, and 10 began vomiting,” the father said.

Lian Qinchen, another hospitalized 3-year-old boy, who came from another kindergarten, also started vomiting at around 5 pm on Tuesday after eating a cake at the kindergarten, his mother said.

By 4 pm Tuesday, no new cases had showed up, but 32 children remained hospitalized for treatment, according to a statement released by the provincial health authorities.

The city’s health and education departments said they are working with the police as well as local food and drug authorities to investigate the incident. Parents suspected the problem was tainted cakes from the same producer.

“The kindergarten has been buying cakes from a shop which they think are very good,” Feng Shengzhe’s father said. “I really worry about it, and I will take my son out of the kindergarten when he recovers.”

He added that the family will seek compensation from the kindergarten, including medical fees and his loss of income incurred by missing work.

Lian’s mother said the kindergarten should increase its awareness of food safety.

Zhang Yi contributed to this story.

（35）‘Spiderwoman’ tries to crawl out of poverty

“蜘蛛女”脱贫

( Xinhua )  Updated: 2017-09-18

GUIYANG - Luo Dengping crawls up a steep cliff in remote Ziyun County, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, to collect herbs growing in the cracks in the rocks.

Luo, 37, is a resident of Getuhe Village, which is well-known for its steep karst mountains. Large numbers of swallows live in caves on the cliffs, and their excrement makes good fertilizer for the villages crops.

“The herbs that grow in the cracks can be used for traditional Chinese medicine,” Luo said. “So I come here every day, hoping to earn money.”

Luo’s story was recently shown in a BXX video that went viral online. The video showed her crawling up a dangerous cliff without any safety rope.

At the age of 15, Luo, began learning to climb from her father, to help collect fertilizer for the family’s crops.

“We were really poor and lived in a thatched cottage,” said Luo, who never attended school. “My sister was luckier, but she dropped out after grade three because my family was too poor to support her studies.”

Luo said when she first started climbing, she felt scared and had to crawl very slowly.

“Climbing the cliff without ropes is a tradition in this area,” Luo said. “Some people place coffins on the cliffside, and others climb to pick herbs.”

Most of the climbers are men, but as there are no boys in her family, Luo had to learn the skill.

“I think men and women are equal, if men can do it, I can do it too,” she said.

In her late teens Luo became a migrant worker at a construction site in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou. In 2000, she returned to the village, married a local and had two children. While her children grew up she worked in the fields and occasionally climbed the cliffs looking for herbs to earn some extra money for her family.

In 2015, the local government decided to develop the karst mountains into tourist sites.

“Tourists then started coming in, and the government wanted us to climb the cliffs to entertain them,” Luo said.

Luo agreed immediately and joined a “spiderman” team with five other villagers. She was the only woman and the youngest climber.

She climbs the 108-meter cliff once or twice a day. Years of climbing have left her hands calloused.

“It’s not so bad, because the tourist area is within walking distance, so I can take care of my children,” Luo said. “They also provide lunch for us, which is good.”

Luo works from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, with four days rest each month. Her average monthly salary is about 3,000 yuan (458 U.S. dollars) which includes a base salary and commission on the number of tickets sold to tourists each day.

Luo said she wants to make more money to help her husband, who supports the family by driving freight trucks.

“I want my children to continue going to school,” she said.

China has set a target of building a moderately prosperous society by 2020, including the complete eradication of poverty. From 2013 to 2016, 55.64 million rural people were lifted out of poverty in China.

（36）Left-behind boy gets stuck in 20-cm-wide gap

留守儿童被卡在墙缝

chinadaily.com.cn | 2017-09-27 11:11 

A left-behind boy in Shanhuang village of Southwest China’s Guangxi was saved by firefighters more than one hour after being trapped in a 20-cm-wide gap between two walls on Saturday.

The 8-year-old boy got stuck in the gap while playing hide-and-seek game at around 4:00 pm. He went into the gap, whose width ranges from 10 cm to 40 cm, from its widest end but got trapped in the middle.

The firefighters arrived at 5:14 pm after receiving an emergency call at 4:37 pm. After comforting the nervous boy, they covered his head and body with quilt to shield him from any possible injury and successfully got him out after 10 minutes by widening the gap around him.

（37）Fireball meteor observed in SW China

火流星坠入云南

A brilliant fireball meteor was observed in southwest China’s Yunnan Province on Wednesday evening. [Photo/VCG]

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-10-06 06:44

KUNMING - A brilliant fireball meteor was observed in southwest China’s Yunnan Province on Wednesday evening, with no casualties or property losses reported yet.

