【专题】慢速英语（英音版）2015-02-23

This is NEWS Plus Special English. I’m Ning Yan in Beijing. Here is the news. The State Council, China’s Cabinet, has passed a draft decision that will enable rural construction land to have the same rights and market price as state-owned construction land in some areas. According to the draft, in places where pilot reforms will be carried out, the land use right of existing collectively-owned rural construction land can be transferred, leased and traded for shares. It will be given the same rights and price as state-owned construction land when traded in the market. The draft decision said that the reform will be carried out on the condition that public ownership of land won't be changed, China's "red-line" minimum of arable land was not broken and farmers' rights not undermined. The draft decision also said that the authority to approve land for building a rural home will be delegated to lower levels. A township government can approve the use of existing construction land, while counties have the power to approve the use of new construction land. This is NEWS Plus Special English. China's Tibet autonomous region will launch a professional basketball team, and build a home court for the team in the regional capital Lhasa. With an altitude of 3,700 meters above sea level, it will be the highest basketball home court in the world. The basketball team aims to play at the men's National Basketball League this year. Local sports officials say it will be a breakthrough in the development of sports in Tibet. People suspected that the home court on the Tibet plateau will provide the Tibetan team a significant home court advantage, as the players are more accustomed to the thinner air on the Tibetan Plateau than their visiting opponents. But local sports officials say the altitude will surely influence the competition, but only slightly. Two professional teams had friendly games in Tibet last year and both did fairly well. The Tibetan basketball team will be recruited from all over the country, and many of them will need time to adapt to the environment in Tibet. Tibet is also planning to launch a football team in the near future. You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I’m Ning Yan in Beijing. Asia-based Cathay Pacific plans to expand its service between Hong Kong and Manchester, Britain, from four weekly flights to daily flights. The service was launched in December last year, and is the only non-stop link to China outside London. It has proved to be a success with travelers in the North of England and Scotland. Rupert Hogg, chief operating officer at Cathay Pacific, said Hong Kong is the third-largest passenger hub in the world and offers a gateway into other parts of China for northwestern businesses and tourists visiting the Far East. He says Manchester has a large Chinese population, and is a popular choice for Chinese students. It is the gateway to the north and Scotland. A celebration was held in Manchester and attended by investment, tourism and aviation officials in the city, along with Lord Nat Wei, a director of the Manchester-China Forum. A delegation of business, academic and tourist leaders from Hong Kong traveled to Manchester for the event. Hogg says Cathay Pacific is in a "new era of expansion in Europe" and is launching flights from Zurich in Switzerland and Dusseldorf in Germany later this year. This is NEWS Plus Special English. "Treasures of Ancient China", a display of over 100 works of art including two life-sized terracotta soldiers from the 3rd century BC, is going on in Budapest in Hungary. Hungarian Human Resources Minister ZoltanBalog says the terracotta soldiers, recovered from the grave of the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang, are sending the message that not only did people need to protect the present and future, they also had to protect the past, a common past. He says cultural exchange is important to Chinese-Hungarian friendship since culture can provide true content to business and other relations. China's Ambassador to Hungary Xiao Qian says contacts between the two countries have been advancing for the past 65 years. Today, China is Hungary's biggest trading partner outside the European Union, with bilateral trade exceeding 9 billion U.S. dollars last year. Chinese businesses invested over 3 billion euros, roughly 3.4 billion US dollars, in Hungary. The ambassador says culture is an important aspect of bilateral relations. He hoped this exhibition will surely enhance the Hungarian people's understanding of China, and contribute to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two countries. The artifacts on show ran from the Neolithic era to the Qing Dynasty 100 years ago, and offered an overview of the Chinese history, religion, and day-to-day life through the past 5,000 years. The exhibition will remain open until April 19.