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　　Imagine, one day, getting out of bed in Beijing and being at your office in Shanghai in only a couple of hours, and then, after a full day of work, going back home to Beijing and having dinner there．

　　Sounds unusual, doesn't it?But it's not that unrealistic, with the development of China's high－speed railway system．And that's not a11．China has an even greater high－speed railway plan－to connect the country with Southeast Asia, and eventually Eastern Europe．

　　China is negotiating to extend its own high-speed railway network to up to 17 countries in 1 0 to 15 years, eventually reaching London and Singapore．

　　China has proposed three such projects．The first would possibly connect Kunming withSingapore via Vietnam and Malaysia．Another could start in Urumqi and go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and possibly to Germany．The third would start in the northeast and go north through Russia and then into Western Europe．

　　If China's plan for the high-speed railway goes forward, people could zip over from London to Beiling in under two days．

　　The new system would still follow China's high－speed railway standard．And the trains would be able to go 346 kilometers an hour, almost as fast as some airplanes．

　　China's bullet train(高速客车), the one connecting Wuhan to Guangzhou, already has the World's fastest average speed．It covers 1,069 kilometers in about three hours．

　　Of course, there are some technical challenges to overcome．There are so many issues that need to be settled, such as safety, rail gauge(轨距), maintenance of railway tracks．So, it's important to pay attention to every detail．

　　But the key issue is really money．China is already spending hundreds of billions of yuan on domestic railway expansion．

　　China prefers that the other countries pay in natural resources rather than with capital investment．Resources from those countries could stream into China to sustain development．

　　It'll be a win-win project．For other countries, the railway network will definitely create more opportunities for business, tourism and so on, not to mention the better communication among those countnes．

　　For China, such a project would not only connect it with the rest of Asia and bring some much-needed resources, but would also help develop China's far west．We foresee that in the coming decades, millions of people will migrate to the western regions, where the land is empty and resources unused．With high-speed trains, people will set up factories and business centers in the west once and for all．And they'11 trade with Central Asian and Eastern European countries．

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　　It is reported that conservation groups in North America have been arguing about the benefits and dangers of wolves．Some groups believe wolves should be killed．Other people believe wolves

　　Must be protected so that they will not disappear from the wilderndss(荒野)

　　In Alaska, the wolf almost disappeared a few years ago, because hunters were killing hundreds of them forsport．However．1aws were established to protect the wolves from sportsmen and people who catch the animals for their fur．So the woIf population has greatly increased．Now there are so many wolves that they are destroying their own food supply．

　　A wolf naturally eats animals in the deer family．People in the wilderness also hunt deer for food．Many of the animals have been destroyed by the very cold winters recently and by changes in the wilderness plant life．When the deer can't find enough food, they die．

　　If the wolves continue to kill large numbers of deer, their prey(猎物)will disappear some day．And the wolves will．too．So we must change the cycle of life in the wilderness to balance the ecology．If we killed more wolves, we would save them and their prey from dying out．We'd also save some farm animals．

　　In another northern state, wolves attack cows and chickens for food．Farmers want the government to send biologists to study the problem．They believe it necessary to kill wolves in some areas and to protect them in places where there is a small woIf population．

　　If you had lived long ago, you would have heard many different stories about the dangerous wolf．According to most stories, hungry wolves often kill people for food．Even today, the stories of the“big bad woIf'＂will not disappear．

　　But the fact is wolves are afraid of people．and they seldom travel in areas where there is a human smell．When wolves eat other animals, they usually kill the very young．or the sick and injured．The strongest survive．No kind of animal would have survived through the centuries if the weak members had lived．And has always been a law of nature Although some people say it is good sense to kill wolves, we say it is nonsense!Researchers have found wolves and their prey living in balance．The wolves keep the deer population from becoming too large,and that keeps a balance in the wilderness plant life．

　　The real problem is that the areas where wolves can live are being used bv people．Even if wilderness land is not used directly for human needs．the wolves can't always find enough food．So they travel to the nearest source, which is often a farm．Then there is danger．The“big bad wolf”has arrived!And everyone knows what happens next．

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　　Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer．But there is one question that has millions of current answers．That question is“What's your name?”Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct．

　　Have you ever wondered about people's names?Where do they come from?What do they mean?

