These medicines can have serious side effects, such as loss of libido, weight gain and distressing tremors and spasms, so no one would want to take them without good reason. Yet it's hard to separate distressed people who will go on to develop a psychotic disorder from the "false positives" - those who will recover or develop a different illness. The available evidence suggests that only about 30 per cent of people identified as being at risk of psychosis will go on to develop it within two years.

These medicines can have serious side effects so no one wants to take them without good reason

Nevertheless, William Carpenter, a psychiatrist at the University of Maryland in Baltimore who chairs the DSM-V work group on psychosis, believes the needs of the "true positives" are so great that adding a diagnostic category to cover "psychosis risk" would, on balance, be a good thing. Frances brands this proposed diagnosis as "the most worrisome suggestion entertained".

Given the controversy, psychosis risk may not make it into the DSM proper, and may instead appear in the appendix, as a condition needing more research. But even that designation might boost prescribing.

Frances and Spitzer are not the only ones with concerns, and there are other flashpoints (see "Hebephilia", "Transgendered" and "Bereavement"). In March, Jane Costello of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, resigned from the work group on disorders in childhood and adolescence, worried about what she saw as a lack of scientific rigour across the whole DSM revision. "I felt that there was not enough empirical work being achieved or planned," she says.

The disputes are getting ugly. Senior APA figures have even suggested that Spitzer and Frances are motivated by a desire to safeguard their flow of royalties from clinical guides linked to the current DSM. "The fact that Dr. Frances was informed... that subsequent editions of his DSM-IV associated products would cease when the new edition is finalized, should be considered when uating his critique," leading APA figures said in a response to Frances's editorial.

Spitzer and Frances reject this charge. "To suggest that I have no concern other than the royalties is a little absurd," says Spitzer. "My annual royalties from DSM-IV related books are $10,000 per year," notes Frances. "These have nothing to do with concerns I expressed."

Attention has also turned to the financial interests of those working on DSM-V. The APA has ruled that members of the task force and work groups may not receive more than $10,000 per year from industry while working on DSM-V, and must keep their stock holdings below $50,000. This doesn't satisfy Lisa Cosgrove of the University of Massachusetts, Boston, who studies financial conflicts in psychiatry (New Scientist, 29 April 2006, p 14). She notes that the APA's ruling places no limit on industry research grants, and has found that the proportion of DSM-V panel members who have industry links is exactly the same as it was for DSM-IV, at 56 per cent (The New England Journal of Medicine, vol 360, p 2035).

The final version of DSM-V is scheduled to be published in 2012, but given the level of controversy and the need to test whether psychiatrists can reliably use the proposed diagnoses, that date seems certain to slip.

For now, there is an uneasy ceasefire, but next month the work groups will post their proposed changes on the APA's website. Stand by for renewed hostilities.

     Hebephilia

How young is too young?

You may have never heard of "hebephilia", but this obscure diagnosis has huge significance in the courts. If it becomes accepted it could lead to hundreds of sex offenders who have served their jail time being locked up indefinitely - on grounds that some say are spurious.

Hebephilia refers to when adults are sexually fixated on teenagers around the time of puberty. This sets it apart from paedophilia, which refers to a focus on pre-pubescent children. The DSM-V work group on sexual disorders is likely to call for paedophilia to be renamed paedohebephilia, and include a hebephilic subtype.

The justification is the research of one work group member, Ray Blanchard of the University of Toronto in Canada. Working with sex offenders, Blanchard used a device that records blood flow in the penis to measure their arousal while they were listening to sexual material. He concluded that some men have a disorder that causes them to fixate on girls aged 11 to 14 (Archives of Sexual Behavior, vol 38, p 335).

The proposed diagnosis has been condemned by critics as dangerously blurring the boundary between paedophilia and normal male attraction to teenage girls - which isn't necessarily acted upon. Karen Franklin, a forensic psychologist in El Cerrito, California, argues that the diagnosis makes a disease out of preferences that have been shaped through human evolution. "People didn't used to live so long and mating started earlier," she says.

The work group is also considering whether some men are specifically turned on by rape - a proposed condition termed paraphilic coercive disorder. Again, the evidence is based largely on measurements of penile blood flow in response to sexual images and stories, and the validity of the condition is hotly contested.

The rows over hebephilia and paraphilic coercive disorder aren't academic, because 20 US states have passed laws that allow sex offenders who have served their sentences to be detained indefinitely in a secure hospital if they are deemed "sexual predators" (New Scientist, 24 February 2007, p 6). This can only be done if the offenders have a psychiatric disorder that increases their risk of reoffending - which few do, according to DSM-IV.

