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　　Experienced actor Zhang Guoli went on extreme diet to better fit into his new role in“Jian Guo Da Ye”, a big budget film celebrating the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China．

　　The television-film begins at the end of World War Ⅱ and is based on real events that took place during the years leading up to the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949．It focuses on the birth of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference(CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body．

　　Zhang Guoli, famous for a series of ancient emperor roles, played the Kuomintang(KMT)leader Chiang Kai-shek．Zhang was reported to have reduced his food intake and eating only one meal each day, to better look like this historical figure．

　　The result was obvious and he lost 5.5 kg in half a month．

　　Sina.com reported, Zhang first refused to play the role for the big difference between his image and Chiang Kai-shek．

　　Despite Zhang's wavering confidence at the beginning, his friends believed that he could do it．Vivian Wu Junmei, a Chinese actress who became internationally known for her role in the Oscar-winning film“The Last Emperor”, said Zhang Guoli not only resembles Chiang in appearance but also in spirit．

　　“I think what really makes Zhang Guoli successful is not his look but the resemblance in spirit．The way he deals with some details in his acting is very captivating．”Vivian Wu added she could not think of anyone else who could do the role better．

　　Vivian Wu, also the star of“The Soong Sisters”, played a much more mature Madame Chiang Kai-shek(Mayling Soong)during the period of 1945～1949．

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　　It is true that the first Olympic Games of the modern times in 1896 were not open to women．Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who gave new life to the Games, was very much a man of his time．

　　He didn't like women showing up for the Games．But since this time, things have changed．History shows that the number of women participating in the Olympic Games has been increasing over the years, since their first participation in the 1900 Olympic Games and especially in the last 30 years．This development is of social, political and cultural significance(意义)．

　　The progress is the result of the cooperation(合作)of the entire Olympic Movement and of proper measures that the International Olympic Committee(IOC), International Sports Federations(IFs), and National Olympic Committees(NOCs)have taken．Especially in the last 20 years, the IOC has enlarged the women's program at the Olympic Games, in cooperation with IFs and the Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games(OCOGs)．This development was further strengthened(巩固)by the IOC's decision that all sports must have women's events．The IOC also started to work on increasing the number of women at leadership level in sport in 1981．Former President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who wanted to have women as IOC members made a great contribution(贡献)．

　　Many sports volunteers have worked to increase the number of women joining in the Olympic Games．This progress has been made also thanks to the strong determination of women from different countries of the world who have worked to make sure women are fully represented in all sports．

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Beach, Samba, Carnival(狂欢节)

　　It seems that Brazilians are always ready to party．Well, they've got a good reason to party now：Rio de Janeiro(or Rio for short), their second largest city, got the 2016 Olympics on October 2．This is the first time in the 120-year history of the modern Olympics that they will be held in South America．It seems the five Olympic rings make more sense now that they've included another continent．And, just as Beijing got the world's attention after receiving the 2008 Olympic nod(同意)in 2001, Rio de Janeiro's win has put the spotlight on Brazil．

Football

　　The colors green and yellow might make most people think of Brazil's football team rather than the national flag．But football in Brazil is more than sport, it's a way of life．The World Cup brings Brazilians together．Interestingly, the general elections(大选)in Brazil are usually held in the same year as the World Cup．Political parties try to take advantage of the patriotic enthusiasm(爱国热情)created by football and bring it into politics．

Carnival

　　“Live Your Passion(激情)”was the Rio team's slogan(口号)．The carnival is one of the most powerful images of Brazilian enthusiasm．It's held every year across the country, with street parades and exciting music．The parade in Rio is one of the world's biggest carnivals．Every February, tens of thousands of people go there for the event．

The economy

　　The Rio bid(申办)team set up a ＄14.4 billion(98 billion yuan)budget(预算)for the games－the largest of this year's bidding cities．What stands behind the big budget is Brazil's stronger economy．Brazil's is the largest national economy in Latin America, and has experienced a giant leap(飞跃)in the past few years．

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　　Twenty-five years ago director Stephen Spielberg captured the hearts of Western audiences with his family classic E．T．．Now Hong Kong director Stephen Chow is trying to do the same trick in China．

