英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0421 - 网友评十大最坑爹专业

 Topic 1:  Mass Affluent¹ ClassAccording to Forbes China, by the end of 2014 ?China will have 14 million individuals identified as members of the mass affluent ?stratum², with investable assets worth from 600,000 to 6 million yuan.

Who are these people and why should we care?

Topic 2: Weibo forces out Wechat / IPOBefore Sina Weibo's initial public offering, many users found that they could not post new items or leave comments on others' streams.  Turns out, that the one thing they had in common was they all promoted their WeChat public accounts on Sina's social platform.

It has, of course, sparked an online debate about the role of social media with some users saying it must be related to the IPO.

Why did Sina Weibo choose to block certain accounts?  Is it okay for them to do?

Topic 3: Beijing outsourcing pollutersAs part of an ongoing³ plan to reduce the number of heavy polluters in Beijing, a state-owned soda⁴ ash producer was recently relocated to Handan in Hebei province.  According to Fengtai District, the vacated land will be used to train emergency responders and rescue teams.

Why did the factory move?  Was it only for pollution?

Topic 4: Beijing holds public hearing on water priceBeijing faces some of the most intense water scarcity⁵ in the entire world.  Balancing affordability⁶ and sustainability has become a huge topic of concern for the government and the people.

To address this issue, a public meeting was held last Thursday to discuss changes to Beijing's water pricing scheme.  Two plans were on the table with both proposing price increases.

Do you think these plans will address the two concerns of sustainability and affordability?

Topic 5: The top 10 misleading College majorsAre those popular college majors really as good as they sound to be?

Recently, a list with the top 10 deceptive⁷, or kengdie, majors has been making it's round on Weibo.

Weibo users have summed up the meaning of Kengdie majors -- majors which sound quite great, but disappoint students after enrollment⁸ or graduation.

What are the top 10 Kengdie majors? Are they really that bad?

1 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

2 stratum   

n.地层，社会阶层

参考例句：

• The coal is a coal resource that reserves in old stratum.石煤是贮藏在古老地层中的一种煤炭资源。
• How does Chinese society define the class and stratum?中国社会如何界定阶级与阶层？

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

5 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

6 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

7 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

8 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。