Every summer thousands of Americans stay at home instead of going on holiday because they’re overweight．They don’t want people to see them sunbathing and they don’t want to have to squeeze into plane seats．But now, thanks to the growing number of weight-friendly holiday packages, the overweight are having their days in the sun．

　　“Overweight people will have a great time on our holidays as we don’t judge them like other people do,”said Liz Nickels, owner of Big Adventures, a US-based company that hosts scuba-diving－a sport of swimming underwater while breathing through a tube connected to a tank on your back for larger people．As a way to keep up with the demand for extra-large accommodation, many hotels in the US have started to offer features such as wide beds and handheld showers．But the best in plus-size vacationing lies at Mexico’s Freedom Paradise, a 112-room resort(度假胜地)opening this month, which urges guests to“Live Large, Live Free”．

　　The hotel has broad doorways, reinforced(加同)furniture and extra large chairs．It also boasts(自夸)a private beach to protect people from the stares that can occur on public beaches．“It’s not a hotel just for large people．It’s a size-friendly place where anyone can enjoy a holiday,”said owner Jurrian Kilnk。“What we noticed was that a lot of oversized people don’t feel comfortable at resorts．”Staff members of all sizes are hired by the hotel to make overweight people feel OK．

　　Though many welcome the new service, some feel differently．“I have a real problem with this,”said Nancy Lenhart, owner of Camp La Jolla, a Californian weight-loss and fitness camp．“If you talk about oversized beds and doorways you are throwing their weight in their faces. Overweight people want to be normalized．They shouldn’t be discriminated against like this．”

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Veronica

　　By Mary Gaitskill．

　　Pantheon Books, $23．

　　This attractively dark novel from the author of Bad Behavior and Two Girls, Fat and Thin is narrated by a former Paris model who is now sick and poor, her reflections On beauty and cruelty have clarity and an uncanny bite．

On Beauty

　　By Zadie Smith．

　　Penguin Press, $25.95

　　In her new book, a cultural-politics novel set in a place like Harvard, the author of White Teeth brings everything to the table：a crisp intellect, a lovely wit and enormous sympathy for the men, women and children who read her story．

Saturday

　　By lan McEwan．

　　Nan A．Talese／Doubleday．$26．

　　As exciting and as carefully constructed as anything McEwan has written, this astringent(尖锐的)novel traces a day in the life of an English neurosurgeon who comes face to face with senseless violence．

　　By Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan．

　　Alfred A．Knopf, $35．

　　A brilliant biography, impressively researched and absorbingly written, of the talented immigrant who stood at the vortex(中心)of mid-20th-century American art．

A History of Europe Since 1945

　　By Tony Judt．

　　Penguin Press, $39.95．

　　Judt’s massive, learned, truthfully detailed account of Europe’s recovery from the wreckage of World War II presents a whole continent in panorama(全景)even as it sets off detonations(爆炸)of insight on almost every page．

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　　A quality education is the basic liberator．it can free people from poverty, giving them the power to greatly improve their lives and take a productive place in society．It can also free communities and countries, allowing them to jump forward into periods of wealth and social unity that otherwise would not be possible．

　　For this reason, the international community has devoted itself to getting all the world’s children into primary school by 2015, a task known as Education for All．

　　Can education for aIl be achieved by 2015?The answer is undoubtedly“yes,”although it is a difficult task．If we now measure the goal in terms of children successfully completing at least five years of primary school, instead of just enrolling(注册)for classes, which used to be the measuring stick for education, then the task becomes even more difficult．Only 32 countries were formerly believed to be at risk of not achieving education for all on the basis of enrollment．The number rises to 88 if completion of primary school is used as the standard．

　　Still, the goal is achievable with the right policies and the right support from the international community．59 of the 88 countries at risk can reach universal primary completion by 2015 if they bring the effectiveness and quality of their education systems into line with standards observed in higher-performing systems．They also need great increases in outside support．The 29 countries falling farthest behind will not reach the goal without extra fast speed of progress．But this is achievable with creative solution, including use fo information technologies, enough foreign aid, and fewer people living in poverty．

　　A key lesson of experience about what makes development effective is that a country’s ability to use aid well depends heavily on its policies, institutions and management．Where a country scores well on these, foreign assistance can be highly effective．

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　　CONCORD, N.H.－Torrential rain forced hundreds of people from their homes in parts of New England on Sunday, as water flowed over dams and washed out roads．

　　The governors of New Hampshire and Massachusetts declared states of emergency．Maine's governor also declared a state of emergency for one county．“It's a very serious situation,”said New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, adding that forecasters were predicting 12 to 15 inches of rain by the end of the storm in parts of southern New Hampshire．“It continues to change and the situation continues to worsen．”

　　In some towns, police and fire crews used boats to get people out of their homes and stranded(进退两难的)cars after hundreds of roads were damaged．Others got around in kayaks(皮船)．Some towns shut down, not letting anyone pass except emergency vehicles．“The town is cut right in half,”said Glenn Laramie, police chief in Andover, N．H．

