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People gather at the Mingyangshan Mortuary House in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province on Monday to bid farewell to Yuan Longping, dubbed the "father of hybrid rice". The top rice scientist died of organ failure at age 91 in the city on May 22, 2021. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

>Farewell to 'father of hybrid rice'

送别'杂交水稻之父'袁隆平

China on Monday morning held a memorial service to bid farewell to Yuan Longping, known as the "father of hybrid rice," who passed away on Saturday. Despite being a busy work day, thousands of people dressed in black showed up and laid flowers at the site before the service began at 10 am in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province. The top rice scientist, who in 1973 developed the first high-yield hybrid rice strain, died of organ failure at 91 in Changsha.

我国著名农业科学家、"杂交水稻之父"袁隆平因多器官功能衰竭于5月22日在湖南长沙逝世，享年91岁。5月24日上午10时，袁隆平遗体送别仪式在长沙举行。虽然是繁忙的工作日，但数千群众身着黑衣手持鲜花前来殡仪馆送别袁老。袁隆平是我国首席杂交水稻育种专家，他于1973年成功培育出高产量的籼型杂交水稻。

The agronomist spent over five decades researching and improving hybrid rice, which has reached its third generation, helping China work a great wonder - feeding nearly one-fifth of the world's population with less than 9 percent of the world's total arable land.

50多年来，袁隆平全心致力于研究和改进杂交稻，目前已经培育到了第三代。杂交水稻技术的进步创造了伟大的中国奇迹——我国用不到世界9%的耕地养活了世界近20%的人口。

His lifelong dedication to reducing hunger made him a household name in China, where getting enough to eat was once a serious problem.

在中国，袁隆平是一个家喻户晓的名字，因为他为解决老百姓温饱问题奉献了毕生精力。

In 2019, Yuan was awarded the Medal of the Republic, China's highest state honor.

2019年，袁隆平被授予国家最高荣誉奖"共和国勋章"。

This simulation shows the Chinese Martian rover, Zhurong. [Photo/China National Space Administration]

>Rover drives onto Martian surface

祝融号火星车驶上火星表面

China's first Mars rover, Zhurong, has started its scientific exploration after moving from the landing platform onto the Red Planet's surface, the China National Space Administration announced on Saturday. Zhurong's first successful drive made China the second country after the US to land and operate a rover on Mars. According to the telemetry data, Zhurong set its wheels on Martian soil at 10:40 am (Beijing Time) on Saturday, the space agency said.

国家航天局5月22日宣布，根据遥测数据判断，北京时间5月22日10时40分，我国第一辆火星车"祝融号"安全驶离着陆平台，到达火星表面，开始巡视探测。中国成为继美国之后第二个在火星着陆并部署火星车的国家。

China's Tianwen-1 mission, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, was launched on July 23, 2020.

2020年7月23日，我国成功发射天问一号火星探测器。天问一号火星探测器由环绕器、着陆器、火星车三部分组成。

The lander carrying the rover touched down in the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a vast plain on the northern hemisphere of Mars, on May 15.

今年5月15日，天问一号着陆巡视器成功着陆于火星北半球的乌托邦平原南部预选着陆区。

Rescue workers carry equipment to save runners who were victims of extreme weather during a mountain marathon race in Baiyin, Northwest China's Gansu province, on Saturday. [Photo/China News Service]

>21 runners die in extreme weather

白银马拉松赛21人遇难

Twenty-one marathoners－some among China's most promising athletes－died in extreme weather during an annual mountain ultramarathon in Baiyin, Northwest China's Gansu province, local authorities said on Sunday.

5月23日，甘肃省白银市政府表示，在白银市举办的年度山地马拉松百公里越野赛过程中，21名马拉松参赛人员遭遇极端天气后遇难，其中一些是顶尖选手。

Another eight were hospitalized for minor injuries, and the rest were rescued and are safe and sound.

另外，8人轻伤在医院救治，其余参赛人员已被安全救出。

The tragedy came after a round of hail, freezing rain and high winds caught 172 lightly dressed marathon runners off guard on Saturday as they were racing across winding mountainous tracks in the central part of Gansu.

5月22日，在甘肃中部蜿蜒的山地赛道上，172名参赛人员轻装上阵，遭遇冰雹、冻雨和大风袭击时措手不及，悲剧发生。

Local officials said temperatures fell sharply at about 1 pm, when most participants were 20 to 30 kilometers into the 100-km race.

当地官员表示，下午1点左右气温急剧下降，当时大部分参赛人员集中在百公里赛的20至30公里处。

The race was immediately halted as many runners began showing symptoms, including reduced body temperature, they added.

由于许多参赛者开始出现体温下降等症状，比赛立即叫停。

Local authorities said more than 1,200 rescuers had been deployed in the search for the missing.

当地政府表示，派出1200多名救援人员搜寻失联人员。

Poor signal reception in the mountains posed a major challenge during the operation, along with the complex terrain and falling temperatures overnight.

山区信号差，加上地形复杂，夜间气温下降，给救援行动带来了重大挑战。

Zhang Xuchen, mayor of Baiyin, said at a news conference on Sunday that he was remorseful and offered "deep condolences" to the families of the victims.

白银市市长张旭晨在5月23日的新闻发布会上说，他深感内疚和自责，并向遇难者家属表示"沉痛哀悼 "。

He described the tragedy as a "public security incident caused by local extreme weather", adding that the provincial government has begun to look into the deaths.

他将这起悲剧描述为"因局部地区天气突变发生的公共安全事件"，并补充说，甘肃省政府已开始就此次事件展开调查。

An aerial view of Fudao, a winding pedestrian greenway in Fuzhou, Fujian province. [Photo/China Daily]

>Air quality improved in April

4月339城空气质量改善

Air quality in Chinese cities improved in April, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

据生态环境部消息，4月份，中国城市的空气质量有所改善。

For 339 cities monitored by the ministry, the share of good air quality days stood at 92.5 percent last month, up 3.8 percentage points year on year, ministry data showed.

全国339个地级及以上城市平均空气质量优良天数比例为92.5%，同比上升3.8个百分点。

The average PM2.5 density dropped by 15.2 percent year-on-year and the average density of PM10 shrank 11.3 percent year-on-year to 55 micrograms per cubic meter.

PM2.5平均浓度同比下降15.2%；PM10平均浓度为55微克/立方米，同比下降11.3%。

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the neighboring area saw their share of good air quality days increase by 4.4 percentage points to 84.5 percent last month.

4月，京津冀及周边地区城市平均优良天数比例为84.5%，同比上升4.4个百分点。

In the first four months, the share of good air quality days stood at 83.8 percent, down 0.9 percentage points, while the average PM2.5 density dropped by 2.4 percent to 41 micrograms per cubic meter.

1-4月，全国339个地级及以上城市平均优良天数比例为83.8%，同比下降0.9个百分点。PM2.5平均浓度为41微克/立方米，同比下降2.4%。