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　　A typical Chinese Internet user is a young male who prefers instant messaging to e-mail, seldom makes online purchases and favors news, music and games sites．According to a study, about two-thirds of survey participants use the Internet for news－or for entertainment-related－or for online games．About half download music and movies．

　　They also tend to prefer instant messaging to e-mail, and they are depending on the Internet more frequently than before to communicate with others who have the same professions, hobbies and political interests．Online purchases still remain unpopular in China．Three-quarters of users have never bought anything over the Internet, and only 10 percent make purchases even once a month．Among those who do buy online, most pay for entertainment while others buy phone cards, or computer hardware or software．

　　“Many people don’t trust the quality of goods bought online,” Guo said Wednesday．“If they buy it in a store and don’t like it, they can easily bring it back．”

　　The survey was done in five major cities：Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Changsha．Results do not necessarily project countrywide because Internet use in rural areas is lower than in cities．Guo describes the typical netizen in the five cities surveyed as young, male, richer and more highly educated．Males make up two-thirds of the Internet community, and more than 80 percent of users are under 24．Among people aged 25 to 29, 60 percent to 80 percent go online．

　　China has more than 100 million people online, second in the world to the United States．

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　　BEIJING,Nov．25,2005(Reuters)－China’s home-grown human bird flu vaccine is at least a year away from hitting the market but tests on humans have been approved by the government, head of the research drug company said on Friday．

　　Development of the vaccine started last year after bird flu outbreaks in Thailand and Vietnam and animal trials have already been completed, said Yin Weidong, managing director of Sinovac Biotech．

　　“It is not a virus that is spreading from human to human, so we are very optimistic．” Yin told Reuters in an interview．

　　The deadly H5N1 made its first known jump to humans in Hong Kong in 1997,killing six people．The virus appeared again in late 2003 and is known to have infected 130 people in several parts of Asia, killing 68 of them．

　　“It is not decided yet when the human trials will begin．We just got approval on November 22 by the State Food and Drug Administration,” Yin said．

　　Oregon, Nov．26,2005(AP)－The deadly strain of bird flu that appeared in Asia and has already spread to other parts of the world has not affected the Oregon poultry industry or consumers, according to Oregon State University researchers．

　　There are many strains of bird flu that do not usually infect humans．But one strain, called H5N1,has jumped from chickens to humans and is blamed for more than 60 deaths in Asia．

　　International Disease Control experts are worried about a worldwide outbreak of bird flu, raising concerns such as whether it is safe to eat poultry．

　　But Oregon State University researchers say there is no proof that the virus can jump to humans by eating cooked poultry products．

　　“Consumers needn’t be overly concerned about bird flu,” said Jim Hermes, OSU Extension Service poultry specialist．But he urged consumers to follow standard food safety practices in preparing poultry－including washing hands while preparing food, and proper cooking of poultry meat and eggs．

　　He noted that a 2003 outbreak of bird virus caused much damage to commercial poultry operations in California but did not get into Oregon because of industry safeguards．

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　　CAIRO, Egypt(Reuters)April 24,2006－Three explosions shook the Egyptian Sinai resort of Dahab on Monday, killing 23 people and wounding dozens of others, rescue and security officials said．

　　Witnesses said smoke billowed up from the town’s tourist bazaar, and residents said they saw body parts and debris on the street after an explosion at a restaurant．

　　People in the small beach and diving resort, which is popular with backpackers, described scenes of carnage and chaos．

　　A cafe worker who was about 200 meters(yards)from the scene said：“We saw many dead people．People were screaming．People were being taken to hospital．Egyptians went to give blood．There were body parts．There’s police everywhere．”

　　“There are ambulances and cars taking people to hospital,” said another resident, who also did not want to be named．

　　The explosions took place at the Nelson Restaurant, the Aladdin Cafeteria and the Ghazala Supermarket, the Interior Ministry said．

　　The explosions took place in quick succession at about 7∶15 p. m．(1715 GMT)．“There is smoke coming from the area and there are people running everywhere,” said one witness, who heard the blasts．

　　An official with the local ambulance service said many of the dead appeared to be foreigners．

　　Israeli divers often stay in the resort but with the Passover holiday over it is unlikely many were there．The Israeli ambassador in Cairo and Israeli authorities said they did not know of any Israeli casualties．

　　One visitor said police were stopping cars and buses leaving the resort and had imposed restrictions on movements in and out of backpacker camps in the area．

