進入英語學習論壇下載音頻 去聽寫專區一展身手

The city's first law to ban smoking, which applies to 12 types of public venues, such as schools, hospitals, shopping malls, Internet cafe and elevators, took effect Monday. Random checks showed that most establishments are following the law, and volunteers are working to enforce it.

The law requires public venues, including bars, restaurants and hotels, to set up designated non-smoking areas. People who smoke in banned areas will be first warned by supervisors, and then fined 50 yuan ($7.30) to 200 yuan if they refuse to stop, according to the law.

On the first day the new law took effect, a China Daily reporter randomly selected eight restaurants and found that most restaurants have set up non-smoking areas with "No smoking" signs. Some also posted the supervision hotline numbers on the wall.

However, a common phenomenon is that most non-smoking areas in the restaurants are smaller than the smoking areas and there is no partition between them.

Tang Liang, manager of a Cantonese restaurant on Huaihai Road, said: "Our restaurant had a non-smoking section before but we have doubled its size according to the new law."

Even so, the space of the non-smoking section only accounts for 30 to 40 percent of the entire restaurant.

The smoking ban seemed to be well received in local schools and hospitals.

In some shopping malls and supermarkets, people who held a burning cigarette soon put them out at the volunteers' persuasion.

Shi Qiao, a 33-year-old manager of a cafe, welcomed the new law.

"What the authorities are doing will not only stop people from smoking but also save people's lives," he said. His cafe receives more than 300 customers each day, and more than half of them smoke, he said.

"The new law is good news for all of the people who work and breathe in second-hand smoke every day," Shi said.

According to earlier reports, more than 80 percent of local residents support the new law.

Questions:

1. When did the new law take effect?

2. Name two of the twelve places it affects?

3. How much is the fine?

Answers:

1. Monday.

2. Schools, hospitals, shopping malls, Internet cafee and elevators.

3. 50 to 200 yuan.

去聽寫專區一展身手

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.