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　　The discovery of a dwarfed(矮个的)“human being” who lived in Flores, Indonesia, up to 18,000 years ago is changing the way we think about the human family．This “Flores Human” was three foot tall and her brain was smaller man that of the average chimp(黑猩猩), yet she and her relatives apparently lived fully human lives．They seem to have made tools, worked together to find food and cook it, and perhaps even buried their dead with ceremony．

　　It was a major surprise to find tools associated with the new human family member．The tools are like those formerly seen only with European fossils(化石)from our own species, Homo sapiens(智人), and the oldest of them were made 94,000 years ago．Homo sapiens is thought to have arrived in the island about 40,000 years ago, much too late to be responsible for the tools．If this tiny human made the tools, then the inside structure(结构)of its brain must have been more like our own than a chimp's, despite being just a third the size of ours．

　　This “new human” was suspected to be a dwarfed branch of Homo erectus(直立人)．When creatures are separated in regions with rare resources but few enemies, being big is a disadvantage, and evolution tends to shrink them, a process known as island dwarfing．Could natural selection make a human smaller while keeping － even improving－mental ability? Quite possibly, believes Christopher Wills of the University of California．

　　Has the “Flores Human” even shown the ability of language? “I find it difficult to imagine that people could make tools, use fire, and kill large animals without fairly advanced communication．” Wills says．Did “Floras Human” possess the basic components of human culture－such as the burying of the dead with ceremony? Emiliano Bruner of the Italian Institute points out that Indonesia's hot, wet environment is bad for fossilization．It is reasonable to assume, he says, that the 18,000-year-old bones of the most complete Flores woman were well-preserved because she was buried with special care．

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　　All around us buildings shook．We decided to leave the town…We stopped once we had left the buildings behind us…The carts(马车)were moving on opposite directions, though the ground was perfectly flat, and they wouldn't stay in place even with their wheels blocked by stones．

　　In addition, it seemed as though the sea was being sucked(吸)backwards, as if it were being pushed back by the shaking of the land．Certainly the shoreline moved outwards, and many sea animals were left on dry sand．

　　Behind us were frightening dark clouds that opened up to show fire－like lightening, but bigger…Not long after that the cloud reached down to the ground and covered the sea．Now came the dust, though still thin．I looked back．A dense cloud appeared behind us, fol-lowing us like a flood pouring across the land．Then a darkness came that was not like a moonless or cloudy night, but more like being in a closed and unlighted room．You could hear women and children crying, men shouting．Some were calling for parents, others for children; they could only recognize them by their voices．

　　Darkness and ashes came again, a great weight of them．We stood up and shook the ash off again and again, otherwise we would have been covered with it and crushed(压垮)by the weight．

　　At last the cloud became thinner and thinner until it was no more than smoke or fog．Soon there was real daylight．The sight that met our still terrified eyes was a changed world, buried in ash like snow．

－from Pliny's letter to a friend

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　　There are good Santas and there are bad Santas．The good Santas all realize one thing：In the mind of a child, Santa Claus is perfect．

　　That's difficult．And so they come from around the world to attend the Charles W．Howard School in Midland, Mich．The school offers a three-day, 40-hour course for Santas hoping to be excellent．There's a real range to what Santas earn, from big bucks for large events to no pay for charities．One thing for them all is a pure love for children．

　　A former Macy's Santa named Charles Howard founded the Michigan school in 1937．“Many people will think if you have a suit and you're a Santa,” said Tom Valent, the school's current dean．“It's more than that．” So with a pet reindeer(驯鹿), his properly named wife Holly and a workshop full of wonder．

　　The school teaches everything from breathing techniques for carol singing to the beard maintenance．There are lessons in child psychology, sign language and even media training for talk-show appearances and call-in shows．Santas also need to make sure they know all the names of the reindeer．What's harder to deal with, however, is children who ask for Christmas gifts like bringing daddy home or making mommy happy again．

　　After spending time in the classroom, Weir went to the mall to test his training．However, at one point, his hat fell off, and he was unsure how to react．“You're the real Santa,” Valent said．“Pick that hat up, slip it back on, keep smiling and do your job．You've got to stay on top of your game．Even the last one at night, when you're tired, you've got to remember：This one's forever, so do a good job．”

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Brokeback Mountain(断背山)

An epic(英雄的)love story, set against the sweeping landscapes of Wyoming and Texas, that tells the story of two young men－a ranch-hand and a rodeo cowboy－who meet in the summer of 1963 while driving cattle on a mountain range．They unexpectedly develop a lifelong connection, one whose complications, joys and tragedies provide a testament to the endurance and power of love．

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　　With fifteen years Britain and other nations should be well on with the building of huge industrial complexes for the recycling of waste．The word rubbish could lose its meaning because everything which goes into the dumps would be made into something useful．Even the most dangerous and unpleasant wastes would provide energy if nothing else．

　　The latest project is to take a city of around half a million inhabitants and discover exactly what raw materials go into it and what go out．The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city．This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel, lead and copper, but also paper and rubber as well．

　　Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish．When this project is complete, the rubbish will be processed like this：First, it will pass through sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements from the heavy solids; after that founders and rollers will break up everything that can be broken．Finally, the rubbish will pass under magnets(磁铁), which will remove the bits of iron and steel; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final stage．

　　The first full-scale giant recycling plants are perhaps fifteen years away．Indeed, with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dumps, some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long．

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　　The American baby boom after the war made unconvincing U．S．advice to poor countries that they limit their births．However, there has hardly been a year since 1957 in which birth rates did not fall in the United States and other rich countries, and in 1976 the fall was especially sharp．Both East Germany and West Germany have fewer births than they have deaths, and the United States is only temporarily able to avoid this condition because the children of the baby boom are now an exceptionally large group of married couples．

