花式英语

Some University Students Want Schools to Return Their Money

They wanted to experience college life, but their universities sent them home to learn from online classes during the coronavirus crisis.


Now, students across the United States are taking legal action against over 20 colleges and universities. They want the schools to return part of the money they paid for tuition, meal plans and housing costs. The students say they are not getting the quality of education they were promised.


The cases show students' growing dissatisfaction with online courses that schools hurried to create as the coronavirus forced college campuses to close. The students say they should pay lower tuition rates for the part of the term that was offered on the internet. They argue that the quality of education is far below the classroom experience.


However, college officials reject the idea that students are owed refunds. Students are learning from the same professors who teach on campus, officials say. And the students are still earning credits toward their education. Schools say that, after being forced to close by their states, they are still offering students a quality education.


新闻来源：VOA

Stay-at-home Order Does Not Bring Down Mexico City’s Pollution

Government orders for people to stay home to halt the spread of the coronavirus have resulted in a sharp decrease of vehicle traffic around the world.

Cities such as Delhi, India, Los Angeles in the United States and Seoul in South Korea all have reported better air quality. But that is not the case with Mexico's capital, although its traffic has decreased by 60 percent.

The official website of Mexico City says that air quality there is "poor." It warns that exercising at certain times of the day presents a "high" to "very high" health risk. Photographs taken by Reuters last week show a thick haze over the city.

Mexico City is about 2240 meters above sea level and is surrounded by mountains. The city and the area around it is home to more than 20 million people.

新闻来源：Reuters 4.30

Brussels ‘Love Bus’ Broadcasts Personal Messages of Hope

The streets of Brussels are mostly quiet as people stay home to guard against the new coronavirus. But one bus traveling through the Belgian capital can be heard loud and clear. It is bringing messages of love and hope to people across the city.

The bright red bus is called the Voices of Brussels. But some have named it the "love bus."

Since the middle of April, the city's public bus company has been calling on people to send in voice messages. It also wants to know where they live. The special bus then travels to those street addresses before sunset to deliver the voice messages through a loudspeaker.

"We miss you a lot. Big kisses," was recently heard coming from the Voices of Brussels as it rolled down one city street. "We are sending you a big kiss," said another personal message as the bus continued through another neighborhood.

新闻来源：AP

Low-tech Japan Challenged while Working from Home during Pandemic

Japan's government declared an emergency to help limit the spread of the coronavirus earlier this month.

As part of the declaration, the government asked the Japanese people to work from home. A short time after the announcement, many people hurried to electronics stores to buy computers or other things.

Many Japanese did not have the equipment they need to work from home. While the international image of Japan may include robots and high-tech devices, in some ways the country has problems with technology.

But the bigger problem for the work-from-home idea is Japanese business culture, experts say. Most offices do not use email. Documents must often be signed in front of office managers with special seals called "hanko." Many homes lack high-speed internet connections.

A study by British market researcher YouGov found that only 18 percent of Japanese were able to easily work from home or take online classes. Most had to go into their office or school. Nearly 80 percent, however, were afraid of getting the coronavirus.

新闻来源：AP

Professional Cyclist Uses His Bike to Deliver Medicine

Italian professional cyclist Davide Martinelli is using his bicycle to help deliver medicine during the coronavirus pandemic.

The service helps older people and others in Lodetto, Martinelli's hometown in the Lombardy area of northern Italy. The village does not have a drug store or a supermarket.

Martinelli makes a daily trip to the nearby town of Rovato to get supplies.

He told The Associated Press, "I've got a bike and two legs in pretty good form, so riding 10 kilometers a day is no big deal. I wanted to help the people who always support me during the season. It's time to give back to them."

Martinelli joined a Facebook group called "Lodetto Solidale" where those in need can place their requests online, by phone or message.

Martinelli receives his orders each night and plans out a path for the following day.

He said, "I go to the pharmacy and when I arrive outside I put on gloves and a mask. If I go for three or four people, there's less risk of contagion."

新闻来源：AP

Ten Kinds of Apples Thought to Have Died Out Found in US West

Two retirees in the United States have found ten apple varieties that many scientists thought had died out.

The apples once identified as "lost" were among hundreds of fruits collected last autumn in Idaho and Washington state. The discovery represents the largest number ever found in a single season by a not-for-profit group called the Lost Apple Project.

The group has just two members: EJ Brandt and David Benscoter. The two learned about the results of their hard work from experts at the Temperate Orchard Conservancy in Oregon, where all the apples were sent for study.

Brandt described the recent results as "almost unbelievable." He added, "I don't know how we're going to keep up with that."

新闻来源：AP

Disney furloughs 100k employees

Walt Disney Co, is now suspending salary payments to over 100,000 employees, mostly cast members in its theme parks, as the COVID-19 pandemic is delivering blow after blow to the beleaguered entertainment industry, US media reported on Monday.

The move to furlough many of its employees will save Disney about $500 million a month in expenses.

The company has drawn on its credit facilities and has about $20 billion in cash to weather this storm, according to a multimedia financial-services company.

The Hollywood entertainment giant last month shut down the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and later announced those theme park resorts will remain closed "until further notice" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disney noted on April 2 in a statement the pandemic is having "a devastating impact on the company with untold suffering and loss" and "has required all of us to make sacrifices."

新闻来源：ChinaDaily

Lyrics Handwritten by Bob Dylan On Sale for $2.2 Million

A paper on which music star Bob Dylan wrote the words to one of his most famous songs, They Are A-Changin,' has gone on sale. The asking price is $2.2 million dollars, a record amount for such an object if someone pays it.

Gary Zimet owns the business Moments in Time, an autograph dealership in Los Angeles. He said that the paper was first owned by Jeff Rosen, a top employee of Dylan's. Now, Zimet said, it is being sold by an unidentified private collector.

"It's not an auction. It's a private sale. First come, first served," Zimet told Reuters.

新闻来源：路透社

In Vietnam, Machine Provides Free Rice to People During Coronavirus

A Vietnamese businessman has invented a machine that provides free rice for people out of work during the coronavirus crisis.The device operates 24 hours a day, just like a bank money machine, or ATM.

Businessman Hoang Tuan Anh set up his first rice machine in Ho Chi Minh City.

"I refer to this machine as a ‘rice ATM' because people can withdraw rice from it, assured that there are still good people out there who want to give them a second chance," Anh said.

Vietnam is under a nationwide stay-at-home order to help stop the spread of COVID-19. During the order, many small businesses have been forced to close. This has left thousands of people unable to work.

Nguyen Thi Ly is a 34-year-old mother of three. Her husband is unemployed because of the coronavirus restrictions. She said, "This rice ATM has been helpful. With this one bag of rice, we can have enough for one day."

She added, "Now, we only need other food. Our neighbors sometimes give us some leftover food, or we have instant noodles."

新闻来源：VOA

Danish Mothers Rebel as Schools Reopen

丹麦家长反对学生复学

Denmark eased its coronavirus restrictions on Wednesday by reopening schools and day care centers. But thousands of parents kept their children at home because of concerns about a second wave of coronavirus infections.As the rate of new cases falls, the government's decision to reopen schools has led to a debate over balancing the economy and the safety of children.

"I won't be sending my children off no matter what," said Sandra Andersen. She is the founder of a Facebook group called ‘My kid is not going to be a Guinea Pig.' It has more than 40,000 followers.Anderson is the mother of two girls, aged five and nine."I think a lot of parents are thinking, ‘Why should my little child go outside first'," she said.

来源：VOA