Topic Reading-Vol.3155-11/30/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Hydrogen-powered trains could replace diesel engines in Germany

Though it has never been an economically justifiable investment, investing in removing diesel-powered trains out of German railroads now seems environmentally justified. There still are 1,300 diesel trains running on regional railroads to cover over 12,000 kilometers in Germany. In order to meet the 2050 greenhouse gas-neutral goal and also to be the leader in modern and sustainable rail transport, Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s rail operator, and Siemens, the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe, have announced to start testing a hydrogen-powered train in 2024. The test train will be equipped with a battery and fuel cells that convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity so that it can run like conventional diesel trains without overhead power lines. Such emission-free propulsion is expected to play a vital role not only for rail transport but also for other land or marine transport.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about another move to replace greenhouse gas vehicles with emission-free transport.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/23/business/hydrogen-train-siemens/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3154-11/29/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Outbreak may change global power balance

China Daily is an English daily newspaper that is owned by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party. It is regarded as a guide to Chinese government policy and an instrument of China's public diplomacy.

In the November 23 edition, there is an article that many westerners don’t want to read or agree with. It boldly points out the present situations and problems of the world economy and predicts near-future pictures especially in the US and EU countries, which are already obvious to many. True, the world powers and giants, such as the US, European countries, India, Russia, Brazil, and Japan are all struggling to deal with the novel virus and economic slump sparked by the pandemic while China contained the outbreak quite fast and is now on track for economic recovery. It is no new news but one point. The article says they will not recover anytime soon but China will, and as a result, China will become much more influential in world economic recovery and new global governance.

Will China’s dual circular economy plan play a key role to change the global power balance?

Enjoy reading the article and think about how soon the world starts recovering from the pandemic and what the world will be like after the pandemic.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202011/23/WS5fbaf14da31024ad0ba95b0b.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3153-11/28/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Trump tweets about election results and skips session on pandemic during G20

The G20, or Group of 20, is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union, which collectively accounts for about 80% of world trade. The member states are Australia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India, Russia, South Africa, China, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, the United States, and the EU. This year’s G20 was hosted by Saudi Arabia but held online due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ever since Trump took the president role of the United States, he has never taken this international meeting seriously and even absented himself from the 2019 G20 Osaka Summit. This year, even though little was expected of the world leaders’ summit, Trump hadn’t confirmed his participation until the evening before the conference. Furthermore, even though he did participate in his final summit on November 20, he sent tweets about his lost election results during the conference. After two hours, he left the meeting to play golf outside DC while other world leaders were still in the session. Sounds like a spoiled student, doesn’t it? Then on Sunday at a summit session on the environmental issue, he addressed his record on protecting the environment “historic” and attacked the Paris climate accord despite the fact that his administration has undermined regulation intended to reduce pollution generated in the United States.

Though he lost the November election, about 72 million voted for him in the United States of America.

Enjoy reading the article and think about the roles of the political leader especially at a difficult time like now.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/21/politics/trump-g20-saturday-sessions/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3152-11/27/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Eating jellyfish: Why scientists are talking up a 'perfect food'

Jellyfish are free-swimming marine animals with umbrella-shaped bells and trailing tentacles. They live in most seas in the world from surface waters to the deep sea. Many kinds of jellyfish are edible and considered a delicacy in some Asian cultures because of the chewy texture. Some say it tastes like somewhere between cucumbers and rubber bands. Also, jellyfish are good for diet as they contain 36 calories per 85-gram serving, about the same calorie as iceberg lettuce.

They are often caught unintentionally by fishermen as bycatch. If humans keep eating only what they like, the marine ecosystem may not be sustained. If humans are conscious of their balanced diet, humans also need to do balanced fishing, including fish, shellfish, and jellyfish.

For a new diet, there are insects and worms on the ground and jellyfish in the sea.

Enjoy watching the video about jellyfish as food.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-australia-54534747

Topic Reading-Vol.3151-11/26/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

'Real and imminent' extinction risk to whales

Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are collectively known as cetaceans, and they are divided into two groups, baleen whales and toothed whales. Baleen whales, or simply whales, have baleen plates that are used to filter their food, such as plankton and small fish. Toothed whales, dolphins and porpoises, have teeth and eat larger prey like fish and marine mammals. Though it has been known that many species of these intelligent, social, and inspiring creatures are in danger of extinction because of human activities, little has been done to protect them. It is estimated that 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises are being killed annually. The biggest threat is accidental captures in fishing equipment and nets, called bycatch. So, hundreds of scientists and conservationists from 40 countries signed a letter to call for global action to protect them from extinction. It aims to raise awareness of the problem to regulators, scientists, politicians, and the public.

