Shidu: When Chinese Parents Forced to Have One Child Lose That Child

1. Section III Expand Your Horizon Shidu: When Chinese Parents Forced to Have One Child Lose That Child When Qu Di left for the United States in 2007 for a PhD ① program, her mother was certain that she would return. Qu, a 25-year-old math major, dreamed of being a university professor in her home province of Liaoning in northeastern China, and obtaining a degree overseas was the last step in earning the teaching qualification.

2. Section III Expand Your Horizon She never made it home. Qu's mother, who only gave her last name, Jiang, said she and her daughter used to chat everyday on QQ, a Chinese instant messaging service, when Qu studied at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas ② . Then one day in May, 2008, Jiang was unable to get a hold of her daughter. She scrambled to reach out to Qu's friends, who, despite having already seen the report of Qu's death at the school's office, were reluctant to tell her mother.

3. Section III Expand Your Horizon This task was left to the local police, who attempted to reach Jiang with the assistance of a Chinese interpreter. But Jiang refused to answer the phone. Instead, she asked a relative to confirm the news that she couldn't bear to hear herself: her only child was killed in a car accident, along with two others, on a road trip back from the Grand Canyon ③ .

4. Section III Expand Your Horizon “It was over,” Jiang said, sobbing uncontrollably. “I was never afraid of any difficulties because we had a child and she was our hope. Now everything has lost meaning to us.” In a country like China where the pension system is weak, parents and even grandparents count on their offspring to support them after they retire.

5. Section III Expand Your Horizon Therefore, losing an only child has a devastating financial effect. The meager assistance that applies to just 10 provinces and cities is the only known form of compensation to Shidu families today, and it covers about one-sixth of such families in the country. The amount paid out varies from $16 to $130. Jiang and her husband each got $22.

6. Section III Expand Your Horizon Even still, money is not Jiang's top concern. What she wants more is the recognition from the government that she and her peers have made a sacrifice for the country, not unlike families of deceased soldiers. However, Chinese society treats these two groups of families very differently: families of slain veterans have access to benefits like shopping discounts and priority in applying for government-subsidized housing, both virtually unavailable for Shidu families.

7. Section III Expand Your Horizon When Jiang applied for a credit card to access supermarket discounts, she was told by the bank clerk that since she had retired, her best option was to become an authorized user of her child's card. Jiang, who spends 9 to 10 hours each day chatting with fellow Shidu parents, turned away immediately.

8. Section III Expand Your Horizon Today in China, there are about one million such Shidu families （the term for parents that have lost their only child）, a number that grows by about 76,000 each year. Yet demographers said this is only the beginning of the real problem, because the percentage of one-child families across China has exploded in the past three decades as fertility restrictions spread from big cities to every corner of the country.

9. Section III Expand Your Horizon A 2005 survey on the Chinese population, the most recent survey available, showed that the country then had 210 million only children‐most of whom on the younger end of the spectrum. For the population group aged 25 to 29 （born between 1976 and 1980）, only 15 percent were only children. However, for the generation born 25 years later, the percentage of only children nearly quadrupled.

10. Section III Expand Your Horizon “In the future, tens of millions of Chinese people will be affected by this phenomenon,” said Yi Fuxian, a University of Wisconsin ④ scientist whose book A Big Country in an Empty Nest ⑤ describes the damage of China's family planning restrictions. “Parents will lose hope and when they get old, nobody will take care of them. Because every kid is exposed to deadly risks, every one-child family is walking a tightrope.”

11. Section III Expand Your Horizon 失独：当独生子女家长们失去他们的孩子时   2007年，当曲笛（音)前往美国攻读博士学位时，她妈妈认为她肯定会回来。25岁学习数学专业的曲笛，梦想是在她家乡——中国东北辽宁当一名大学教师。去海外留学，拿一个学位回来是她获得大学教师资质的最后一步。

12. Section III Expand Your Horizon 但她再也没能回家。 曲笛的母亲，只愿意透露自己姓氏的姜女士说，在她女儿留学内华达大学拉斯维加斯校区时，她们每天用QQ进行交流。在2008年5月的一天，姜女士突然联系不上自己的女儿。她焦急地向曲笛的朋友询问消息。当时他们已经在学校的办公室看到了曲笛的死亡报告书，谁都不忍心将这噩耗告诉这位母亲。

