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　　Beijing(Xinhua)：When she appeared on stage, singing a Japanese song, hundreds of excited teenagers crowded around shouting,“Curarpikt(酷拉皮卡)!It's Curarpikt!”

　　At the Beijing Comic and Animation Expo last week, that's exactly who Shi Jia was．The Senior 1 girl was cosplaying(角色扮演)“Curarpikt”, a character from the popular Japanese comic book Hunter X Hunter(《猎人》)by Yoshihiro Togashi．

　　“I cosplay Curarpikt because I like him,”said the pretty 15 year old girl．“I'm moved by his sad story and I'm attracted by his courage and personality．”

　　In the adventure comic story, Curarpikt, a handsome and kind hearted boy, struggles to become a hunter so he can capture(掳获)the people who killed his tribe(部落)．

　　Shi has read all the comic books and is a big fan of the animated series(动画片)of Hunter X Hunter．Then last year she saw a real“Curarpikt”in a cosplay show．

　　“I had watched cosplay shows before but only for fun,”she explained．“It's really exciting to see young people wearing the make up and costumes of characters that you've read about and are familiar with．”

　　“But that time I just fell in love with cosplaying, probably because I like Curarpikt so much．I thought I could play the character better, so I decided to have a go．”

　　Shi bought some cloth and asked a tailor to make a Curarpikt costume for her．She was delighted to find out there was a cosplay show in Beijing in October．

　　“It's a great way to spend the national holiday．Posing on the stage for all the comic book fans, I knew I was doing something I had always wanted to do,”she said．

　　But she never talks about her hobby with her parents．

　　“They think it will distract me from my studies．I don't want to upset them,that's my secret hobby,”she said．“It's also why I don't dye my hair for cosplaying like all the others．”

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　　Long bus rides are like television shows．They have a beginning,a middle,and an endwith commercials(商业广告)thrown in every three or four minutes．The commercials are unavoidable．They happen whether you want them or not．Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window．“Buy Super Clean Toothpaste．”“Drink Good Wet Root Beer．”“Fill up with Pacific Gas．”Only if you sleep,which is equal to turning the television set off,are you spared the unending cry of“You Need It!Buy It Now!”

　　The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting,even if you've traveled that way before．Usually some things have changednew houses,new buildings,sometimes even a new road．The bus driver has a style of driving and it's fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so．If the driver is particularly reckless(鲁莽的)or daring,the ride can be as thrilling(惊心动魄的)as a suspense story．Will the driver pass the truck in time?Will the driver move into the right?or the left?hand lane?After a while,of course,the excitement dies down．Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride．Food always makes bus rides more interesting．But you've got to be careful of what kind of food you eat．Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops．

　　The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning．You know it will soon be over and there's a kind of expectation and excitement in that．The seat of course,has become harder as the hours have passed．By now you've sat with your legs crossed,with your hands in your lap,with your hands on the armrestseven with your hands crossed behind your head．The end comes just at no more ways to sit．

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　　Ever since news of widespread food recalls caused by a carcinogenic dye broke, there has been confusion(混淆)over possible links to the country of the same name, but Sudan officials say there is no connection whatever．

　　Sudan is a red industrial dye that has been found in some chilli powder, but was banned in food products across the European Union(EU)in July 2003．

　　Since the ban was put in place, EU officials have been striving to remove some food products from the shelves．So far 580 products have been recalled．

　　Last week Sudan's Embassy in the United Kingdom asked the Food Standards Agency(FSA)for clarification of the origin of the dye's name．

　　Omaima Mahmoud Al Sharief, a press official at Sudan's Embassy in China, explained the purpose of the inquiry was to clear up any misunderstanding over links between the country and the poisonous dye．

　　“We want to keep an eye on every detail and avoid any misunderstanding there,”she said．“Our embassy to Britain asked them how the dye got that name and whether the dye had something to do with our country．But they told us there was no relationship．”

　　The FSA, an independent food security watchdog in Britain, received a letter from the Sudanese embassy last week．

　　“They asked us why the dye is named Sudan, however, we also do not know how it got the name,”she said．“People found the dye in 1883 and gave it the name．Nobody knows the reason, and we cannot give any explanation before we find out．”

　　Sudan dyes, which include Sudan to 4, are red dyes(颜料)used for colouring solvents(溶剂), oils, waxes, petrol, and shoe and floor polishes．They are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer．

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　　New York's streets were covered by people dressed in elephant costumes(服装)and others waving anti-war posters with pictures of US President George W．Bush on them last week．But this was no carnival(狂欢节)－it was the Republican Party's National Convention(共和党全国大会), which attracted thousands of protestors(抗议者)．It was the largest protest ever at a US political convention, with at least 120,000 people marching through Manhattan on August 29．They demanded that the US leave Iraq and a new president be chosen．

　　The Republicans say the opposition－Democrat Party(民主党)encouraged the people on to the streets．They believe it is a Democratic move to help win presidential election, to be held on November 2．The election is described as“the decisive battle between donkey and elephant”．The two animals are the symbols of the two major political parties in the US．The elephant represents(象征)the Republicans, whose candidate(候选人), President George W．Bush, is trying to defeat the donkey to win his second term．The donkey represents the Democrats, whose candidate, John Kerry, is trying to kick the elephant out of the White House．

　　Republicans think the elephant is powerful and clever, but the Democrats argue it is stupid and conservative(守旧的)．In return, the Republicans regard the donkey as stubborn(倔强的)and silly but the Democrats say it is humble, plain, smart and courageous．

