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　　An idea came to me, and I turned off the lights in the studio．In the darkness, I took off my shirt and took up the cello(大提琴); it was the first time in my life I'd felt the instrument against my bare chest．I'd never thought about that; music scholars always talk about the resonating properties(共振)of various instruments, but surely the performer's own body must have some effect on the sound．As I dug into the notes I imagined that my own chest and lungs were extensions of the sound box; I seemed to be able to change the sound by the way I sat, and by varying the muscular tightness in my upper body．

　　After improvising for a while, I started playing, still in the darkness．I heard the music through my skin．For the first time I didn't think about how it would sound to anyone else, and slowly, joyfully, gratefully, I started to hear again．The notes sang out, first like a trickle：, then like a fountain of cool water bubbling up from a hole in the middle of a desert．After an hour or so I looked up, and in the darkness saw the outline of the cat sitting on the floor in front of me, cleaning her paws and purring loudly, I had an audience again, humble as it was．

　　So that's what I do now with my cello．At least once a clay I find time to tune it, close my eyes and listen．It's probably not going to lead to the kind of comeback I'd be thirsty for－years of playing badly have left scars on my technique－but I might eventually try giving a concert if I feel up to it．

　　Occasionally I feel a stab of longing, and I wish I could give just one more concert on a great stage before my lights blink off, but that longing passes more quickly now．I take comfort in the fact that, unlike the way I felt before, I can enjoy playing for myself now．I feel relaxed and expansive when I play, as if I could stretch out my arms and reach from one end of the apartment to the other．A feeling of completeness and dignity surrounds me and lifts me up．

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　　Wal-Mart is not just the world's largest retailer(零售商)．It's the world's largest company, which sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year．

　　Wal-Mart exercises its power for just one purpose：to bring the lowest possible prices to its customers．At Wal-Mart, that goal is never reached．The retailer has a clear policy for suppliers：On basic products that don't change, the price Wal-Mart will pay, and will charge shoppers, must drop year after year．But what almost no one outside the world of Wal-Mart and none of its 21,000 suppliers know is the high cost of those low prices．To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from bikes to jeans have had to close US plants in favor of obtaining products from abroad．

　　Indeed, the real story of Wal-Mart, the story that never gets told, is the story of the pressure the biggest retailer constantly applies to its suppliers in the name of bringing us“every day low prices”．

　　The giant retailer's low prices often come with a high cost．Wal-Mart's pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas．Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line?Of course, US companies have been moving jobs offshore for decades, long before Wal-Mart was a retailing power．But there is no question that the chain is helping accelerate the loss of American jobs to low-wage countries such as Thailand．

　　People ask,“How can it be bad for things to come into the US cheaply?”Sure, it's great to have bargains．But you can't buy anything if you're not employed．

　　There is no question that Wal-Mart's drive to squeeze out cost has benefited consumers．By now, it is accepted wisdom that Wal-Mart makes the companies it does business with more efficient and focused．Wal-Mart itself is known for continuous, improvement in its ability to handle, move, and track goods．It is legendary(传奇)for forcing its suppliers to redesign everything from their packaging to their computer systems．It is also legendary for quite straightforwardly telling them what it will pay for their goods．

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How Many Lies Do the Children Tell You?

　　Mothers who feel their children don't appreciate them can add another grievance to the list：half the time, their children are lying to them．A study designed to expose the truth about lying shows that undergraduates lie to their mothers in 46％ of their conversations．Still, mums should feel better than total strangers, who are told lies an astonishing 77％ of the time．

　　Bella Depaulo and a team of psychologists from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, asked 77 undergraduates to keep a record of all their conversations for a week, and write down whether they lied at any time．DePaulo named lying broadly, as“when you intentionally try to mislead someone”, so she would catch the smallest of lies．

　　The students told an average of two lies a day．They said they had been studying when they had been out drinking．One told his parents that a textbook cost ＄50 rather than ＄20 so that they would send him extra money．Female students constantly told their plain-looking roommates that they were pretty．“They are everyday lies,”says DePaulo．