　　A dam in Milton, N.H., was in danger of failing, which could send a 10-foot wall of water downstream, the National Weather Service said in a bulletin．People downstream were being evacuated from the town．

　　In Massachusetts, cars were pulled from flooded streets in downtown Peabody, about 20 miles north of Boston, and about 300 people were evacuated from an apartment complex for seniors．Businesses stacked sandbags at their doors, trying to prevent damage from water that at one point rose to waist-deep．

　　Some parts of New Hampshire had seen 7 inches of rain by midday Sunday and forecasters said up to 5 more inches might come during the day．About 100 residents were evacuated from their homes in Wakefield, N.H., because of concerns about two dams in the area．

　　Flooding in New Hampshire in October killed seven people, carried off homes and washed away miles of roads down to bedrock(根基)．

　　In Maine, flooding was reported on 60 roads in the southern part of the state, said governor's spokeswoman Crystal Canney．More than 50 homes in Sanford and several in Kennebunk also were evacuated, state officials said．

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　　I was lucky－I found what I loved to do early in life．Woz and I started Apple in my parents'garage when I was 20．We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees．We had just released our finest creation－the Macintosh－a year earlier，and I had just turned 30．And then I got fired．

　　How can you get fired from a company you started?Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well．But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out．When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him．So at 30 I was out．

　　I really didn't know what to do for a few months．I felt I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley．But something slowly began to dawn on me－I still loved what I did．The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit．I had been rejected, but I was still in love．And so I decided to start over．

　　I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me．It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life．During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife．Pixar went on to create the world's first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world．In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and Laurene and I have a wonderful family together．

　　I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple．It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it．Sometimes life hits you on the head with a brick．Don't lose faith．I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did．You've got to find what you love．And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers．

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　　This March is a busy month in Shanghai．There's a lot to do．Here are the highlights．

　　Live Music-Late Night Jazz Enjoy real American jazz from Herbie Davis, the famous trumpet player．He's coming with his new 7-piece band, Herbie's Heroes．Herbie is known to play well into the early hours, so don't expect to get much sleep．This is Herbie's third visit to Shanghai．The first two were sold out, so get your tickets quickly．

　　PLACE：The Jazz Club DATES：15-23 March PRICE：￥80,120

　　TIME：10∶00p．m．till late!TEL：6466-8736

　　Scottish dancing Take your partners and get ready to dance till you drop．Scottish dancing is fun and easy to learn．Instructors will demonstrate the dances．The live band, Gordon Strop pie and the Wee frees, are also excellent．

　　PLACE：Jack Stein's DATES：every Monday PRICE：￥60 including one drink

　　TIME：7∶00-~0∶00p.m．TEL：6402-1877

　　Exhibitions-Shanghai Museum There are 120,000 pieces on show here．You can see the whole of Chinese history under one roof．It's always interesting to visit, but doubly so at the moment with the Egyptian Tombs exhibition．There are lots of mummies and more gold than you've ever seen before．Let us know if you see a mummy move!

　　PLACE：Shanghai Museum PRICE：￥30(￥ 15 for students)TEL：6888-6888

　　DATES：daily TIME：Monday-Friday 9∶00a.m．-5∶00p.m．, Weekends 9∶00a.m．-9∶00p.m．

　　Dining-Sushi chef in town Sushi is getting really big in Shanghai．In Japan, it's become an art form．The most famous Sushi 'artist'is Yuki Kamura．She' s also one of the few female chefs in Japan．She' ll be at Sushi Scene all of this month．

　　PLACE：Sushi Scene in the Shanghai Hotel DATES：all month PRICE：￥200

　　TIME：lunchtime TEL：6690-3211

　　For a full listing of events, click here．http：//www.highlights/shanghai.html

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　　The Munich October Festival is the biggest public festival in the world, which will be held from 17^th Sep．to 3^rd Oct．this year．Each year, the October Festival is attended by around 6 million visitors, who drink around 5 million liters of beer and consume over 200,000 pairs of pork sausages-mostly in the“beer tents”put up by the traditional Munich breweries(酿酒厂)．

　　At the foot of the Bavaria statue, the huge October Festival grounds also provide carousels(喧闹的酒会), roller coasters(过山车)and all the fun of the fair for the enjoyment and excitement of visitors of all ages．The festivities are accompanied by a program of events including the Grand Entry of the Beer Festival Landlords and Breweries, and the Costume and Riflemen's Procession．

　　The History of the October Festival can retrospect to the 19th century．Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, married on 12th October 1810．The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event．Horse races in the presence of the Royal Family marked the close of the event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria．In 1811 an added feature to the horse races was the first Agricultural Show, designed to promote Bavarian agriculture．The horse races, which were the oldest and the most popular event of the festival are no longer held today．But the Agricultural Show is still held every three years during the October Festival on the southern part of the festival grounds．

　　In the first few decades, the choice of amusements was less．The first carousel and two swings were set up in 1818．Visitors were able to finish their thirst at small beer stands, which grew rapidly in number．In 1896 the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents and halls set up by enterprising landlords with the help of the breweries．