　　The Republicans have been sending emails to Bush supporters and journalists with the header,“An Elephant Never Forgets”, said party spokeswoman Heather Layman．Elephants are known for their long memories．The emails suggest that Bush will keep his promises, while Kerry will not stick to his words．

　　It is interesting that both symbols were created by a single person, Thomas Nast, a famous political cartoonist of the late 19th century．During the election in 1874, Nast drew a cartoon, in which a donkey in a lion's skin frightened an elephant marked“Republican”．

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　　In the West, advertisements are the fuel that makes mass media work．Many TV stations, newspapers, magazines, radio stations are privately(私人地)owned．The government does not give them money．So where does the money come from?From advertisements．Without advertisements, there would not be these private businesses．

　　Have you ever asked yourself what advertising is?Through the years, people have given different answers to the question．For some time it was felt that advertising was a means of“keeping your name before the public”．And some people thought that advertising was“truth well told”．Now more and more people consider it in this way：Advertising is the paid, non-personal, and usually persuasive presentation of goods, services and ideas by some certain sponsors(赞助商)through various media．

　　First, advertising is usually paid for．Various sponsors pay for the advertisements we see, read, and hear over the various media．Second, advertising is non-personal．It is not face-to-face communication．Although you may feel that a message in a certain advertisement is aimed directly at you, in fact, it is directed at large groups of people．Third, advertising is usually persuasive．Directly or indirectly it asks people to do something．All advertisements try to make people believe that the product, idea, or service advertised can benefit them．Fourth, the sponsors of the advertisement must show their names．From the advertisement, we can see if the sponsor is a company, or a single person．Fifth, advertising reaches us through old and modern mass media．Included in the old media are newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and films．Modern media include emails, matchbox covers, and boards on top of buildings．

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　　Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts a few minutes or a few hours．This kind of loneliness is not serious．In fact, it is quite normal．For some people, though, loneliness can last for years．Now researchers say there are three different types of loneliness．

　　The first kind of loneliness is temporary．This is the most common type．It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention．The second kind, situational loneliness, is a natural result of a particular situation－for example, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place．Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year．Situational loneliness Is easy to understand and to predict.

　　The third kind of loneliness is the most severe．Unlike the second type, chronic loneliness usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause．People who experience habitual loneliness have problem socializing and becoming close to others unfortunately, many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition．

　　Many researchers agree that the loneliest people are between the ages 18 and 25, so a group of psychologists decided to study a group of college students．They found that more than 50％ of the students were situationally lonely at the beginning of the term as a result of their new circumstances, but had adjusted after a few months, 13％ were still lonely after seven months due to shyness and fear．They felt very uncomfortable meeting strangers, even though they understood that their fear was not reasonable．The situationally lonely students overcame their loneliness by making new friends, but the chronically lonely remained unhappy because they were afraid to do so.

　　Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons：First of all, they are unhappy and unable to socialize and there is a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease．While temporary and situational loneliness can be a normal, healthy part of life, chronic loneliness can be a very sad, and sometimes dangerous condition．

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　　A round of applause, please, for the Indian man who recently sang for 80 hours straight, setting a new Guinness world record．It's an impressive feat, to be sure, but let's just hope he still has a voice．According to Indian newspapers, Rajesh Burbure has been told to keep silent for several days so his vocal cords(声带)can heal.

　　It was reported that Burbure and his family are in a celebratory mood．“It's a proud moment for all of us,” his wife told DNAIndia.com.

　　I, on the other hand, am unable to share their enthusiasm．Don't get me wrong：I hope the 35-year-old Burbure lives forever, sells a million records and becomes an international celebrity．But his record－singing for 80 hours straight－is about as meaningful as most of the other curious but crazy feats listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

　　Granted , I'm not qualified to speak on the subject．I've got no world records to my name－and I never expect to have any．Then again, maybe I am qualified to speak for those of us who have better things to do than train for years to sing an 80-hour medley(混合曲)of pop songs.

　　But let's not just pick on poor Burbure．He's not the only person chasing meaningless accolades．The Guinness Book of World Records is full of the names of people who at one time grew the longest hair, or built the biggest bicycle, or baked the largest cheesecake.

　　To all of these enterprising(有进取心的)souls I ask, simply, “What was it all for?”

　　Congratulations!For all of your painstaking effort, you became a footnote in a thick book that no one reads, except for you and the person who will eventually surpass you－with one more hour of singing, a few more centimeters of steel or a few more pounds of cheese.

　　After all, records are made to be broken.

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　　A passenger told an air hostess that he needed a cup of water to take his medicine when the plane just took off．She told him that she would bring him the water in ten minutes．

　　Thirty minutes later, when the passenger's ring for service sounded, the air hostess flew in a flurry．She was kept so busy that she forgot to deliver him the water．As a result, the passenger was held up to take his medicine．She hurried over to him with a cup of water, but he refused it．

　　In the following hours on the flight, each time the stewardess passed by the passenger she would ask him with a smile whether he needed help or not．But the passenger never paid any attention to her.

　　When he was going to get off the plane, the passenger asked the air hostess to hand him the passengers' booklet(意见簿)．She was very sad．She knew that he would write down sharp words, which might result in the loss of her job．But with a smile she handed it to him.

　　Off the plane, she opened the booklet, and cracked a smile, for the passenger put it, “On the flight, you asked me whether I need help or not for twelve times in all．How can I refuse your sincere smiles?”

　　That's right!Who can refuse your twelve sincere smiles from a person?