　　Chow's latest movie CJ7(《长江七号》), in cinemas now, is a heart-warming story about a poor migrant worker(外来务工者)and his son．When a strange alien enters their lives, father and son learn a lesson about the value of family．Chow hopes his movie will help to make family films more popular in China．

　　Family films have been the main part of the Hollywood market for the last 40 years．They have given audiences movies like E．T．, Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park．However, there are few of these movies in China, where expensive history films are more popular．

　　A family film is not simply a children's movie．It is a film that is not only suitable for children, but appeals to the whole family．

　　According to Raymound Zhou, a famous film critic, these films are rare in China because“very few families go to the cinema together”．Because of this, there is little demand for movies that attract the whole family．

　　However, in the West, it is common for the family to sit down and watch a movie together．Tim Bridges, from London, says,“I love it at Christmas when I sit down and watch a movie with my family．”

　　All family films contain similar messages about being honest, remaining positive and learning there is more to life than money．According to the American movie reviewer, Dave Johnson, this is because“When parents watch a movie, they want their children to be learning good values”．

　　Just like when the alien in Spielberg's E．T．phones home to make contact with his family, Chow will hope Chinese audiences are tuned in and ready to receive his family movie message．

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　　Reading books has long been a way to relax．However, in this modern age of computers, the Internet, DVD movies and MP3 players, the simple act of reading a book has taken a back seat．People want something more interactive(交互式的)than just pages to turn．We seem to be turning away from the joy of reading a good book, but there is an answer．

　　Audio books have been around for a long time．But most people think that audio books are just for people with eyesight problems．This is one of their uses, of course, but it is far from the full story．

　　Audio books are in the form of either cassette tapes or CDs．The beauty of them is that the whole story is read often by well-known actors and actresses．It is like having your own play．There are many kinds of audio books, so you are sure to find one that suits your tastes．The really good thing of listening to an audio book is that you can listen to it wherever you want to．

　　Audio books do not just tell stories－they also provide language lessons．Imagine learning to speak a number of key Japanese phrases while you do the ironing, or learning basic French while doing the housework．Audio books can be found in most big bookstores, as well as over the Internet．There are books for people of all ages, including kids．If you are a member of a local library, you will also find audio books to borrow, so you can try one and decide if you really want to buy one．

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　　Marjorie Gestring

　　Marjorie Gestring was a springboard(跳板)diver from the United States who won the gold medal in 3?meter springboard diving at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany at the age of 13 years．With the cancellation(取消)of the Olympics in 1940 and 1944 because of World War Ⅱ, Gestring did not get a chance to defend her title, and her comeback attempt for the 1948 Summer Olympics failed．

　　Bob Mathias

　　17-year-old American Bob Mathias won the decathlon(十项全能运动)only four months after taking up the sport．He is the youngest athlete in Olympic history to win a men's track and field event．By the time Mathias retired from decathlon competition in 1952, he had nine victories in nine competitions．He had won two gold medals separately in 1948 and 1952．In 1954 a film about his early life called The Bob Mathias Story was made, in which he and his wife played themselves．

　　Fu Mingxia

　　Fu Mingxia was born on August 16, 1978 in Wuhan, Hubei Province．At an early age, her father taught her to swim at a nearby river．She started exercising gymnastics at age 5, soon turning to diving．Fu Mingxia left home at age 9 to train in Beijing．In the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, Fu Mingxia became China's youngest Olympic champion ever when she won the 10-meter platform gold at the age of 13．

　　Ian Thorpe

　　Ian Thorpe was born on 13 October, 1982．He is a former Australian freestyle swimmer．At the age of 14, he became the youngest male ever to represent Australia．Ian Thorpe, 17 years old, won the gold medal in the 400m freestyle by breaking his own world record in Sydney 2000．He has won five Olympic gold medals．

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　　I was the middle child of three, but there was a gap of five years on either side, and I hardly saw my father before I was eight．For this and other reasons I was somewhat lonely．I had the lonely child's habit of making up stories and holding conversations with imaginary persons, and I think from the very start my literary ambitions(文学志向)were mixed up with the feeling of being isolated(孤独)and undervalued．I knew that I had a natural ability with words and a power of facing unpleasant facts, and I felt that this created a sort of private world in which I could get my own back for my failure in everyday life．

