This is Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news.
The Ministry of Education is drafting a national English proficiency test and rating system.
The ministry says the draft of the rating system has been completed and will be officially released next year; and a detailed plan about the national tests will be carried out step by step before 2020.
The education department announced in 2014 that a better assessment system on foreign languages would be established. A series of reforms in English tests after that, including reform of the national college entrance exam, represented steps in that direction.
A vice-president of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies said a unified evaluation system with consistent standards is needed in China to regulate current wide-ranging English teaching and testing approaches.
China now has 300 million English learners, and many different English tests.
But the syllabus is not consistent, and there&`&s no national standard to appraise the learners&`& performance against uniform benchmarks.
To solve the problem, the new system will connect with mature English teaching and evaluation systems around the world.
The system envisions assessment of English proficiency from a low to high level, with nine grades. Each grade has its own requirements for language skills, including listening, speaking, writing and translating.
This is Special English.
Chinese authorities have pledged to reform the income system for medical and healthcare workers as part of its efforts to provide citizens with better public services.
According to a guideline forwarded by the authorities, the reform aims to inspire medical workers to better perform their duties; and it will be conducted in line with the nature of the sector.
The guideline says a public-benefit-oriented evaluation system will be established for medical workers, and their income will see a proper rise.
Moreover, the current recruitment procedures for professional personnel and high-level staff will be streamlined. More high-level talent will be encouraged to work in local hospitals.
The guideline noted the achievements made in the reform of the medical and health sector in recent years. It says 80 percent of Chinese citizens are able to access medical services within 15 minutes, and Chinese citizens&`& average life expectancy has reached 76 years of age, up from 74 in 2010.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.
A young Jack Ma look-alike has won the heart of the founder of Alibaba Group that is the real Jack Ma.
Fan Xiaoqin, or "mini Jack Ma", is 8 years old and lives in east China&`&s Jiangxi Province. Fan comes from a very poor family as his mother has polio; his father suffers from a missing leg and his grandma has Alzheimer&`&s disease.
"Mini Jack Ma" came to fame after a villager posted a video of him online last year. The internet exploded in remarks over how the two looked alike.
Once again, during this year&`&s Singles Day online shopping festival, "mini Jack Ma" won the hearts of internet users once again. They urged that Jack Ma should help Fan and his family.
The attention and buzz caught Ma&`&s attention. He has announced that he will financially support Fan until the time he graduates from university.
The Singles&`& Day is an entertaining festival widespread among young Chinese people to celebrate the fact that they are proud of being single. The date, November 11th, is chosen because the number "1" resembles an individual that is alone.
This festival has gradually become one of the largest online shopping events in the world. Sales in Alibaba&`&s sites Tmall and Taobao were valued at 14 billion U.S. dollars at last year&`&s festival event.
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