The Beijing 2008 volunteer department reports that there will be services in 55 languages during the Beijing 2008 Winter Olympic Games and thousands of professional volunteers are needed to provide these language services. In December volunteers were tested for their proficiency in languages and all those who have met the requirements have been placed in a “pool of language volunteers”, reports People’s Daily.
Meanwhile China is closing one in ten petrol service stations in Beijing because of air pollution fears. More than 150 will be shut by the end of May because it would cost too much to fit them with special nozzles to return the fumes to the underground tanks rather than allow them to disperse into the air.
