英語角-圓桌會議 RoundTable - 中國電視抄襲美國？

Topic1 Global Income RankingChinese internet users are abuzz about an online tool on CNN's website that calculates how one's annual wages compare with those around the world. And many of them aren't happy to know how little they make compared to their peers. It is being reported that the high income earners in China do not make as much as a taxi driver in South Africa.

However, is this calculator scientific enough? Can we really take it seriously?

Topic2 Three Kingdoms of Wealth Management ProductsBanks are raising deposit interest rate and launching similar products to keep money from flowing out the door to Yu E Bao and Licaitong.

Why is it that the two products, launched on Alipay and WeChat respectively, have successfully threatened banks in the first place?

Topic3 WeChat and Alipay Compete on Taxi PaymentThere are pennies rained down from heaven, not by god, but by the mobile e-commerce giants Alipay and Tencent, who are in a new round of competition targeting taxi-calling apps.

Thanks to their reward programs, customers can now technically ride taxis for free over short distances.

How is this possible?

Topic4 Should pre-school education be free?

Wei Aimin, representative of Beijing Municipal People's Congress, suggests that Beijing government should prolong 9 years of compulsory education to 12 years, covering current pre-school education or kindergarten education.

Is there a need why preschool education should be free?

Topic5 What Does It Take to Watch CCTV Spring Festival Gala on the Spot?

Organizers of the China Central Television 2014 Spring Festival Gala have denied that online shops are authorized to sell the tickets.

Auditorium seats were offered for 30,000 yuan each on Taobao, China's biggest e-commerce platform, and table seating at 48,000 yuan, or 8,000 US dollars.

CCTV Spring Festival Gala organizers say on the event's official Weibo that they have never sold any tickets via any channel, and the audience should be on guard against fraud.

But then it makes one wonder—who are these people watching the show right there on the spot? And what does it take to be one of them?

Is there some truth to the guess that one pays to be a live audience of Chun Wan. Where does the rumor come from?

Topic6 Chinese TV Shows Copy American ShowsBoston-based magazine The Atlantic recently published an article accusing Chinese TV talk shows and commercials of copying American ones. In specific, it says a Ningxia Satellite TV show The Banquet opening of The Colbert Report. Let's listen to a clip of the Colbert Report responding to the alleged copying.