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　　Mr．Peter Johnson, aged twenty-three, battled for half an hour to escape from his trapped car yesterday when it landed upside down in three feet of water．Mr．Johnson took the only escape route－through the boot(行李箱)．

　　Mr．Johnson's car had finished up in a ditch(沟渠) at Romney Marsin, Kent after skidding on ice and hitting a bank．“Fortunately, the water began to come in only slowly,” Mr．Johnson said．“I couldn't force the doors because they were jammed against the walls of the ditch and dared not open the windows because I knew water would come flooding in．”

　　Mr．Johnson, a sweet salesman of Sitting Home, Kent, first tried to attract the attention of other motorists by sounding the horn and hammering on the roof and boot．Then he began his struggle to escape．

　　Later he said, “It was really a half penny that saved my life．It was the only coin I had in my pocket and I used it to unscrew the back seat to get into the boot．I hammered desperately with a hammer trying to make someone hear, but no help came．”

　　It took ten minutes to unscrew the seat, and a further five minutes to clear the sweet samples from the boot．Then Mr．Johnson found a wrench(扳子) and began to work on the boot lock．Fifteen minutes passed by．“It was the only chance I had．Finally it gave, but as soon as I moved the boot lid, the water and mud poured in．I forced the lid down into the mud and scrambled clear as the car filled up．”

　　His hands and arms cut and bruised(擦伤), Mr．Johnson got to Beckett Farm nearby, where he was looked after by the farmer's wife, Mrs．Lucy Bates．Huddled in a blanket, he said, “That thirty minutes seemed like hours．” Only the tips of the car wheels were visible, police said last night．The vehicle had sunk into two feet of mud at the bottom of the ditch．

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　　WASHINGTON－It is announced Friday that White House visitor records will be opened up on a regular basis for the first time in modern history, providing the public an unusually detailed look at who gets the opportunity to help shape American policy at the highest levels．

　　“Americans have a right to know whose voices are being heard in the policymaking process,” the president said in a written statement issued by the White House while he vacationed with his family at Camp David．

　　By the end of the year, the White House will begin posting online every month the names of the people who visited in the last 90 to 120 days．Each person's full name will be listed, along with the date and time they entered and left and the name of the person they visited．About 70,000 to 100,000 people visit the White House each month, and the records will include tourists as well as people conducting business．

　　The White House pointed out several exceptions to the policy：“purely personal guests” of the Obama family; those cases in which the disclosure(透露) of visitors' names “would threaten national safety interests”; and those who come for “particularly sensitive meetings,” like candidates for a Supreme Court nomination(提名)．Officials said only a “small number” will fit in the latter category, and their names would eventually be disclosed after they are no longer secret, like after a nomination is publicly announced．Moreover, they said, the number of undisclosed visitors will be disclosed, to make clear how few they are．

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　　Studies have shown that the fewer medicines a person has to take the more likely he or she will take them．Last week, a study was released about a new treatment that combines 5 medicines for heart disease in one pill．Salim Yusuf of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada was the lead investigator．He presented the findings at the American College of Cardiology Conference in Orlando, Florida．

　　The experimental drug is known as Polycap．It contains aspirin, a drug to lower cholesterol(胆固醇)and three medicines to lower blood pressure．The study was carried out at 50 health centers across India．More than two thousand people between the ages of 45 and 80 took part in the study．All had at least one risk factor for heart disease．These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or being severely overweight．

　　The people were divided into 9 groups of about 200 people each．One group took Polycap．The other groups took either a single drug or different combinations of the medicines in the Polycap pill．The study showed that Polycap lowered blood pressure and cholesterol without many side effects．Doctor Yusuf said the single pill, taken once a day, could reduce the average person's risk of heart disease and stroke by about half．The maker of Polycap, Cadila Pharmaceuticals of India, paid for the study．

　　Cardiovascular diseases(心血管疾病)of the heart and blood vessels are the number one cause of death around the world．These diseases kill more than seventeen million people every year．80 percent of them are in low and middle income countries．Doctor Yusuf said the single pill treatment could revolutionize heart disease prevention．People would be more likely to take one pill a day than many pills．And one pill would cost less than several pills．