Even though how much this coordinated letter by itself moves governments and politicians may not be so significant, it could trigger other movements and actions in other communities.

Enjoy reading the article and imagine the seas where only small fish and plastic waste are seen.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54485407

Topic Reading-Vol.3150-11/25/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

How electric cars are charged and how far they go

There are many countries that are planning to ban the sale of new gas or diesel cars within a decade or two, such as China, Japan, the UK, Norway, Germany, France, Spain, Canada, and 12 U.S. states to name a few. Recently, some of them have announced to pull up their schedule to 2030, like China and the UK. That’s only 10 years from now. Of course, you’ll still be able to drive your greenhouse-gas-emitting car as long as you can but you won’t be proud of producing smog while others won’t. Also, it is hard to imagine new investments will be made on cars, infrastructures, and services for fossil-fuel vehicles as they are going to be phased out sooner or later. So, when next time you buy or lease a new car, you’ll want to consider choosing one from electric cars. But how much do you know about e-cars? There are questions like how and where you can charge the battery, how long it takes to charge the battery, how far an e-car can drive without charging, and when the battery starts degrading. Here, such basic questions about electric cars are simply answered.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about electric vehicles that will soon dominate the streets.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54989167

Topic Reading-Vol.3149-11/24/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Dinosaurs would have continued to thrive had it not been for the asteroid

One of the most well-known theories for dinosaurs’ extinction is that a mountain-seize meteor hit Earth directly 60-some million years ago and created enough gas, dust, and debris to change the climate drastically. Until then, dinosaurs had lived on the planet for more than 150 million years, evolving to various shapes, sizes, and forms with armors, crests, teeth, and even feathers. Such evolution and diversity must have allowed the now-extinct species to have dominated the planet for that long period. So, what if there hadn’t been such a catastrophic incident? Would dinosaurs still be the dominant species on the planet? If they lived as long as 150 million years, why not the next 60 million years? They didn’t and wouldn’t have produced as much greenhouse gas as homo sapience has done during the last two centuries. Indeed, a new study with more updated fossil data shows that they could or most likely would survive until now if the gigantic meteor had missed Earth.

Will humans survive as long as dinosaurs did?

Enjoy reading the article and think about which is more destructive to a habitable planet, a meteor hit, or human activities.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/18/world/dinosaur-extinction-intl-scli-gbr-scn/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3148-11/23/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Coronavirus: How to host a Christmas party on Zoom

Yes, you can work from home and take part in meetings online. But there are a variety of social activities that have been missed by many workers, such as chatting during a coffee break, talking over lunch, drinking or dining after work. Also, many companies and offices host seasonal events and gatherings or give special gifts to employees towards the end of the year to have them feel appreciated and united. This year, such social gatherings are out of the question because of the coronavirus pandemic. They need to be substituted by online or virtual events. Interestingly, there are quite a few options to get the employees interested and entertained. Virtual parties with a variety of entertainment experiences, three-course meal box delivery for an online party, an online cooking class or wreath-making workshop to share a creative experience, and online live music performance or comedy show.

During the social distancing days, a feeling of togetherness is more essential for workers’ wellbeing and productivity than other times. Employers are trying to find good ways to improve their employees’ wellbeing.

Enjoy reading the article and think about which of the events or experiences you’d like to have and wouldn’t.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54894806

Topic Reading-Vol.3147-11/22/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

What turns a product into a global phenomenon?

People don’t buy or use things only because of their quality, design, or price, especially the ones they put on or carry like clothes or a bag. While a face mask had been of no interest for most people until the coronavirus pandemic spread around the world, there are all kinds of masks sold at drug stores, clothing shops, and online retailers nowadays. Since they are explicitly visible, covering as much as half of the face, they could present the wearer’s fashion taste, social consciousness, and even political preference, especially during an election. One of the hit products in this recently popular category is a three-pack of reusable face masks called the Airism Face Mask by Uniqlo, a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer, and retailer that has over 2,200 stores in many countries. Though they don’t look so luxuriously fashionable or rigorously protective, the simple, functional face mask became a global hit. Also, the Telfar Shopping Bag, an affordable began leather bag series by a newly emerged independent brand became a big hit in the highly competitive market. What brings these simple products a mega-hit? Will any of such hit products become a long seller?