13. Section III Expand Your Horizon 这项任务交给了当地的警察。他们通过口译员试图通知曲笛的母亲。但是她拒绝接电话，她叫来自己的一位亲戚证实这个她自己无力承担的噩耗：她唯一的孩子在一起车祸中丧生。一起遇难的还有两位同伴，他们当时在大峡谷旅游的返回途中。

14. Section III Expand Your Horizon “一切都结束了，”姜女士难以抑制地抽泣着说，“我从不害怕任何困难，因为我们有一个孩子，她就是我们的希望。现在所有的一切对我们都失去了意义。” 在中国这样养老体系不完善的国家，父母甚至祖父母都指望他们的后代能在他们退休之后为其养老。

15. Section III Expand Your Horizon 因此，失去唯一的孩子会给这些家长在经济上带来毁灭性的影响。根据了解目前只有10个省市的失独家庭享有微不足道的补助，不到这类家庭全部的1/6。补助数目从16美元到130美元不等。姜女士和她的丈夫每人拿到22美元。

16. Section III Expand Your Horizon 即使这样，钱也不是姜女士最关心的问题。她更希望从政府那得到认可，她和她这一代的人为国家的发展做出了牺牲，他们的情况与那些已故军人家属并无不同。然而，这两类家庭在中国社会得到的待遇大不相同：烈士家庭有诸如购物折扣，政府廉租房优先申请权等福利，而失独家庭则完全不享有。

17. Section III Expand Your Horizon 当姜女士打算申请一张信用卡以享受超市折扣时，银行职员告诉她由于她已经退休，其最佳选择是成为她孩子信用卡的授权用户。姜女士，这位每天花9到10个小时与失独父母聊天的母亲，立刻扭头就走。

18. Section III Expand Your Horizon 在今天的中国，像这样失去独生子女的“失独”家庭约有100万户，这个数字以每年7.6万的速度增长。然而人口统计学家告诉我们这还只是问题的开始。因为计划生育政策已经从大城市落实到了各个地方，独生子女家庭的比例在过去的30年里出现了爆炸式的增长。

19. Section III Expand Your Horizon 2005年相关中国人口调查显示，最近一年中国的独生子女数量是2.1亿，其中大多数尚处幼年。而在25~29岁（在1976年到1980年期间出生)的人群中，独生子女的比例只有15%。然而，25年后出生的一代，独生子女的比例将会翻两番。

20. Section III Expand Your Horizon “在未来，数以万计的中国人将会因此受到影响。”威斯康星大学教授易富贤，在他的著作《大国空巢》中，描写到中国计划生育政策带来的损害。“父母们将会失去希望，等到他们年老时，也没有人能照顾他们。因为每个孩子都处在致命性的风险中，独生子女家庭就是在高空中走钢丝。”

21. Section III Expand Your Horizon Practice What You Learnt Task 1 Comprehension Check Choose the best answer according to the text.

22. Section III Expand Your Horizon Why did Qu Di leave for the United States in 2007 for a PhD program? Because she'd like to have a higher degree. Because she wanted to immigrant to America. Because she need to obtain a degree overseas as the teaching qualification. Because a degree overseas may help her to find a better job. C Click me

23. Section III Expand Your Horizon Why did Jiang refuse to answer the phone from the local police? Because they couldn't speak Chinese. Because she couldn't bear to hear the news herself. Because Qu's friend had already told Qu's mother the news after she saw the report of Qu's death. D. Because Jiang's relative is a Chinese interpreter who could answer the phone. B Click me

24. Section II Store Your Bricks How did Qu Di and her mother contact each other when she studied at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas? By QQ. By telephone. By e-mail. By writing letter. A Click me

25. Section III Expand Your Horizon Which of the following statements is NOT ture? Parents and grandparents count on the pension to support themselves after they retire in China. Jiang and her husband each got $22 as compensation. However, money is not Jiang's top concern. Chinese society treats Shidu families and families of deceased soldiers very differently. There are about one million such Shidu families in China. A Click me

26. Section III Expand Your Horizon   How will this phenomenon affect us in the future? Parents will lose hope and when they get old, nobody will take care of them. Every kid is exposed to deadly risks, so every one-child family is walking a tightrope. More and more scientists will write books to describe the damage of China's family planning restrictions. Both A and B. D Click me

27. Section III Expand Your Horizon Task 2 Vocabulary and Sentences (1)Replace the italicized words with the words or phrases given in the box. Change the form if necessary.