　　Other heart doctors say heart disease prevention is important but not necessarily with pills．They say patients might be able to get the same results with changes in diet and exercise．

　　Doctors say that more research on Polycap is needed．They say the drug should be tested on thousands more people, including those in different risk, age and ethnic groups．

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　　I've been writing for most of my life．The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction(区别)and one practice that has helped my writing processes tremendously．The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind．While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so．

　　Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us encounter．If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to capture a fleeting(稍纵即逝的)thought, the thought will die．If you capture the fleeting thought and simply share it with the world in raw form, no one is likely to understand．You must learn to create first and then criticize if you want to make writing the tool for thinking that it is．

　　The practice that can help you past your learned bad habits of trying to edit as you write is what Elbow calls “free writing．” In free writing, the objective is to get words down on paper non-stop, usually for 15-20 minutes．No stopping, no going back, no criticizing．The goal is to get the words flowing．As the words begin to flow, the ideas will come from the shadows and let themselves be captured on your notepad or your screen．

　　Now you have raw materials that you can begin to work with using the critical mind that you've persuaded to sit on the side and watch quietly．Most likely, you will believe that this will take more time than you actually have and you will end up staring blankly at the pages as the deadline draws near．

　　Instead of staring at a blank start filling it with words no matter how bad．Halfway through your available time, stop and rework your raw writing into something closer to finished product．Move back and forth until you run out of time and the final result will most likely be far better than your current practices．

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　　movie magic can defy reality, but actors are inescapably human．They grow and change, and don't necessarily change for the better．

　　Harry Potter actors, who are now saying their final goodbyes to their roles, have all become fully-fledged(成熟的)grown-ups, worlds apart from the little kids who began the Hogwarts' adventures in 2001．

　　While many fans feel sad that the magical franchise(特权)is coming to an end, some feel even sadder to see how much the actors have changed over the years．

　　"Daniel Radcliffe(who plays Harry Potter)went from being a really cute kid to a thin, pale-looking guy," said Filipino Internet User Lealuvy．"I kind of wish he stayed a kid forever．''

　　Radcliffe himself doesn't seem to be bothered by his change of appearance．In an interview with GQ magazine last week, he teased himself："If people find me sexy or cool, it's because they like short, little, nerdy guys．And we do have our niche(合适的职业)．"

　　Meanwhile, actors growing up to be handsome have their headaches．

　　Harry Melling, who played Potter's cousin Dudley Dursley, told The Telegraph that he was almost recast for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when producers discovered he' d lost a lot of weight he had as a kid．He was too thin for the part．

　　"They(the producers)did this double take, 'Oh my God, we are going to have to do something', and I felt guilty," said Meiling．

　　Aside from changes in looks, the gradual personality change of child stars is another big concern of audience and producers．

　　Miley Cyrus began her career at 13 in Disney's hit TV series Hannah Montana．

　　When Cyrus decided to show her adult personality by releasing "sexy" photos, people began to get uneasy about her．Reports said that furious Disney bosses were considering replacing Cyrus with a more clean-cut teen star．

　　Cyrus finally kept her role after public apologies．But some parents banned their children watching the show．

　　"My daughter has been banned from watching the show," supermodel Cindy Crawford told Showbiz Spy．"I really don't think Miley Cyrus is much of a role model for my kid．"

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　　Elena Kagan has reached a lifelong goal：becoming a Justice on the United States Supreme Court．The US Senate confirmed Kagan on Thursday by a vote of 63-37．She replaces Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired in June．

　　Kagan will take a sacred oath(誓言)to uphold the Constitution of the United States on Saturday at a swearing-in ceremony．The new Justice will bring the number of women sitting on the nation's highest court to three．Kagan joins Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor-all three New Yorkers．

　　Kagan is the fourth woman in history to sit on the Supreme Court．Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was the first female Justice．She was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and served from 1981to 2006．