Enjoy reading the article and learn about what marketing is and does these days to produce a global hit product.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20201102-what-makes-a-product-turn-into-a-global-phenomenon

Topic Reading-Vol.3146-11/21/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

How artificial intelligence may be making you buy things

As introduced in Topic Reading Vol.3144 on Nov. 19 (Alexa to start second-guessing what users want), AI is getting smarter and suggesting more to users at home or on the road. Now, AI-powered recommendation engines are showing suggestions to shoppers at supermarkets or convenience stores that the users would want or even haven’t thought about. Yes, such AI technology learns as it goes along with the user and anticipates obvious or potential demands. According to a developer of such AI software, buyers seem to be encouraged by AI suggestions and put 20% more items into the shopping basket and return to the store more often. In fact, more retailers are installing such AI recommendation systems as people’s shopping habits change due to the coronavirus pandemic. They found that such a personalized recommendation system works much more effectively than traditional discount coupons. Also, when people are panicked, they tend to buy certain items much more than they usually need. Retailers need an AI recommendation system to adjust purchase orders to buy smartly, too.

It seems that even brick-and-mortar retailers need to compete in cyberspace as well.

Enjoy reading the article and learn more about how AI is becoming part of our daily life.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54522442

Topic Reading-Vol.3145-11/20/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Covid: India's festival season doesn't stop for coronavirus

This year’s Diwali started on November 14^th and finished just yesterday. The five-day-long festival is one of the most popular festivals of Hinduism. It is to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, purity over impurity, and light over darkness. It is a very exciting and colorful holiday. Homes are cleaned to welcome the New Year and windows are opened so that the Hindu goddess of wealth can enter. Fireworks and firecrackers are set off to scare off evil spirits. Presents are given and special holiday food is prepared and exchanged. New clothes and jewelry are worn for parties where people gather, talk, and dance together. Sounds like a traditional and ceremonial festival that gives people the chance to celebrate and enjoy together. But this year, that is the problem because of the coronavirus pandemic. As the number of confirmed cases has been rising rapidly in the subcontinent, it is concerned that the festival could spread the virus even more. However, since India is the world’s largest democratic state, any drastic measure that could undermine the heat or joy of the festival seems to have been disregarded. The total cost of the festival is going to be shown in around a week or so.

Enjoy watching the video and learn how massive India’s ceremonies are.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-54934883

Topic Reading-Vol.3144-11/19/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Alexa to start second-guessing what users want

Amazon’s Alexa is a virtual assistant AI technology, which is widely used in the Amazon Echo smart speakers. It provides voice interaction, plays music, sets alarms, speaks weather, traffic, and news, plays music, and answers questions. It also can control smart devices that are interconnected to, such as lights, door locks, refrigerators, and air conditioners.

When you ask a question to Alexa, it will give you an answer most of the time, whether it is right, weird, or meaningless. Now it tries to guess what the user wants after the question. For example, after giving the answer to the question like where the capital of Mongolia, it may give a suggestion or information about the city. But what can be inferred from this simple question varies by the situation, context, and intention of the speaker. You may want to know the spelling, the population, or the ticket price to get there. So, if you hear a totally different suggestion from your interest, it might be annoying rather than being helpful to you. How Amazon’s top-of-the-world class engineers create such sophisticated and workable algorithms remains to be seen. It seems that such an AI assistant might make a better guess if it is provided more information before the question.

Enjoy reading the article and think if you want a smart speaker to become more AI.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54915777

Topic Reading-Vol.3143-11/18/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Beethoven's Bonn: A musical tour of the composer's home city

This is supposed to be a year to commemorate the great musician, Ludwig Van Beethoven’s 250^th anniversary all around the world. Numbers of festivals, events, and concerts had been planned and prepared especially in the composer’s birthplace Bonn to welcome music lovers from the world until the coronavirus started spreading. It’s a pity that most of them are canceled.

Bonn is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the western part of Germany with a population of over 300,000. From 1597 to 1794, Bonn was the capital of the Electorate of Cologne, about 24 km north-east of Bonn. It was the capital of West Germany during the Cold War era between 1949 and 1990.

Though Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792 when he was 22 and spent the rest of his life there, Bonn was the place where he spent his early years and developed his personal and musical qualities. So, it attracts a lot of Beethoven admirers and music lovers from the world, and surely, a lot of those who planned to visit the town in this distinctive year must have been so disappointed. But what kind of place is Bonn?

