英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0624 - 吃货+技术宅=美食公式

 Topic1 Rotting frozen meat from the 1970s smuggled¹ into ChinaA recent crackdown on frozen meat smuggling² took place in June in 14 provinces and regions and shocked netizens to the very core. Organized by China's General Administration Customs, officials sealed more than 100,000 tons of smuggled frozen meat, including frozen chicken wings, beef and pork - some of it up to four decades old.

Is the situation very bad?

Topic2 6.18 Online Sale Sees Lukewarm ResponseLast Thursday, the 12th anniversary of JD.com, customers placed more than 15 million orders, which double the figure during the same period last year. Nevertheless, due to the comparatively stagnant³ domestic economy, JD's anniversary sale in 2015 is considered to be unsuccessful, according to some economists⁴.

Is JD's anniversary sales not as good as expected?

Topic3 QR code Used in MuseumsChinese museums have made the push to enhance their experiences through popular technology. The Palace Museum in Beijing and the Natural History Museum of Shanghai now use apps and QR codes to provide visitors with a better experience.

Do you use it?

Topic4 Parents Try to be Smart at School MeetingIt's not easy to be a competent mom of an elementary school child in China now. Besides taking care of her child's life and studies, she also has to look smart or hot to stand out from other parents at school meetings in order to make her child proud of her.

Why do these children like to make such comparison? How can parents help them build a right sense of value?

Topic5 Perfect Cooking FormulaWhat comes to your mind when the word formula is mentioned? Advanced mathematics? Quantum mechanics? Or relativity? Actually, what we are going to talk about is food.

According to British researchers, quantitative⁵ recipes can help you make the most palatable⁶ food.

Do they have a point?

1 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

2 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

3 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

6 palatable   

adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的

参考例句：

• The truth is not always very palatable.事实真相并非尽如人意。
• This wine is palatable and not very expensive.这种酒味道不错，价钱也不算贵。