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　　The dream of getting into an American university is coming true for more and more Chinese students．Last year almost forty thousand Chinese students were accepted into undergraduate programs in America．That was a fifty percent increase over the year before and four times the number of undergraduate students just five years ago．

　　More Chinese students want to go to American universities and more American universities want them to come．For Chinese students it's a chance to get a good education and for American universities it's a chance to, well, make a lot of money．American universities received ＄26 billion in tuition fees from International students last year．It's an important part of their revenue．The tuition fees for foreign students are far higher than for domestic students．For example, the State University of New York(SUNY)charges local students less than ＄5, 000 a year and foreign students more than ＄13, 000 a year．

　　Places like SUNY are easy to get into．They don't look too closely at your academic record and they accept lower TOEFL and SAT*scores．But once you’re in, it gets difficult．You have to take a lot of courses, attend lectures, participate in seminars, write essays and give presentations－all in English! The professors don't change their teaching styles and will not lower their standards to accommodate foreign students．

　　Many Chinese students struggle to keep up with the workload．Some drop out and about five percent fail and have to come back home．It's not surprising because getting a degree from an American university is difficult even for American students．Only slightly more than fifty percent of American students graduate in four years from the university they enrolled in．Some will take five or six years to get the credits they need to graduate．Chinese students work much harder than their American counterparts but language is a big stumbling block for them．If you want to succeed at an American university, your English must be very, very good．At American universities, getting in is easy; getting out is hard．

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　　Pineapple Awards Celebrate Fruits of Science

　　We live in a world of wonder but not in a world of magic．And understanding that world does not mean learning a few tricks at Hogwarts．Instead, it means understanding how important science is in our daily lives．

　　Just take a moment and look around your home．The electric lamp on your desk, the silicon microchip in your mobile phone, your mother's laundry detergent; they are all the results of science．

　　To get people more aware of these wonders that surround us, guokr．com, a science website, and Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Museum have established the “Pineapple Science Awards．” The awards are to be given annually and recognize recent achievements in chemistry, physics, medicine and biology, mathematics and psychology．There are also two special awards for discoveries that are imaginative, fun and thought-provoking．

　　Zhou Xinyue's research certainly met those criteria．The Sun Yat-Sen University professor was among the first group of Pineapple winners．She conducted an experiment that showed that counting money can ease pain．Professor Zhou had people count money and then dipped their hands into hot water．It turns out that after flipping through a brick of RMB, people can keep their hands in hot water for a longer time．I suppose this proves that although money can't buy you happiness, it can certainly make your life less painful．

　　If that sounds a bit frivolous, it's all in keeping with the spirit of the awards．They are intended to be light-hearted．That is why the pineapple was chosen as the awards’ symbol．Ji Shisan, the founder of guokr．com, said, “This nutritive fruit has a bright color and pleasing taste while shaped in a strange way, which indicates the awards are pleasing, interesting, nourishing, and a bit strange．”

　　Pineapple winner Zhou Xinyue added, “Some research topics seem to be weird but actually have deep meaning, which inspires us in a different way．The topics might be funny, but the research method should be serious and scientific．”

　　Are you interested in science? Then reach for the sky．You might end up with a pineapple in your hands．

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　　Du Fu, the famous Tang Dynasty poet, is getting the business these days．In response to the 1, 300th anniversary of the poet's birth, the meme, “Du Fu is busy, ” is spreading through the Internet and turning the iconic poet into a figure of fun．

　　A meme is a cultural phenomenon．It's an idea or image that somehow strikes a chord with Internet users and prompts them to comment on it, change it, or use it in different situations．In Du's case, the meme is a picture of the poet taken from a textbook．The picture shows a very serious Du sitting on a rock, clothed in loose robes．His chin is pointed resolutely upward and his eyes gaze calmly into the distance．It is a picture of a man with a great mind and a heroic spirit．

　　That image is changed in the meme．Du Fu is now seen holding a gun or listening to an iPod or dressed as a Japanese cartoon character．In today's world, it seems fewer people respect great minds or heroic spirits．

　　This is sad because it means we are losing our sense of idealism．Du Fu led a life of poverty and humiliation．I visited his thatched cottage in Chengdu and imagined the hardship he endured： the loneliness, the cold, and the hunger．Yet, hardship didn't kill his spirit, and his great poetry reflects his inner strength．

　　Internet users may find that giving Du Fu the business is entertaining, but it cannot diminish his greatness．And that enduring image of greatness is the one that truly matters．

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　　“London is ready to welcome the world, ” commission chairman Denis Oswald said．“We can feel that London is feeling the fever of the games．”

