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　　Beijing(AFP)Oct．17, 2005－China’s second manned space mission returned safely to Earth early Monday after a successful five –day flight, in the latest chapter in China’s ambitious drive to become a global space power．

　　Astronauts Fei Junling and Nie Haisheng were given a clean bill of health after the re-entry capsule(返回舱)of their Shenzhou VI spacecraft landed on Earth on a parachute, ending up in Inner Mongolia, Xinhua news agency said．

　　“Our journey in space was very smooth．The living and working conditions inside the cabin were very good, and our health is okay．Thanks,” Fei said on state television, with a smile．

　　Appearing from the capsule, television pictures showed the two took a few seconds to adjust to the Earth’s gravity, before begin presented with flowers and waving to gathered recovery teams and ground control staff．

　　Mission control declared the 115-hour space flight a success, Xinhua reported．

　　A member of one of the recovery teams reported that the capsule landed upright after touching down at 4∶32 am(20∶32 GMT Sunday), just one kilometer(1,100 yards)from the intended landing site, it added．

　　The flight was China’s second-ever manned space mission following the historic Shenzhou V, which in October 2003 made China the third nation after the former Soviet Union and the United States to put a man into space．

　　During his 21-hour first flight in 2003, astronaut Yang Liwei never left his seat in the re-entry capsule nor took off his space suit．In contrast, Fei and Nie’s flight saw them leave the re-entry capsule and enter the orbital capsule(轨道舱), taking off their heavy suits and putting on ordinary work clothes so they could move around easily．

　　To remove worries that China could use space for military purposes, Premier Wen Jiabao said the purpose of the mission was to conduct experiments “entirely for peaceful purposes．”

　　The Chinese government also hopes to use the manned space program to inspire patriotism(爱国精神)and instill a curiosity in science and technology among Chinese population．

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China Today Subscription(订阅)2006

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　　As part of its ongoing effort to enlist children as the guardians(one who guards)of the future in the fight to save the earth’s environment, the United Nations ecological agency has announced its annual painting competition on the theme of deserts and desertification(沙漠化)．

　　“Children are an important part of our world．They are our future and often they are our conscience．”Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the UN Environmental Program(UNEP)said．

　　“Our children provide the inspiration, the enthusiasm and the idealism that this world needs．They know something needs to be done and we must listen to them．One way in which we can listen to them is by giving them the opportunity to express themselves in art－and by taking their art seriously．”

　　The International Painting Competition on the Environment is part of UNEP’s program for children and youth entitled Tunza, which means to treat with care and respect in Swahili．

　　Besides UNEP, the competition is supported by the Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace and Environment(FGPE), Bayer AG and the Nikon Corporation．It has been held annually since 1990 and in that time has received over 160,000 entries from children in over 100 countries．

　　The theme of this year’s Competition, Deserts and Desertification ,is also the theme of the 2006 International Year as well as World Environment Day of that year．

　　The issue of desertification concerns the entire planet, UNEP says, because around one third of the world’s population live in drylands and their worsening is a very real threat to people’s lives and livelihoods, as well as to the health of the planet as a whole．

　　Children who will be between the ages of 6 and 14 years on World Environment Day 2006(5 June 2006)from all regions of the world are invited to deliver their paintings on the theme to their Regional UNEP Office by 20 January 2006．Further information can be obtained at the Competition’s website [ www．unep.org/tunza/paintcomp15]

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　　Sharon was raised in the traditional Navajo culture in New Mexico and spoke only Navajo until she began school．After high school in California, she attended Navajo Community College in Tsaile, Arizona and later the University of New Mexico．

　　Sharon Burch’s music is the current expression of traditional Navajo ways of living．Many of Sharon’s songs are in the beautiful Navajo language and capture the sacredness of Mother Earth and Father Sun and the importance of family and place to the Dine．Yazzie Girl was influenced by the Navajo prayers and chants she heard growing up．The album(歌曲集)focuses on the special importance of the maternal relationship among the Navajo．Most of the songs are in Navajo with some English．