28. Section III Expand Your Horizon There were also pledges to soften the impact of the cuts on the poorer regions. subsidy pension Last year 43 youngsters were and about 250 seriously injured. killed slain

29. Section III Expand Your Horizon Section III Expand Your Horizon I want the triumph of seeing my fairly lord of their estates. offspring descendant The players to get the ball. rushed scrambled Most poultry farmers have to commercially manufactured feeds. completely count on

30. Section III Expand Your Horizon Section III Expand Your Horizon He believed that the policies were both wrong and . devastating disastrous A speed of 30 mph was introduced in built-up areas. restriction limit she had to learn that her wishes did not take over other people's needs. priority precedence

31. Section III Expand Your Horizon I a few helpers to hand out leaflets. rustle up gethold of Click me Banks had increased to develop new financial products. spectrum scope Billy started to . His mother smacked his hand. snivel sob The reporters identified one of the six Americans as an Army . specialist veteran

32. Section III Expand Your Horizon (2)Fill in the blanks with the words given, and change the form if necessary. Companies should be made to reveal more about their __________ position.(finance) financial Click me Speaking through an __________ the President said that the talks were going well.（interpret） interpreter Click me

33. Section III Expand Your Horizon The population ____________to 40,000 during the tourist season.（explode） explodes Click me If political and ethnic problems are not resolved, the situation could become ______________ .（uncontrollably） uncontrollable Click me

34. Section III Expand Your Horizon As a child , I _______________ going to Africa, living there with the animals. （dream of） dreamed of Click me We are _____________ to receive contributions for the Red Cross. （authorize） authorized Click me The hospital staff were very apologetic but that couldn't really ________________ . （ compensation ） compensate Click me

35. Section III Expand Your Horizon Aboriginal art has finally gained _____________ and broken away from being labeled as “primitive” or “exotic”.（recognize） recognition Click me The first British _____________colonize Ireland was in the twelfth century. （attempt to） attemptedto Click me He was ____________ to strike such an undignified pose before his girlfriend. （reluctance） reluctant Click me

36. Section III Expand Your Horizon Task 3 Divergent Thinking Try to make one or more sentences with the given information. And what you write should not be merely from the text.

37. Section III Expand Your Horizon Why do many Chinese count on their offspring to support them after they retire ？（为什么许多中国人退休后要靠下一代养老呢？）（pension system, weak ） The average Chinese citizen live under a lot of pressure, few people are capable of saving enough pension before retirement. What's more, the pension system of China is still weak and demands perfection, otherwise it is difficult for government to afford health' care and pension liabilities for so many elderly people. Click me ________________________________________________________________________

38. Section III Expand Your Horizon What do you think of the government's different treatments between Shidu families and families of deceased soldiers ？（政府对于失独家庭和烈士家庭的不同对待，你怎么看？（make sacrifice for, financial） Click me Everyone is equal before accident. To the Shidu families and families of deceased soldiers, there is no difference in the losses and pains they suffered. I think they should be treated equally in finance by government. In fact, Shidu families was forced to make sacrifice for the one' child policy, so government should consider psychological comforting over and above financial supplements. ____________________________________________________________________

39. Section III Expand Your Horizon As to material aid and psychological assistance, which do you think is more important for Shidu parents? Why? （对于失独父母，物质救助和心理救助，你认为哪个更重要？为什么？）（hope, mental, assistance) In a sense, psychological assistance is more important for Shidu parents than material aid, because the lost child was regarded as the hope of family, no matter how much money the nation spend on material aid, the psychological wound is hard to heal. Of course for the poor families, maybe sometimes material aid is more important. Click me ________________________________________________________________________

40. Section III Expand Your Horizon Could you please give some advices for the government to help Shidu families? （你是否能给政府一些建议来帮扶失独家庭？）（right of priority, compensation） Click me The government should not be responsible for helping Shidu families. Advise are as follow. ① The medical security system should be improved in order to make Shidu parents get convenient treatment. ② Shidu families should have the right of priority in some routine services, for example, applying for government subsidized housing, benefiting from shopping discounts and so on. ③ A dependable pension system should be established. ________________________________________________________________________

41. Section III Expand Your Horizon Do you think all the Chinese should be allowed to have two children?（你认为是否要全面放开二胎政策？）（old-age security, count on） Click me Now Chinese government has allowed couples to have two children if either parent is an “only child”. According to the situation of our country, I do not think all the citizens should be allowed to have two children, because it may cause a great gap of old age security. Many people probably have to count on self reliance after retirement. _______________________________________________________________________