A Comparative Study of the L2 Pragmatic Competence of University Students in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland:The Contributions of Sociocultural Context and Linguistic Proficiency

This study investigates the differences in pragmatic competence between Hong Kong and Chinese mainland university students.Participants included 19 native speakers of English,115 Chinese mainland students,divided into those who had spent time abroad in an English-speaking country(CM A)and those who had not(CM NA),and 97 Hong Kong students,divided into those from an English-medium secondary school(Hong Kong EMI)and those from a Chinese-medium school(Hong Kong CMI).Linguistic proficiency was measured by a C-test,and pragmatic competence by a Metapragmatic Knowledge Test,an Irony Test and a Monologic Role Play.Group scores were compared using ANCOVAs to control for differences in proficiency.The results point to a continuum of pragmatic competence—EMI>CMI>CM A>CM NA—reflecting the groups’access to English in real-life contexts.The differences between the Hong Kong groups and the Chinese mainland groups were clearest in those tests measuring processing capacity(i.e.,Irony Response Time and the Monologic Role Play).CM A,but not CM NA,performed as well as the Hong Kong groups on measures of metapragmatic awareness.The results are discussed in terms of Bialystok’s(1993)distinction between analyzed representation and control of processing.

Precipitation changes in the mid-latitudes of the Chinese mainland during 1960–2014

Based on daily precipitation data from 163 meteorological stations, this study investigated precipitation changes in the mid-latitudes of the Chinese mainland（MCM） during 1960–2014 using the climatic trend coefficient, least-squared regression analysis, and a non-parametric Mann-Kendall test.According to the effects of the East Asian summer monsoon on the MCM and the climatic trend coefficient of annual precipitation during 1960–2014, we divided the MCM into the western MCM and eastern MCM. The western MCM was further divided into the western MCM1 and western MCM2 in terms of the effects of the East Asian summer monsoon. The main results were as follows：（1） During the last four decades of the 20^（th） century, the area-averaged annual precipitation presented a significant increasing trend in the western MCM, but there was a slight decreasing trend in the eastern MCM, where a seesaw pattern was apparent. However, in the 21^（st） century, the area-averaged annual precipitation displayed a significant increasing trend in both the western and eastern MCM.（2） The trend in area-averaged seasonal precipitation during 1960–2014 in the western MCM was consistent with that in the eastern MCM in winter and spring. However, the trend in area-averaged summer precipitation during1960–2014 displayed a seesaw pattern between the western and eastern MCM.（3） On an annual basis,both the trend in rainstorms and heavy rain displayed a seesaw pattern between the western and eastern MCM.（4） The precipitation intensity in rainstorms, heavy rain, and moderate rain made a greater contribution to changes in the total precipitation than precipitation frequency. The results of this study will improve our understanding of the trends and differences in precipitation changes in different areas of the MCM. This is not only useful for the management and mitigation of flood disasters, but is also beneficial to the protection of water resources across the MCM.

A Glance at Science-Related Museums on the Chinese Mainland

Science-related museums are a special kind of museum concerned with science,technology,the natural world,and other relevant issues.On the Chinese mainland,the emergence and development of science-related museums have been influenced by both Western culture and Chinese culture and society.These museums,which include science and technology museums,science centers,specialized museums,and scientific sites,play multiple roles,acting as bases for popular science and patriotic education,research institutes,etc.Today,such museums are attracting more and more public and scholarly attention.

Supply and Demand Levels for Livestock and Poultry Products in the Chinese Mainland and the Potential Demand for Feed Grains

The widening gap between the supply and demand levels for livestock and poultry products in the Chinese mainland poses a significant challenge to the secure supply of feed grains. Therefore, the accurate prediction of the demand potential for feed grains represents a key scientific issue for ensuring food security in the Chinese mainland. This study is based on an analysis of several factors, such as the Chinese mainland’s output, trade volume, apparent consumption of livestock and poultry products, and two different scenarios for predicting the future demand for feed grains are assessed. The results indicate that output and consumption of livestock and poultry products, as well as the country’s trade deficit and the pressure of the supply and demand balance with respect to these products, have been increasing in recent years. The analysis predicts that the demand for feed grains in the Chinese mainland will reach 425.5 or 389.6 million tons in 2030 based on the two scenarios. This finding indicates that with the increasing demand for livestock and poultry products in the Chinese mainland, the demand for feed grains will continue to increase, and the shortfall in feed grains and raw materials will expand further, especially dependence on external sources of protein-rich feed grains will remain high.

Surface wave tomography of the crust and upper mantle of Chinese mainland and its neighboring region

The three dimensional S wave velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle of Chinese mainland and its neighboring region is obtained by genetic algorithm of surface wave tomography, with smoothness constraint, based on 25 wave group velocities for the periods from 10 s to 92 s, measured from long period Rayleigh waves recorded by 11 stations of CDSN and 12 digital seismometers surrounding China. The S wave velocity image is shown on two latitudinal sections along 30°N and 38°N, two longitudinal sections along 90°E and 120°E, and four horizontal slices at the different depths.

Exploring the Case for Monetary Integration between the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong

This paper presents an empirical investigation on an important policy issue, namely, whether there is any evidence supporting monetary integration between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. We follow two lines of inquiry. First, we present a series of simple tests to find the extent to which trade and/or financial linkages exist between the two regions. Second, we use simple inflation and output differentials and structural VAR techniques to test for the degree of business cycle synchronization between the two regions. The results indicate that there is evidence supporting the existence of trade linkages and that there is also support for the possible synchronization of business cycles. We discuss the implications of this for monetary integration between Hong Kong and the mainland

The Impact of Investing in Emerging Markets on Firm Performance: An Exploratory Study of Taiwan Residents Multinational Enterprises in the Chinese Mainland

Ⅰ.IntroductionDuring the past two decades,many multinationalenterprises(MNEs)have made substantial investmentsin emerging markets.Two factors dominate thereasoning in favor of such an investment strategy:lowlabor costs and the large size of the markets in the hostcountries.While these two economic factors seem quite

The structure features of stick-slip mechanism of the strike-slip earthquake generating structure in the interior of the Chinese mainland

This is the third one of the paper series on the strike slip earthquake generating structure in the interior of the Chinese mainland. The features of the tectonic stress field of strike slip earthquake generating structure were discussed in the first paper (Huan et al ., 1994), and the features of the deformation field of strike slip earthquake were presented in the second paper (Hun et al ., 1994). In the first section of this paper, through the analysis of the strike slip earthquake generating structure of several dozen large earthquakes with magnitude greater than 6.0, it is concluded that almost all strike slip earthquake generating faults are characterized by the oblique arranged distribution, and the barrier structure mode about the adhesive slip movement of strike slip is put forward; then in the second section, its four types, due to the different fracture form of the barrier at the ends, are also discussed; finally in the third section, the fracture terminating scale of the barrier of strike slip earthquake generating fault is also discussed.

Letters

By 2050,there will be 2.2 million centenarians[in the world,compared to 135,000 in 1998],that is one of every 5,000 people.The largest centenarian population in 2050 is projected to be in China.By 2050,Japan will have the highest proportion of centenarians,2.6 per 1,000 of the total population.