Enjoy reading the article and photos to learn about Beethoven’s birthplace and surrounding area.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/beethoven-bonn-germany-anniversary/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3142-11/17/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Digital currency to change financial world

How digital will China be next year or by the time you get a new smartphone? Though China just had an annual meeting to set a new economic plan for the next five years, new arising technologies and their convenience may change how people pay things dramatically and even faster than it is projected. As you know, China is the most advanced pay-by-smartphone country. You can buy anything from an orange to an electric car, send money to anyone, borrow money or a mortgage, pay taxes and a speeding ticket, receive salary or pension, and ride a bus or subway, most of which is done through payment platforms like Alipay or WeChat Pay. In fact, a cue is hardly seen before ATMs nowadays, and banks are disposing of those costly machines. Now, Chinese authorities are preparing to introduce a digital currency, which is not backed by physical money. Will banknotes or coins disappear so soon in China? If that happened, some people who don’t have digital access or device could face serious problems and inconvenience. So, the bank officials say both digital and physical money will co-exist, at least to some point. But water flows to the lower side. The question is how fast.

Enjoy reading the article and learn what digital currency could do to the world.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202011/10/WS5fa9d4a7a31024ad0ba8a757_1.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3141-11/16/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Covid vaccine: How will we keep it cold enough?

The good news is that Covid vaccine is on its way to approval as posted in yesterday’s Topic Reading Vol.3140. The developers of the vaccine said they will be able to supply 50 million doses by the end of this year and around 1.3 billion by the end of 2021. However, that particular vaccine needs to be kept in ultra-cold storage, at below minus 80C, too colder than any freezer even in large hospitals. The vaccines will be shipped from the developers’ facilities in the US, Germany, and Belgium in a special reusable transport box that can keep the vaccines at the required temperature level for up to 10 days as long as it is not opened. But they still need to be transported from regional or local distribution sites, assuming such facilities are set up in time, to the practitioners’ hands to recipients’ arms.

Facing this level of unprecedented complexity and capacity of logistics is another challenge for human ingenuity and collaboration.

As we all know, the last mile is always the bottleneck of delivery.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about another challenge to cope with the pandemic.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54889084

Topic Reading-Vol.3140-11/15/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Covid vaccine: First 'milestone' vaccine offers 90% protection

The long and most awaited medical treatment is about to be approved for use, the coronavirus vaccine. Pfizer, a multinational pharmaceutical corporation, and BioNTech, a German biotechnology company dedicated to active immunotherapies, announced that their coronavirus vaccine has shown 90% effectiveness without safety concerns. Once approved, the vaccine will be mass-produced, distributed, and applied to those who need to be vaccinated the most in the countries that had placed orders already.

How does the vaccine work? The vaccine enters the cells and tells to produce the coronavirus spike protection, which prompts the immune system to produce antibodies and activate T-cells to fight the virus. However, it is still unclear whether this newly developed vaccine prevents the virus from spreading from patients or stops developing symptoms. Also, it is still unknown how long the immunity lasts. There are a few logistic issues, too. The vaccine needs to be kept in ultra-cold storage at below minus 80C. That’s a much colder temperature than to preserve any frozen food! Also, a second dose needs to be vaccinated three weeks after the first vaccination.

Now, governments and health authorities need to plan and implement the most effective way to make use of this and other upcoming coronavirus vaccines to curb the pandemic.

It sounds as if an armistice draft is nearly agreed upon after an eight-month battle.

Read the article and learn about this great news in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-54873105

Topic Reading-Vol.3139-11/14/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Coronavirus: All Blacks rugby looking at private equity bids
Commonly known as the All Blacks, the New Zealand national rugby union team is a three-time world cup winner, the latest in 2015. With a winning record of nearly 80% in black uniform, All Blacks is surely the most competitive rugby team. But many people recognize the team for their “haka,” a Maori challenge or posture dance that is performed aggressively before each match to scare the opponent and amuse the spectators. Indeed, All Black is the most valuable rugby team brand in the world. However, even with the outstanding records and popular dance, All Black is not immune to the financial effect of the coronavirus pandemic. As their cash reserves shrink, the team is now looking for financial supporters like private equity.
Even though New Zealand is nearly a coronavirus-free country, the team won’t be able to have international matches for the foreseeable future. How soon will they secure the funding needed to survive the difficult time? Will haka bring about a win in this challenge?
Enjoy reading the article and learn about how a famed rugby team has been affected by the coronavirus.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54820652

Topic Reading-Vol.3138-11/13/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

US election result: What Biden's victory means for rest of world

The US election result could mean even more to other countries. Since Trump’s decisive policies and deals based solely on America’s interests have caused drastic changes and reactions to both bilateral and international relationships. Now, Joe Biden has been voted to be the next president. What are other countries expecting to happen?

