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　　TAIBEI－Increasing numbers of Taiwanese students are joining the island's“China rush”, seeking education on the Chinese mainland．

　　According to official Chinese figures, the number of Taiwanese students admitted into college and postgraduate programmes on the mainland totaled 461 in 1996, 928 in 1997 and 839 in 1998．Although no latest official numbers were available, Netbig.com said this number had risen between 30 to 50 per cent annually in the past two years with well over 1,000 entering mainland campuses last year．

　　The Internet site, based in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, provides education service and information on Chinese mainland colleges and universities．“Many Taiwanese believe a Chinese education giving more knowledge about the people and culture in the mainland will increase their chances in the Chinese job market,”Netbig.com vice-president Ingrid Huang said．“I believe it will give me hands-on experience in the business field in the Chinese mainland and a better understanding of the Chinese mainland people,”said Lydia Chang, a 19-year-old majoring in journalism at Shi Shin University．Chang plans to go on to get a master's degree in business administration in Shanghai, which she says offers the best environment for such studies．

　　A journalism graduate student, Lin, at the National Taiwan University said he would like to study law on the Chinese mainland since“there will be better career prospects for me now that more Taiwanese companies are going there”．

　　Some business executives were sending their children to study in the Chinese mainland．“They hope the children could build up connections which could later become useful in their business operations,”said Yang Chingyao, professor of the Chinese mainland studies．

　　A Netbig.com survey showed the campuses favoured by Taiwanese students included Beijing, Qinghua and Renmin universities in Beijing, and Jinan and Zhongshan universities in Guangzhou．The most popular studies were law, business and Chinese medicine．

　　At present, Chinese Taibei doesn't recognize diplomas earned in the Chinese mainland nor help with any inquiries about studying there．But recognizing the trend, education authorities are giving a final form to a policy accepting certificates(iiE45)from selected universities．

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　　NOT all memories are sweet．Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences．Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars．Often they relive these experiences in nightmares．

　　Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories．The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience．They hope it might reduce, or possibly wipe out, the effect of painful memories．

　　In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France．The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain．So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are wiped out．They are not sure to what degree people's memories are affected．

　　The research has caused a great deal of argument．Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it．

　　Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war．They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories．

　　“Some memories can ruin people's lives．They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare．They usually come with very painful emotions,”said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School．“This could relieve a lot of that suffering．”

　　But those who are against the research say that maybe the pills can change people's memories and changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity．They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past．

　　“All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were terrible at the time but make us who we are．I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out,”said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist．

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　　Every year mobile phones develop．Imagining what they will look like and be able to do in 2020 is really a challenge．To help, experts have outlined three major mobile trends that they believe will have become reality by then．

　　Our phones will be so smart in 10 years' time that they'll know everything about our situation and warn us when something needs our attention．This is the top prediction of both Nokia and Google．They predict that our cars and home appliances will be able to communicate with our mobile．For example, fridges will tell your mobile to tell you to pick up milk on the way back from work．While driving, your mobile will suggest that you take a different route because there's a road accident up ahead．

　　The second trend is in gesture-based controls．People who know the iPhone's touch－sensitive screen are already familiar with the technology．It translates hand movements into actions on-screen．But gestural communications will make the phone more convenient to use and may completely replace touchpads．According to industry insiders, the most immediate step forward in gestural technology will be in voice recognition．It's believed voice recognition technology will speed up communications．It is quicker to speak than type．Eventually, phone screens will disappear．

　　The third major development will change our understanding of a mobile phone．From a single phone, the mobile will be developed into multi-part devices．It is opposite to the current trend in which mobile phones are combining the functions of cameras, music players and game consoles．The prediction is based on the idea that the world will become more wireless and all these－cameras, music players and game consoles－will be wirelessly connected．Mobile phones won't need to contain these devices because users will be able to control them wirelessly through their phones．