　　It was the third set of three explosions on the eastern coast of the Sinai peninsula since October 2004,when a group attacked the Hilton hotel in the border resort of Taba and two other resorts on the northeast coast, killing 34 people．

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　　Every human being has a unique arrangement of the skin on his fingers and this arrangement is unchangeable．Scientists and experts have proved the uniqueness of finger-prints and discovered that no exactly similar pattern is passed on from parents to children, though nobody knows why this is the case．

　　The ridge structure on a person’s fingers does not change with growth and is not affected by surface injuries．Burns, cuts and other damage to the outer part of the skin will be replaced in time by new one, which bears a reproduction of the original pattern．It is only when the inner skin is injured that the arrange-ment will be destroyed．Some criminals make use of this fact to remove their own finger-prints but this is a dangerous and rare step to take．

　　Finger-prints can be made very easily with printer’s ink．They can identify by recorded easily．With special methods, identification can be achieved successfully within a short time．Because of the simplicity and economy of this system, finger-prints have often been used as a method of solving criminal case．A suspected man may deny a charge but this may be in vain．His finger-prints can prove who he is even if his appearance has been changed by age or accident．

　　When a suspect leaves finger-prints behind at the scene of a crime, they are difficult to detect with the naked eye．Special techniques are used to “develop” them．Some of the marks found are incomplete but identification is possible if a print of a quarter of an inch square can be obtained．

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　　Athens Olympic 110m hurdle champion Liu Xiang felt so relieved to return to racetrack after getting out of the great number of social activities．

　　Liu arrived in hometown Shanghai Wednesday night and was about to resume training shortly after．

　　“I am so exhausted from so many social activities, which made me even more tired than training,” said the 21-year-old Liu, who wrote a new chapter in China’s Olympic history by winning the country’s first ever athletics short-distance running title in the men’s 110m hurdles in Athens in August．

　　“I am happy that I will resume my training soon back in Shanghai,” said the Shanghai native．He turned into an instant national hero with the Olympic glory and one of the most popular Olympic gold medalists, taking part in scores of celebration activities since he returned to China early September．

　　“My regular training has been interrupted for such a long time that I think I can only run at about 13.5 seconds now．” said Liu, who clocked a world record-tying time of 12.91 to clinch the title．

　　“I would rather forget what I have achieved in the past and try my best to realize a higher goal,” he said．

　　Liu already missed the Berlin Golden League Series on Sunday and won’t be able to catch the IAAF Grand Prix final slated for September 18-19 in Monaco．

　　He plans on attending an IAAF all-star tournament in Japan at the end of this month．

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　　British male drivers waste nearly six million hours a year lost on the road because they are not ready to ask for directions．

　　Men who are lost wait an average of 20 minutes before giving up and asking for directions, while women only wait 10 minutes before seeking help, according to a study from Royal Automobile Club Direct Insurance．

　　Men even stand a “nogging(唠叨)period” of around 10 minutes from their partner before throwing in the towel and stopping to ask the way, the poll(民意测试)showed．

　　Based on responses from 2000 adults, the survey also showed：

　　Some 64 percent of couples admitted to having arguments over getting lost on the road．

　　Only 27 percent of couples plan their journeys before getting off．

　　Just 36 percent of couples rely on landmarks and road signs of find their destination．

　　One in four couples still write down basic directions on a bit of scrap paper．

　　RAC Direct Insurance product manager Craig Martin said awareness of the problem could improve driving standards．

　　“The anxiety, increased stress level and road rage that can be caused by getting lost are unnecessary distractions on today’s busy roads when motorists need to be alert and able to concentrate,” Martin said．

　　“These problems can easily be avoided if motorists just take a bit more time to plan their journeys,” he added．

　　Martin said new equipment is being fixed in cars．Such as satellite navigation systems is now being used by about one in five drivers．

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　　In an amazing feat, French surgeons have completed the first ever face transplant on a woman from Valenciennes, France．While this controversial(有争议的)operation has been studied and worked on for years by doctors around the world, until now one has never been successfully completed．

　　Doctors say that the woman, who lost her nose, lips and chin after being attacked by a dog, will not look like the donor．While this woman will never look like her old self again, these doctors gave her a completely new lower face after five hours of surgery．Since the dog’s attack the woman has not been able to eat or speak on her own, and this transplant gives her hope that she will eat and speak again．

　　The reason that face transplants have been so hard in the past is mainly because the body will reject transplants from another person．People who have transplants are put on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives．However, skin transplants will usually not take unless they come from a donor whose heart is still beating．In the case of the French woman’s face transplant, her donor was a multi-organ who was brain dead．