“The fireball was caused by a very small heavenly body, compared with an asteroid,” said researcher Wang Xiaobin with Yunnan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, adding that such incident is not unusual.

The incident that happened at around 8 p.m. amazed many residents in Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Deqen who were viewing the full moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival. Videos capturing the seconds-long phenomenon have gone viral on the Internet.

“We first heard a big bang, and then saw a light. We thought it was an earthquake, but did not feel the jolt,” said villager Duji.

Wang explained that a glorious fireball usually occurs when an meteoroid burns after entering the atmosphere.

（38）German botanist dedicated life to poverty relief in China

德国植物学家在中国为脱贫奉献了一生

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-09-30 16:05   

CHENGDU - Holger Perner, a German botanist, decided to take a nap after his three-day round-the-clock fieldwork in Zoige county of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. He did not wake up, dying peacefully in his sleep aged 57.

Perner had been in western Sichuan plateau, where barren soil and atrocious weather kept many locals in poverty, for two decades.

In his lab in Chengdu, where he took his last nap this April, rows of glass cans filled with blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, colored potatoes, orchids and herbs show his painstaking efforts in the past 20 years in China.

Perner made his first visit to China in 1997 when he was traveling with two Japanese experts to Huanglong in northwestern Sichuan. The travel agency mistakenly thought he was from Japan and arranged a China-born Japanese translator Gan Wenqing as their guide. Gan later became his wife.

“She soon learned German, and I have become a Chinese son-in-law,” said Perner in an interview with Xinhua earlier this year.

Located in the southern part of the Minshan Mountain range, Huanglong is known for its colorful lake water, snow peaks and glaciers. It is one of 36 biodiversity hotspots in the world, and Perner was obsessed with the rich variety of orchids there.

Four years later, Perner moved to China as a senior advisor to Huanglong scenic area. He studied local ecological system and gave advice on its conservation. But he soon encountered a dilemma.

PEOPLE MATTER MOST

“We are here to protect the environment. But local residents, living on the plateau and with poor infrastructure, barely had enough income. They need the land to survive. If we want to protect the environment, we must find a way out for them,” Perner said in a television interview. “In the end, people matter most.”

Locals have been living on highland barley and corn, but the two produce little income. Perner thought the acid soil ideal for growing blueberries.

Blueberries then sold for up to 800 yuan (about 120 U.S. dollars) a kilo in China and grows well in acid soil. In 2008, the German Embassy and Huanglong scenic area administration jointly bought a number of blueberry seedlings. Perner cloned them and planted them in nearby Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture.

The blueberry plan proved a resounding success. One family had a good harvest of 100 kilos in three years, and now over 110 families have followed suit, and the local blueberry acreage has reached 270,000 square meters.

MAGIC BERRIES

Perner did not stop. He planned to introduce more berries. He and his wife set up a team to clone four more crops, including blackberries and cranberries.

“These fruits have been optimized in overseas market, but are rarely farmed in China,” Gan said.

They planned to establish a complete industrial chain and partner with research institutes and universities to offer professional support to lower the risks for farmers.

This year, 20,000 cranberry seedlings will be planted in the Zoige wetlands - one of the fastest desertificating regions in China. And these cold-resistant little red berries are expected to improve local ecological system as well as bring wealth.

Data from the U.S. cranberry market showed the U.S. cranberry exports to China surged by more than seven times in the past five years. Between 2015 and 2016, China imported 5,820 tonnes of cranberries from the United States, up 55 percent year on year.

Perner also brought potatoes from Germany and planned to grow them there on a trial basis.

“We have just cloned those potatoes, they have sprouted. These colored potatoes are good for health and can be harvested annually, while the cranberries can only bear fruits in three years. It will become an excellent poverty relief project if we can combine both,” Gan said. “But he left, even without saying goodbye.”

Many researchers have learned about Perner’s passing and offered help to Gan, and she is confident of keeping up the work.

“We may have some difficulties in research and development without Perner, but we have received worldwide help. I am confident that we can continue implementing Dr. Perner’s plan,” she said.

（39）Chinese university uses facial recognition to track student attendance

          中国大学用人脸识别点名

BEIJING - Facial recognition is becoming increasingly common in China, where it has been installed at ATM machines and KFC restaurants. Now the technology has arrived at university classrooms to track student attendance.

Shen Hao, a professor with Communication University of China, is using facial recognition in his six courses to keep track of the attendance of more than 300 students.

Before every class, Shen activates a new attendance system installed on his tablet computer. Students stand in front of the screen one by one to have their photos taken and matched with those in the school’s database.

