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　　Two men dressed as police officers stole about ＄200 million worth of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum early this morning．

　　The two burglars knocked on a side door of the museum at about 1∶15 am．They told the two security guards on duty that there was a disturbance in the area．The guards then made the very serious mistake of allowing the two men to go into the building．After they went in, the two burglars tied the guards up with tape．

　　The two men stole 11 paintings and an ancient Chinese vase．The stolen works included three paintings by Rembrandt．A maintenance(保卫)worker discovered the two guards at about 7 am and called police．

　　One of the greatest losses was Rembrandt's works,“The Storm on the Sea of Galilee．”It was a very popular attraction at the museum and was one of the most valuable works stolen．

　　Museum officials said that the value of the stolen art is at least 200 million dollars, and may in fact be much more．The true value of the paintings is unknown, because they have not been on the market for nearly a century．This is considered to be the biggest theft ever in the United States．Officials are waiting to see whether the burglars will demand a ransom for the paintings or try to sell them to a private collector．

　　Museum officials and police are not sure why the burglars chose certain works and not others．There are other paintings in the museum that are even more valuable than the ones that were stolen．

　　Special investigators are looking into the theft and the museum's security system．They believe that this is a“professional job,”because the people involved were well prepared and knew what they wanted．

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　　Nine 1700-year-old brick tombs have been discovered in northwest China's Xinjiang．Experts say that they can provide valuable clues for the research of exchanges between the central Chinese government at that time and faraway Western Regions．

　　It is the first time ancient tombs with typical characteristics of China's main Han nationality have been found in the Uygur ethnic region(自治区)．

　　Archaeologists from Beijing, Shanxi and Xinjiang concluded that the tombs were built between the middle and late third century and fourth century．

　　The tombs were unearthed during the construction of a road earlier this year in Kuqa county,740 km from Xinjiang's capital Urumqi and part of the ancient Qiuci State．Qiuci State, which existed between the second century BC and 860 AD, was one of the 36 states in the Western Regions．

　　The tombs would help archaeologists with research into the political, economic and cultural exchanges between the Central Plains government and states in the west, and on the cultural influence of the Central Plains on the Western Regions．

　　Archaeologists from the Xinjiang institute have dug nine tombs since August 22, finding bodies of more than 30 people, some ancient coins and more than 60 pottery(陶器)jars．It is thought there are another three tombs to be dug．

　　The people buried in the tombs were probably either people from the western regions deeply influenced by the Han culture or the Han residents(居民)in the region．

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　　“I don't want to write a story about girls!I don't know anything about girls,”Louisa May Alcott told her publisher, Mr.Niles．But she was desperate for money．She seemed to be the only one in her family who could make any money．Niles had asked her to write about something she knew, instead of the romantic adventure stories she had been writing．“So I plod away,”Alcott wrote,“though I don't enjoy this sort of thing．”It was 1867, and the horrible Civil War was over．Now Alcott could turn her energy to making money．

　　Alcott wrote a simple story of life in her family, their pillow fights on Saturday nights and the amateur(业余的)plays they performed．“Our experiences may prove interesting, though I doubt it．”(“Good joke,”she wrote years later．)Her book described her days growing up with four sisters in a family that had no money．She sketched(勾画)a loving mother who took time to be interested in each child, and she told of the death of a beloved sister．She portrayed her family and friends in her book Little Women．Finally, in July of 1868, she finished writing．With a sigh and a headache, she sent off all 102 handwritten pages of her book．

　　Niles thought the book was dull, and so did Alcott．But when she received her copies of the book, Alcott thought it seemed better than expected．“Not a bit sensational,”she wrote,“but simple and true．We really lived most of it．”Niles asked some girls to read Little Women, and they loved it．

　　In three months, all the copies of Little Women had been sold．It was already time to print more books!Niles thought he could sell three or four hundred more copies．“An honest publisher and a lucky author made a dull book into a golden egg for an ugly duckling,”Alcott wrote in 1885．Later, with a great sigh of relief, she was able to write,“Paid off all the debts!Now I feel that I could die in peace．If my head holds out, I'll do all I once hoped to do．”

