INTRODUCTION:
TIPS OF THE DAY
白宫发言人佩里诺于12月8日表示，美国政府和国会连日来就美国汽车业援助方案进行磋商，最终方案已经非常接近于达成，不过援助金额远少于三巨头所要求的340亿美元，而有可能是150亿美元。此外，国会和白宫还将设立一位“汽车沙皇”以负责汽车工业重组问题。
《中国日报》的报道说：
"I'm sure you all feel a little singled out," Rep. Spencer told the
CEOs at a contentious Capitol Hill hearing. "There seems to be a
glaring double standard."
美国众议院议员斯宾塞在国会听证会上对“底特律三巨头”说：“我知道你们觉得被孤立了，这似乎是双重标准在起作用”
在上面的报道中，double
standard就是我们平时经常听到的“双重标准”，也就是对两个不同的人或者群体采用不同的评价标准，有点儿类似于我们平时所说的“只许州官放火，不许百姓点灯”。例如：They
claimed that this school uses a double standard to admit
minorities.（他们宣称这个学校在招收少数民族的学生时采用了双重标准）。
Double
standard用于经济领域还可以表示“双本位制”，指同时采取金和银两种金属作为本位货币，是“单本位制”的对称。
Double用做形容词时的用法很广泛，我们用下面一段话来说明：
昨晚Jim喝醉了，回来时see double（眼花了），不小心撞到了电线杆。他工作很努力，经常拿double
allowance（双份补助），但他的同事说他是a man with a double
character（一个双重性格的人），觉得他对别人说的话经常是a double meaning（语义双关），总害怕他come/put
the double on them（对别人背信弃义、耍滑头），看来他以后要多加注意了。
NEWS SPOTLIGHT:
NEWS01
两岸“三通”今天全面启动，作为两岸直接“三通”首个飞往台湾的大陆航班，深圳航空ＺＨ９０９５航班今天早上７点２０分正式从深圳机场起飞。两岸人民期盼已久的“三通”成为现实。
Taiwan Straits 台湾海峡
direct flight 直航
on a regular basis 日常 规则的 经常的
airline 航线 航空公司
Anchor: The new policy for
direct ship transport and flights between the Chinese mainland
across the Taiwan Straits goes into effect on Monday. Insiders say
that it will not only cut the costs of marine cargo transport, but
also benefit air passengers who fly to Taiwan on a regular basis.
CRI Reporter Chen Xi has the details.
Reporter: Direct shipping routes and flights across the Taiwan
Straits are scheduled to begin on Monday.
According to the new ship transport deal, the mainland will open 48
seaports and 15 river ports, and Taiwan will open 11 harbors.
As one of the key areas for cross-Straits trade, China's
southeastern Fujian Province will open three major ports in the
cities of Fuzhou, Xiamen and Quanzhou to handle vessels from
Taiwan.
Zhang Shouguo, director of marine transport at China's
transportation ministry, says the new policy will save shippers
much money and time.
"The transformation from indirect to direct shipping across the
Straits will save more than 100 million U.S. dollars in carrying
costs and cut sailing time by at least 30 percent."
Chen Weiren, manager of a marine transport company based in Fuzhou,
also praises the agreement and says direct shipping will enhance
his firm's efficiency and reduce costs.
"Originally, the distance between Fuzhou and Keelung is 470
nautical miles, but now it has been shortened to 150 due to the
direct shipping agreement, which has cut the company's transport
costs in half."
Officials say that the first group of new mainland harbors to be
opened are in Shanghai, Tianjin, Taicang in eastern Jiangsu
Province, and in Fujian Province.
Direct flights between the mainland and Taiwan also begin on
Monday. So far, most major airlines have set up new flight
schedules. Tickets for these flights will be much cheaper than
previously, because the shorter routes mean lower expenses for the
airlines.
The first direct cross-Straits flight will be China Eastern
Airlines' flight MU2075. It will fly out of Shanghai's Pudong
airport at 8 a.m. on Monday.
The flight's captain talks about the new air routes.
"The previous flying distance covered more than 2,000 kilometers
from Shanghai to Taipei, but now it's only about 960 kilometers.
The flight time is also reduced to 100 minutes from three
hours."
He says that unlike previous trips, the new direct flights no
longer must fly over Hong Kong. This will significantly shorten the
commuting time for passengers.
The cheaper flights have also compelled some travel agencies to
lower their prices for tour packages to Taiwan by about one
thousand yuan.
At the same time, Chinese airliners operators are also increasing
the number of flights across the Straits. Air China will carry out
10 flights to Taipei each week. China Southern Airlines will have
four flights every week and Shanghai Airlines will have five.
The direct shipping and flights agreement was reached in early
November at a meeting between the mainland-based Association for
Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits
Exchange Foundation.
NEWS02
中国、日本、韩国领导人会议前天在日本福冈举行。中国国务院总理温家宝、日本首相麻生太郎和韩国总统李明博出席会议。会议由麻生太郎主持。三国领导人积极评价三国合作的进展，确定了今后合作方向，提出了新的合作倡议，并就应对国际金融危机，以及共同关心的地区和国际问题交换了意见，达成重要共识。
Premier 总理
Prime Minister 首相
Trilateral 三边的
Milestone 里程碑
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao,
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak issued a Joint Statement on the International Finance and
Economy on Saturday when they met for the first trilateral summit
in Japan.