　　Touch the Sweet Earth was awarded the 1995 INDIE Award in the “North American Native Music” category at the annual(一年一度的)National Association of Independent Records Distributors & Manufacturers(NAIRD)conference held in May 1996．the“Grammy”of the independents, the annual INDIE Awards recognizes recording excellence in forty categories and is presented to recordings sold through the independent distribution network．As both Sharon’s and Canyon’s first INDIE Award, it was especially satisfying to receive such recognition during the company’s 45th anniversary(周年纪念)year．

　　With songs brought forth from deep within, Touch the Sweet Earth reflects a very personal journey：one of motherhood, exploration, family, survival and loss．Much of this music is presented to her grandfather Charlie Yazzie and her uncle Tim, both of whom recently passed away．

　　Inspired by songs sung by her mother and grandfather, Sharon’s third album ,Colors of My Heart, celebrates family, Mother Earth, and a connection to all living things．

　　Sharon performs regularly at folk festivals, fairs, schools, universities and in concert．She has appeared at the Kennedy Center and Smithsonian in Washington D．C．, the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles, the Heard Museum in Phoenix, and is quite popular in Japan．Sharon always looks forward to returning home to the Navajo reservation to sing for her people．

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　　If there is one thing I’m sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers．It is not that newspapers are a necessity．Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio．Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday．But for most people a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation．

　　The nature of what is news may change．What basically makes news is what affects our lives－and the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same．I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though．It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic engineering．In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do－as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are．

　　It’s quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted(传送)electronically from the Fleet Street and printed out in our own home．In fact, I’m pretty sure that is how it will happen in future．You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read－say, sports and international news．

　　I think people have got it wrong when they talk abut competition between the different media．They actually feed off each other．Some people once foresee that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn’t happened．What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air．And as for the Internet, it’s never really pleasant to read something just on a screen．

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　　Pocket Tape-Recorders “Family and Home Magazine” test what’s on the market now．

　　1)Pearlcorder S702$64

　　This simple model at the bottom of the Olympus range scored the most points for its excellent quality of recording．Background noise hardly affects the sound and recording from a pocket is perfectly possible, but it doesn’t turn off automatically．

　　Tape length：30 minutes per side．Weight：240 g．

　　2)Sony M9 $ 49.95

　　Small and very good looking, sony’s latest offering scored most for appearance．Sounds clear, but there is slight machine noise．The big control buttons are a great improvement on some of the complicated little controls on the other tape-recorders．Doesn’t switch off automatically but a red light shows if the machine is still running．

　　Tape Length：60 minutes per side．Weight：195 g．

　　3)Sony M 400 $ 115

　　Lots of little control buttons that make a noise and are difficult to use．Recording was good but machine noise lost points．Tape counter and automatic switch-off when tape was finished recording or rewinding are useful．

　　Tape Length：60 minutes per side．Weight：230 g．

　　4)Imperial OEM．MC $ 29.95

　　Cheap and simple compared with the rest ,but recording was good as long as there was no background noise．Use only its own make of cassette．No light to show it is on; no fast forward button and the record button makes a loud noise．

　　Tape length：30minutes per side．Weight：285 g．

　　5)Philips 585 $ 80

　　Handsome and simple to use, but recording is very poor at more than the recommended distance of 5cm-designed for dictation．No recording light．

　　Tape length：15 minutes per side．Weight：220 g．

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　　The desire to make explorations is born with man．Wherever his imagination goes, man also has a strong wish to go．A large part of human history is connected with the exploration of the world in which we live．Again and again people have set out with surprising courage and patience to look into unknown regions and lands to see what had not yet been seen, to make known the unknown．With kites, balloons and aircraft they left the ground to pass through the lower atmosphere．Now the outer space receives their attention．

　　Why should man take the trouble of conquering space?It is hard to list the specific practical benefits that will result in．But one knows, from past experience in other areas, that man will surely see and discover new things in space that will increase our scientific knowledge, and this new knowledge will find its way into valuable practical uses．What we learn about man himself, from his experience in space, and from the effects of space and the space flight environment on him, will be extremely valuable．The new techniques developed to carry out the exploration of space, and to keep man alive in space, will certainly find practical uses in everyday life in some way．The areas that will benefit are manifold．They include communication, generation of power, transportation and travel, food production, materials, fuels and many others．But to say definitely just what the practical results will be is almost impossible．

