CCTV9英语新闻：Smog blankets Beijing again（在线收听）

After a couple of weeks of relatively clear and blue skies, smog blankets large parts of northern China again, including Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province. 

The Ministry of Environmental Protection says the smog will linger for another five days in Beijing, and then the air quality could get better.

In Beijing, the visibility dropped to less than two to three kilometers on Sunday, and reached the severe pollution levels with a measure of over 250 for PM 2-point-5 particles.

To solve the problem, Beijing has taken steps to cut emissions and fight smog. Beijing residents are encouraged to use electricity instead of coal when doing things like cooking... and to use alternative clean energy when possible. Extra costs from using clean energy will be subsidized by municipal and district governments.