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　　Beijing－(13, July)China sent up a new data relay satellite(数据中继卫星), Tianlian I-02, on Monday at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in South-western Sichuan province．The new satellite will promote the country's satellite communication network for space docking(对接)．

　　The satellite was launched on a Long-March-3C carrier rocket at 11∶41 p. m., sources at the centre told Xinhua News Agency．The satellite separated from the rocket 26 minutes after its launch and was then successfully delivered into a geostationary transfer orbit(地球同步转移轨道)．

　　Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the satellite is the country's second data relay satellite．The first, Tianlian I-01, was launched on April 25.2008．

　　The two satellites will form a network to improve communications between China's spacecraft and bases on Earth, according to the centre．They will also be used to help the nation's first space docking, scheduled for the second half of this year．

　　As planned, China will launch space module Tiangong-I, which was designed as a platform that will dock with an unmanned spaceship, Shenzhou, for the county's first space-docking mission this year．

　　Two more Shenzhou spaceships will dock with Tiangong-I next year, and one will be manned by two or three astronauts, according to China Manned Space Engineering Office, which was the main user of the Tianlian I series data relay satellites．

　　“The new satellite can cover a greater area to track and command the country’s space vehicles in low-Earth orbits, such as manned spacecraft and remote sensing satellites, from a higher position in outer space．Only three satellites of this kind are needed to form a global communication network, and China has two now．” Pang Zhihao, a researcher and deputy editor-in-chief of Space International, said．

　　The satellite could also equip astronauts with real-time communications, which will benefit the country's future manned space flights, he said．

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　　October 15th is Global Handwashing Day．Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap．

　　Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called critical moments．These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food．

　　Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public-private Partnership for handwashing with soap．The goal, they say, is to create a culture of handwashing with soap．The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs．They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap．Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails．Then, wash well under running water．Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth．

　　The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing．Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs．And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again．

　　It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine．It could help reduce cases of diarrhea, which is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year, by almost half．

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　　When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．

　　After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test－even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadowland(虚幻世界)of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．

　　One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying ＄6,000 a year．” ＄6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a writer? Full time．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "I'm going to stick it out and write．"

　　After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had：two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"

　　Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experienced．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．

　　Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course in the shadowland．

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　　By Zhang Youlv(China Daily 09/29/2008)－A manned lunar(月球的)landing is China’s next target when the current three-stage space program ends in the next dacade．“When our manned space program is completed, we will travel even further,” Wang Zhaoyao, deputy head of China’s manned space program office and Shenzhou VII mission spokesman, told a briefing in Beijing three hours after China’s third manned space mission was successfully concluded yesterday．

　　“After comprehensively analyzing the general trend of the international development of manned space, as well as realities in China, we see a manned lunar landing as a both challenging and tactical(策略的)field in global hi-tech,” he said．

　　“We believe it necessary for our country to do something in this field,” Wang said．

　　He did not give a specific(具体的)date for a moon landing．Wang, however, said, “Experts believe this is ‘very much needed’ for research into relevant(closely connected)technologies to further China’s achievements in space．”

　　The 68-hour Shenzhou VII mission featured a 25-minute spacewalk on Saturday．

　　It was broadcast live and watched by millions throughout the country．The crew’s landing at a site in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region was also carried live by national television．

　　The entire mission was pronounced a complete success．

　　Wang said the three astronauts, were transported to Hohhot, the region’s capital, and would spend the evening there．

　　“They will return to Beijing this morning,” he said．

　　“During the course of the mission, Russian experts provided strong technical support for the EVA spacesuits．The successful Sino-Russian cooperation for this flight created beneficial conditions for more intensive cooperation between the two sides in the future,” Wang said．

　　The mission’s success has paved the way for completing the second stage of the program－building a space station before 2020．

　　Before that, a space lab will be set up in 2010 with Shenzhou X, the country’s next full-crew space journey．

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　　Worrying about how you’ll perform on a math test may actually contribute to a lower test score, US researchers said on Saturday．

　　Math anxiety－feelings of dread and fear and avoiding math－can weaken the brain’s limited amount of working capacity, a resource needed to calculate difficult math problems, said Mark Ashcrafi, a psychologist at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who studies the problem．

　　“It turns out that math anxiety occupies a person’s working memory,” said Ashcraft, who spoke at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco．

　　Ashcraft said while easy math tasks such as addition require only a small part of a person’s working memory, harder calculations require much more．

