(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now the news continues.
Most people, including the Chinese themselves, would agree that the Chinese language is one of the most difficult in the world.
The writing system, which is not a phonetic one, could be daunting for any beginner, not to mention the language's tonal feature, which means that words differ in meaning based on tone as well as pronunciation.
Therefore, when Kara Babb from the United States decided to learn Chinese in her second year in university, feedbacks from people around her were not that supportive.
Babb says she survived the seemingly formidable learning process, and the hard work she had put into the learning not only helped her gain an edge by grasping a useful foreign language, but also boosted her confidence.
Babb made the remarks at a National Chinese Language Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
She said she worked very hard every day to learn Chinese. Hard work finally paid off when Babb succeeded in landing a job at Amazon, a U.S. electronic commerce company with headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Though having nil retail background at all, Babb shared with interviewers her story of learning Chinese and ended with telling them that she was capable of basically learning anything new.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
The number of giant pandas in the wild in northwest China's Gansu Province has reached 130, an increase of 15 percent compared with 15 years ago.
A new survey has revealed that panda habitats also increased more than 3 percent in the period.
However, the survey warned that new hydropower plants, highways and high-voltage transmission facilities in the area have disturbed the animals' living environment.
Forestry officials say human activities and shrinking habitats have threatened giant pandas' survival. Many rare plant and animal species in the area are at risk of extinction.
By the end of 2013, there were 1,900 giant pandas living in the wild nationwide, an increase of 270, or 17 percent, from 10 years earlier.
中文翻译
现在继续报道新闻。
包括中国人自己在内，大多数人都认为中文是世界上最难的语言之一。
汉字的书写体系并不是语音系统，这令初学者感到非常困难，更不用说依据语调和发音来区别意思的声调系统了。
因此，当美国人白绮君决定在大学二年级学习中文时，周围的人并不支持她这么做。
白绮君表示，她挺过了这个看似艰难的学习过程，她在学习上的努力投入不仅帮助她掌握了一门有用的外语，使她获得了优势，同时也增加了她的自信。
白绮君在乔治亚州亚特亚大市举行的全美中文大会上发表了以上讲话。
她表示，她每天都非常努力地学习中文。白绮君成功获得了位于华盛顿西雅图的美国电子商务公司亚马逊提供的工作岗位，这时她的努力终于有了回报。虽然白绮君完全没有零售业经验，但是她在面试时讲述了她学习中文的经历，并在结束时告诉面试官她有学习任何新事物的基本能力。
这里是NEWS Plus慢速英语。
中国西北部甘肃省野生大熊猫的数量达到130只，较15年前增长了15%。
一项新研究表明，与15年前相比，甘肃野生大熊猫栖息地面积增加的幅度超过3%。
但是，调查同时警告称，该地区的水电站、高速公路和高压输电设施对大熊猫的生存环境造成了干扰。
林业部门官员表示，人类活动和栖息地缩减威胁着大熊猫的生存。甘肃省有许多珍稀动植物特种都面临着灭绝的危险。
截至2013年底，全国野生大熊猫种群数量约为1900只，较10年前增加270只，增幅为17%。
译文属可可英语原创，未经允许，不得转载
重点讲解
重点讲解：
1. not to mention 不用说；更不必说；
例句：The dampness is unpleasant , not to mention the cold.
潮湿就令人不快，更不必说寒冷了。
2. pay off 成功；赢利；
例句：Sandra was determined to become a doctor and her persistence paid off.
桑德拉决心成为医生，她的坚持取得了成功。
3. succeed in 达到目的；成功做成；办到；
例句：People had crowded around the football star, but Harry succeeded in edging in.
人们团团围住了那位足球明星，但哈里却成功地挤进去。
4. end with （书、演说、表演等）以…为结尾，以…结束；
例句：The play ended with a humorous epilogue.
这出戏以幽默的收场白结束。
5. be capable of 有…能力的；能够…的；
例句：She is capable of judging works of art.
她有鉴赏艺术品的能力。
6. compared with 与…相比；和…比起来；
例句：That ring is beans compared with the crown jewels.
与皇冠上的宝石相比那枚戒指根本不值什么钱。