Since Biden is going to repair the alliance, China and Russia will be closely and carefully eyeing the new stance and approaches in the sea, on the ground, and in the space of the new administration. Also, Biden’s democratic approach will put pressure on abuses and mistreatments of human rights in some powerful countries. In the meantime, environmentalists, anti-nuclear proliferation supporters, free-trade advocates are expecting drastic changes in US policies from isolation to cooperation. But most of all, there are people out there who have been suffering from international sanctions in Cuba, Iran, and North Korea. They should not be forgotten.

Enjoy reading the article about expected reactions to the new US administration by China, Russia, the UK, Germany, Iran, Israel, Egypt, Cuba, and Canada.

https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54801409

Topic Reading-Vol.3137-11/12/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Xi emphasizes crucial role of consumption

Any country has challenges and advantages in the economy.

China’s challenge is the high dependency on investment, about 20% higher than other developed countries. Also, a large part of the investment is made by the government, state enterprises, and government-subsidized businesses, a considerable part of which doesn’t seem to be managed so efficiently. China’s advantage is the population of 1.4 billion, the largest in the world, and its growing middle-class population. They have huge buying desire and power, from electric cars to a second or third apartment for investment. However, China's household consumption accounted for still about 40% of GDP, much lower than the global average level. Also, their urbanization is around 60%, much lower than that of developed countries.

So, if China manages to grow lower-middle income class and increase urbanization, it can boost its domestic economy quite healthily by consumer buying power. This year, the ruling party of China came up with a new mid-term economic concept, called “Dual Circulation.” It aims to expand the domestic market and foster a new development pattern so that all links including production, distribution, logistics, and consumption can rely more on the domestic market to sustain a positive growth cycle. They are also expecting that the growth potential of the already-huge market will attract foreign investment. In short, the dual circulation concept aims to take the domestic market as the mainstay while the domestic and international markets complement each other. It sounds like a grand plan to transform the present challenges into future opportunities.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about China’s new challenge for the next five years.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202011/06/WS5fa48625a31024ad0ba836b5.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3136-11/11/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

'I thought maybe I would die': S Korea's delivery drivers demand change

Soy sauce, a skirt, a toothpaste, a chair, or pet food, you can buy anything from daily necessities to furniture, or even a car online. It’s so convenient and safe to have things delivered at your doorstep especially under the pandemic. Just click, touch, or tell your device, you’ll get the things you want within a day or even hours. The only interaction you may have is the person who delivers the items unless you choose a drop-off or unattended delivery option. But as online purchases increase, people working at distribution centers and deliveries are getting enormous pressures especially during the holiday season and sales events. Also, online retailers are competing to provide faster deliveries and more convenience such as delivery time options and the same day or even within-hours delivery services.

In South Korea, there are many people who overwork at delivery centers and in delivery trucks, and some of them are believed to have died because of overwork. Their work hours are way too long and work conditions and requirements are both so severe, but their time and effort aren’t recognized so much. They are just expected to do their jobs no matter how overloaded they are. Indeed, while most of the shoppers just enjoy the convenience of online shopping, there are a lot of hardworking people out there to bring the goods without delay or mishap.

Today’ is the Singles Day Sales, the world’s largest shopping event in China. How their delivery workers handle such a spike of deliveries?

Read the article and learn about the hardship Korean delivery drivers are enduring.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54775719

Topic Reading-Vol.3135-11/10/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Indians asked to eat more sugar to tackle oversupply

It is not surprising that a certain industry promotes its products especially when they have surpluses. But running a campaign to promote sugar consumption sounds very controversial these days as sugar is usually considered unhealthy. Now, India, the world’s largest sugar producing country with nearly a 20% market share created too much sugar surpluses to consume domestically or export internationally as it had increased sugar farmland and also improved yields. Even though the populous country consumes more sugar than any other country as a whole, per-person sugar consumption is way below the world average. So, it may not be such a bad idea to encourage people to use more sugar in their food and drinks. Another way to utilize the excess sugar supply is to convert it to ethanol as fuel. The industry is hoping to increase ethanol production by over 50% next year. That seems like a better and healthier way to promote sugar usage because such an increase in sugar consumption would certainly create health problems.