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　　The hole in the Earth's ozone layer(臭氧层)has until now protected Antarctic from the worst effects of global warming, but scientists have warned that as the hole closes up in the next few decades, temperatures on the continent could rise by around 3℃ on average, with melting ice contributing to a global sea level increase of up to 1.4 meters．

　　In the past decades the western Antarctic has seen rapid ice loss as the world has warmed, but the other parts of the continent have, paradoxically, been cooling, resulting in a 10％ increase in ice in the seas around the region．This is because the hole in the ozone layer has increased cold winds in Antarctic, making much of the continent surface colder than usual．

　　But now that the gases that cause the ozone hole have been banned, scientists expect the hole to repair itself within the next 50 to 60 years．By then the cooling effect will have faded out and the Antarctic will face the full impact of global warming．This means an increase in average air temperatures of around 3℃ and a reduction in sea ice by around a third．

　　The biggest threat to the continent comes from warming seas．Robert Johnson, a scientist who monitors Antarctic ice sheets, said,“The ice sheets in Antarctic are hundreds of meters thick．But once warm ocean waters start flowing underneath, the ice will begin thinning and could break up very quickly．”Thinning ice sheets cause ice to break away from the continent and to melt even faster．Escaping ice from western Antarctic has already resulted in a 10％ rise in global sea level in recent decades．

　　Johnson believes that international action to reduce global warming is required immediately or it may be too late．“Everything is connected——Antarctic may be a long way away but it is an important part of the Earth's system,”said Johnson．“It contains 90％ of the world's ice, 70％ of the world's fresh water and that is enough, if it melts completely, to raise sea levels by 63 meters．”

　　Even in a worse-case situation scientists don't expect the ice to entirely disappear, but predict that, because of the melting ice sheets, average sea level rise will be around 1.4 meters higher by the end of the century．

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　　Sometimes you'll hear people say that you can't love others until you love yourself．Sometimes you'll hear people say that you can't expect someone else to love you until you love yourself．Either way, you've got to love yourself first and this can be tricky．Sure we all know that we're the apple of our parent's eyes, and that our Grandmas think we're great talents and our Uncle Roberts think that we will go to the Olympics．But sometimes it's a lot harder to think such nice thoughts about ourselves．If you find that believing in yourself is a challenge．It is time you build a positive self-image and learn to love yourself．

　　Self-image is your own mind's picture of yourself．This image includes the way you look, the way you act, the way you talk and the way you think．Interestingly, our self-images are often quite different from the images others hold about us．Unfortunately, most of these images are more negative than they should be．Thus changing the way you think about yourself is the key to changing your self-image and your whole world．

　　The best way to defeat a passive self-image is to step back and decide to stress your successes．That is, make a list of you need to, but write down all of the great things you do every day．Don't allow doubts to occur in it．

　　It very well might be that you are experiencing a negative self-image because you can't move past one flaw or weakness that you see about yourself．Well, roll up your sleeves and make a change of it as your primary task．If you think you're silly because you aren't good at math, find a tutor．If you think you're weak because you can't run a mile, get to the track and practice．If you think you're dull because you think it doesn't mean it's true．

　　The best way to get rid of a negative self-image is to realize that your image is far from objective, and to actively convince yourself of your positive qualities．Changing the way you think and working on those you need to improve will go a long way towards promoting a positive self-image．When you can pat(拍)yourself on the back, you'll know you're well on your way．Good luck!

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　　Below are some classified ads from an English newspaper．

　　Classified ads

　　FOR DIRECT CLASSIFIED SERVICE CALL 800-0557 10 A.M.-4P.M．MONDAY-FRIDAY

　　FOR SALE

　　COME to moving sale－Plants, pottery, books, clothes, etc, Sat, Dec．14th, 9a.m.-5p.m.1612 Femdale, Apt．I．800-4696．

　　USED FUR COATS and JACKETS．Good condition．＄30-＄50．Call 800-0436 after 12 noon．

　　MOVING：Must sell．TV21, ＄50; AM/FM radio A/C or battery, ＄15; cassette tape recorder, ＄10．Call Jon or Pat, 800-0739 after 5p.m.or weekends．

