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　　Weddings in the United States vary as much as the people do．There are church weddings with a great deal of fanfare(仪式上用的短曲); there are weddings on mountain－tops with guests barefooted(赤脚的); and there have been weddings on the ocean floor with oxygen tanks for the guests．But many weddings, no matter where or how they are performed, include certain traditional customs．

　　Before a couple is married, they become engaged．And then invitations are sent to those who live nearby, their close friends and their relatives who live far away．When everything is ready, then comes the most exciting moment．

　　The wedding itself usually lasts between 20 and 40 minutes．The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played．The bride carrying a bouquet(花束)enters last with her father who will "give her away "．The bridegroom enters the church from a side door．When the wedding party is gathered by the altar, the bride and bridegroom exchange vows(誓言)．It is traditional to use the words "To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part "．Following the vows, the couple exchange rings．Wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand is an old custom．

　　After the ceremony there is often a party, called a "reception" which gives the wedding guests an opportunity to congratulate the new couple．The car in which the couple leaves the church is decorated with balloons, streamers and shaving cream．The words "Just Married" are painted on the trunk or back window．The bride and bridegroom run to the car under a shower of rice thrown by the wedding guests．When the couple drives away from the church, friends often chase them in cars, honking(鸣汽车喇叭)and drawing attention to them．And then the couple go on their honeymoon．

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　　In the USA Forbes magazine has published its annual list of the richest people in the world．Bill Gates of Microsoft is the richest man again for the eleventh successive year with a fortune of forty four billion dollars．

　　There are a record 691 dollar billionaires according to Forbes magazine．Between them they have a fortune of two point two trillion dollars．The highest concentration of the ultra-rich is in New York followed by Moscow and San Fransisco and then London and Los Angeles．But in total the very wealthy live in forty seven different countries with Iceland Kazakstan Ukraine and Poland entering the list for the first time this year．

　　Laksmi Mittal, an Indian born steel tycoon(巨头)enjoyed the biggest increase in personal fortune．His net worth has quadrupled(变成四倍)to thirteen billion dollars making him the world's third richest man．Ingvar Kamprad founder of the Swedish furniture chain Ikea also saw a big increase in wealth taking him to the sixth place．Developing countries make more of a showing than in past years － there are for example three Russians and four Indians in the top sixty richest people, though surprisingly perhaps none from China excluding Hong Kong．Asian wealth is probably under represented as its usually spread among families whereas Forbes looks at individuals．Relatively few women feature in the list － among them is JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels ranked 620th with a fortune of 519 million dollars．New entrants to the list include the founders of the Internet search group Google Sergie Brin and Larry Page each worth more than seven billion dollars after their company's recent stock market debut．The richest Italian is the prime minister Silvio Berlusconi ranked number 25 in the global wealth league．

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　　Modern man has cleared the forests for farmland and for wood, and has also carelessly burned them．More than that, though, he has also interfered(干涉)with the invisible bonds between the living things in the forests．There are many examples of this kind of destruction．The harmfulness of man's interference can be seen in what happened many years ago in the forest of the Kaibab plateau(凯亚巴布高原)of northern Arizona．Man tried to improve on the natural web of forest life and destroyed it instead．

　　The Kaibab had a storybook forest of large sized pine, Douglas fir, white fir, blue and Engelmann spruce．In 1882 a visitor noted, "We, who．．．have wandered through its forests and parks, have come to regard it as the most enchanting region it has ever been our privilege(特权)to visit．”This was also the living place of the Rocky Mountain mule deer．Indians hunted there every autumn to gather meat and skins．The forest also had mountain lions, timber wolves and bobcats that kept the deer from multiplying too rapidly．

　　Then, in 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt made the Kaibab a national game preserve．Deer hunting was forbidden．Government hunters started killing off the deer's enemies．In 25 years' time, 6,250 mountain lions, wolves and bobcats were killed．Before the program, there were about 4,000 deer in the Kaibab, by 1924, there were about 100,000．

　　The deer ate every leaf and twig they could reach．But there was not nearly enough food．Hunting of deer was permitted again．This caused a slight decrease in the deer herd(鹿群)，but a far greater loss resulted from starvation(饥饿)and disease．Some 60 percent of the deer herd died in two winters．By 1930 the herd had dropped to 20,000 animals．By 1942 it was down to 8,000．

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　　Long bus rides are like television shows．They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials 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 changed new 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 armrests even 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(颜料)broke, there has been confusion over possible links to the country of the same name, but Sudan officials say there is no connection whatever．

　　Sudan 1 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 1 to 4, are red dyes 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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　　BEIJING－After a night of wining and dining with 50 of China's richest people, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates told the journalists on Thursday that the biggest difference between eating with Chinese tycoons(企业界大亨)and Western ones was the food．

　　“I was amazed last night, really, at how similar the questions and discussions and all that were to those in the dinners we had in the U．S．,” said Mr．Buffett．

　　Mr．Buffett and Mr．Gates, two of the best known Westerners here, announced in September, 2010 that they planned to invite 50 wealthy Chinese tycoons to dinner in Beijing to encourage philanthropy(慈善事业)among China's new rich．

　　On Thursday, the two men pronounced the dinner a great success, saying that two-thirds of those invited had shown up, and that more than half of them had offered their own ideas on how Chinese philanthropy should work．

　　The guest list wasn't made public, but the Chinese news media reported that it included Jet Li, the movie star; Niu Gensheng, the founder of a Chinese dairy business; and Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin, who control the SOHO China real estate(房地产)empire．