Read the article and learn about India’s bitter problem caused by the natural sweetener.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54776376

Topic Reading-Vol.3134-11/9/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

High-speed trains boost cargo capacity for Singles Day spree

China’s two world’s-number-one things are collaborating more this year. China’s high-speed railway services started in 2008 and now has a network of over 36,000 km to cover most major cities around the country. The longest line reaches Kunming from Beijing in 12-13 hours to cover the distance of 2,760 km. Also, China has the world’s largest online shopping event, called The Singles Day, or Double 11, which starts on November 11 each year. Chinese shoppers spent over $200 billion during the last year’s 10-day event period. You can imagine how many goods were transported and delivered during and after the shopping spree.

Now, this year’s event adds ten more days to boost sales and the economy. The bottleneck is the logistics. So, China Railway Corporation is running more than 600 railway routes and 1,000 bullet trains to transport e-commerce goods to more than 80 cities this year. Will this collaboration help transport goods more smoothly and swiftly or the growth of demands exceed the increased capacity?

Enjoy reading the article and learn how to make use of already-built infrastructures to boost businesses.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202011/03/WS5fa0ab48a31024ad0ba82aa9.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3133-11/8/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Burger King wants you to order from McDonald's

Fast-food chains are in trouble. Of course. As people are told to stay home to prevent coronavirus infections, fewer people now dare to eat out. It is not just a problem of any particular food chain or restaurant but a life-threatening problem to the restaurant industry as a whole. So, instead of saying ours is better or promoting a particular menu, Burger King is trying to appeal to the public to help the industry in any way consumers can, eating-in, taking out, or delivery orders. It seems like a sound approach when people aren’t dining out as they usually do. Indeed. The restaurant industry may need a co-operative approach like this to share the smaller pie.

Enjoy reading the article and learn how serious the problem of the fast-food industry is now.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/02/business/burger-king-order-mcdonalds-scli-intl-gbr/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3132-11/7/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Taiwan just went 200 days without a locally transmitted Covid-19 case. Here's how they did it

While many European countries have reinitiated restrictive measures to cope with the second wave of coronavirus pandemic, such as lockdowns, curfews, and business closures, Taiwan has been nearly covid-19 free for over six months. With a population of 23 million, which is approximately one-third of France or the UK, or just about half of Spain, there are only a little over 500 confirmed cases in the country, which seems fewer than an hour of infections occurring in those European countries. How did they do it?

They seem to have been well prepared for such an outbreak of infectious disease. They learned a lesson from the SARS pandemic in 2003. Also, they were quick to move. In fact, they restricted entries from Wuhan, China even before the then-epicenter initiated their lockdown. And they deployed a targeted approach rather than a mass-shooting method. Thanks to the IT-literal government, they launched careful contact tracing and targeted quarantines. Sounds like a rifle-shooting approach rather than a shot-gun approach, which is commonly adopted by most other countries.

In a summary, they were prepared, quick to move, and efficient to shoot the target.

Read the article and learn how important to learn a lesson from the past.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/29/asia/taiwan-covid-19-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3131-11/6/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

New Zealand euthanasia: Assisted dying to be legal for terminally ill people

Euthanasia is an act or practice of killing individuals suffering from an incurable and painful disease in a painless way for reasons of mercy. It is legal in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and several states in the US including California, Colorado, and New Jersey, whereas assisted suicide is permitted in Switzerland.

Now, New Zealanders have chosen to legalize euthanasia at a referendum in October which was held along with the general election. A little over 65% of the voters supported the bill which will give terminally ill individuals whose life is expected to end within six months the choice to die sooner. Those who opposed the bill said it could undermine suicide prevention or could be used to reduce a burden on their families even though the law does not allow the practice to be used for advanced age, mental illness, or disability.

Whichever the case, euthanasia or assisted suicide (the act of assisting another person to kill themselves) is, such right is limited only in a small number of states where liberalism seems to prevail.