　　Kagan, who is 50 years old, is the second Justice appointed by President Barack Obama．(He appointed Justice Sotomayor in 2009．)Obama told reporters on Thursday that Kagan will make an “outstanding Justice who understands that her rulings affect people．” He also noted that the addition of another woman to the Supreme Court marks a sign of progress for the country．Obama and Kagan will celebrate her confirmation with a ceremony at the White House today．

　　Kagan has spent most of her adult life working with the law．She served in President Clinton's administration as a legal adviser, was the head of Harvard Law School, and until her confirmation Thursday, was the US Solicitor General-one of the most powerful lawyers in the federal government．Kagan was born in New York City．She grew up in an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the strong-willed, independent middle sister sandwiched between two brothers．

　　Kagan's mother was a public school teacher who taught fifth and sixth grades．Her father was a lawyer．

　　The new Justice once wore a judge's robe in a picture for her high-school yearbook．Now she'll be wearing real ones as she and the other eight Justices decide some of the most important legal cases．

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　　In a few years, you might be able to speak Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, and English-andall at the same time．This sounds incredible, but Alex Waibel, a computer science professor at US's Car-negie Mellon University(CMU)and Germany's University of Karlsruhe, announced last week that it may soon be reality．He and his team have invented software and hardware that could make it far easier forpeople who speak different languages to understand each other．

　　One application, called Lecture Translation, can easily translate a speech from one language into an-other．Current translation technologies typically limit speakers to certain topics or a limited vocabulary．Us-ers also have to be trained how to use the programme．

　　Another machine can send translations of a speech to different listeners depending on what languagethey speak．“It is like having a simultaneous translator right next to you but without disturbing the person next to you, ”Waibel said

　　Prefer to read? So- called Translation Glasses transcribe(转录)the translations on a tiny liquid-crystal display(LCD)screen．

　　Then there's the Muscle Translator．Electrodes capture the electrical signals from facial muscle movements made naturally when a person is mouthing words．The signals are then translated into speech．The electrodes could be replaced with wireless chips implanted in a person's face, according to research-ers．

　　During a demonstration held last Thursday in CMU's Pittsburgh campus, a Chinese student named Sang Jun had 11 tiny electrodes attached to the muscles of his cheeks, neck and throat．Then he mouthed-without speaking aloud- a few words in Mandarin(普通话)to the audience．A few seconds later, the phrase was displayed on a computer screen and spoken out by the computer in English and Spanish：“Let me introduce our new prototype．”

　　This particular instrument, when fully developed, might allow anyone to speak in any number of lan-guages or, as Waibel put it, “to switch your mouth to a foreign language”．“The idea behind the universi-ty's prototypes is to create'good enough' bridges for cross- cultural exchanges that are becoming more common in the world, ”Waibel said．

　　With spontaneous(自发的)translators, foreign drivers in Germany could listen to traffic warnings on the radio; tourists in China could read all the signs and talk with local people; leaders of different coun-tries could have secret talks without any interpreters there．

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　　The United States is already one year into a depression That was the news this week from the Na-tional Bureau of Economic Research．The downturn is the longest since a depression that began in 1981and lasted sixteen months．

　　Economists generally wait for production to shrink for six months in a row before they declare a re-cession．But the bureau, a private group, uses a wider set of information to measure the economy．Thenews only confirmed what many people already knew：that the world's largest economy is weak and maynot recover soon．

　　Worsening conclitions have led to a big drop in spending, especially on costly products like new cars．Even Japanese automaker Toyota saw its sales fall thirty - four percent in the United States in November from a year ago．

　　The heads of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors retumed to Congress this week to again ask for federal aid．Congressional leaders denounced(指责)them two weeks ago after they came in private jets with no clear plans for saving their industry．This time, the chiefs drove to Washington in fuel- saving hybrid vehicles．And their companies presented detailed restructuring plans．The reguest for aid has risen from twenty-five billion dollars two weeks ago to thirty-four billion in loans and credit lines．

　　G．M．wants almost half of that, and says it needs four billion dollars this month．It warned that without support it cannot continue to operate．