The system is based on facial recognition technology from Chinese Internet giant Baidu’s open AI platform.

Currently, the platform has offered more than 80 different technological services to the public, helping program developers like Shen to develop their own applications.

“The traditional way of tracking attendance is through a roll call. The new system saves time and reduces the workload of teachers,” said Shen.

Students have joked that facial recognition is harsh as it doesn’t allow skipping classes. “But they support the technology to enter colleges,” said Cui Yuqin, a student majoring in data journalism with the university.

China’s Forward-looking Industry Institute said that the facial recognition market in China surpassed 1 billion yuan (about 150 million U.S. dollars) in 2016 and is expected to hit 5.1 billion yuan by 2021.

Facial recognition technology has already been put to creative use. Beijing’s Temple of Heaven has used it in toilets to deter toilet paper theft. In east China’s Jinan, traffic police installed facial scanners at intersections to catch and shame jaywalkers, and a Beijing university has used the technology to guard its dorms.

（40）Iron in the diet: man swallows wife’s medal in quarrel

男子争吵中吞下妻子的奖牌

chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-10-30 15:08

A man swallowed his wife’s medal during a bitter quarrel on Sunday in Northwest China.

The couple lives in Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province. The husband is a sanda (Chinese boxing) provincial champion, while his wife is a taekwondo provincial champion. Early Sunday morning, the couple had an argument, with the husband swallowing his wife’s medal in fury.

However, the man felt uncomfortable in the pit of his chest after swallowing the medal. With his mother’s company, the man went to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University.

Doctors arranged a gastroscopy for him and found the medal was stuck in the man’s esophagus.

The medal is around three centimeters in diameter, and part of its edge is sharp. Since the medal was struck for only a short time, the man was not hurt by the edge.

The medal was successfully removed, and the man was in good condition after the operation.

“The biggest challenge of the operation was that the medal might be stuck in the throat, or other tiny things might enter the patient’s windpipe during the operation, which is more hurtful. Fortunately, the operation went well and the medal was removed quickly,” Zhang Juan, a doctor of the hospital, said.

（41）Gatekeeper of primary school teaches painting

小学门卫教画画

Lifelike geese painted by Li Xuebin. [Photo by Tong Liang for chinadaily.com.cn]

By Zhang Xiaomin | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-11-03 19:50

When someone published several watercolor paintings of a primary school security guard on the internet, it received many compliments.

Li Xuebin, 62, has been working as a gatekeeper at the Xigang District Bayi Primary School of Dalian, Northeast China’s Liaoning province, since he retired two years ago.

He is responsible for guarding the campus, keeping express and small packages for teachers, and patrolling at night. But he spends almost all of his spare time painting.

Li’s talents have been recognized by teachers and students of the school. Currently, he is teaching dozens of students painting once every week.

“I love staying with the kids. They can always give me some inspiration,” said Li.

According to him, the school is making preparation for holding an exhibition for him.

Li’s interest in painting stretches back to his childhood, when he imitated countless comic strips and drew lots of pictures. Then he studied arts in secondary school and college.

Whether he was working on a farm or as a shipbuilding technician, Li never stopped painting. Some of his works won prizes at art exhibitions and contests in Dalian and even Liaoning province.

Li intends to set up an art workshop in the rural area of Dalian next year to draw inspiration from natural scenery and local flavor.

“I would enjoy country living and be content that I can paint every day and teach children how to paint,” said Li.

（42）Chinese student’s murder case sparks controversy

江歌案引发热议

By Ma Chi | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-11-13 17:56

The murder case of a Chinese student killed in Japan last year has attracted wide attention online as the case is set to be heard in Japan next month.

On Sina Weibo, a popular social media platform in China, the hashtag Murder case of Chinese student in Tokyo# has garnered more than 1.8 billion views.

Jiang Ge, a 24-year-old Chinese student from Qingdao, Shandong province, was killed at her apartment in Tokyo on Nov 3, 2016. Jiang was a postgraduate student at Hosei University.

In the early hours of Nov 3, 2016 (local time), Jiang was stabbed to death in the corridor of her apartment by the ex-boyfriend of her roommate, according to thepaper.cn.

According to media reports, Liu Xin, the victim’s roommate and her close friend, moved in with Jiang after breaking up with her boyfriend two months before the tragedy happened.

Liu’s boyfriend, Chen Shifeng, went to Jiang’s apartment to look for Liu that afternoon. The three had a quarrel and left the house afterwards. That same night, Liu and Jiang went back to the apartment, with Liu arriving first.

Liu said when she was changing her pants in the house, she heard screaming outside the door. She tried to open the door, but found it was blocked. Then she called the police.