　　It is true that Americans do not typically plan their births to set an example for developing nations．We are more affected by women's liberation：once women see interesting and well-paid jobs as careers available, they are less willing to provide free labor for child raising．From costing nothing, children suddenly come to seem impossibly expensive．And to the high cost of children are added the uncertainties, introduced by divorce; couples are increasing to subject children to the terrible experience of marriage breakdown and themselves to the difficulty of raising a child alone．

　　These circumstances－women working outside the home and the instability of marriage, trend to spread with industrial society and they will affect more and more countries during the remainder of this century．Along with them goes social mobility, ambition to rise in the urban world, a main factor in bringing down the births in Europe in the 19th century．

　　Food shortage will happen again when the reserves resulting from the good harvests of 1976 and 1977 have been consumed．Urbanization is likely to continue, with the cities of the developing nations struggling under the weight of twice their present populations by the year 2000．The presently rich countries are approaching a stable population largely because of the changed place of women, and they incidentally are setting an example of restraint to the rest of the world．Industrial society will spread to the poor countries, and ambition will exceed resources．All this will lead to a population in the 21st century that is smaller than that was feared a few years ago．For those anxious to see world population brought under control, the news is encouraging．

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　　China says the launch of its first lunar probe c hang ’e I is just around the corner．Chinese scientists made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the satellite would be launched in the second half of this year．

　　Since China announced the project in 2004, the country’s first lunar exploration project has drawn world-wide attention．Now, China’s space scientists say the satellite is ready for lift off．

　　Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist, China’s lunar exploration project, said, “Preparations for the satellite, rocket, ground control and data reception are ready for the exploration．We will be able to launch the probe the second half of this year．”

　　The probe’s operational orbit has already been decided on．C hang ’e I is scheduled to enter the moon’s orbit after a nearly 400,000-kilometer journey in space．And a committee of over 100 space experts has also been established for the project．The scientists have agreed to share the data sent back by c hang ’e I on the lunar environment．

　　Ouyang Ziyuan said, “We will make a 3D map of the moon and research the distribution of lunar elements, lunar soil thickness and the moon’s surface environment．”

　　Ouyang Ziyuan says chang’e I will be carried by a long march A3 carrier rocket for its launch．This is scheduled to take place at the Xi’chang satellite launch center．

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　　Just put your special clothes on in the morning and you could jump 3 meters into the air and even carry more than 60 kilograms without getting tired．The walk to school would be very ,very easy．Such supercharged clothing is one of the products that could be created using“wearable robotics”technology．

　　Designed to improve a person's senses and skills, the device could be as simple as a hearing aid．Or it could be a full-body suit that senses what you're going to do, then helps you do it better．

　　“A superman suit would be the final result in wearable robotics,”said Francois Pin, head of robotics and energy systems at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory(橡树林国家实验室), US．While these suits are at least ten years away, in some areas the technology is already in use．

　　Researchers are developing artificial arms and legs that allow old, disabled or injured people to move freely．Thus US Army is interested in using wearable robot legs to help soldiers run faster, carry more equipment and be stronger in battle．Jobs that involve lifting heavy loads or saving lives from the rubble of an earthquake could also become much easier．

　　A robot is a device that responds to a command．You're probably with simple robots, such as toy cars or airplanes that respond to buttons you push on a remote control．

　　Wearable robotics goes further．Instead of just receiving information through a wire or remote control, the robotic device can send information back to its controller．

　　Suppose you wore a sleeve that has sensors where your joints are．Every time you move your arm, the sleeve senses your movements and sends the information to a robot, which then moves its arm just as you did．When the robot hits or touches something, it sends a signal back to the sleeve and you sense the action．

　　In this way, scientists are working to wrap the robot around the person．Their goal is to make the sleeve, shoe or suit help you do what you want to do．

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　　The best-selling Reader's Digest travel book has 40％ new content including over 200 new sites, over 200 new full-color photographs, and all-new, up-to-date maps．It spotlights over l, 000 of the United States' most overlooked must-see destinations．

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　　A unique book contains 50 easy-to-follow container designs．Each design provides a simple numbered planting plan that shows exactly how to create each display, with an instruction of the finished planter and in-depth plant information．The plans are easy to follow and for any type of living space or garden．

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　　Choose from 80 unique ideas to create an extraordinary living space．The projects are practical, as well as attractive, and will improve your home and yard and can be made in a weekend．These 80 well-designed projects are presented in a clear, easy-to-follow style that addresses readers in an accessible, user-friendly tone．

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　　Friendship can deeply affect the physical and mental health of both men and women．Studies show that people who have no friends or who are lonely, are more likely to die earlier, get sick more often and suffer greater physical wear and tear(折磨)than those who have a support system of friends．

　　Sometimes, family members may be more likely to give you advice or tell you what you don't want to hear．It may not be as good as a friend who will listen to you and guide you, but support your decisions anyway．The most important elements about friendship are those who suffer support and do not judge your decisions based on society．

　　One reason for the link between social support and good health practice seems to be that people who feel cared for by others are less stress-out and are protected against the symptoms(症状)of depression and loneliness．

　　Generally, women benefit most because of how they deal with stress．Women are more social in how they deal with stress than men, while men are more likely to have a“fight or flight”reaction．Women also tend to have larger, denser social network, in which more people know each other and help each other, while men typically have smaller groups of friends and will rely on their wives or other important people for more support．While all these affect people psychologically(心理上), friendship brings comfort that reduces the ill effects of stress, and the sex difference also contributes to the difference in the length of one's life time．

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