Nationwide drug crackdown
全国禁毒大运动

Police across the country have vowed to step up the fight against drugs, following a recent series of drug seizures and arrests. In Guangdong, police have announced the smashing of a big cross-border drug manufacturing and trafficking gang. In Nanjing, police have during the past six months arrested 300 drug abusers and dealers and confiscated 5,000 ecstasy pills and 3.2 kilograms of soft drugs like amphetamines. In Beijing, police said they are taking firm measures against the problem of drug use in entertainment venues. Police say that while trafficking and use of conventional drugs like heroin has been controlled, the abuse of amphetamines and ecstasy pills is rampant.

 

 

NORTH

Beijing to get police choppers
北京为奥运购买警用直升机
Beijing will get four police helicopters from Italian firm Agusta Westland next year to support its first-ever air patrol squad, which will help to ensure security at the Olympic Games in 2008. The first-ever Beijing police aircraft is expected to arrive in April next year. The helicopters will help direct ground traffic, take part in anti-terrorist operations, and deal with other emergency activities.

First clean fuel buses appear
第一辆"零排放"公交车现身首都
Emission-free fuel cell buses, which could help Beijing solve its power shortage and pollution problems, have begun their rounds in the city. The three buses will run from 9am to 3pm during weekdays, following an 18.2 kilometre route through the northwest suburbs, from the North Gate of the Summer Palace to Wudaokou.



Industrial city cleans up its act
污染大市决心"洗头换面"
Aiming to become a model of environmental protection, Benxi, a heavily polluted steel and iron production center in southeastern Liaoning, is to work on cleaning up its air and water over the next five years. About RMB 4 billion (USD 50 million) will be invested in reducing industrial pollution as well as setting up a central heating system and urban domestic waste treatment facilities.

 

 

WEST

Xinjiang cotton booming
新疆成为棉老大
Xinjiang is developing its cotton industry in a bid to turn itself into the country's biggest cotton producer. Due to fast growth in the textile industry, China has seen demand for cotton rise by an average of 10% every year. To meet this huge demand, the government has invested heavily in Xinjiang's upgrading of its cotton production capacity.



Qinghai-Tibet railway to boost trade
青藏铁路带来无限商机
The Qinghai-Tibet railway will not only link Tibet with other parts of China, but also boost border trade on the plateau. The local trade bureau said the newly-built railway will make Tibet China's main channel for south Asian economic exchange.

Zoo helps chimp quit smoking
"烟猴"戒烟
The zoo in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, is helping a chimpanzee to kick his chain-smoking habit. Xiku, the only grown chimp in Urumqi Zoo, succumbed to addiction by observing and mimicking humans when he performed in a circus several years ago.

 

 

MIDDLE

2, 000-year-old tomb unearthed
千年古墓出土长沙
Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a large tomb dating back two millennia in the central province of Hunan. The tomb appears to be that of an aristocrat, and could have belonged to the eminent Changsha King appointed by the emperor in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24), archaeologists said. The tomb, the largest ever excavated in the province, is about 30 meters long and 15 meters wide. The design and construction are also of unusually high quality.

 

 

EAST

Expo hotel shortages resolved
世博会房源愁煞上海
Shanghai is developing a plan to arrange accommodation outside the city, along with rooms in local private homes, to solve a hotel shortage that could run as high as 200,000 beds a night during the 2010 World Expo. Some 70 million visitors are expected between May and October during the Expo year, and despite an aggressive hotel expansion program, there will be far from enough rooms for everyone. The Shanghai government is considering the use of hotels in other Yangtze delta cities to handle the surplus of visitors.

Suzhou to hold 2008 RoboCup
苏州举办08"世界杯"
The high-tech hub Suzhou, in Jiangsu, and the Chinese University of Science and Technology (USTC) have won the bid to hold the 2008 Robot World Cup Soccer Games (RoboCup). About 2,500 scientists from 36 nations participated in the week-long 2006 Bremen RoboCup. The goal of the RoboCup project is to develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robot soccer players that can beat human world soccer champions by 2050.

 

 

SOUTH

No-profit car insurance
深圳为车主上新型车险
Insurance companies in Shenzhen will soon be selling a new third-party insurance for motorists. Starting from July 1, all 16 Chinese insurance companies in Shenzhen will be selling compulsory auto insurance,a third party insurance that is not for profit. All car owners will be required to buy the insurance unless they already have third-party cover.

Veg prices hit record high
广州蔬菜价高惊人
Never before has the price of vegetables been so high in Guangzhou. The average price of vegetables currently stands at RMB 6 (USD 0.74) per kilogram, when it was just RMB 3.48 (USD 0.43) in early May. Vegetable prices at the moment are even higher than they were 12 years ago when Guangdong was suffering from a serious drought. Authorities say the heavy rains in May and the first half of this month are to blame.

Vocabulary
ecstasy 摇头丸
humanoid 类人的
amphetamines 冰毒
mimick 模仿
succumb 臣服