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　　Have you ever got stuck with unwanted courses or a class schedule that cannot be changed?If so, that's because you don't know how to select the perfect schedule．But by following a few simple steps, you can begin any term with the right courses at the most convenient times．

　　First, you must find the right courses．These are the ones that have the least amount of work, the fewest tests and the kindest professors．Ask your friends about courses in which they received A's after attending only 70 percent of the classes．Ask around, too, to see which instructors have given the same tests for the last fifteen years．Photocopies of these tests are usually cheap and can be easily found in school．Then, pick up a copy of the master schedule and study it carefully．Find the course titles that mean an easy pass for a painless subject．Look for titles like“Arts and Crafts for Beginners,”and“Rock Music of the 1950s．”

　　Next, when you have got lists of easy instructors and subjects you can begin to select your time periods．If you stay up late in order to watch old movies, you may want a daily schedule that begins no sooner than noon．You should schedule only afternoon courses, too, if you're one of those people who hate to leave a warm bed in the morning．On the other hand, if you are a person who gets out of bed at dawn, you may want to get your classes out of the way as early as possible．That way you have the rest of the day free．Morning classes are also necessary if you are a soap opera(肥皂剧)fan．

　　Finally, you want your schedule to pass through registration successfully．The main way to do this is to register(注册)early．If a course does happen to be closed because you simply couldn't register at 7∶00 a.m., you may still be able to get in．Talk to the professor and tell him or her that a serious and hardworking student like yourself would be a shining example to other students．Be sure to carry a list of backup courses to registration, though, just in case one of your chosen classes changes professors or time periods．

　　By following these suggestions, any student can pick the perfect class schedule．College can thus become an almost pleasant activity．

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　　As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have．It is likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine and a microwave oven．Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need．You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week．

　　Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for．Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world．They feel that the long-hours work culture to make more money to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes．Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting is one of them．

　　Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year．One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz．They used to work in central London．He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank．They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs(郊区), leaving their two children with a nanny(保姆)．Most evenings Daniel wouldn't get home until eight or nine o'clock, and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings．They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by．

　　Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales．“I always wanted to have a farm here,”says Daniel,“and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift．It's taken some getting used to, but it's been worth it．We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays．However, I think it's made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier．”

　　Liz, however, is not quite sure．“I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours．I'm not really a country girl, but I suppose I'm gradually getting used to looking after the animals．One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children．My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all．”

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　　Last summer I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer(扫盲志愿者)．The training I received, though excellent, did not tell me how it was to work with a real student, however．When I began to discover what other people's lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading．

　　My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three．In the first lesson, I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn't know which bus to take．When I told her I would get her a bus schedule(时刻表),she told me it would not help because she could not read it．She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket because she couldn't always remember what she needed．Since she did not know words, she could not write out a shopping list．Also, she could only recognize items by sight, so if the product had a different label(标识), she would not recognize it as the product she wanted．

　　As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie's self-confidence(自信心), which encouraged her to continue in her studies．She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket．After this successful trip, she reported how self-confident she felt．At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son, Tony, a shy first grader, with his reading．She sat with him before he went to sleep and together they would read bedtime stories．When his eyes became wide with excitement as she read, pride was written all over her face, and she began to see how her own hard work in learning to read paid off．As she described this experience, I was proud of myself as well．I found that helping Marie to build her self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before．

　　As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others．In fact, I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did．

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　　Austin Children's Museum

　　This 7,000-square-foot museum aims to entertain and educate children up to age 9．In its Global City exhibit, people can go shopping for groceries, order lunch at a diner, pretend that they're doctors or construction workers, and more．In other fun exhibits, they learn about Austin's history, explore the world of water, and experience life on a large Texas farm．

　　Open time：From Tuesday to Saturday, 10∶00 a.m.～5∶00 p.m.

　　On Sunday, 12∶00 a.m.～5∶00 p.m.

