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　　Peter the Great(1672－1725)wanted his city to be unique(独特的)in Russia．So he filled it with canals like those of Venice, baroque(巴洛克式的)palaces and British townhouses．Now the city has celebrated its 300th anniversary(周年纪念)．

　　Naming the city was a difficult matter．At first, Peter the Great called his huge ambitions new Russian city Sankt Pieter Burkh．But, he soon changed this to St Petersburg．When World War Ⅰ broke out in 1914, it was renamed Petrograd．On the death of Lenin in 1924, it became Leningrad．After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, it returned to St Petersburg．Many people call it plain Peter today．This seems appropriate given that “petra” means stone(in Russian and Latin)and there was a time when all of Russia’s available(可用的)stones were sent there to build Peter’s magnificent(雄伟的)“Window on the West”．

　　From the start, St Petersburg was a very modern, international city．It first became the Russian capital in 1712 and, with this in mind, Peter hired a great deal of international talent to build and develop it．

　　The most obvious effect of this arrival of foreigners was in the layout(设计)of the city’s streets, parks, palaces and government buildings．Although bombed to near destruction by Adolf Hitler’s forces in the 1940s, the city was rebuilt, stone by stone．What you see around you in the end of Catherine the Great’s reign(统治)in 1796 when, after nearly a century, Peter’s city was one of the finest cities in the world．

　　Peter the Great’s city was, and now remains a meeting point for the cultures of Russia and Europe, whether you are one of the 49 percent of its population who, in 1991, voted to remain its revolutionary name, Leningrad, or the 51 percent who opted for St Petersburg．To everyone, it remains Peter, an architectural stone of race and fancinating beauty．

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　　I was the last person to get on the plane．

　　I found my seat and discovered that I was sitting next to a four-year-old boy who had a cold．I sat down and wondered if anything else could go wrong．

　　I hate flying, especially take-off, but the planes took off and everything seemed to be all right．Then a few minutes later, there was a funny noise and everything started to shake．I looked out of the window and－oh, my God－there was smoke coming out of the wing．All I could think was “The engine is on fire．We’re going to crash．I’m too young to die．”

　　Almost immediately, the captain spoke to us in a very calm voice, “Ladies and gentlemen．This is your captain speaking．We are having a slight technical problem with our engines．There is absolutely no need to panic．We will have to return to the airport．Please remain seated and keep your seat belts fastened．”

　　Well you can imagine how frightened I was, but the crew were fantastic．The flight attendants were really calm and told us not to worry．One of them told me to relax and said that everything would be all right．

　　A few minutes later, we were coming into land．The pilot made a perfect landing on the runway．It was over．We were safe．

　　That day, I decided not to fly again．I caught another taxi and went home．But as I closed the front door, I looked down at my case．Somehow I had picked up the wrong suitcase．

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　　Many young people want to become pop-stars．It is their great ambition(雄心)of life．They think：pop stars earn a lot of money; they lead interesting and exciting lives; thousands of fans love them; they become famous!

　　Yes, but first they must become stars．Most performers start life with a group．This is the pattern nowadays．But there are many groups and the competition is hard．Groups appear and disappear almost overnight．Only a small number survive．Almost without exception(例外)they have to work very hard before they reach the top．

　　And very few reach the top-and stay there．In England there are perhaps thirty or so groups at the top．Most of these do not earn so much money：perhaps 500 pounds each time they perform．What’s more, they have quite a lot of expenses．They have to pay a manager, for example．He is the key person in their lives and he takes about 20% of their earnings-perhaps more．Then there are their clothes, their instruments and their van(车)．Sometimes they are still playing for the last two items．

　　And don’t forget, they have to travel a great deal-sometimes 2000 miles in one week．At times they even sleep in their van instead of a hotel, just to save money．

So now, what do you think? Are pop-stars so rich? And do they have such exciting lives?

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　　It’s only 34 centimetres tall but, as the highest honour in the world of cinema, an Oscar is worth its weight in gold．

　　Just saying its name draws up images of red carpets, bubbling champagne(冒泡的香槟), beautiful stars and, most importantly of all, success．

　　When the 76th Academy Awards were presented this morning in Los Angeles, US, the winners became headline news across the world just as the first Academy Awards．Organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the first Academy Awards ceremony took place at a Hollywood hotel on May 16, 1929．All the guests knew who had won in advance; the present system of keeping it a secret until the envelope is opened was introduced in 1941．

　　The trophy(奖品)is the figure of a knight(骑士)holding a sword．The first awards were solid bronze but a metal shortage during World War Ⅱ meant the trophies were made of plaster(石膏)for a while．Nowadays, the figures are made of metal and given an outer coating of gold．

　　Officially known as the Academy Award of Merit, it isn’t clear where the nickname(昵称)Oscar came from．One popular explanation is that an Academy librarian said it looked like her uncle Oscar and the name just stuck．

　　The timing of the ceremony has only been disturbed on three occasions．The first was in 1938 when serious floods in Los Angeles delayed the awards by one week．Then in 1968 the ceremony was moved from April 8 to April 10 out of respect for Dr．Martin Luther King, who had been assassinated(暗杀)a few days earlier．Another assassination－a failed attempt on President Ronald Reagan－saw the Oscars delayed by 24 hours in 1981．

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　　Good evening．Tonight’s broadcast brings together music from different corners of the world．The records we have chosen for you are from classical Western music, Indian music, pop and a Negro spiritual(黑人的圣歌)．In this broadcast we shall study the language of music．We shall try to find out how music says what people feel．You will hear a Beethoven piano piece, a composition from the sitar(西他, 一种弦乐器), and songs sung by a pop group and some others．I shall be trying to explain why they are all good music．

