chinadaly经济类新闻 中英对照版 口译必备.docVIP

【Top News】 Daughters more popular 英媒:房价削中国重男风 High property prices and economic development have begun to erode Chinas traditional preference for sons, leading to a rise in the number of Chinese parents who say they want a daughter, the Financial Times of London reported Tuesday. The conventional wisdom - that China is a land of unwanted girls - is being changed as urbanization erodes the advantage of having sons to work the fields and support parents in old age. Rising property prices are also driving the change because Chinese families must traditionally buy an apartment for a son before he marries. As a result, Internet chat groups have sprang up where women exchange advice on how to conceive girls. 英国《金融时报》2日称，中国的高房价和经济发展开始削弱人们重男轻女的传统风气，越来越多的父母表示更喜欢女儿。文章称，城市化削弱了有儿子的优势，如儿子可以下田劳作、养老送终，因此养女多余的传统思想正渐行渐远。此外，按中国的传统，儿子结婚前必须给他置办好房子，因此目前的高房价也推动了民众思想的转变。时下，女性网上讨论怎样才能怀女儿的聊天群越来越多。 *民声 It is not only an apartment, says Zhang Yun, a Shanxi native who lives in Shanghai, alluding to the cost of educating and marrying off a boy. Sons bring economic pressure...[but] a daughter is a warm jacket for a mother when she is old, said Zhang. 定居上海的山西人张芸(音译)表示：不光是一套房子的问题。她指出还有男孩的教育和结婚成本。儿子会带来经济压力……而女儿在妈妈老时可是妈妈的贴心小棉袄。 *数据 According to a recent World Bank report, the gender imbalance favoring boys peaked in Beijing and some Chinese provinces in 1995 and has fallen since then. Other Chinese provinces saw a similar trend in 2000. 根据世界银行最新报告，北京和一些省份的性别失调程度在1995年达到峰值，此后有所减弱。还有一些省份也于2000年出现类似趋势。 Shoplifters love lipstick most 亚太商铺小偷最爱唇膏 Lipsticks, shaving products and perfumes were most frequently stolen commodities in shops in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the Global Retail Theft Barometer released by the UK-based Center for Retail Research. Between July 2009 and June 2010, the Chinese mainland was among the 10 countries and regions worldwide with lowest rate of money lost from shoplifting, employee crimes and administrative errors. Chinese mainland retailers lost just $1.07b through s