　　Worrying about math takes up a large part of a person’s working memory stores as well, spelling disaster for the anxious student who is taking a high-stakes test(高风险测验)．

　　Stress about how one does on tests like college entrance exams can make even good math students choke．“All of a sudden they start looking for the short cuts,” said University of Chicago researcher Sian Beilock．

　　Although test preparation classes can help students get over this anxiety, they are limited to students whose families can afford them．

　　Finally, she said, “It may not be wise to rely completely on scores to predict who will succeed．”

　　While the causes of math anxiety are unknown, Ashcraft said, “People who manage to get over math anxiety have completely normal math ability．”

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　　On this vivid planet, it appears colorful with many world famous buildings．Among these largest artificial articles in the world, many were designed by the same architect－Ieoh Ming Pei．

　　Pei, the 1983 Laureate of the Pritzker, Architecture Prize, is a founding partner of I．M．Pei & Partners based in New York City．He was born in China in 1917, the son of a banker．He came to the United States in 1935 to study architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Harvard Graduate School of Design(M．Arch．1946)．

　　From 1945 to 1948, Pei taught at Harvard．In 1948 he accepted the newly created post of director of Architecture at Webb & Knapp, Inc．, and this association resulted in major architectural and planning projects in big cities．In 1958, he formed the partnership(合伙人)of I．M．Pei & Associates, which became I．M．Pei & Partners in 1966．The partnership received the 1968 Architectural Firm Award of The American Institute of Architects．

　　Pei has designed over forty projects in the world, twenty of which have been award winners．His outstanding projects have included the East Building of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D．C．; the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library near Boston; the Fragrant Hill Hotel near Beijing, China．

　　Pei is now a member of the National Council on the Arts, and before served on the National Council on the Humanities．He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters．He is a member of the Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology．

　　As a student, he was awarded the MIT Traveling Fellowship, at Harvard．He later won a lot of honors．In 1982, the deans of the architectural schools of America chose I．M．Pei as the best designer of significant non-residential(非住宅的)structures．

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　　Parts of Africa are covered by a dark cloud．But this is no rain cloud．It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts(蝗虫)that are traveling across the continent eating everything in their path．

　　And now in the battle to stop this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 50 kilograms of rice if they can catch and kill 50 kilograms of locusts．“We think this idea will get more people to take part in the war on the locusts,” said Abdoulaye Ba, from Sud-Fm, a radio station in one of Senegal's worst affected area．

　　This is West Africa's biggest locust disaster in 15 years, and it is moving east, causing huge damage to crops．As they move they produce young and increase their number and will soon threaten(威胁)Sudan in the northeast of Africa．Some say it could reach Asia．

　　Experts say the harmful effect on crops in areas already suffering from food shortage and war could cause many people to go hungry．Governments in the areas are not well equipped to fight the pest．

　　Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not expected to be enough．“We are now treating 6,000 hectares(公顷)per day with pesticide(杀虫剂), but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster,” said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah, director of locust control in Mauritania．

　　Requests are being made for international aid, which is the only way to limit the disaster, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization warned．

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　　Once there was a young woman who didn't like her job．Every day when she came home from work, she told her husband how terrible her day had been, how tiring the work and how unreasonable her boss．“Leave that job,” her husband told her．

　　“Oh, I will,” she said．“But not yet．I have too many friends there for me to leave．” And so she remained unhappy at work until the years became decades and her children had children．“Leave that job”, her grandchildren told her．“Oh, I will,” she said．“But not yet．There are only seven more years until I reach thirty years of service and can retire．So I can't just yet．”

　　I know this woman．And her story reminds me of an old dog half asleep on the porch of a general store, moaning and groaning in the sun．“Why is your dog acting that way?” a customer asked the store owner．“ Oh”, answered the man, “He's lying on a nail．” “Well, why doesn't he move?” “Because it's not hurting him bad enough．”

　　That's true for people, too．We convince ourselves the pain is not bad enough to leave the workplace we know．But we are wrong．Prolonged work pain is continuing．Some work pain damages our self-esteem, kills our passion or destroys our dreams．

　　Wilbur Wright once commented, “We could hardly wait to get up in the morning．I know that exhilarating feeling of being so passionate about something I was working on that I couldn't wait to get back to work．And people who are winning at working know that kind of passion, too．”

　　They get excited about work．They offer their unique gifts and talents eagerly．And when things don't change as they sometimes will, they refuse to let environment hijack their self-esteem, passion or dreams．