Lesson 19 Changes in Social Life

Changes in Daily Life

Before the founding of New China, prices were soaring and people's livelihood was withering. After the founding of New China, the people became the masters of their own house, the economy recovered, prices stabilized, people's lives changed fundamentally, and living standards continued to improve. Since the reform and opening up, people's lives have improved significantly.

Before the reform and opening up, due to the low level of economic development and the serious lack of commodities, people had to buy clothes with cloth tickets, which were not only limited in quantity, but also monotonous in color and style. Everyone wore the same gray Zhongshan suit or blue liberation suit, and the crowd on the street was described as a "sea of blue and gray". After the reform and opening up, with the rapid development of the economy and the liberation of ideology, people's clothing became colorful. Various brands of clothing competed in the stores, and fashion shows became a beautiful scenery. Clothing is not only a tool to keep out the cold, but also a way to show people's style and personality.

"People are food for the day", before and after the reform and opening up, the "food" changes a lot. In the past, people's diet structure is relatively single, some rural areas have not even solved the most basic food and clothing problems. After the reform and opening up, more than a billion people's food problem has basically been solved, people can not only "eat", but also "eat well", pay attention to balanced nutrition, coarse and fine, green food and other scientific and health concepts are increasingly popular.

Before the reform and opening up, people's housing was crowded, and the indoor facilities were very simple. After the reform and opening up, the situation has changed greatly, not only the per capita living area has been expanded, but also the interior decoration and living environment have been significantly improved.

Since the reform and opening up, the income of urban and rural residents has been increasing, the total amount of consumption has been growing, and the consumption structure has been optimized. With the improvement of people's living standard, leisure and entertainment have become a part of people's daily life. People began to focus on and enjoy culture, tourism, fitness and other leisure life, and their lifestyles have changed greatly.

Continuous development of transportation and communication

Before the founding of New China, China's transportation conditions were very backward. After the founding of New China, the country invested huge amounts of money to improve transportation conditions and made great achievements. By the end of 2010, China's railroad mileage had ranked second in the world, and since 1997, the national railroad has achieved several major speed increases, greatly improving operational efficiency. Road transportation has also developed at a relatively fast pace. A relatively dense highway network has been established throughout the country, and a highway bridge has been built over the Yellow River, Yangtze River and other fast-flowing rivers, and many remote and isolated mountainous areas have been opened to cars. China's highway mileage has been among the forefront of the world. Now all major cities and some medium-sized cities and tourist resorts have airlines, and there are direct airlines with major cities of many countries in the world, and China has become a major civil aviation country in the world. Urban road construction is also developing rapidly, and many cities are vigorously

Many cities are vigorously developing rail transportation to improve urban traffic conditions. The construction of railroads, highways, civil aviation, water transportation and underground rail transportation is developing rapidly, and a comprehensive transportation network has been formed.

With the improvement of transportation facilities and the improvement of people's living standards, people's travel methods have also changed greatly. In addition to bicycles, buses, cabs, and the convenient subway, private cars have also entered the homes of ordinary people. For long-distance travel, people can choose from trains, cars, planes and ships.

After the founding of New China, the state continuously increased its investment in telecommunications and gradually formed a national telecommunications network. After the reform and opening up, the telecom industry developed rapidly. Today, China's telecommunications network is the largest in the world in terms of size and number of subscribers, and the speed of development is also among the highest in the world. In most areas of the country, fixed-line telephones have long entered thousands of households, and the use of cell phones is very common.

Although China's Internet started late, it is developing rapidly. As of June 2015, the size of China's Internet users reached 668 million, and the Internet penetration rate reached 48.8%. The development of communication business and the change of communication methods have made the transmission of information fast and easy, and profoundly changed people's ideology and lifestyle.

（808words）