2017-02-27 Special EnglishThis is Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.New kinds of vaccines for the H7N9 strain of bird flu virus have been approved for clinical trials by China&`&s top drug regulator.The Beijing Food and Drug Administration said it will continue to provide assistance and guidance for clinical trials of the vaccines so they can enter the market as soon as possible.The vaccines have been developed by a state-owned enterprise in Beijing. There are currently no vaccines for the H7N9 strain of bird flu available on the market in China or overseas. The flu is most active in winter and spring. Two human cases of H7N9 have been reported in Beijing this year, with both patients suspected of having been exposed to live poultry. Both are in critical condition.One woman died after being infected with the bird flu in southwest China&`&s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.The central government has intensified measures to control the spread of the flu, including shutting down live poultry markets.This is Special English.The World Health Organization says the shortsightedness rate among Chinese juveniles ranks first in the world, with 70 percent of high school and college students being shortsighted. The rate is almost 40 percent in primary school students, while it is only 10 percent for their peers in the United States.A World Health Organization research report says the number of shortsighted people in China has reached 600 million, approaching half of the country&`&s total population.Experts attribute the soaring shortsightedness rate in China to the unhealthy lifestyles and learning styles which parents impose on their children.On the one hand, to achieve high scores in exams, children spend too much time studying indoors and don&`&t enough time outside in the sunlight. On the other hand, a growing number of high-tech products, including smart phones and tablet PCs, make children focus their eyes and attention on fluorescent screens for long periods of time, resulting in excessive eye fatigue.Experts suggest that youngsters maintain a proper balance between study and rest so as to protect their eyesight, and parents should play a correspondingly active role in the process.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.China will launch its most advanced communications satellite in April. The new satellite will be part of a huge network to expand the nation&`&s Wi-Fi access.The satellite and its large capacity network will enable passengers on planes and high-speed trains to access the internet.The satellite weighs around 5 metric tons. It will stay in a geostationary orbit around 36,000 kilometers above Earth for 15 years.This is the most powerful communications satellite China has ever developed. Its transmission capacity will double that of the current ones, allowing more television channels and clearer signals to be transmitted; and internet user costs will be reduced.China plans to establish a constellation of advanced communications satellites by 2025. After the plan is fulfilled, users will be able to access high-quality Wi-Fi services anywhere and anytime, including on bullet trains and planes.Scientists say China still needs to catch up with the top developers in the United States and Europe, when it comes to satellite technology and capacity.This is Special English.China&`&s deep-sea manned submarine "Jiaolong" has departed its home port in Qingdao in eastern China to start its longest mission to date, a 124-day expedition.The submarine is scheduled to explore northwest part of the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and the Mariana Trench in the Western Pacific during this oceanic exploration mission. The trip is set to conclude on June 9.Organized by the National Deep Sea Center, the mission will be carried out by more than 150 researchers from around 20 sc