進入英語學習論壇下載音頻 去聽寫專區一展身手

Nearly one toy in 10 failed to pass a recent quality inspection, according to the latest sampling results released by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

On May 27, the administration published the results of the tests on its website, saying 20 of the 242 toys it picked at random at markets in Hebei, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Hubei and Guangdong did not meet national mandatory quality requirements.

Among the substandard toys, 12 were found to have sharp edges that could hurt a child, two contained heavy metals such as lead and chromium, and others had dangerous protuberances.

Heavy metals contained in toys can cause chronic poisoning if they accumulate in the human body, according to Hu Xiaohong, a pediatrician at the No 304 Hospital in Beijing.

The inspection also sampled children's shoes and bicycles made in China, of which 17.5 percent of the sampled shoes and 20 percent of the bicycles were detected as having safety problems, such as containing excessive formaldehyde and having poor durability.

"I'm not really worried so much about the visible defects in quality, such as sharp edges. What is really frightening is the invisible danger, like the heavy metals," said Shen Yin, a 60-year-old Beijing resident who looks after her grandson.

Every year on Children's Day, which falls on June 1, Shen's 3-year-old grandson receives a number of toys from relatives. She said she is always worried about their safety.

"Some toys have very tiny parts that children could swallow, others have the unpleasant smell of plastics. I have to sort out the toys that my grandson cannot play with, or that he can only play with when accompanied by adults," Shen said.

Questions:

1. How many toys out of ten fail quality inspection tests?

2. When did the administration publish the results of tests?

3. What percentage of bicycles had defects?

Answers:

1. One in ten.

2. May 27.

3. 20 percent.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

Todd Balazovic is a reporter for the Metro Section of China Daily. Born in Mineapolis Minnesota in the US, he graduated from Central Michigan University and has worked for the China Daily for one year.