英美报刊文摘.doc

The Richest Town in America Wheres the richest town in America? WORTH magazine unveiled its 6th annual list out of the 250 richest towns and the most valuable homes, and the winner is Jupiter Island, Florida, 30 miles north of West Palm Beach on the Atlantic coast. Jupiter Island Florida, an Atlantic coast barrier island, roughly 10 miles long, a quarter to a half mile wide. But at a median home price at $3.9 million and the lower end homes running in the 4 to 5 million range, down near the National Wildlife Refuge, the people who live on Jupiter come for privacy. Few if any homes are visible from the road. Theres nothing commercial here. And they come for quiet, real quiet. In some towns, you cant make noise between certain hours here - you cant make noise between October and April. The hand painted ceilings, the horizonless pool, the master suite, the 10,000 square feet, the 14-million-dollar price tag on this home is no where near the top end. There are homes in Jupiter in the 30 and 40-million-dollar bracket. The runners up to Jupiter are No.2 - Atherton, California; No.3 - Aspen, Colorado; 4th - Los Altos Hills, California; and 5th - Belvedere, California. We must prevent such problems among our deaf-blind citizens by fostering their independence, creating employment opportunities, and encouraging their contributions to our society. Crucial to fulfilling this urgent national need is research on the disorders that cause deafness and blindness. Toward this end, the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the National Eye Institute as well as a number of voluntary health agencies are supporting a wide range of investigative projects that one day may provide the clues to curing and preventing these devastating disorders.On June 27 we commemorate the 104th anniversary of the birth of Helen Keller, Americas most renowned and respected deaf-blind person. Her accomplishments serve as a beacon of courage and hope for our Nation, symbolizing what deaf-blind people can achieve.In order to encourage public recognition of and compassion for the complex problems caused by deaf-blindness and to emphasize the potential contribution of deaf-blind persons to our Nation, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 261, has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation designating the last week in June 1984 as Helen Keller Deaf-Blind Awareness Week.Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning June 24, 1984, as Helen Keller Deaf-Blind Awareness Week. I call upon all government agencies, health organizations, communications media, and people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth.One huge diamond that even Beckham cant buyEvery woman dreams of receiving a huge, sparkling and priceless diamond. Now scientists have discovered the largest diamond in the universe.But its well beyond the reach of the most lovestruck men - 50 light years to be precise. Space scientists revealed that they had discovered a ten billion trillion trillion carat gem. Measuring 2,500 miles across and weighing five million trillion trillion pounds, the rock was found on Valentines Day buried in the core of a white dwarf star in the constellation Centaurus.Its the mother of all diamonds, said Travis Metcalfe, who led the team of researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in America.You would need a jewellers loupe the size of the Sun to grade this diamond. Named Lucy, after the Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, the rock has sent a ripple of excitement through the scientific world.The largest diamond found on earth was the 3,106-carat Cullinan. It was cut into nine major stones, including the 530-carat Star of Africa, now a part of the Crown Jewels. Diamonds were first discovered in India more than 2,800 years ago. The Ancient Romans believed that the stones were splinters of stars that had tumbled to earth.In Ancient Egypt, diamonds were symbols of eternity and were used in funeral rites. In the Middle Ages, men wore them to symbolise their courage and virility. The tradition of giving them as love tokens dates from 1477, when Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy.A man who comforted his terminally-ill sister while she attempted to commit suicide will not face charges. Graham Lawson faced the possibility of 14 years in jail because he watched his 48-year-old sister Sue, a former bank manager, die. She repeatedly tried to suffocate herself with a plastic bag, howling with despair as she reached the point of being unable to resist taking a breath, he said. She made seven unsuccessful attempts as Mr Lawson comforted her. She finally succeeded at the eighth attempt. Within an hour, Mr Lawson, 35, an agricultural worker who lives in Kent, was arrested, stripped and locked in a police cell for 24 hours. In the first case of its kind in Britain, the police and prosecutors decision on whether to take action hinged on Mr Lawsons failure to dial 999 as his sister took her life at her home in Kent. Ken Macdonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions, eventually told Mr Lawsons solicitors in April last year, five months after the suicide, that no action would be taken. Yesterday, Mr Lawson decided to disclose his case after it emerged last week that another man, Brian Blackburn, escaped a prison sentence for helping his cancer-stricken wife commit suicide in a final act of love. He said: Sue told me she wanted to die and she asked if I would be there for her. I made a promise that I would, and I stuck by it. When she took her life I was with her. His sister suffered