　　People's first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents．Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used．Some parents choose the name of a well-known person．A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones．

　　Some people give their children names that mean good things．Clara means“bright”; Beatrice means“one who gives happiness”; Donald means“world ruler”; Leonard means“as brave as a lion”．

　　The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names．A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook(小溪)；someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road．The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest．

　　Other early surnames came from people's occupations．The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals．In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village．Some other occupational names are：Carter－a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter－a person who made pots and pans．

　　The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village．The Carpenter's great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture．

　　Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities．When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray．Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman．John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer．

　　Some family names were made by adding something to the father's name．English-speaking people added –s or–son．The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family's ancestor was Robert．Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O．Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O'Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell．

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　　Fear plays no part in this latest problem．“I'm not afraid I'll lose my children．I won't lose my children．We live together, and nothing, nothing,”she repeats, her voice rising when speaking to John's lawyer,“will stop me from being with my children．A law?Year, right．Don't disturb me when it comes to my children．You are never going to win．If John wants to see them, I cannot stop him．He's their father－I want them to see him!However, his visit in his present condition will disturb the children's stable(稳定的)life．”

　　John, who has spent much of his time in California recently, has only hired a house for himself in Pennsylvania, according to his lawyer．"If he'd like to stick to a regular life, I'd be more than happy to do that,"Jane says．"The best thing for any child of a divorced(离婚的)parent is a stable life．I want nothing more than for him to set up a stable life for himself, so that he can be part of making our children's lives more stable．"

　　While matters of money and care won't be settled for weeks, Jane hardly puts her life on hold．Last week the ABC network announced that Jane would return with her own show, Twist of Jane, in which she gives advice to other moms．Jane and her eight children will also return to ABC in a series of Jane Plus 8 specials showing them on various adventures．It's a rest for Jane．who insists that she needs her new, busy life to provide for her family．“I have to lead such a life．and I'm thankful that I've built it to the top where now I can support my children．”she says．

　　And whether a bellicose(好斗的)dance judge or a bellicose former wife, Jane plans to keep on facing attacks on her．“Some people try to knock me down－only to make me more fierce, more protective, more determined to do better,”she says．“Go ahead, take me on．This will just make me stronger．”

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　　Somali pirates(海盗)robbed three Thai fishing ships with 77 sailors on board nearly l, 200 Miles off the Somali coast, the farthest-off-shore attack to date, an officer said Tuesday．

　　Pirates have gone farther south and east in answer to increased patrols(巡逻)by warships off the Somali shore．The robbing of the three ships Sunday was about 600 miles outside the normal operation area for the international force, said a spokesman．

　　The spokesman said the attack so far out at sea was a clear sign that the international patrols against pirates were having a“marked effect on pirate activity in the area”．

　　“Once they start attacking that far out, you're not even really talking about the Somali basin or areas of water that have any connection with Somalia,”said an officer, Roger Middleton．“Once you're that far out, it's just the Indian Ocean, and it means you're looking at trade going from the Gulf to Asia, from Asia to South Africa．”

　　"This is the farthest robbing to date．They are now operating near the Maldives and India,”said another officer．

　　The three ships--the MV Prantalay l l, 12, and l 4－had 77 members on board in total．All of them are Thai, the spokesman said．Before the Sunday robbing, pirates held l l ships and 228 sailors．

　　Pirates have increased attacks over the past year in hopes．f catching more dollar payments．Because of increased patrols and defenses on board ships, the success rate(率)has gone down, though the number of successful attacks has stayed the same year over year．

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　　Alex London Research Laboratory(ALRL)is part of Alex Co, Ltd, a major Australian medicine-making company．Opened in 1992, ALRL specialises in the development of new medicines for the treatment of heart diseases．