The victim’s mother, Jiang Qiulian, blamed Liu for her daughter’s death by claiming Liu had locked Jiang out when she was attacked. She also criticized Liu for avoiding her and refusing to explain to her the details of the incident face-to-face after the tragedy happened.

According to a report from thepaper.cn, Jiang said Liu and her families refused to answer her request of explaining the incident to her and did not send any condolence to her.

On May 21, 2017, Jiang posted an article on Sina Weibo, exposing the personal information and photos of Liu and her parents, asking web users to offer information about Liu’s address and whereabouts.

In response to criticisms, Liu told thepaper.cn that she did not see Jiang’s mother after Jiang was killed because she was under the supervision and protection of the police, banned from seeing anyone related to Jiang to protect the validity and confidentiality of the evidence, and said she did not lock the door before Jiang was attacked.

Liu, who is also from Qingdao, was Jiang’s classmate during their middle school years, and the two became close friends after meeting each other in Japan, said the report. 

The case, which is to be held in Tokyo on Dec 10, has become a hot topic online.

One of the most upvoted comments below a post on Sina Weibo said: “I can understand that she (Liu Xin) felt too scared to open the door… But the way she responded to the incident makes me feel a chill. After her roommate’s death, she did not even say sorry to the (victim’s mother).”

Another comment said: “The murder will be punished by the law, and Liu is probably guiltless from a legal perspective. But her behavior and attitude (towards the tragedy) is disgusting.”

The murder case will be judged in Japan in accordance with the principle of territorial jurisdiction in law, said an article published on the Procuratorate Daily website.

The article said, according to the criminal laws of China, judicial authorities have the right to prosecute a Chinese citizen that commits a crime in another country and has been punished according to the country’s laws as long as he or she returns to China.

The victim’s mother, who is in Tokyo to attend the hearing next month, is collecting signatures from local residents in a call for a death sentence for the murderer suspect.

（43）XXXnews with David Austin.

Soldiers in Zimbabwe have taken over a state-run television to announce plans to seize those close to president Robert Mugabe, who in their words has caused social and economic suffering. Shootings and explosions have been heard in the capital Harare, and armed vehicles have been deployed near parliament and government buildings. A general addressed in fatigue, read the televised statement, denied the move amounted to a coup. He said the president was safe. There has been no word from Mr.Mugabe himself.

China is sending a high-level official to North Korea, just days after Chinese president hosted president Donald Trump, on a visit which considered how to tackle Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. The Chinese state news agency said the head of the communist party’s external affairs department would go on Friday.

The U.S secretary of state Rex Tillerson is in Myanmar for talks with Aung San Suu Kyi and the head of the armed force. Mr.Tillerson was expected to call for an end to the violence in Rakhine state, which prompted hundreds of thousands of rohingya muslims to flee. 

（44）WePhone boss leapt to his death over divorce ‘despair’

翟欣欣事件

By CUI JIA | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-09-12 19:00

A Beijing tech entrepreneur committed suicide on Thursday by jumping from the top of an apartment building after becoming depressed during his acrimonious divorce.

Su Xiangmao, 37, apparently leapt to his death at about 5 am, leaving a suicide note that said his “calculating” ex-wife had lied during their relationship and threatened to expose him for possible tax evasion.

The wealthy businessman, who developed WePhone, an app that allows users to make internet calls, married Zhai Xinxin, 29, on June 6. The couple met in March via Jiayuan, a dating website with more than 170 million users.

The day before they planned to register their marriage, Zhai revealed she had been married briefly before, according to Su’s suicide note, an image of which has circulated widely online since his death.

Su decided to go ahead with the marriage, as he had already spent millions on Zhai, he wrote. However, he added, he found Zhai’s character had changed after the wedding, making him feel scared.

The pair divorced after just over a month on July 18.

In addition to a villa in Hainan province, Zhai demanded 10 million yuan ($1.53 million) in compensation for her mental distress.

Su agreed, he wrote, adding that his ex-wife also threatened to tell the authorities he had been evading his taxes. The note twice features the word “despair”.

Zhai could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Since Su’s death, his family and some netizens have accused Jiayuan of failing to verify Zhai’s marital history.

However, Chen Wei, an attorney with Beijing Yingke Law Firm, said, “Dating websites have no access to the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ marriage registration database, nor the Ministry of Public Security’s ID database, so there is no way they can verify the most basic personal information, including a person’s real name, age or marital history.”

Jiayuan issued a statement on Sunday that confirmed the couple were its VIP members. It said it will assist in any police investigation into Su’s death.

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