from multiple sclerosis for 14 years and was unable to care for herself. Mr Lawson said he did not realise he could face charges of aiding and abetting suicide by carrying his sister upstairs to lie on her bed and not calling an ambulance. I had been staying with her for about a month, when she was really, really ill, he said. She was sitting in her wheelchair and said Right, Ive had enough. I want to do it. I carried her upstairs to her bed. She took an overdose and she suffocated herself with a bag - she wanted to make sure that she died. It took 26 hours for her to die, and eight attempts. But I dont think I should have stopped her, because of her determination and her bravery. This seems wrong to say, but it was quite an amazing thing to see.The US airline industry is facing a new threat to its profits - heavier passengers, a report has found. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average US adult put on ten pounds (4.5 kgs) of weight during the 1990s. Shifting the extra bulk cost airlines an additional $275m in fuel costs in 2000, the report says. Earnings at airlines have already been under pressure amid waning demand and a record surge in the price of crude oil. In the US, a number of carriers have gone bust while others are struggling to survive in an ever more competitive market place. While it is relatively easy to check the weight of a travellers luggage and charge those that bust limits, it is much harder to regulate a persons waistline. Some firms have toyed with the idea of charging obese travellers for two seats, but it is not a practice that has taken off industry-wide. Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration increased by ten pounds the average passenger weight they use to calculate aircraft loads. Since then crude oil prices have hit record levels, with many firms responding by raising the fuel surcharge they add to ticket prices. The rising level of obesity in the US and in Europe has prompted government health campaigns and harsh criticism of a number of food firms. Restaurant chain McDonalds has taken the brunt of the attack and has in recent months reworked its menu to include healthier options. The move has helped lift profits. The prediction by experts, however, is that humans are set to become bigger, putting increasing pressure on airline profit.Tom and Jerry have chased each other to the top of a poll about which cartoon stars adults most enjoyed. The Hanna-Barbera duo - the stars of 161 cartoons from 1940 and winners of seven Oscars - beat the likes of Scooby-Doo, Top Cat and The Flinstones. The survey of 1,000 adults aged between 25 and 54 was conducted on behalf of childrens TV channel Boomerang. Animals with human characteristics are an unbeatable combination, channel manager Dan Balaam said. He said that animal characters had proved most popular in the survey. The shows are incredibly inventive and witty with an endless stream of gags, which is why they appeal to all ages. The only humans in the list are in the form of The Flinstones, Popeye and The Wacky Races. Scooby-Doo, launched in 1969 and recently made into a live-action movie starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, came second. Eye-patch wearing secret agent Dangermouse, who made his debut on ITV in 1981, made it to third place. The James Bond parody - with David Jason voicing Dangermouse and Terry Scott as his sidekick Penfold - is the only UK production on the list. It was made by Manchester-based production house Cosgrove Hall. Another Hanna-Barbera creation, Top Cat - the leader of a gang of New York alley cats - came fourth. His adventures, based on 1950s US comedy, The Phil Silvers Show, were transmitted as Boss Cat in the UK to avoid confusion with a brand of cat food.Visitors can experience a special insiders view of the engineering marvel in New York, that is The Statue of Liberty. Its the first time since September 11, 2001 that tourists are allowed inside the statue.Statue of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States in 1886 and is one of the most universal symbols of political freedom and democracy.The statue and Liberty Island were closed after Sept. 11; although the island reopened to the public two months later, the statue remained off-limits. Now, after several months of rebuilding and further improvement of security equipment, Statue of Liberty reopens to the public. Visitors found tightened security measures at the 117-year-old national monument, including a new anti-bomb detection device that blasts air into clothing and then checks for particles of explosive residue. Tourists now can go only as high as the statues feet, where they can gaze up through a glass partition at the steel girders bracing the landmarks hollow interior. This beacon of hope and liberty is once again open to the public, sending a reassuring message to the world that freedom is alive in New York and shining brighter than ever before, Gov. George Pataki, Interior Secretary Gale Norton,said. Whether this is your first visit or one of many, I know this will be a memorable one, site superintendent Cynthia Garrett told the visitors.The digital image is brighter, sharper, the colors are more crisp and the image is a bit steadier, says Patrick von Sychowski, the British-based media research firm. Stored as a digitized image file, the technology offers a better medium to enhance special effects, and playback quality will not become worse and worse over time. A digital film can be sent to theaters via satellite, optical discs or fiber optic networks. And subtitles can be exchanged in and out minutes before