　　A position is now open for a Research Operations Manager(ROM)to support our growing research team at the new laboratories in Hatfield, due to open in the autumn of 2010．

　　Reporting to the Director, you will help set up and run the technical and scientific support services of our new laboratories now under construction．You will be expected to provide expert knowledge about and be in charge of all areas of ALRL'S Health and Safety, and to communicate(沟通)with support employees at ALRL'S laboratories based at University College London．Working closely with scientists and other operations and technical employees, you will manage a small number of research support employees providing services to help with the research activities to be carried out at the new laboratories．

　　Candidates(申请人)will have experience of both management and research support/technical services．Knowledge of research operations and excellent communication skills are necessary．Education to degree level is also desirable．

　　If you are interested in this position, please send your CV(简历)to Alex London Research

　　Laboratory, University College London, Hatfield, London, W1E 6B7 or by email to ALRL@alex．co．uk．

　　For more Information．please visit www．alex．co．uk．

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　　Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy, but this one is el．ean and cool．Fox Point is a very new47-unit living building in South Bronx, one of the city's poorest areas．Two-thirds of the people living there are formerly(以前)homeless people, whose rent is paid by the government．The rest are low-income families．The boiler room has special equipment, which produces energy for electricity and heat．It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air, reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs．

　　Fox Point is operated by Palladia, a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy, people．Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners(ECP), which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers．

　　ECP has created national standards for healthy, environmentally(环境方面)clever and affordable homes which are called, the Green Communities Standards．These standards include water keeping, energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials．Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2％, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs．Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy．

　　Michael．Bloomberg, New York's mayor, plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for500,000 New Yorkers．Almost 80％ of New York City's greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40％ of those are caused, by housing．So he recently announced that the city's Department of Housing and Preservation and Development(DHPD), whose duty is to develop and keep the city's supply of affordable housing, will require all its new projects to follow ECP's green standards．

　　Similar measures have been taken by other cities such as Cleveland and Denver, but New York's DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country．

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　　I grew up in a house where the TV was seldom turned on and with one wall in my bedroom entirely lined with bookshelves, most of my childhood was spent on books I could get hold of．In fact, I grew up thinking of reading as natural as breathing and books unbelievably powerful in shaping perspectives(观点)by creating worlds we could step into, take part．in．and live in．

　　With this unshakable belief, I, at．fourteen, decided to become a writer．Here too, reading became useful．Every writer starts off knowing that he has something to say, but being unable to find the right ways to say it．He has to find his own voice by reading widely and discovering which parts of the writers he agrees or disagrees with, or agrees with so strongly that it reshapes his own world．He cannot write without loving to read, because only through reading other people's writing can one discover what works, what doesn't and, in the end, together with lots of practice, what voice he has．

　　Now I am in college, and have come to realize how important it is to read fiction(文学作品)．As a．law student, my reading is in fact limited to subject matter－the volume(量)of what I have to read for classes every week means there is little time to read anything else．Such reading made it all the clearer to me that I live in a very small part in this great place called life．Reading fiction reminds me that there is life beyond my own．It allows me to travel across the high seas and along the Silk Road, all from the comfort of my own armchair, to experience, though secondhand, exciting experiences that I wouldn't necessarily be able to have in my lifetime．

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　　Batteries can power anything from small sensors to large systems．While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves．University of Missouri(MU)researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient．

　　“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density(密度)”, said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU．“The radioisotope(放射性同位素)battery can provide power density that is much higher than chemical batteries．”

　　Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, presently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro/nanoelectromechanical systems(M/NEMS)．Although nuclear batteries can cause concerns, Kwon said they are safe．

　　“People hear the word ‘nuclear' and think of something very dangerous,” he said, “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems．”

　　His new idea is not only in the battery's size, but also in its semiconductor(半导体)．Kwon's battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor．

　　“The key part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure(晶体结构)of the solid semiconductor,” Kwon said, “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem．”

　　Together with J．David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, Kwon is working to build and test the battery．In the future, they hope to increase the battery's power, shrink its size and try with various other materials．Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair．