12月24日午间英语新闻：明日开考，祝福！2022年考研457万学子报名

1 / 4.57M to take postgraduate entrance exam

2022年考研报名人数457万

A record 4.57 million students are expected to take the national postgraduate entrance exam scheduled from Saturday to Monday - 800,000 more than last year, the Ministry of Education said on Wednesday. Given the considerable increase in the number of participants and sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks in different regions, the ministry has guided local education authorities to take targeted measures to ensure the safety of exam participants, ministry spokesperson Xu Mei said. 

教育部新闻发言人续梅12月22日表示，2022年全国硕士研究生招生考试将于12月25日至27日举行，全国报考人数为457万，再创新高，同比增加80万人左右。针对报考人数大幅增加及近期新冠肺炎疫情局部散发的形势，教育部指导各地加强风险防控和应对处置，采取了系列针对性举措，全力保障考试安全。

For provincial regions that are dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks, emergency plans have been made to make sure students can take the test locally, rather than at targeted universities in other regions, she said. More test centers have been set up to meet students’ demands, including at quarantine sites and even at hospitals for participants under COVID-19 treatment, Xu said.

对疫情形势复杂的重点省份进行了专项调度，进一步完善应急处置方案，确保考生就地参加考试，而无需前往目标高校所在的其它地区。为满足学生需求增设相关考点，增设集中隔离点考场以及医院考场等。

重点词汇

1、sporadic

英 /spəˈrædɪk/  美 /spəˈrædɪk/ 

adj. 偶尔发生的，零星的；（疾病）偶发的，非流行性的

2/ Students get more sleep with reduced workload

学生睡眠时间管理成效显现

Almost 80% of primary and secondary school students had the opportunity to get more nightly sleep this semester, the Ministry of Education said on Wednesday. Lyu Yugang, director of the ministry's department of basic education, said 77.14 million parents were surveyed to ascertain whether their children were getting enough sleep. A total of 76.2% of respondents said their children were getting the recommended 10 hours of sleep a night for primary school students and nine hours for those in secondary school. Last year's survey found only about 40% of students were getting enough sleep, Lyu said. 

教育部12月22日表示，今年秋季学期近八成中小学生睡眠时间更长。教育部基础教育司司长吕玉刚表示，共有7714万名家长参与了学生睡眠时长是否达到要求的调查，76.2%的家长反映学生睡眠时长达到或接近"小学10小时、初中9小时"的规定要求。去年的调查发现，仅40%左右的学生达到或者接近睡眠时间要求。

In April, the ministry advised that primary school students should go to bed before 9:20 pm, middle school students before 10 pm and high school students before 11 pm. "Homework, after-school tutoring courses and online games should all take second place to ensuring students can get sufficient sleep," Lyu said.

教育部在今年4月发布通知要求，小学生就寝时间一般不晚于21:20；初中生一般不晚于22:00；高中生一般不晚于23:00。吕玉刚说："作业、校外培训、网络游戏都要为保障学生睡眠'让路'。"

重点词汇

1、ascertain

英 /ˌæsəˈteɪn/  美 /ˌæsərˈteɪn/ 

v. 查明，确定

3/ Tax authorities crackdown on evaders

多地税务部门喊话艺人主播补税

The taxation bureaus of Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces, as well as those in Beijing and Shanghai, made similar announcements on Wednesday asking celebrities and e-commerce livestreamers to strictly follow the China's tax laws. "Many celebrities in the entertainment industry and livestreamers have paid overdue tax to the taxation authorities since September when the national taxation authority asked people to look closely to determine whether or not they were evading taxes," the Beijing Taxation Bureau said on its website. 

北京、上海、浙江、广东、江苏等地的税务部门12月22日先后发布类似公告，要求明星艺人、网络主播严格遵守税法规定。北京市税务局在官网发布公告称："今年9月份，国家税务总局办公厅印发有关通知后，许多明星艺人、网络主播纳税人主动联系税务部门进行了自查补税。" 

The bureaus are asking people who owe taxes to report before Dec 31. Otherwise, the authorities will take strict steps to enforce the tax laws. On Monday, the Hangzhou taxation bureau ordered top livestreaming host Huang Wei, better known as Viya, to pay 1.34 billion yuan in back taxes, late fees and fines for tax evasion.

公告要求尚未关注自身涉税问题的人，于2021年底前向税务部门主动报告和纠正涉税问题，否则，税务部门将依法依规严肃处理。12月20日，"直播带货一姐"薇娅（本名黄薇）被杭州市税务局追缴税款、加收滞纳金并处罚款共计13.4亿元。

重点词汇

1、livestreamer

网络主播

4/  Stolen Ohio bridge found

美国男子用起重机偷走人行天桥

A 58-foot-long (18-meter) pedestrian bridge stolen from an Ohio city last month has been found and a man is facing charges, police said. Akron police said investigators acting on tips and other information Friday afternoon found the missing structure partially disassembled on  a property in Sharon Township in neighboring Medina County. A man has been arrested and charged with felony theft, police said. 

警方称，上个月俄亥俄州被盗的一座18米长的人行天桥被找到，一名男子面临指控。阿克伦警方称，12月17日下午，调查人员根据线报和其他信息在邻县麦地那沙龙镇的一处住宅单位发现了部分被拆解的天桥。警方称，一名男子已被逮捕，并被指控犯有盗窃重罪。

The Akron bridge, described as a Lego-like structure, once crossed a river in Akron’s Middlebury Run Park. It was taken down in 2003-04 as part of a wetland restoration project and was stored on park property with plans for it to be reused for a Battered Women’s shelter project. Authorities allege that he paid a trucking company for crane service and the firm picked up the bridge and took it to Medina County.

这座阿克伦的人行天桥桥体结构类似乐高积木，曾经横跨阿克伦米德尔伯里慢跑公园的一条河之上。因湿地恢复工程，阿克伦桥在2003至2004年被拆除，并被存放在公园内，计划将其用于受虐女性收容所项目。警方声称，该男子向一家卡车运输公司支付了起重机服务费，该公司将这座桥运到了麦地那县。

重点词汇

1、disassemble

英 /ˌdɪsəˈsembl/  美 /ˌdɪsəˈsembl/ 

v. 拆卸，拆开；散开，分散；反汇编（将计算机编码译成普通语言）；可拆开，可拆卸

2、felony

英 /ˈfeləni/  美 /ˈfeləni/ 

n. 重罪