英闻天下——6 New Air Rescue Only For the Rich

 　　Shanghai's two largest cab companies are starting to offer a free, instant taxi-booking app through smartphones' global positioning service.

 

　　The app transmits a caller's position and send back the taxi's position and possible arrival time to the cell phone.

 

　　Shanghai Dazhong Taxi Co started its service early this month and Shanghai Qiangsheng Taxi Co is expected to launch a trial next week.

 

　　Both companies now offer only Chinese versions of the smartphone services, while developer of Qiangsheng's system said they will consider introducing an English version after the Chinese one runs smoothly¹.

 

　　Dazhong's system, now only for iPhone, can be downloaded from www.96822.com. It can search for vacant cabs within 500 to 1,000 meters to the caller and send the cab's position, plate number and booking number to the caller's smartphone.

 

　　Qiangsheng's system can be used by iOS and Android.

 

　　GLOBAL TIMES

 

　　New air rescue only for the rich

 

　　A year after the Beijing Red Cross announced its new emergency air rescue service, it has only been used twice, by a foreigner and a patient covered by a foreign insurance policy.

 

　　The service is out of reach to most Chinese. Even in life-threatening situations, people must pay upfront to use the service.

 

　　Official from Beijing Red Cross says the air emergency rescue services can cost over 100-thousand yuan or 16-thousand US dollars a trip, which is too expensive for most people.

 

　　To make the service more accessible as it enters its second year, the Beijing Red Cross is negotiating with insurance companies to launch air rescue insurance next year.

 

　　When a patient phones 999, the center will contact with the airline companies first and to apply for a flight.

 

　　During the same time, the emergency center will send doctors to the patients to see whether their condition is suitable for the air transportation.

 

　　JAKARTA POST

 

　　"Charity initiatives to mark Xmas, NYE events"

 

　　As Christmas is a perfect moment for sharing, the InterContinental Bali Resort in Jimbaran is one of Indonesia's hotels holding a special charity initiative in the spirit of giving back to the local community.

 

　　A tree decorated with wooden angels will be displayed in the hotel lobby.

 

　　These angels can be purchased for a small donation and the funds raised will go to the children of Panti Salam orphanage² for their education and daily living costs.

 

　　Designed to transcend³ boundaries and embrace diversity, the program will celebrate the spirit of the festive⁴ season by taking different needs into careful consideration.

 

　　Visiting an orphanage located in the north part of Denpasar to share the joy of Christmas with the children is one of the items on the year-end agenda for Harris Hotel and Resort Sunset Road.

 

　　So the orphans⁵ have more fun at this special moment, the team will also bring them Christmas cupcakes prepared by the hotel's chefs.

 

　　REUTERS

 

　　"Whole grains linked to lower prediabetes risk"

 

　　A new research shows that eating whole grains is associated with a decreased risk of prediabetes, a blood sugar elevation⁷ that can precede diabetes⁶ in adults.

 

　　Swedish residents who ate food containing more than 59 grams of whole grains per day were 27 percent less likely to become prediabetic compared with residents who ate 30 grams or less.

 

　　The American Diabetes Association estimates that one in four Americans older than 20 have prediabetes.

 

　　Nearly a quarter of people with prediabetes eventually develop full-blown diabetes.

 

　　Previous research has linked whole grain rich diets with a decreased risk of diabetes, but the new study makes the connection to the disease precursor⁸.

 

　　Whole grains range from oatmeal to popcorn⁹, from brown rice to whole wheat - as long as the entire kernel¹⁰ is consumed.

 

　　A similar Dutch study found losing weight was the most important factor for people with prediabetes to revert¹¹ back to normal blood sugar level.

1 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

2 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

3 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

4 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

5 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

6 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

7 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

8 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。

9 popcorn   

n.爆米花

参考例句：

• I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时，喜欢吃爆米花。
• He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后，嘴里塞满了爆米花。

10 kernel   

n.(果实的)核，仁；(问题)的中心，核心

参考例句：

• The kernel of his problem is lack of money.他的问题的核心是缺钱。
• The nutshell includes the kernel.果壳裹住果仁。

11 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？