Franklin says that if hebephilia and paraphilic coercive disorder make it into DSM-V, they will be seized upon to consign men to a lifetime of incarceration. This argument cuts little ice with Blanchard, however. "The clinical facts are what they are," he says.

     Transgendered

We are who we say we are

Is history repeating itself? That's the question facing psychiatrists considering how gender identity should be defined in DSM-V. The APA has a legacy of uneasy relations with the lesbian, gay and transgender community, having included homosexuality in the DSM's list of psychiatric disorders until 1973. Some transgender activists want issues of gender identity kicked off the list of mental illnesses too.

These activists are up in arms over the membership of DSM-V's sexual and gender identity disorders work group, in particular the selection of Kenneth Zucker of the University of Toronto, Canada, as its chair. Zucker is reviled by some transgender activists for his work on therapy to reorient children who feel that they were born into the wrong sex. An online petition objecting to the work group's composition has more than 9500 signatures.

The group is nevertheless likely to recommend changes that could actually ease tensions. One of these is a change in the name of a diagnosis that as currently phrased is inherently offensive to transgender people. "'Gender identity disorder' falsely implies that the gender identities of gender variant people are in themselves disordered," says Kelley Winters, founder of GID Reform Advocates.

The work group has not yet revealed its proposed name, but "disorder" will be dropped. "We're sensitive to issues of language," says Zucker. One possibility is "gender dysphoria", which focuses on the inherent distress of people living in a body that doesn't match their identity.

That would not satisfy those transgender activists who want issues of gender identity removed from the DSM altogether. But others argue for the retention of a renamed condition to make it easier for those distressed by the mismatch between their identity and their bodies to seek assistance, and also to help those who need sex-change surgery to get it paid for. Even now, many transgender people face problems when insurers refuse to recognise the treatment as a legitimate medical expense.

      Bereavement

When does grief become an illness?

Losing a loved one is the most devastating event that most people ever experience, yet the official diagnosis of depression specifically excludes people who have recently been bereaved. Now there may be a major shift.

Not only is bereavement a known trigger for depressive symptoms, but bereaved people respond just as well to antidepressant treatment as others with similar symptoms, says Jan Fawcett of the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, who heads the DSM-V work group on mood disorders. He thinks it may be time to class people who are severely distressed due to a recent bereavement as depressed.

For most people time proves at least a partial healer. But about 10 per cent of bereaved people are still debilitated by their loss more than six months later - and they can remain locked into this loop of grief for many years. Acknowledging their plight, the proposals for DSM-V are expected to include a new diagnosis of "complicated grief" or "prolonged grief syndrome".

The impetus for this comes from a team led by Holly Prigerson of Harvard Medical School in Boston, who has shown the condition can be reliably diagnosed (PLoS Medicine, vol 6, p e1000121). Katherine Shear, now at Columbia University in New York, has also found that the condition responds well to a form of psychotherapy designed to help bereaved people begin resuming their lives (Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 293, p 2601).

下面是雅思考试经常借用文章的一个资源New Scientist，常读这里的文章会让你的能力有所提高。

Psychiatry's Civil War

Editorial: Psychiatry's bible: Its time has passed

Since this article was first posted, the American Psychiatric Association has announced that the publication of DSM-V will be delayed until May 2013. "Extending the timeline will allow more time for public review, field trials and revisions," says APA president Alan Schatzberg.

When doctors disagree with each other, they usually couch their criticisms in careful, measured language. In the past few months, however, open conflict has broken out among the upper echelons of US psychiatry. The focus of discord is a volume called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, which psychiatrists turn to when diagnosing the distressed individuals who turn up at their offices seeking help. Regularly referred to as the profession's bible, the DSM is in the midst of a major rewrite, and feelings are running high.

Two eminent retired psychiatrists are warning that the revision process is fatally flawed. They say the new manual, to be known as DSM-V, will extend definitions of mental illnesses so broadly that tens of millions of people will be given unnecessary and risky drugs. Leaders of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which publishes the manual, have shot back, accusing the pair of being motivated by their own financial interests - a charge they deny. The row is set to come to a head next month when the proposed changes will be published online. For a profession that exists to soothe human troubles, it's incendiary stuff.

Psychiatry suffers in comparison with other areas of medicine, as diseases of the mind are on the whole less well understood than those of the body. We have, as yet, only glimpses into the fundamental causes of the common mental illnesses, and there are no biological tests to diagnose them. This means conditions such as depression, schizophrenia and personality disorders remain difficult to diagnose with precision. Doctors can only question people about their state of mind and observe their behaviour, classifying illness according to the most obvious symptoms.