　　However, the quantity of serious writing which I produced all through my childhood would not add up to half a dozen pages．I wrote my first poem at the age of four or five, my mother taking it down to dictation．I cannot remember anything about it except that it was about a tiger and the tiger had“chair-like teeth”－a good enough expression．At eleven, when the war of 1914～1918 broke out, I wrote a poem which was printed in the local(地方的)newspaper, as was another, two years later, on the death of Kitchener．From time to time, when I was a bit older, I wrote bad and usually unfinished“nature poems”．I also, about twice, attempted a short story which was a failure．That was the total of the would-be serious work that I actually set down on paper during all those years．

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　　The owner of a missing cat is asking for help．“My baby has been missing for over a month now, and I want him back so badly,”said Mrs．Brown．She said that Clyde, her 7-year-old cat, didn't come home for dinner more than a month．The next morning he didn't appear for breakfast, either．So she called the police．

　　“Is Clyde your child or your pet?”the officer doubtfully asked．“Well, he's my cat, of course．”Mrs．Brown replied．“Lady, you're supposed to report missing PERSONS, not missing CATS．You have to ask your neighbors, hand out leaflets(传单)or take other measures,”said the policeman．

　　Mrs．Brown thought a billboard(广告牌)would work better than a piece of paper on a telephone pole．There was an empty billboard at the end of her street just off the highway．The billboard had a phone number on it．She called that number, and they told her they could blow up a picture of Clyde and put it on the billboard for all to see．It would cost ＄3, 000 a month．So she took most of her money and rented the billboard for a month．

　　A month has passed, but Clyde has not appeared．She has almost no money in savings, so she called the local newspaper to see if anyone could help her rent the billboard for another month．

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　　The next time you use telephone and Internet, you can probably thank Charles Kao(高锟), who was one of the Nobel Prize in physics winners on October 6, 2009．His idea of fiber-optic(光纤)communications has made the modern telephone and Internet possible．People can exchange text, music and photos around the world within seconds thanks to this technology．

　　Half the＄1.4 million prize goes to Charles Kao, 75, for discovering how to send light signals long distance through hair-thin glass fibers．The other half goes to the Americans Boyle, 85, and Smith, 79, for inventing a sensor(传感器)that turns light into electrical signals．Their invention led to digital cameras．

　　Kao was born in Shanghai in 1933 and now has both American and British citizenship(公民身份)．

　　Kao has been interested in science since he was a boy．He once tried making a bomb(炸弹)at home using chemicals and water; then he threw it in the street．Fortunately, no one was hurt!

　　After primary school and the first year of middle school, Kao moved to Hong Kong with his family．He went to Hong Kong University, but he had to go to London University to study electrical engineering．Later he studied fiber-optic communications．

　　Kao said in 1966 that glass fibers could carry light over long distances．Not many took him seriously at the time．But in 1970, researchers in the US were able to make the material．

　　Today the fibers are used throughout the world in computer cables and other cables．The light that flows through them sends text, music, pictures and video globally in less than a second．If you put together all the fibers in the world, you would get a single thread over 1 billion kilometers long．That is enough to go around the globe more than 25, 000 times．

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Dear Customers,

　　I love slipping into a comfortable chair for a long read－as I relax into the chair, I also relax into the author's word, stories and ideas．The physical book is so elegant(优美的)that it disappears into the background, and what remains is the author's world．

　　Today, we at Amazon are excited to announce Mindle, a wireless, portable reading device with instant access to more than 90, 000 books, magazines, and newspapers．We've been working on Mindle for more than three years．Our top design objective was for Mindle to disappear in your hands－to get out of the way－so you can enjoy your reading．We also wanted to go beyond the physical book．Mindle is wireless, so whether you're lying in bed or riding a train, you can think of a book and have it in less than 60 seconds．No computer is needed－you do your reading directly from the device．

　　We chose the same wireless technology used in advanced mobile phones．But unlike phones there are no monthly wireless bills, no service or data plans, and no yearly contracts．There is no software to install．We want you to get lost in your reading and not in the technology．

　　Mindle uses a new kind of display called electronic paper．Sharp and natural with no strong light, reading on Mindle is nothing like reading from a computer screen．

　　Mindle weighs only 10.3 ounces－less than a paperback－but can carry two hundred books．

　　Enjoy learning about Mindle and many thanks!

　　Jeff Bezos

　　Founder&CED