Read the article and think if euthanasia should be legalized in your country or accepted in your culture.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54728717

Topic Reading-Vol.3130-11/5/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Czech teenagers deployed to overwhelmed hospitals as Covid cases explode

It was only four months ago when Prague citizens gathered on the medieval Charles Bridge and seated around a 500-meter-long table covered with white clothes to goodbye to the new coronavirus pandemic. (Vol.2010, Jul.8) At that time, the Czech Republic was one of the first to implement tough restrictions designed to curb the coronavirus during the first wave and had reported only about 12,000 cases and 350 deaths connected to Covid-19, much fewer than any other country in Europe. But now, the Czech health system is in jeopardy. Every day, 1,000 health care workers have been infected by the coronavirus and over 15,000 were unable to work as of October 28. The worst of all, 3,000 of them were doctors. These numbers are significant for a country with a population of just 10 million. Now, they are so shorthanded that teenage nursing and healthcare students are called in to fill the shortage of hospital personnel. The military also set up a field hospital and staffed it with military doctors and nurses. But that’s still not enough to cover the shortage of doctors.

When Czech was asked to send doctors to help Italy in spring, it declined. So, it is awkward to ask others to send doctors to help their crisis. The hard lesson is learned with the price of lives and by the chaos.

Enjoy reading the article and learn what could go wrong so badly once restrictions and cautions are loosened.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/30/europe/czech-second-wave-hospital-crisis-teens-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3129-11/4/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

US election: 'How we learn about voting in India, France and US'

Today is an election day for the United States of America. As the US societies are becoming more diverse, this presidential election seems to have become a very decisive one. But what do teenagers think about politics and elections? Here are interviews with teenagers about their views, their family and school influences on elections in the US, India, the world’s largest democratic country with over 800 million voters, and France, a diehard democratic republic. Interestingly, the voter turnout for presidential or national elections of these three democratic countries is around 56%, 70%, and 67% respectively. So, despite the heated media coverage and election campaigns in the US and around the world, Americans don’t seem to be so eager to cast their ballots for the last few decades. Why so?

Enjoy watching the video and get a glimpse of soon-to-be voters’ views.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/election-us-2020-54743180

Topic Reading-Vol.3128-11/3/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

How octopuses taste their meals by touching them, according to a new study

Nicknamed the devilfish, the octopus is a soft-bodied marine creature with eight tentacles. Its mouth is found at the center point of the tentacles. Octopuses are predatory and eat shellfish and crabs. But little has been known about how octopuses sense what is dangerous or edible for them. According to a recent study, they seem to have the taste-by-touch ability to sense the object with their dots on their long tentacles. It seems quite different from humans that perceive five tastes, sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and umami.

But why researchers are studying how the octopus senses or tastes things around them? Does it matter how this marine creature senses or tastes? What have they learned from the finding? Well, in basic science, researchers often study by curiosity without knowing what exactly they will find or learn from it.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about the sensing ability and mechanism of the grotesque, eight-legged marine creature.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/29/world/octopus-touch-taste-scn/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3127-11/2/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

‘Shops refusing cash left me unable to buy basics’

As the coronavirus pandemic shows no sign of slowing down, more and more small businesses seem to be shifting to the new normal, cashless society. Though not as radical and swift as China, stores that sell essentials like groceries and medicine are becoming reluctant to accept cash payment in the UK. Such a cashless move certainly makes the payment process more smoothly and swiftly while helping keep social distance and avoid direct contacts. But limiting payment methods also throws those who have no other payment tools other than cash out of the doors, such as elderly people, pension dependants, and daily wage earners.

Is there any way to receive cash safely?

Read the article and think of a future time when cash disappears entirely.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54710897

Topic Reading-Vol.3126-11/1/2020

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Competition for civil service jobs growing

There are as many as 1,580,000 qualified applicants who wish to be one of 25,700 new civil servants in China. The odds are less than two per 100 applicants, one of the most competitive jobs that you can think of anywhere in the world. Of the 25,700 job openings, 8,300 positions will be appointed in western provinces or rural areas, where living and working conditions are far from modern standards. Why is a civil servant job so popular despite the competition and location? A civil servant job is considered as the iron rice bowl in China, an occupation with guaranteed security, income, and benefits. Also, as a government employee, their status is highly regarded and trusted, thus they could get better financial credit and credentials. Also, because of the Covid-19 aftershock, more people try to get a job that will not be affected by future uncertainties.

Now, those who passed the qualification assessment will take a written test, interviews, and health checks to be a new civil servant.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about how eager people are to serve the nation in China.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202010/27/WS5f977021a31024ad0ba81220.html