　　Today, the Munich October Festival is the largest one in the world, with an international flavor characteristic of the 21st century: some 6 million visitors from all around the world gather on the October Festival each year．

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　　What's new in the scientific community?Here are four gadgets (小玩意儿)to open up your eyes：

　　Mosquito Repelling Necklace

　　For quite a lot of people, mosquitoes are one of the biggest problems brought by the warm and often rainy season．The necklace generates a sonic(声波的)repelling frequency(频率), which keeps the insects away．Unlike many other products, it doesn't use any kind of chemicals and toxic sprays that poses a potential threat for the human body．The plastic case is compact(简洁的)enough to wear around your neck or clip to your collar．Effective up to three meters in radius(半径)．

　　Ice Cream Ball

　　Ice cream in just 20 minutes?No magic tricks．

　　All they'll need are five ingredients and some rolling around．Load ice and rock salt into one end and the ice cream ingredients into the other．As the mixture of ice and rock salt is melting, it absorbs heat．

　　Roll or toss the ball around and voila-ice cream．

　　Cell phone

　　This new kind of cell phone features a color touch-screen－speech balloons(对话框)are brought to real life from comic(漫画的)strips．It adapts to your favorite comics: talks to you in your favorite character's language, updates you on new ringing tones and games based on the comics．The tail of the cell phone serves as a USB connector to interchange data between this phone and a computer．Turn this cell phone 90 degrees－the contents of the screen will rotate(旋转)as well．Even if you hang upside down like Spiderman you will make everything out．

　　Time-flex

　　Want to keep track of time but hate wearing bulky watches?Check out Time-flex, this ultra-flexible, self-gumming watch sticks to your skin or clothes like a transparent Band-Aid．It can be peeled off and rolled up like paper when not in use．You control the menu via touch-screen．It's powered by ultra small batteries that are invisible to the naked eye．

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　　For hundreds of years humans have dreamed of finding life on distant planets．Now the hope of discovering real evidence of life has greatly increased．

　　NASA’s Mars detector(探测器), Opportunity, succeeded in finding signs that water once existed on the planet．Opportunity landed on Mars in January．Scientists now believe that the planet could once have supported life．

　　This discovery was chosen by Science, one of the world’s leading magazines, as the most important scientific achievement of 2004 last Friday．

　　“This little, wheeled, one-armed box went around another planet and has done something no human has ever managed,”according to Science．“It has discovered another place in the universe where life could once have existed．

　　“Although we still can’t say that life could have existed in this environment, it is now certain that there was water on Mars,”said Steve Squyres, one of the scientists working on the Mars mission(任务)．The evidence comes from pictures and chemical readings taken by Opportunity．It includes marks on rocks like those caused by following water on Earth and salty chemicals like those found in dried-out sea-beds．Scientists said the new evidence proved beyond doubt that water has existed on Mars．But it is still unknown whether the water was like an ocean or just ice．

　　While Opportunity has not found any signs of life, the presence of water means life is possible．“In everything we know about life on Earth, there is no example without liquid water,”Squyres said．“So water is important for the search for life on Mars．”

　　Researchers agree that a future mission(任务)should bring back physical samples(样品)．But some scientists worry about the risk that this could introduce dangerous foreign creatures to Earth．“The problem here is how to get the samples back,”Squyres replied．“I think it is our responsibility to limit any risk．”

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　　Because of their great power, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers(航空母舰)are considered one of the most important weapons of the 20^th century．So far, only two countries－the USA and France－have ever produced them．But these strong fighting machines are about to enter Asia．

　　The US Navy said last month that one of its nine nuclear powered aircraft carriers will be sent to Japan to replace the diesel powered Kitty Hawk in 2008．In an agreement on Oct．30, the two countries also plan to level up their military co-operation, and the US called for Japan to take a larger role in the move．

　　It will be the first time that a nuclear-powered carrier will be based in Japan．Bombed by US forces in World War II at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is the only country in the world to have been attacked by a nuclear weapon．Therefore, the citizens are highly sensitive to where nuclear powered weapons are based．

　　“A radiation leak at Yokosuka would kill 100,000 people as far away as Tokyo, and could cause billions of dollars of damage,”said Masahiko Goto, leader of a protest group in Yokosuka．His group has collected more than 300,000 signatures of people across Japan against the nuclear carrier．

　　The 44-year-old Kitty Hawk has been based in Yokosuka since 1998．The new carrier will travel faster, be able to support longer operations and carry with it the US Navy’s most modern technology．

　　Experts said that this change of ship suggests an increased military power in the region．It will increase tension among Asian countries．Tetsuo Maeda, an international relations professor in Tokyo, said this move shows the US and Japan’s concern about the fast-growing military power of China and North Korea．But it is unnecessary, he said．

　　There are 10 countries around the world that have aircraft carriers．They are the USA, Russia, France, Britain, Argentina, Brazil, India, Thailand and Spain．The US now own 11 aircraft carriers, 9 of which are nuclear powered．A new nuclear carrier named after former President Bush is being built and is expected to be completed by 2008．

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