进入英语学习论坛下载音频

Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday pledged central and local government funds to provide and improve school bus services in the wake of the traffic accident that killed 19 preschool children and sparked national outrage.

He urged relevant departments of the State Council to "rapidly" formulate safety regulations for school coaches, and said China will accelerate the setting up of standards on design and production.

Central and local governments will share the costs on providing more school buses that meet safety requirements, the premier said.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the fifth national meeting on women and children affairs in Beijing.

Twenty-one people, including 19 preschoolers and two adults, died when a nine-seater bus illegally carrying 64 crashed head-on with a coal truck in Gansu province on Nov 16. Another 43 were injured.

On Saturday, a school bus carrying 39 people in Fengcheng city, Northeast China's Liaoningprovince, rolled over, injuring 35, including two who suffered serious head wounds, accordingto authorities.

More rural students now have to travel long distances to schools in counties or cities, as the number of village schools has declined due to consolidation efforts.

However, Wen said a lot of local governments have failed to meet the rapidly increased demand for safe school buses or established sound management systems.

Officials will face investigations into their liability if tragedies such as the one in Gansu occuragain, he warned.

"School buses should be safe mobile campuses for students," Wen said. "Society should bear in mind that children should be the first to enjoy all kinds of social welfare and the last ones to suffer from any disaster."

Yuan Guilin, an education professor at Beijing Normal University, has proposed that all school buses should be equipped with black boxes, adding that it is achievable and affordable.

The government should also improve the wages and benefits for drivers to prevent them from taking extra jobs and often driving while tired, he said.

Given that some authorities complain that they are short of money, Yuan suggested they be allowed to sell advertising space on school buses.

Questions:

1. Where did PM Wen Jiabao speak at?

2. What happened in the accident on Nov 16?

3. What did Yuan Guilin recommend?

Answers:

1. The opening ceremony of the Fifth National Meeting on Women and Children Affairs.

2. Twenty-one people, including 19 preschoolers and two adults, died when a nine-seater bus illegally carrying 64 crashed head-on with a coal truck in Gansu province.

3. Black boxes, improves wages and benefits for drivers, and allow advertising space on school buses.

（中国日报网英语点津 Rosy 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.