We have only glimpses into the causes of mental illnesses and there are no biological tests for them

First published in 1952, the DSM has its origins in a book used by the US military to determine if recruits were mentally fit for combat. The difficulty of separating mental disorders from normal variation in behaviour made it controversial from the start. Over the years, the book's influence has grown, and today it is used by doctors across the globe.

The wording used in the DSM has a significance that goes far beyond questions of semantics. The diagnoses it enshrines affect what treatments people receive, and whether health insurers will fund them. They can also exacerbate social stigmas and may even be used to deem an individual such a grave danger to society that they are locked up.

Some of the most acrimonious arguments stem from worries about the pharmaceutical industry's influence over psychiatry. This has led to the spotlight being turned on the financial ties of those in charge of revising the manual, and has made any diagnostic changes that could expand the use of drugs especially controversial. "I think the DSM represents a lightning rod for all kinds of groups," says David Kupfer of the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who heads the task force appointed by the APA to produce the revised manual.

Few would claim that the DSM's current version is perfect. With each revision, the number of conditions it defines has swelled, many surrounded by bewildering lists of symptoms that must be checked to assign a diagnosis. Using current DSM checklists, for example, 114 different combinations of symptoms can lead to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. At the same time, many patients prove hard to fit into the framework.

One aim of the work groups compiling DSM-V is to cut through this chaos. They are streamlining diagnoses by removing various subtypes of schizophrenia, for example, and intend to address the confusion created by the fact that many people with one condition meet criteria for other disorders as well. The DSM-V task force is expected to propose a series of "dimensions" to be considered with a patient's main diagnosis. So as well as deciding whether someone has, say, bipolar disorder, doctors would determine whether they are suffering from problems such as anxiety and sleeping disturbances, and assess them on a simple scale of severity.

Grandiose claims

This is widely seen as a first step towards a future in which psychiatric diagnosis has a more scientific base, where sprawling checklists of symptoms are replaced by sliding-scale measurements of the underlying determinants of mental health. Yet critics worry that even a limited embrace of this "dimensional" approach is running ahead of the science. Until we understand more about the biological basis of psychiatric disease, this approach will not be helpful, they say.

Some of the harshest criticisms have come from those who led previous revisions of the DSM, in 1980 and 1994. In July, Robert Spitzer and Allen Frances, both now retired, wrote a stinging letter to the APA, accusing it of planning unworkable changes and making grandiose claims. In a separate editorial in the magazine Psychiatric Times, Frances complained that most of the authors are university-based researchers who are cut off from typical doctors and patients.

Spitzer and Frances also criticise the fact that members of the various DSM-V work groups have had to sign confidentiality agreements. "The main problem is that we don't know what they're doing," says Spitzer. The APA says the confidentiality agreements are to stop the manual's authors writing their own diagnostic handbooks alongside the official manual. Kupfer points out that discussion does go on: work groups proposing major changes debate their ideas in papers and at meetings. "We've done everything we can to encourage it," he says.

Another focus for Spitzer and Frances's concern is the suggestion that DSM-V could include new categories to capture milder forms of illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression and dementia. "The result would be a wholesale... medicalization of normality that will lead to a deluge of unneeded medication," Frances said in his editorial.

For example, one work group is considering whether it is possible to catch people in the early stages of schizophrenia or other psychotic illnesses before they have their first full-blown psychotic episode (Schizophrenia Bulletin, vol 35, p 841). Some doctors prescribe antipsychotic drugs at this early stage in the hope of stopping the illness from progressing.

Address to the United Nations on Global Climate Change

Well thank you very much for the wonderful introduction.

Thank you, Secretary General, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen:

I have come to feel great affection for the peoples of the world because they've always been so welcoming to me -- if it is as a bodybuilding champion, or as a movie star, private citizen, or as the governor of the great state of California. And you, their delegates, have also made me feel very welcome here this morning. So I want to thank you for this great honor for having me here.

I also want to thank my wife and my partner and the First Lady of California, Maria Shriver, for being here today with me. Give her a big hand -- right over there she is.

Now, I've been asked -- I've been asked to talk to you today about what is happening in California. What are we doing about climate change? Well ladies and gentlemen, something remarkable is beginning to stir -- something revolutionary, something historic and transformative. Let me give you some background.

California already leads the nation in information technology. We lead the nation in nanotechnology, in biotechnology, and in medical technology. We generate one of every four U.S. patents, and we attract almost half of all U.S. venture capital. And according to The Economist magazine, California is also home to three of the top six universities in the world. And in addition to all of this, California is the seventh largest economy in the world.

Now I do not mention these things to just simply boast or brag. I'm mentioning it because California is a very powerful state, a very powerful place. And when do something, it has consequences. And here is what we are doing.