Leaders agreed that efforts are needed to minimize the negative
impacts of the financial crisis on the global economy, as well as
to promote regional cooperation to facilitate regional trade and
investment. Zhang Cheng has the report:
Reporter:
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that the summit among the three
countries was a "milestone."
"The fact we're a having tripartite summit among China, Japan and
South Korea is a milestone. With the ongoing global financial
crisis that is affecting each country's economy, it is most
pertinent for our three countries to join together in a bid to
overcome these problems."
During the summit, the three leaders issued a joint statement for
tripartite partnership and established a mechanism for regular
meetings, which Wen Jiabao said have signified a new phase for the
trilateral cooperation.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said that he looked forward to a
"frank exchange of views" on international and regional issues with
the other two leaders.
"In order to stabilize the financial market and enhance regional
cooperation, the three leaders have reached an agreement here to
expand the foreign currency swap. Meanwhile, we have reached
consensus to increase investment on the Asian Development Bank. In
order to promote economic growth of Asian countries, it is
necessary for us to encourage domestic consumption, combat trade
protectionism, and also to enhance communication and exchanges with
the World Trade Organization."
Confronted with the raging financial crisis, Wen Jiabao said that
the three countries should strengthen dialogue and coordination on
macroeconomic polices, boost financial cooperation, and adopt
effective measures to facilitate trade and investment.
Meanwhile, Wen Jiabao said that China has been taking its due
responsibility to maintain regional economic and financial
stability.
"First, China is taking various measures to expand domestic needs,
and to maintain steady and relatively fast economic development.
Second, China is cooperating with East Asian nations in curbing the
global financial crisis, and jointly advance regional monetary and
financial cooperation. China is also establishing a two-way
momentary exchange mechanism with related countries and will
gradually expand its operation. Third, China is committed to
promoting the development of business entities in the region and
helping ASEAN nations to narrow the gap in their economic
development."
Wen Jiabao also said that China is willing to promote ties with
Japan and South Korea from the strategic, long-term
perspective.
The three northeast Asian nations have held summits on the
sidelines of broader international meetings, but this is the first
time they have held an independent three-way summit.
NEWS03
New Year's Films A Way to Boost Domestic Demand
随着中国电影的发展，贺岁市场成为一年中最好的赚钱时段。今年金融风暴，国内不少电影投资商和发行方为减小市场压力，纷纷盯住贺岁档这块蛋糕。加上之前就奔着贺岁档而去的影片，2009年贺岁档将有二三十部大小国产片集体上映。
box office 票房
boost 推进
cultural industry 文化产业
Before the New Year, a number of new films are usually released in
China to celebrate the festival. And the upcoming birth of 2009
will be no exception.
It is estimated that New Year films will generate a total box
office of more than two hundred million yuan, or about 30 million
US dollars.
An article in the Beijing-based "Economic Information Daily" says
New Year films will effectively serve to boost domestic
demand.
The newspaper points out that consumers normally reduce purchases
of material goods in an economic downturn. Therefore, promoting the
cultural industry will not only properly meet the psychological
demands of the public but also shore up the economy.
Meanwhile, the article criticizes a lack of low-priced cultural
locations which have hindered consumption and also harmed the
culture industry at large.
The paper calls upon the government to provide more low-priced and
convenient cultural activities to boost cultural consumption as a
way to fight the economic downturn.
BEYOND THE STUDIO
现如今人们的生活水平大大的提高了
吃素也逐渐成为了一种时尚，今天节目中我们就跟随着CRI的记者一起走进北京的一个素食俱乐部，一起来了解一下素食者们的生活。
Vegetarian 素食者
Vegan 严格的素食主义者
Nutrient 有营养的
Plant-based diets are the newest
trend in Beijing. Some become vegetarians to be fashionable, eating
Japanese tonight, vegetarian tomorrow, and Sichuanese the day
after. Others consume less meat for health reasons. Few become
vegetarians for ethical reasons. But there is now a growing concern
for animal rights and the environment, as Pat Sommer from the
United States finds out. Having traveled to China periodically
during the past decade and living in Beijing for the past year,
Sommer says she has noticed China's transition to a more
vegetarian-friendly society.
My conversation with Pat Sommer started at the Beijing Vegan Social
Club, which she joined a year ago. The Vegan Social Club organizes
networking events to promote a healthy, ecologically-responsible
lifestyle.
You are listening to Voices from Other Lands. I'm Zhou Jing. My
guest today is Pat Sommer, a woman from the United States who
stopped eating meat in her teens and became a vegan twenty years
ago. After a short break, we'll be right back with one of Sommer's
mouth-watering vegan recipes.
Welcome back. You are listening to Voices from Other Lands on China
Radio International. I'm your host, Zhou Jing.
Think a vegan diet lacks nutrients and variety? Coming up next in
the program, Pat Sommer will share her secrets to keeping her vegan
diet varied, nutritious and delicious.
That was Pat Sommer sharing her stories of veganism. If you're
interested in making a dietary change for a healthier and more
Earth-friendly lifestyle, you can drop in on one of the Vegan
Thursday dinners organized by the Vegan Social Club.
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