　　The feeling in each of these four musical compositions is sadness．You can find sadness in words, in paintings, and in music．The word “music” comes from the Greek word “muse”．The muses were goddesses of the arts．Music is only one of the arts．It is like the spoken language, but uses sounds differently．In the spiritual and the pop song you will hear only the piano or the sitar．I shall be saying a few words after each record．Music is now heard everywhere, in shops and buses and at home．We shall be trying to find out more about how music works．It is worth making the effort．Only then can we say why one piece of music is good and another bad．

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　　Every August on the island of Heimaey, off the southern coast of Iceland, young people often take a walk along the street throughout the night．What’s more, their parents allow them to stay out．Why? The children of Heimaey are going to save young puffins－small black－and white seabirds．

　　The cliffs above the town are home to a large group of puffins．The birds dig holes all around the cliffs．These holes are their homes．Their young stay in the holes for about seven weeks．Then they begin to leave．Some move slowly on their undeveloped wings and fell down to the northern Atlantic Ocean that surrounds Heimaey．There they swim, which they can do naturally, and learn to dive for fish．Others, however, may lose their way at night and find themselves in the town instead．On the ground, the young seabirds are in trouble．Because their wings are not fully developed, they cannot take off quickly to sea and safety．The birds then become a good meal for cats and other animals．

　　For many years, islanders have helped the young puffins．Early at night in late August, children carrying thick paper boxes and lights hurry to the seashore to catch puffins．They spend most of the night running after the birds．They put the birds they’ve caught in boxes and take good care of them．

　　The next morning the children take the puffins to the ocean and set them free．The birds will live at sea until they are at least two years old．Then they will return to the cliffs to build homes of their own for their families．

　　Will the children of Heimaey always come to save puffiness? “Yes, ”answered the boy．“We look forward to it．The best time for us is setting the birds free．”

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　　The advantages and disadvantages of a large population have long been a subject of discussion among economists．It has been argued that the supply of good land is limited．To feed a large population, inferior land must be cultivated and the good land worked intensively, each person produces less and this means a lower average income that could be obtained with a smaller population．Other economists have argued that a large population gives more scope for specialization and the development of facilities such as ports, roads and railways, which are not likely to be built unless there is a big demand to justify them．

　　One of the difficulties in carrying out a world wide birth control program lies in the fact that official attitudes to population growth vary from country to depending on the level of industrial development and the availability of food and raw materials．In the developing country where a vastly expanded population is pressing hard upon the limits of food, space and natural resources, it will be the first concern of government to place a limit on the birthrate, whatever the consequences may be．In a highly industrialized society the problem may be more complex．A decreasing birthrate may lead to unemployment because it results in a declining market for manufactured goods．When the pressure of population on housing declines, prices also decline and the building industry is weakened．Faced with considerations such as these, the government of a developed country may well prefer to see a slowly increasing population rather than one which is stable or in decline．

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　　Elephants don’t forget－at least, female(雌性的)elephants don’t．Elephant families are matriarchal．And the social knowledge gained by the oldest females is the key to a family group’s survival(生存), according to a study published in April by Karen McComb, a biologist at Sussex University in England．

　　Elephants announce their presence by making a deep, long sound, a practice referred to as contact calling(联络呼叫)．An unfamiliar call may mean that an elephant from outside the family group is nearby．A stranger can cause trouble, interrupting feeding or disturbing the young．So an elephant matriarch signals the family to gather around her; then they all lift their trunks in the air to smell the unfamiliar caller．False alarms can disturb the group and take time and energy away from feeding, so survival may depend in part on getting it right．

　　Working with Cynthia Moss, who founded the Amboseli Elephant Research Project in Kenya 30 years ago, McComb tested the social knowledge of 21 Amboseli elephant families with matriarchs 27 to 67 years old．She played recordings of contact calls to each family and found that the oldest matriarchs were much better at picking out unfamiliar calls．In fact, a group with a matriarch in her fifties was several thousand times more likely to form into a group upon hearing an unfamiliar contact call than when hearing a familiar call．However, families with younger matriarchs were less than twice as likely to gather together upon hearing an unfamiliar contact call as compared with a familiar call．And they gathered together a lot．Moreover, the social knowledge of older matriarchs translated into favourable results：Families with older matriarchs produced more baby elephants in each female-reproductive year．

　　This finding shows how difficult it is to protect the oldest members of elephant families．As elephants age, they continue to grow larger, as do their much wanted tusks(象牙)．So the older－and wiser－a matriarch is, the greater the chance she will be killed．About 800 000 elephants have been killed by people in the past 20 years．

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　　As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food．Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more．

　　Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes．They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children．But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make．That can have an important effect on the children．“In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says．“And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is．”

　　The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings(兄弟姐妹)．Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention．“Middle children are invisibles”, says Lewis．“When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child．” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention：“When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event．”

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　　You’ve probably heard of a lot about the Internet, but what is it?

　　The Internet is a computer network that uses the telephone system to connect together millions of computers around the world．

　　Maybe that isn’t very exciting but once you’re connected to the Internet, there are lots and lots of different things you can do．You can send electronic messages or “e-mails” to your friends(as long as they’re on the Internet, too), or you can sort through all kinds of information on something called the World Wide Web．

　　You don’t need to know how the Internet works in order to use it, but if you understand the basics, it may help you work out any technical problems you have－and of course you can help your friends with your Net knowledge!

　　You may think that your telephone is just for talking．But as long as you have the equipment, you can use a telephone line to send computer data(数据)as well as sounds．If you connect your computer with the telephone system it can receive information from, and send information to other computers(as long as they are connected with the telephone system, too)．

　　Because there is not an organization which operates the Internet, no one exactly knows how many people are connected to it．It’s thought that there could be 60 million people on the Net, connected up to over 15 million computers!