　　On April18, the British capital marked the 100-day countdown to the opening ceremony of the Games, which will be held from July 27 to August12, with a series of events．A giant set of Olympic rings, made up of 20, 000 flowers, were unveiled at Kew Gardens in west London．And the motto for the London Olympics has been announced as “Inspire a generation．”

　　London 2012 chairman Seb Coe announced the motto．He said： “It is everything that we have been saying since we started this extraordinary journey．” Coe added that the motto is also a call for athletes to come to the U．K．to perform at their very best and inspire the world．

　　The preparations for the Games are proceeding according to plan－being both on time and within budget, according to London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton．Deighton said that millions of people around the U．K．are getting ready to celebrate the biggest event in sport．“Eight million of the 11 million tickets have been sold to people in Britain and we are sure that Brits will get hold of a chunk of the other three million too．”

　　Many of the test events have already been held at the Olympic venues．And a bigger one will come on the first weekend of May in the Olympic Park．

　　Coe has been mentioned by the British media and British bookmakers as among the contenders to light the flame, although his position as organizing committee leader always made that seem unlikely．Five-time rowing gold medalist Steve Redgrave remains the betting favorite．

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　　“The world has never been a better place to live in, ”says science writer Matt Ridley, “and it will keep on getting better．” Ridley's critics have accused him of his views on climate change and the free market．Yet Ridley, 54, sticks to his guns．“It is not mad to befieve in a happy future for people and the planet．”he says．Ridley, who's been a foreign correspondent, a zoologist, an economist, and a financier, brings a broad view to his sunny outlook．“People say I'm bonkers to claim the world will go on getting better．yet I can't stop myself, ”he says．Read on to see how Ridley makes his case．

　　Compared with 50 years ago, when I was just four years old, the average human now earns nearly three times as much money, eats one third more calories, and can expect to live one third longer．In fact, it's hard to find any region of the world that's worse off now than it was then, even though the global population has more than doubled over that period．

　　City citizens take up less space, use less energy, and have less impact on natural ecosystems than country livers．The world's cities now contain over half its people, but they occupy less than 3 percent ofits land are8．Urban growth may worry environmentalism, but living in the country is not the best way to care for the earth．The best thing we can do for the planet is build more skyscrapers．

　　The rich get richer, but the poor do even better．Between 1980 and 2000, the poor doubled their consumption．Nigerians are twice as rich and live nine more years．The percentage of the world's people living in absolute poverty has dropped by over half．The United Nations estimates that poverty was reduced more in the past 50 years than in the previous 500．

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　　Do you have any skiing equipment you are no longer need? A ski school in the far north of India could put it to good use．

　　In March we published a photostory about the extraordinary Zsnskar region in northern India, which is cut off from the outside wodd for more than seven months of the year, and only accessible via a frozen river．We also included information about the limited use of skiing in the region and the recent creation of the Zanskar Ski School：

　　“Despite the difficulties of travelling through the region when the snow comes, skiing hash't traditionally been used as a means of transport by the locals, largely because trees don't grow here, so there is little in the way of raw materials from which to make skis．In 1995, a group of British scientists in the region noticed the lack of skis and one of them returned to set up the Zanskar Ski School in Padam．The school provides lessons for a small fee and rents out donated skis to the local people．Among the benefits that the school hopes to bring are improved education-children often find it difficult to get to school through the deep snow-and the possibility of offering ski tours to tourists in the future．So far, more than 300 local people have received training, and local doctors and policemen regularly borrow skis．”

　　But, what we weren't able to include in the article is that the ski school is always on the look out for old skiing equipment-particularly of a size suitable for children-and, I thought．now the European ski season is drawing to a close, there might be a few of you out there who have some old equipment you'd like to see go to a good home．If that's the ease you can get in touch with the school via their website www．zanskarskischooL．org．

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　　Would the world be more peaceful if women were in charge? A challenging new book by the Harvard University psychologist Steven Pinker says that the answer is“yes”．

　　In The Better Angels of Our Nature, Pinker presents data showing that human violence, while still very much with us today, has been gradually declining．Moreover, he says, “over the long sweep of history, women have been and will be a peaceful force．Traditional war is a man's game：tribal women never band together to attack neighboring villages．”As mothers, women tend to maintain peaceful conditions in which to bring up their children．

　　Skeptics(怀疑者)immediately reply that women have not made war simply because they have rarely been in power．If they were empowered as leaders．the disorder of the world would force them to make the same waxlike decisions that men do．Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, and Indira Gandhi were powerful women；all of them led their countries to war．

　　But it is also true that these women rose to leadership by playing according to the political rules of“a man's world．”It was their success consistent with male values that enabled their rise to leadership in the first place．In a world in which women were in the majority of leadership positions, they might behave differently in power．