　　Ford is in a better position, But the sharing of suppliers means it could be affected if G．M．or Chrysler fails．Ford is asking for a nine billion dollar credit line in case it needs it．

　　Chrysler is the smallest and most trouble of America's Big Three．It says it needs a seven billion dollar loan by the end of the month．

　　Two days of congressional hearings began Thursday in the Senate Banking Committee．The chairman, Democrat Chris Dodd, said he would support helping the automakers for the good of the economy．

　　But the committee's top Republican, Richard Shelby, continued to express opposition to a bailout(贿政援助)．

　　A main root of the world financial crisis is the weak housing market in the United States．The Trea-sury Department has been under pressure to help troubled homeowners．Now comes news that the depart-ment is developing a plan aimed at reducing interest rates on mortgage loans(汽车贷款)for some buyers of homes．That could be good for homeowners trying to sell．

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　　One Tuesday evening in the beginning of the fall 1996 semester at Shippensburg University, sirens(警笛)sounded．These sirens were not in celebration; they were a cry to the university that something was wrong．A house, only one block away, was on fire．Nine of the university's students lived there．

　　From the minute the word got out that help was needed, it seemed like everyone showed up．The victims of the fire were offered endless invitations for housing for the night．The very next day, everyone got into gear to do their part in helping them．Flyers(小传单)were posted with items that were immediatelyneeded, just to get these students through this next couple of days．Boxes for donations and money jarswere placed in every residence hall(学生宿舍)．

　　As a residence director，I went before the students in my hall to ask them to do what they could．I knew that college students don't have much, but I asked them to clo their best：“Every little bit will help．" I really didn't think they could do much．l．was proved wrong．

　　At the hall council meeting the night after the fire, my residents decided to have a wing competition, where each wing of the building would team up to see who could bring in the most donations．l announced．that the wing who won would receive a free pizza party．

　　Thursday evening we announced over the PA system that we were beginning the wing competition．Within minutes, the place exploded．The single large box that I had placed in the lobby(太厅)was over-flowing．We quickly grabbed more boxes, and we watched in amazement as they, too, filled to the brim．Members of the resident assistant staff and I began t．o count the items．l was astonished by what I saw, andI was inspired by these kids．

　　When we came to the final tally(得分), the winners tumed to me and announced that they would like to donate their winnings as well．They wanted the victims of the fire to have their pizza party．

　　Tears welled up in my eyes．I had watched these students jump to action, work tirelessly and donateall that they could．And then, as if that were not enough, they handed over their reward．l was touchedand so very proud of them．

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　　Can people change their skin color without suffering like pop king Michael Jackson? Perhaps yes．Scientists have found the gene that determines skin color．

　　The gene comes in two versions, one of which is found in 99 per cent of Europeans．The other is found in 93 t0 100 per cent of Africans, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report in the latest issue of Science．

　　Scientists have changed the color of a dark - striped zebrafish(斑马鱼)to uniform gold by inserting a version of the pigment(色素)gene into a young fish．As with humans, zebrafish skin color is deter-mined by pigment cells，which contain melanin(黑色素)．The number, size and darkness of melanin perpigment cell determine skin color．

　　It appears that, like the golden zebrafish, light - skinned Europeans also have a mutation(变异)in the gene for melanin production．This results in less pigrnented skin．

　　However, Keith Cheng, leader of the research team, points out that the mutation is different in hu-man ancl zebrafish genes．

　　Humans acquired dark skin in Africa about 1.5 million years ago to protect bodies from ultra - violetrays of the sun．which can cause skin cancer．

　　But when modem humans leave Africa to live in northem latitudes, they need more sunlight on their skin to produce vitamin D．So the related gene changes, according to Cheng．

　　Asians have the same version of the gene as Africans, so they probably acquired their light skin through the action of some other gene that affects skin color, said Cheng．

　　The new discovery could lead to medical treatments for skin cancer．lt also could lead to research in-to ways to change skin color without damaging it like chemical treatment did on Michael Jackson．

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