　　As with four earlier dinners held in the United States, Mr．Buffett and Mr．Gates said, no one at the Beijing event was asked to donate money or to promise to engage in charity．“Bill and I won't be calling anybody．What happens in China will depend on what the Chinese people feel about a project of this sort,” said Mr．Buffett．

　　China is widely reported to be second only to the United States in the number of dollar billionaires．Mr．Gates and Mr．Buffett said the nation was unique because its wealthy class had arisen almost wholly in the past 30 years, so the philanthropic practices established among European and American dynasties are new here, and open to change．

　　The two said the dinner wasn't a long planned matter, but an offshoot of a trip that Mr．Buffett had already scheduled to Guangdong and Hunan Provinces, where BYD Company, a maker of clean-energy automobiles, has factories．Mr．Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, holds a 10％stake(股金)in the company．

　　But Mr．Gates suggested that their philanthropic trip wasn't yet over．“We may do an event in India,” he said．

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　　Many people have been talking about the way in which the world will come to an end in 2012．Everybody wants to find out if December 21, 2012 is the last day of the earth．The rumor has already been spreading for a very long time．The Mayan's prediction can account for the rumor．According to the rumor, the earth will experience dramatic changes in 2012 and the changes will be disastrous to all of the living creatures on earth．It is widely assumed that a Planet X will return to orbit the solar system．The return of Planet X will have a destructive effect on the solar system as well as on some planets including the Neptune, the Jupiter and the earth．Planet X will cross into their orbits．There's a possibility that Jupiter will change into a little sun at this time, so folks will be well placed to see two suns in the sky in 2012．

　　The solar flares(耀斑)that occur in a 11-year cycle will reach their highest point in 2012．The powerful solar flares will affect the magnetic field of the earth and cause disasters．On December 21, 2012, the sun and the earth will line up in the same line at the equator(赤道)．The winter solstice(冬至)only occurs once every 25,800 years．The events in the universe are signals that the world will come to an end．As a result of the solar flares, lots of disasters will happen that will destroy the face of the whole earth．Scientists are making the guess primarily based on the Mayan Long Count Calendar．

　　Many films have been made about the end of the world including End Game by Alex Jones and End Clock：Nostradamus 2012．The former provides insights about the way the world will become one state．After the world government is in place, it's going to be easy to exterminate 80％of the people in the world．The rest will continue to live with assistance from advanced technology．

　　No one knows whether the world will end on December 21, 2012：There is no clear answer until the day arrives．Just as the Mayans claim, it will not be the time for the world to end．Instead, it will be the dawn of a fresh start．

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　　When I spent Christmas away from home in Europe for the first time, I was only 14 and it was absolutely horrific．I am now married and live in the US．So there is little possibility for me to go home for Christmas．Now I am able to get through Christmas with some moments of joy：

　　First, you are advised to search you area for stores that carry items from your home country or town．Buy food, candles and some other things that mean something to you．

　　Hold on to the traditions from your home that you think are important even if other people think they are stupid．But keep in mind to be open for new traditions from wherever you might be, because those traditions are as important to those people around you as yours are to you．For me that includes celebrating Christmas on the 24^th．

　　Call, write Christmas cards, buy gifts and mail them to loved ones, just as if you were there．If you try to pretend as if the holiday doesn't exist, you are just going to make it worse．

　　Introduce your traditions to your loved ones, especially your kids．It will only enrich their celebration of the holiday to have some unique traditions in their home．Little by little it will become their tradition and it's fun for them to try something new．

　　Find clubs, churches or organizations that are from your home country．Chances are that they will have some celebration with some of your traditions which you can join in．

　　Food is one of the most important factors in any kind of tradition．Find the recipe of that cake your grandmother used and make it your tradition to bake that particular cake．

　　Call up your parents and get them to send you some of your favorite childhood ornaments(装饰品)for your tree．

　　Embrace new traditions, talk to your family about which ones you want to make your own and stick with them．

　　If you are far away from home, Christmas can never be the same as you experienced it before, but it is important to remember these traditions while appreciating the new ones．Keep an open mind and find a compromise between old and new traditons．

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　　While firing off pictures of a curious five-month-old fox, photographer Simon Czapp soon realized his subject had quite an interest in photography herself．The clever fox was so curious about the camera equipment that she climbed right on top of it．And while she was supposed to be the subject of the shoot, the fox stood on the shutter release button(快门按钮)and took her own frames．

　　Mr Czapp visited the New Forest Wildlife Park to capture images of new arrival Jessie．She has been at the animal park in Ashurst, Hampshire－home to wolves, deer and other animals in 25 acres of ancient woodland－after being abandoned by her mother．

　　Mr Czapp said, “Jessie was very playful and curious and not at all camera shy．Soon after I arrived she was chewing my shoes and everything seemed to be a game to her．Then she started exploring the camera I had set up on a tripod(三脚架)．She balanced her front paws on it and at one point knocked it over．”

　　He put the camera back on the tripod and Jessie soon jumped back up．At one point she had all four paws on the camera and was keeping her balance．Mr Czapp added, “She jumped up there several times and I realized it could make a good picture．As I was leaving with the public's viewing window behind me, I thought I heard the camera go off but didn't think much of it．But when I checked the memory card afterwards, I was amazed to see Jessie had actually taken two pictures of me photographing her．I couldn't believe a fox had gained an advantage over me! Jessie is a lovely little fox．There were some lovely photos of her but she obviously thought the photographer was worthy of a picture too!”