更多内容,请关注我们今日的微信,搜索:英语环球 NEWSPlus
China remains the most popular country for parents in the United States to adopt a child, with 2,000 adoptions last year.
A U.S. State Department report shows that adoptions of children from other countries to U.S. families dropped by 9 percent in the last fiscal year which ended in September. It is the lowest level since 1982, down from 7,000 the previous year, and from a high of around 23,000 in 2004.
The number of adoptions from China last year totaled 2,000, down more than 10 percent from the previous year and far below the 2005 peak of almost 8,000.
China has expanded its domestic adoption program and sought to curtail the rate of child abandonment. It has also modified its one-child policy. At the same time, China has adopted more rigorous standards to qualify for the adoption of all children, including those with special needs.
U.S. State Department n. 美国国务院 美国联邦政府主管外交并兼管部分内政事务的行政部门,直属美国政府管理的外事机构,其行政负责人为国务卿。美国国务院于1789年9月由美国外交部改组而成,在政府各部中居首席地位。国务院的官方名称为Department of State,但在日常应用中多简化为State Department。
fiscal year n. 财政年度 又称预算年度,是指一个国家以法律规定为总结财政收支和预算执行过程的年度起讫时间。世界上多数国家(包括中国)的财政年度采用历年制,即自公历1月1日起至12月31日止;有些国家的财政年度采取跨历年制,如英国、加拿大、日本、印度等,从当年4月1日至下年的3月31日止;瑞典、孟加拉国、巴基斯坦、苏丹等,从当年7月1日起至下年6月30日止;美国、尼日尔、泰国等,从当年10月1日起至下年9月30日止。
curtail vt. 限制,削减,缩短 curtail和curtain(窗帘)长得比较像,容易搞混。两者甚至可以出现在同一句话里:如果拉上窗帘,视线会受到限制。(If you draw the curtains, your view will be curtailed.) 怎样才能不搞混这两个词呢?不妨这样记:字母n排在l后面,按数学概念来说就是数值比较大。所以,含n的(即数值大的curtain)是不受限制的,而含l的(即数值小的curtail)则是受了限制、被削减的。
child abandonment n. 遗弃孩子
rigorous adj. 严格的,严密的
例句:
If you think shooting an action film is all about fun, you are wrong. It usually requires rigorous training before shooting even begins. (如果你认为拍动作片就是为了好玩,那你可错了。通常在影片还没开拍前,演员就得进行严格的训练。)
children with special needs n. 有特殊需求的儿童 “特殊需求”是一个非常宽泛的概念,不妨来看看其英文定义:
"Special Needs" is an umbrella underneath which a staggering array of diagnoses can be wedged. Children with special needs may have mild learning disabilities or profound cognitive impairment; food allergies or terminal illness; developmental delays that catch up quickly or remain entrenched; occasional panic attacks or serious psychiatric problems.
由此可见,有学习或认知困难的,食物过敏的,得绝症的,发育受阻的,不时惊恐发作的,有严重精神问题的儿童都可以归到“有特殊需求”这一类里。