　　DePaulo and her colleagues conclude that people tend to tell fewer lies to those they feel closest to．College students lied to their best friends 28％ of the time but lied to acquaintances 48％ of the time．In close relationships, people were more likely to tell“kind-hearted”lies, designed to protect feelings, rather than self-serving lies．

　　Romantic(浪漫的)partners Ml somewhere between close friends and acquaintances．Students lied to romantic partners about a third of the time．DePaulo thinks that unmarried lovers can expect less honesty than best friends because of the insecurity that comes with romance．

　　Mothers can take heart from one other finding．They may have been lied to, but at least their children talked to them．The students were recorded telling few lies to their fathers because they had little interaction with them．

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　　Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path．I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud．As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked!Yet I did nothing for the attack．It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected．I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times．I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me．Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing．And I was laughing．After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!

　　Having stopped, laughing, I took a step forward．My attacker rushed me again．He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain．For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused．I wasn't sure what to do．After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly．I stepped back to look the situation over．My attacker moved back to land on the ground．That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier．He had a mate and she was dying．

　　Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her．I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate．He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate's sake(缘故), even though she was clearly dying and I was so large．He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her．His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety seemed admirable．I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool．He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed．

　　Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me．

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　　Sheng Huizhen's life story is typical of immigrants(移民)who have succeeded in America．After getting her PhD in biochemistry, she got a job as a researcher at the National Institutes of Health．She got a green card, bought a house in Maryland and worked her way up all the time．

　　But then she moved back to China．A law in America stopped the use of public money for research on human embryos(胚胎)．This prevented her from doing the kind of work she wanted to do．The Chinese government attracts her to return with ＄75,000 for a new lab．

　　She could use the lab to do her research．“Maybe because of the culture, the public in China are friendlier to the research,”said Sheng, 55, whose family remains in the United States．

　　Attracted by support and a scientific environment more open to certain types of experiments, China's long-lost scientists are coming back．Besides, China announced that it would double its research-and-development spending by 2012, to about ＄69 billion．The returning scientists are very happy about that．In recent years, more than 275,000 have come back．

　　Many of these“sea turtles”, as they are known, have returned with degrees in science or engineering．They are going to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where 81 percent of the members are returning scientists．Fifty thousand of the returning scientists are starting their own companies, according to China's Ministry of Education, pushing the development in science．

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　　STRANGERS parties go wild these days．The main idea of them is to never let the people know who their matches are until the last minute．These are some popular practices that are storming the world's youth on this V-day．

　　Speed dating

　　It's exactly what the name implies．Complete with a timer, a whistle and 50 willing singles, speed dating is not the traditional dinner and a movie type of first date．Singles pay US ＄35 for three minutes with more than two dozen future dates．They ask questions and try to get to know each other．At the sound of a whistle, they do the same thing all over again－25 times in all．

　　Lock and key party

　　Women are given a lock and men are given a key, upon arriving at the party．Each key and lock has several matches．One can hunt for his/her later-to-be sweetheart in various groups, and try out the key or lock．Each time a lock and key match the pair are entered into a ballot(票数)for top prizes!

　　Dinner in the dark

　　Waiters wearing night vision glasses guide the guests through the pitch-black dining room．They are seated at the table and familiarized with the wine glass and plate．Food is handled with the fingers．People will not see the food they are eating or the guests at their table until the dessert course．At that moment, dining partners will appear．

　　Message party

　　Have A Cocktail, Leave A Message!When you arrive, you get a tag with a number and a pad of post-it notes．If you see someone you like, write a message on the message board．But wait…You've got a message…Go and collect it!You can make new friends and win lots of gifts．The more messages you leave on the bulletin board, the more chances you have of winning prizes．

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　　This is the VOA Special English News Report．

　　Single-handed

　　Zhou Yang, 18, China

　　Against three strong Republic of Korea competitors, Zhou single-handed took the 1,500-meter short speed skating gold to become Chinas' youngest winter Olympics gold medallist．According to coach Li Yan, Zhou, who is usually a gentle girl, took some risks and skated fiercely to take the gold．This is the third gold the Chinese have won at the Vancouver Olympics．

