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　　There is a new trend．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(研究生)programs 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 percent annually in the past two years with well over 1000 entering mainland campuses last year．

　　The Internet site, based in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, provides education service and information on Chinese mainland college 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, Net．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 Shih 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, surnamed Lin, at the National Taiwan University said he would like to study law on the Chinese mainland since “there will be better career prospects(前景)now that more Taiwanese companies are going there”．“They hope the children could build up connections which could later become useful in their business operations,” said Yang Ching-yao, professor of the Chinese mainland studies．A Netbig．Com survey showed the campuses favored by Taiwan 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(证书)from selected universities．

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As the human population grows, the population of rat also increases．Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave what they cannot finish of the fast food in the street, an environment group warned．Keep Britain Tidy said the rats were stopping their traditional hunts underground and were running across the streets, invited by burgers, pizzas and crisps left behind by man．“The rat population is on the rise and soon it’ll be as common to see a rat on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat,” said group Director, Sue Nelson．The practice of spreading fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the dustbin－with young men the worst group－was behind the rise．According to the National Rodent Survey in 2005, Britain’s rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 2000 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population．On average a rat can give birth every 24-28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a family of 2,000 a year．Around 200 people a year get Weil’s Disease －an infection which can lead to liver or kidney(肝肾)failure and eventually death and which is carried in rats’ waste．To attract people’s attention to the problem, Keep Britain Tidy produced a cinema ad with a title “How close do you want them to get?” The ad gave a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats--reminding people of the terrible scene from James Herbert’s classic horror tale The Rats, in which rats begin to hunt for humans．

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　　Italians like to say that when it comes to alcohol, they have a sipping(小酌)culture rather than a drinking culture．That means that while Italians may enjoy a glass of wine or beer, they don’t usually get very drunk．

　　That’s not true any more．The new study by the Italian National Health Institute found that 63 percent of Italians under age 18 get drunk on the weekends．Now, the city of Milan has created a law that will stop anyone under 16 from buying alcohol．

　　Anyone who sells or gives alcohol to a person under 16 can be fined up to ＄700．

　　Young people who feel that the new law is unfair should go to the US for some perspective(观点)．The US has the highest drinking age in the world：It’s illegal for anyone under 21 to buy alcohol, and stores or restaurants that are caught selling alcohol to people under the legal age risk losing their licenses．

　　Many young Americans complain that the drinking laws are unfair：They are allowed to vote in elections and join the army at age 18, so why wait another three years just to buy a bottle of beer?

　　These young people have found help in an unusual place．Last year, more than 100 presidents of US universities joined together to ask lawmakers to consider changing the drinking age．They argued that the law doesn’t stop underage college kids from getting drunk－it just makes them want to drink more．

　　For now, the law seems unlikely to change．But US teenagers who want alcohol can go north to Canada, where the drinking age is 18-19, or south to Mexico where the legal age is 18．Throughout much of Asia, Africa and Europe, the legal drinking age ranges 16-18．

　　In plenty of places though, the official drinking age is ignored, and even young children can buy alcohol if they have the money to pay for it．

　　No matter how old you are, you should always be responsible with alcohol．Teenagers in Milan are now learning that their reckless(不顾后果的)drinking behavior may come at a high price．

　　By Ariel Lown Lewiton, 21st Teens Staff

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　　A good education is very important for the healthy development of a child．But the way in which education is understood has changed completely．In the past, stern and rough ways were used to bring up a child, and unfeeling rules were supposed to create the excellent personality of the typical gentleman．Nowadays, society is much more open-minded and it does not put a great value on being so strict with children although this doesn’t mean that opinions regarding this subject do not differ．

　　On the one hand, there are those in favor of a strict teacher and the narrow-minded people who consider that only a rough hand is able to properly educate a child．Firstly, according to them, children should fear their teachers, as this is the only way in which they will pay attention．In addition to that, they think that a pupil will never learn because he enjoys doing so and takes interest in what he is doing, but only because that is what he is supposed to do if he doesn’t want a low grade．

　　On the other hand, there are people who believe that only by having a friendly attitude and listening to the opinions of their pupils can a teacher do his job at a high standard．Their opinion is that there has to be a connection between teachers and students before any satisfying result can be achieved．Luckily, more and more teachers understand this fact and are doing their best to get over the strict rules and get in touch with their students．

　　However, this does not mean that a teacher shouldn’t be a bit tougher when he feels that things are getting out of hand．All in all, I must say that a good teacher is a teacher that has the ability to be kind and strict at the same time, thus winning the respect and interest of his students．

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　　Fish have started protecting us．It seems unlikely, but the Intelligent Automation Corporation has developed a system that uses fish to protect our water supplies．Cities and towns share water with millions of people, so it’s important that the water is clean and safe to drink．

　　Bluegills, which are small enough to fit in your hand, are the fish that are protecting our water．They are common freshwater fish native to America and are also known as bream or sunfish．According to the Associated Press, the bluegills were originally used by the Army to make sure water was safe．Now San Francisco, New York City, Washington D．C and several other cities use the bluegill monitoring system．

　　The bluegill system works by constantly filling the fish tank with city or town water．A small group of bluegills swim in the local water and are closely monitored．Bluegills are very sensitive to their environment．Changes in the environment cause their behavior and breathing patterns to change．They cough if the water is polluted．Fish cough by flexing their gills(鳃)to get rid of unwanted particles, like grain of sand, from their breathing passages．If the bluegills are coughing the computer sends an alarm via email．The bluegills in New York City discovered an diesel spill(柴油外溢)hours before the usual monitors．Adding the bluegill system to regular water protection methods resulted in an early warning and safer water．