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　　In only two decades Asian Americans have become the fastest-growing U.S．minority．As their children began moving up through the nation’s schools, it became clear that a new class of academic achievers was emerging．Their achievements are reflected in the nation’s best universities, where mathematics, science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character．This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their educations abroad arrived in the U．S．with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English．They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college．Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more objectively．And the return on the investment(投资)in education is more immediate in something like engineering than with an arts degree．

　　Most Asian-American owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer．An effective measure of parental attention is homework．Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do, and it helps．Many researcher also believe there is something in Asian culture that needs success, such as ideals that stress family values and emphasize education．

　　Both explanations for academic success worry Asian Americans because of fears that they feed a typical racial image．Many can remember when Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants(移民)were the victims of social isolation．Indeed, it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship．

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　　In the fall of 1924 Thomas Wolfe, fresh from his courses in play－writing at Harvard, joined the eight or ten of us who were teaching English composition in New York University．I had never before seen a man so tall as he, and so ugly．I pitied him and went out of my way to help him with his work and to make him feel at home．

　　His students soon let me know that he had no need of my protectiveness．They spoke of his ability to explain a poem in such a manner as to have them shouting with laughter or struggling to keep back their tears of his readiness to quote in detail from any poet they could name．

Indeed, his students made so much of his powers of observation that I decided to make a little test and see for myself．My chance came one morning when the students were slowing gathering for nine o’clock classes．

　　Upon arriving at the university that day, I found Wolfe alone in the large room which served all the English composition teacher as an office．He did not say anything when I asked him to come with me out into the hall, and he only smiled when we reached a classroom door and I told him to enter alone and look around．

　　He stepped in, remained no more than thirty seconds and then came out．“Tell me what you see.” I said as I took his place in the room, leaving him in the hall with his back to the door．Without the least hesitation and without a single error, he gave the number of seats in the room, pointed out those which were taken by boys and those occupied by girls, named the colors each student was wearing, pointed out the Latin verb written on the blackboard, spoke of the chalk marks which the cleaner had failed to wash from the window．

　　As I rejoined Wolfe, I was speechless with surprise．He, on the contrary, was wholly calm as he said, “The worst thing about it is that I’ll remember it all.”

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　　Even as Americans have been gaining weight, they have cut their average fat intake from 36 to 34 percent of their total diets in the past 15 years．And indeed, cutting fat to control or lose weight makes sense．Fat has nine calories(卡路里)per gram．Protein and carbohydrates(碳水化合物)have just four．Moreover, the body uses fewer calories to metabolize(新陈代谢)fat than it does to metabolize other foods．Compared with protein and carbohydrates－which break down into amino acids(氨基酸)and simple sugars, separately, and can be used to strengthen and energize the body－dietary fat is more easily changed to body fat．Therefore, it’s more likely to stay on the middle parts of a body．

　　But cutting fat from your diet doesn’t necessarily mean your body won’t store fat．For example, between nonfat and regular cookies, there’s only slight difference in calories because manufacturers make up for the loss of fat by adding sugar．Low-fat crackers, soups and dressings can also be just as high in calories as richer ones．No matter where the calories come from, overeating will still cause weight again．The calories from fat just do it a little quicker．A Wisconsin computer programmer who decided with a diet coach to eat only 40 grams of fat a day learned the lesson firsthand．He wasn’t losing weight．Then he showed his food diary to his coach and suggested he’d been eating half a pound of jelly beans a day．“They don’t have any fat,” he explains．But they had enough sugar to keep him from losing an ounce．

　　Nonfat foods become add-on foods．When we add them to our diet, we actually increase the number of calories we eat per day and gain weight．That was shown in a Pennsylvania State University study．For breakfast, Prof．Barbara Rolls gave two groups of women yogurt(酸奶)that contained exactly the same amount of calories．One group’s yogurt label said “high fat”－the other, “low fat.” The “low fat” yogurt group ate much more calories later in the day than the other group．“People think they’ve saved fat and can indulge(放纵)themselves later in the day with no harmful results,” says Richard Mattes, a nutrition researcher at Purdue University．“But when they do that, they don’t remove the bad effect precisely, and they often end up overdoing it．”

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