　　Unobtrusive

　　Liu Xiang, 26, China

　　The Olympic gold medallist said on Friday that he's not the same old him, after setting his worst record in years-8.08 seconds for 60-meter hurdles．Liu said he still had some way to go before he's back to his best．Many fans have been expecting his taking-off in the 2010 Doha, but Liu said unobtrusively“Robles is still the best in the 60-meter and 110-meter hurdles．I'm no match now”．He added the performances of Terrence Trammell(US)and Robles would be the highlight of the Doha meet．

　　Coveted

　　Michael Jackson, 1958-2009, US

　　Thanks to a whopping(庞大的)＄ 350,000 bid, Michael Jackson's rhinestone-encrusted(镶满人造钻石的)glove has gone to a Macao company．Jackson wore the sparking glove when he did his first“moonwalk”dance in 1983, so it was a really coveted piece of equipment．The pre-auction estimate put its value at ＄ 40, 000-60,000, but that wasn't even close．The glove and nine other items from the auction will be on display in a Macao hotel．

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　　Helen Thomas, born on August 4,1920, is a famous news reporter, a Hearst Newspapers columnist, and member of the White House Press Corps．She served for fifty-seven years as I reporter and White House bureau chief for United Press International(UPI)．She is called“First Lady of the Press”．

　　Born in Kentucky, Helen Thomas was raised in Detroit, Michigan where she attended public schools and later graduated from Wayne State University．Upon leaving college, Helen served as a copy girl in an old company in Washington．In 1943, Ms．Thomas joined United Press International and the Washington Press Corp．Thomas served as president of the Women's National Press Club from 1959 to 1960．

　　In November, Helen began covering then President-elect John F．Kennedy, following him to the White House in January 1961 as a UPI reporter．She was employed until her resignation on May 17,2000．Thomas then became a White House reporter and a columnist．

　　Thomas was the only woman journalist traveling with then President Nixon to China in January, 1972．She has traveled around the world several times with Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan．Bush, and Clinton, during the course of which she covered every Economic Summit．The World Almanac has cited her as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in America．

　　On March 21,2006．Thomas was called upon directly by President Bush for the first time in three years．Thomas asked Bush about trap．Additionally, Helen Thomas has written four books and she is also a popular speaker at events nationwide．

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　　Believing that birds began to mate on February 14, people in the Middle Ages started the card tradition by sending love letters on that day．

　　In the 15th century, singing and spoken valentines were slowly replaced by written letters in Europe．The first written valentine is credited to(归功于)Charles, the Duke of Orleans, who wrote love poems to his wife while he was in prison in 1415．By the beginning of the 16th century, valentines were almost always written．Early valentines were hand-made on colored paper．Often they were tinted(染色)with water colors and inks．

　　The 1800s saw valentines made by factory workers．Black and white pictures were painted by the workers in the early part of the century．By the end of the 1800s, the cards were made by machines．These cards were elaborately decorated with gold leaf, satin, lace and flowers．In 1840, the first mass-produced valentine's cards were made in America．Esther Howland, who sold ＄5,000 worth of the cards in her first year, created them．

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　　BRITAIN is a popular tourist place, but tours of the country have pros and cons．

　　GOOD NEWS

　　Free museums．No charge for outstanding collections of art and antiquities．

　　Pop music．Britain is the only country to compete with the US on this score．

　　Black cabs．London taxi drivers know where they are going even if there are never enough of them at weekends or night．

　　Choice of food．Visitors can find everything from Japanese to Swedish restaurants．

　　Fashion．Not only do fashion junkies love deeply and respect highly brand names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too．

　　BAD NEWS

　　Poor service．“It's part of the image of the place．People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,”says Professor Tony Seaton, of Luton University's International Tourism Research Center．

　　Poor public transport．Trains and buses are promised to disappoint the keenest tourists, although the over crowded London tube is unbelievably popular．

　　Rain．Still in the number one complaint．

　　No air-conditioning．So that even splendidly hot summers become as unbearable as the downpours．

　　Overpriced hotels．The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark．

　　Licensing hours．Alcohol is in short supply after 11 pm even in“24-hour cities”．

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