　　SHEEPSKIN COAT：man's, size 42, I year old．＄85．After 6 p.m., 800-5224．

　　LOST AND FOUND

　　FOUND：Cat, 6 months old, black and white markings．Found near Linden and South U．Steve．800-4661．

　　LOST：Gold wire rim glasses in brown case．Campus area．Reward．Call Gregg 800-2896．

　　FOUND：Set of keys on Tappan rear Hill intersection．Identify key chain．Call 800-9662．

　　FOUND：Nov．8^th－A black and white puppy in Packard Jewett area．800-5770．

　　PERSONAL

　　OVERSEAS JOBS：Australia, Europe, S．America, Africa．Students all professions and occupations, ＄700 to ＄3000 monthly．Expenses paid, overtime．Sightseeing, Free information at STUDENTS' UNION．

　　THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER plans to publish a booklet of student travel adventures．If you like to write about your foreign experiences, unusual or just plain interesting．Call 800-9310 and ask for Mike or Janet．

　　UNSURE WHAT TO DO?

　　Life-Planning Workshop, Dec, 13th－15th．Bob and Margaret Atwood, 800-0046．

　　ROOMMATES

　　FEMALE ROOMMATE

　　WANTED：Own room near campus．Available December 1st．Rent ＄300 per month until March 1st．＄450 thereafter．Call Jill for details, 800-7839．

　　NEED PERSON to assume lease for own bedroom in PT．near campus, ＄ 380/mo．Starting Jan．1st, Call 800-6157 after 5p.m．

　　EARLY HOUR WAKE-UP SERVICE：For prompt, courteous wake-up service, call 800-0760．

　　HELP WANTED

　　BABYSITTER－MY HOME If you are available a few hours during the day, and some evenings to care for 2 school-age children, please call Gayle Morre, days 800-1111, evenings and weekends 800-4964．

　　PERSONS WANTED for delivery work, Own transportation．Good pay．Apply 2311 E．Stadium．Office 101, after 9 a.m．

　　TELEPHONE RECEPTIONIST WANTED．NO experience necessary．Good pay．Apply 2311 E．Stadium．Office 101,after 9 a.m．

　　WAITRESS WANTED：10a.m.-2 p.m.or 10∶30 a.m.-5 p.m．Apply in person, 207 S．Main．Curtis Restaurant．

　　HELP WANTED for house cleaning 1/2 day on weekends．When－to be discussed for mutual convenience．Good wages．Sylvan Street．Call 800-2817．

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　　F．Scott Fitzgerald, born on September 24, 1896, an American novelist, was once a student of St．Paul Academy, the Newman School and attended Princeton University for a short while．In 1917 he joined the army and posted in Alabama, where he met his future wife Zelda Sayre．Then he had to make some money to impress her．

　　His life with her was full of great happiness, as he wrote in his diary：“My own happiness in the past often approached such joy that I could share it even with the person dearest to me but had to walk it away in quiet streets and take down parts of it in my diary．”

　　This side of paradise, his first novel, was published in 1920．Encouraged by its success, Fitzgerald began to devote more time to his writing．Then he continued with the novel the Beautiful and Damned(1922), a collection of short stories The Tales of the Jazz Age(1922), and a play The Vegetable(1923)．But his greatest success was The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, which quickly brought him praise from the literary world．Yet it failed to give him the needed financial security．Then, in 1926, he published another collection of short stories All the Sad Young Men．

　　However, Fitzgerald's problems with his wife Zelda affected his writing．During the 1920s he tried to reorder his life, but failed．By 1930, his wife had her first breakdown and went to a Swiss clinic．During this period he completed novels Tender Is the Night in 1934 and The Love of the Last Tycoon in 1940．While his wife was in hospital in the United States, he got totally addicted to alcohol．Sheila Graham, his dear friend, helped him fight his alcoholism．