英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0323 - 女孩，你敢不敢独自旅行

 Topic1 Rents in China have kept rising for 45 monthsWhile housing prices put home ownership far out of reach for most Chinese, these people are increasingly finding it hard to find an apartment to rent.

Rents have been running higher in China, for 45 consecutive¹ months, or about three years and 9 months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Do you feel the pain of rising rents? Is it a problem?

Topic2 Cherry Blossoms in Wuhan UniversityDuring the passing weekend, tens of thousands of visitors swarm² the campus of Wuhan University to get a look at the beautiful cherry blossom trees that are now in full bloom.

The school has already earned more than a half million Yuan by ticket sales.

Why are there so many people?

Topic3 No Sperm³ BankRecently, the sperm bank in Shanxi opens its WeChat public accounts and calls for more donors⁴ aged⁵ from 20 to 45.

Almost three decades after China opened its first sperm bank, such fertility institutions are still struggling with a shortage of healthy sperm.

Is there a crisis in fertility?

Topic4 Female Travelling SoloA new international survey shows that solo female travel is a robust⁶ market, with nearly three-quarters of respondents saying that they either plan to travel alone this year, or have already done so in the past.

Have you ever traveled by yourself? How was it?

Topic5-Mohawk hairstyle and weird⁷ QQ signature get you no jobAccording to Qianjiang Evening News, a young man was rejected by potential employer because his Mohawk hairstyle and social network name were "deemed too controversial" in Ningbo.

The young man was applying for the position of product quality inspector⁸ in a foreign joint⁹ venture. The human resource manager of the company added him on a social network app to receive his job application. The HR manager said he immediately rejected the applicant¹⁰ as he saw the profile photo of the guy in "inacceptable hairstyle for the job."Is the Mohawk hairstyle too much for the workplace?

1 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

2 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

3 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

4 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

6 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

7 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

8 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。