show time. India has started one of the most ambitious digital cinema investment programs.New investment is also under way in many European and Asian countries. Chinas first digital cinema theatre, the 1490-seat, 9-screen Cineplex, is located in the Xujiahui district of Shanghai on the top floor of one of the citys largest shopping malls, the Grand Gateway. The theatre screens both local and imported films. It is likely that Europe and Asia will quickly surpass the United States - the early digital cinema pioneer - as the new world capitals.popcornn 爆米花 digital adj 数字的 digitizev 将资料数字化mediumn 手段，方法 playback 录音重放 optical discn 光盘subtitlen 字幕 in and out进进出出 show n 放映 ambitious adj 有野心的 under way 进行中 surpassv 超越，胜过Global warming threatens to reverse human progress, and make unachievable all UN targets to reduce poverty, according to some of the worlds leading international and development groups. In a report published today, Oxfam, Greenpeace, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, WWF and 15 other groups say rich governments must immediately address climate change to avoid even obscene levels of worldwide poverty. Food production, water supplies, public health and peoples livelihoods are already being damaged and undermined, the report says. There is no either/or approach possible. The world must meet its commitments to achieve poverty reduction and also tackle climate change. The two are inextricably linked. The report, which draws on UN predictions of the effects of climate change in poor countries over the next 50 years, says poor countries will experience more flooding, declining food production, more disease and the deterioration or extinction of entire ecosystems on which many of the worlds poorest people depend. Climate change needs to be addressed now. The poor will bear the brunt of the impacts. The frontline experience of many of us working in international development indicates that communities are having to combat more extreme weather conditions. Climate change will play havoc with agriculture and water supplies and will increase diseases. By 2025 the proportion of the worlds population living in countries of significant water stress will almost double, to 6 billion people. Tropical and sub-tropical areas will be hardest hit - those countries already suffering from food insecurity. Poor communities mostly do not need hi-tech solutions, but would most benefit from education, research and being shown how to farm better. The report says unchecked global warming, more than wars or political upheaval, will displace millions of people and destabilise many countries.TOKYO The company that runs the troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant电厂 in northeastern Japan announced Wednesday that a fire was burning there. MultimediaInteractive Feature How a Reactor Shuts Down and What Happens in a MeltdownInteractive Feature Video: Japans Natural and Nuclear DisastersMap Evacuation撤离Zone Around Nuclear PlantSoon after that announcement, a government official said that flames and smoke were no longer visible, but he cautioned警告, 提醒 that it was unclear if the fire had died out. There was a fire at the plant on Tuesday, at the same reactor No. 4 and it was not immediately clear if this was the same fire or a new one. The cause of the fire, or fires, was also unclear, in good part because it is too dangerous for workers to get near the reactor. The reports Wednesday came as an official at Japans nuclear watchdog 监督agency, Minoru Ohgoda, said a proposed plan to use helicopters to put more cold water into a boiling rooftop storage pool for spent uranium fuel rods 棒at the reactor was looking unlikely. The rods are still radioactive and potentially as hot and dangerous as the fuel rods inside the reactors if not kept submerged遮掩in water. Mr. Ohgoda said that Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the plant, will likely try to spray water into the reactor building through a gaping hole in the wall blasted open by an earlier explosion. The hole or holes in the roof caused by that blast did not appear big enough to allow enough water in, the officials said. The explosion Tuesday was caused by hydrogen gas bubbling up from chemical reactions set off by the rods in the pond, Japanese officials said. Concern remained high about the storage pools at that reactor and at two other reactors, Nos. 5 and 6. None of those three reactors at the plant, 140 miles northeast of Tokyo, were operating on Friday afternoon when an offshore earthquake with a magnitude now estimated at 9.0 suddenly shook the site. A tsunami with waves up to 30 feet high rolled into the northeast Japanese coastline minutes later, swamping the plant. At least 750 workers were evacuated 撤离, 疏散on Tuesday morning after a separate explosion ruptured the inner containment building at Reactor No. 2 at the Daiichi plant, which was crippled使陷于瘫痪 by Fridays earthquake and tsunami. The explosion released a surge of radiation 800 times more intense than the recommended hourly exposure limit in Japan. But 50 workers stayed behind, a crew no larger than would be stationed at the plant on a quiet spring day. Taking shelter when possible in the reactors control room, which is heavily shielded from radiation, they struggled through the morning and afternoon to keep hundreds of gallons of seawater a minute flowing through temporary fire pumps into the three stricken reactors, Nos. 1, 2 and 3, where overheated fuel rods continued to boil away the water at a brisk pace. By early afternoon radiation levels had plunged, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Worker