　　So we are left with the broader question：does gender(性别)really matter in leadership? In terms of traditional opinion, various psychologieM studies show that men tend towards the hard power ofcommand, while women are cooperative and naturally understand the soft power of attraction and persuasion．

　　The key choices about war and peace in our future will depend not on gender, but on how leaders combine hard and soft power skills to produce smart policies．Both men and women will make those decisions．

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　　How many times do you have to fail at something in order to succeed? Did you know that THomas Edison failed 10, 000 times while trying to invent the light bulb? He certainly had a “learn and do”atfitutle! He was able to turn each failed experiment into a successful way to invent the light bulb．So what can we learn from this? You can adopt the “fail forward”strategy too．

　　In reality, none of us axe failures．It's true, we will experience times of defeat, problems, and disasters, but remember, each one of us is meant to succeed in life．However, we must choose our fate．Henry David Thoreau said, “Men are born to succeed, not to fail．”

　　We can never be forced into having a happy and successful life．Whether or not you experience success or failure is completely controlled by what you think and do．You are the only one who can choose the thoughts that will keep you from achieving the abundant life and joy that you are meant to have．No matter how difficult things may seem, say to yourself．“I choose to be a happy and successful person．”

　　Why do some people get what they want and others fail? I believe that getting what you desire in life takes planning, and it doesn't just happen by luck．So how do we plan for success?

　　It has been proven that successful people do things more differently．than unsuccessful people．They recognize the patterns of success and follow them；one of those patterns is planning．They plan what they think and do, which sets them apart．They know exactly what they desire, have an intelligent plan for getting it, and then work their plan．They know what success will cost them in terms of time, energy, and results, and they devote the right resources toward making their plans happen．

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　　How to eat healthfully can be especially complex for working women who often have neither the desire nor the time to cook for themselves (or for anyone else )．Registered dietitian Barbara Morrissey suggests that a few simple rules can help．

　　“Go for nutrient－dense foods，”she suggests，“foods that contain a multiple of nutrients．For example，select whole wheat bread as a breakfast food，rather than coffee cake．Or drink orange juice rather than orange drink，which contains only a small percentage of real juice－the rest is largely colored sugar water．You just can't compare the value of these foods, the nutrient－dense ones are so superior，”she emphasizes．

　　Morrissey believes that variety is not only the spice of life，it's the foundation of a healthful diet．Diets which are based on one or two foods are not only almost impossible to keep up the strength，they can be very harmful, she says, because nutrients aren't supplied in enough amounts or balance．

　　According to Morrissey，trying to find a diet that can cure your illnesses，or make you superwoman is a fruitless search．“ As women，many of us are too concerned with staying thin，”she says，and “we believe that vitamins are some kind of magic cure to replace food．”

　　“We need carbohydrates，protein and fat－they are like the wood in the fireplace．The vitamins and minerals are like the match，the spark，for the fuel，”she explains．“ We need them all，but in a very different proportions(部分)．And if the fuel isn't there，the spark is useless．”

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　　Centerville High School Essay Contest “Write All About It”

　　Calling All Aspiring Authors－Centerville High School Essay Contest

　　◇Rules

　　1．Students are asked to present essays of 500 to 700 words of their own work．Any essay containing material plagiarized(剽窃) from another source will be disqualified(取消资格)．

　　2．Manuscripts should be typed double－spaced，with the student's name，address，and grade level on a separate sheet of paper．

　　3．Essays must be turned in by 4∶00 p．m．on November 30．They can be brought to Mrs．Elton in Rom 104 or to Mr．Markham in the school library．

　　◇Essay－Writing Tips

　　1．Catch your readers' interests－Your opening should immediately pull your readers into your essay．Asking a question or starting with an story，quotation，or surprising statement is a good way to do this．

　　2．Create a picture－Use active words that show your readers what is happening．Instead of telling your readers vaguely that “the room was disordered”，paint a picture using active verbs and lively adjectives．

　　3．Have a purpose－Well－written essays do more than just describe an incident or express a viewpoint，and they also communicate a message．

　　4．Check for mistakes－Read your paper over to check for mistakes．Ask another student to read your paper and make suggestions．Another pair of eyes will often spot a mistake you've overlooked．

　　5．Format your essay－Neatly type your essay on white paper．Choose an attractive cover for submission．The computer lab will be open after school from 3∶15 to 4∶45 p．m．each day this month so that students can use the computers．

　　◇Prizes

　　Winning essays will be published in the Centerville Times．Every contestant(选手)will also receive a free pass to enter one school activity or athletic game this year．

　　First Prize：＄150

　　Second Prize∶Dictionary and thesaurus

　　Third Prize∶Pen set and journal

　　Special thanks to the Centerville Writers' Association for the prizes to help encourage our aspiring authors．Good luck to all contestants．

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