　　Even though this woman will now be able to live a more normal life, face transplants are still a very controversial form of surgery．

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Man caught after jumping White House fence

　　Updated：2006-04-10　08∶14

　　WASHINGTON－A screaming intruder(入侵者)made it onto the front lawn of the White House Sunday while President Bush was at home before being caught by Secret Service officers．

　　Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren recognized the man as 40-year-old Brian Lee Patterson, whose last known address was in Albuquerque, N．M．Patterson has been caught trying to get onto the White House grounds at least three times before, Zahren said．

　　The bearded man, wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt that said “God Bless America”, jumped the fence outside the White House and ran across the north lawn while repeatedly crying, “I am a victim of terrorism!”

　　Members of the Secret Service Emergency Response Team, including one holding a barking dog, ran after Patterson with their guns drawn and surrounded him near the row of cameras set up for television stand-ups．

　　“I have intelligence information for the president,” he said, waving his arms in the air．“I’m not afraid of you,” Patterson screamed at the officers who were ordering him to the ground with guns drawn．

　　Patterson finally kneeled on the ground and was taken into custody shortly before 4 p．m．He cut his hand jumping the fence and was taken to George Washington University Hospital for treatment and was to appear in court Monday, Zahren said．

　　Zahren said Patterson was charged with unlawful entry for the last time he jumped the fence, in February．He faces the same charge for Sunday’s incident and also a contempt of court charge for disobeying judge’s orders to stay away from the White House．

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　　Beijing(Xinhua)－Blind Chinese pianist Sun Yan, 23, will give a concert at the People’s Liberation Army(PLA)Theatre in downtown Beijing．

　　Sun, a student at the well-known China Central Conservatory of Music, was born with cataracts(白内障), which caused him to become blind．He started learning to play the piano when he was three years old and immediately gained acclaim(喝彩)as a piano virtuoso at the age of six．

　　Guo Shulan, head of the CCCM, said Sun was the first blind student the school had ever received in its half-century history．The well-known piano teacher, Yang Jun, taught Sun personally and found him to be greatly talented and strongly determined．

　　At his concert, Sun will play a dozen masterpieces by composers, such as Bach, Beethoven and Chopin．

　　“Common piano players may have a look at these long and difficult musical pieces while playing, but Sun would have to spend a much, much longer time to fully memorize a piece of music．” Yan said．“He plays the piano for at least six hours every day．”

　　With painstaking effort for the past few years．Sun achieved very good grades at school and also gained an audience worldwide．He was invited to visit dozens of countries and regions and even performed at top theatres such as Caregie Hall in the United States．

　　Top fashion brand Mark Fairwhale and piano manufacturer Bosendorfrr will offer Sun a financial support fund and the use of piano, respectively．The PLA Theatre will also provide him technical support and a stage setting design free of charge．Three schoolmates of Sun’s who were also pianists, for winning top prizes in international competitions, will be guest performers at the concert．

　　Expecting to graduate with a bachelor degree in paino next year, Sun has applied to study for a master’s degree．

　　“Music changes people’s lives．I hope I can continue to study the piano for the rest of my life,” Sun said．

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　　Wild elephants live in herds of 10 to about 50．The leader is usually female．A herd can go through a forest quietly．It travels in a single line．It goes about six miles an hour．When frightened, it may run at about 25 miles an hour．When they reach water, elephants swim across．They are great swimmers．

　　Elephants eat grass, leaves, small branches, and bark．They particularly like the tender leaves on the top of trees．how do they get these leaves? They use their heads to knock trees down．They can easily knock down a 30-foot tree．Elephants also eat berries, mangoes, coconuts, corn, and sugar cane．They love salt．A wild male adult eats from 500 to 600 pounds of food a day．

　　Many people want to find the graveyards(墓地)of elephants．There is a strong belief that such graveyards exist．Here is why Bones and tusks of dead elephants are almost never found．Searches have been made in forests．Grassy plains have been searched too．But neither bones nor tusks are found．Elephants don’t live forever．Where are their bones? They don’t just bury themselves．Here is one belief that says an elephant gets sick or old, it instinctively knows death is near．It leaves the herd．It goes off to a secret graveyard．The place is known only to elephants, and perhaps other animals, but not to humans．Obviously, such a graveyard would be filled with ivory tusks．These were once very valuable．The objective of explorers was to find this “gold” mine．This graveyard belief may be a truth or a myth．But it is romantic．It would be nice if it were true．