　　Address：201 Colorado St, Austin, Texas 78701

　　Phone：512-4722499

　　Brooklyn Children's Museum

　　Founded in 1899, it is the world's oldest children's museum, featuring interactive exhibits, workshops, and special events．The Mystery of Things teaches children about cultural and scientific objects and Music Mix welcomes young virtuosos(名家)．

　　Open time：From Wednesday to Friday, 2∶00 p.m.～5∶00 p.m.

　　On Saturday and Sunday, 10∶00 a.m.～5∶00 p.m.

　　Address：145 Brooklyn Ave, Brooklyn, New York 1213

　　Phone：718-7354400

　　Children's Discovery Museum

　　This museum's hand-on exhibits explore the relationships between the natural and the created worlds, and among people of different cultures and times．Exhibits include Streets, a 5/8-scale copy of an actual city, with streets lights, and waterworks, which shows how pumps can move water through a reservoir system．

　　Open time：From Monday to Saturday, 10∶00 a.m.～5∶00 p.m.

　　On Sunday, from noon．Closed on holidays．

　　Address：180 Woz Way, Guadalupe River Park, San Jose, California 95110

　　Phone：408-2985437

　　Children's Museum of Indianapolis

　　This museum is the largest of its kind．Exhibits cover science, culture, space, history, and explorations．Among them are the Space Quest Planetarium(additional fee), the 33-foot-high Water Clock, the Playscape gallery for preschools, and the Dinosphere exhibit, along with hand-on science exhibits．

　　The largest gallery, the Center for Exploration, is designed for ages 12 and up．

　　Open time：From Tuesday to Sunday, 10∶00 a.m.～5∶00 p.m.

　　Closed on Thanksgiving Day and December 25．

　　Address：3000 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208

　　Phone：317-3343322

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　　Iranian City of Bam：The ancient citadel(城堡)and surrounding cultural landscape of the Iranian City of Bam, where 26,000 people lost their lives in the earthquake of December 2003, was inscribed(登记)on UNESCO's World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2004．

　　Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan：This cultural landscape was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2003 with its inscription on the World Heritage List at the same time．The property is in a fragile state of conservation considering that it has suffered from abandonment, military action and dynamite explosions(炸药爆炸)．

　　Walled City of Baku in Azerbaijan：Representing an outstanding and rare example of medieval architecture at the crossroads of the many different cultures in the region, the Walled City of Baku sustained(经受)significant damage during the earthquake of November 2000 and has been increasingly affected by the pressure of urban development, the absence of conservation policies and by questionable restoration efforts．For these reasons it was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2003．

　　Historic Town of Zabid in Yemen：The outstanding archaeological and historical heritage of Zabid has been seriously destroyed in recent years．Indeed, 40％ of its original houses have been replaced by concrete buildings．In 2000, at the request of the State Party, the Historic Town of Zabid was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger．

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　　People are more likely to wash their hands properly after using the toilet if they are shamed into it or think they are being watched, scientists said on Thursday．

　　Hand-washing is the cheapest way of controlling disease but less than one third of men and two thirds of women wash their hands with soap after going to the toilet, a British study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine showed．

　　But when prompted by an electronic message flashing up on a board asking：“Is the person next to you washing with soap?”around 12 percent more men and 11 percent more women used soap．

　　Health authorities around the world are stepping up efforts to persuade people to be more hygienic and wash their hands properly to help slow the spread of H1N1 swine flu, which was declared a pandemic(大流行病)by the World Health Organization in June．

　　“Hand-washing with soap has been ranked the most effective way for the worldwide control of disease,”the study's authors wrote．

　　“It could save more than a million lives a year from diarrhoeal diseases, and prevent respiratory(呼吸)infections－the biggest causes of child mortality(死亡)in developing countries．”

　　In developed nations, hand-washing can help prevent the spread of viral infections like flu and sickness and diarrhea bugs like norovirus and rotavirus, as well as hospital-acquired infections like MRSA and C-difficile, the authors said．

　　The researchers studied the behavior of a quarter of a million people using toilets at motorway service stations in Britain over 32 days．Use of soap was monitored by sensors．

　　The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health to mark Global Hand-washing Day, showed that with no reminders, 32 percent of men and 64 percent of women used soap．