California is mobilizing -- technologically, financially, and politically -- to fight global climate change. Now we're not doing this alone. While California is leading in the U.S., we are building on the work of the European countries who have led the way up until now and have done extraordinary work. England has already met its Kyoto goals. Germany has pioneered solar. The EU has led with its trading system. And the list goes on and on.

But California, because of its unique position, is on the cutting edge of what is to come. And what is coming will benefit the countries and peoples represented in this chamber. Last year in California, we enacted greenhouse gas emission standards that were beyond anyone else's dreams. We enacted the world’s first low carbon fuel standards.

Now do I believe that California’s standards will solve global warming? Of course not. What we’re doing is is changing the dynamic, preparing the way and encouraging the future. The aerospace industry built the modern economy of Southern California. The computer industry and the internet built the economy of the Silicon Valley. And now green, clean technology -- along with biotech -- will take California to the next level.

Right now, in California, the brightest scientists from around the world and the smartest venture capitalists are racing to find new energy technologies and the solution to global warming. It is a race that is fueled by billions and billions of dollars. Last year alone, California received more than 1.1 billion dollars in clean tech investment. And this amount is expected to grow by 20 to 30% annually for the next ten years. More venture capital is being invested in clean tech than in telecommunications. Now I have been to those labs and research parks. I have talked with the scientists and to the venture capitalists. I have seen their ambition. And let me tell you, I would not bet against it.

So what does all this mean for the nations in this chamber? Well the cell phone, which started as a tool for the rich, is now widespread in the developing world. The price has dropped dramatically, and therefore it can be afforded by almost everyone. And the same thing will happen with environmental technologies. And it is in the developed world's best interests to help the poor nations finance these advancements.

When it comes to the environment, the technologies are changing; the economics are changing; and the urgency's changing. So the question today is this: Are the nations of the world ready are [sic] to change? I believe that California will do great things, amazing things, but we need the world to do great things, too.

The time has come to stop looking back at the Kyoto protocol. The time has come to stop looking back in blame or suspicion. The consequences of global climate change are so pressing - that it doesn’t matter who was responsible for the past. What matters is who is answerable for the future. And that means all of us.

The rich nations and the poor nations have different responsibilities, but one responsibility we all have -- and that is action. Action, action, action. The current stalemate between the developed and the developing worlds must be broken. It is time to came together in a new international agreement that can be embraced by rich and poor nations alike. California is moving the United States beyond debate and doubt to action. So I urge this body to push its members to action also.

Ladies and gentlemen, in closing, let me just say this: Do not lose hope. I do not believe that doom and gloom and disaster are the only outcomes. Humanity is smart, and nature is amazingly regenerative. I believe that we can renew the climate of this planet. I believe this 100 percent. So I pledge to you, the members of the United Nations, that we in California will work with all our heart to this end for which we all long.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

7 Ways To Find Interesting Speech Topics

1 - Look in magazines, journals, newspapers for events - current or historical - and recent facts, and other valuable information and articles about subjects that interests you and that are comfortable for you to talk about.

2 - Jot down any possible idea that comes up for interesting speech topics. I always make a list of issues if I'm contracted for a public speaking engagement.

And then I skip the ones that are too difficult and complex to master in 8 to 10 minutes.

3 - Review books on the subject for more detailed current information about your topic. Go to a library and ask for books and reference articles about your subject.

For example you choose for an interesting sports or agriculture speech topic.

Try to understand how the author has covered it. What's his structure? What points, information or arguments are the strongest? What examples and illustrations has she or he used?

4 - Watch news shows, history documentaries and debating programs - for example the morning shows and the evening news. They are especially helpful for developing a rough list of interesting persuasive ideas.

Look for controversies, rare and strange opinions. What do you think of it? What do you want your audience to think of it?

5 - Think about related interesting informative topics to talk about. When you view your rough list, try to find new points, different angles of view or just turn your thoughts up side down. Look at the special aspects that surprise the listeners.

>>>>>>> For example try these 2 more detailed informative outlines with main points and subpoints. Use my sample structure to add and wipe steps and stages.

>>>>>>> In addition, you find more ideas for outlined main points in my Minute section.

6 - Look for supporting and opposing opinions, ideas and statements. Add visual aids to emphasize a point in your interesting topic idea.

That can be very enlighting for any group of listeners. They also can see, feel, or even taste and smell what you try to explain or demonstrate.

7 - Unique and reliable statistics and new discoveries can help writing and refining interesting speech topics.

Human industrial activities are believed to be adding to the amount of "greenhouse gases" naturally present in the atmosphere. There are mounting proofs that following the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, which commenced in Britain and has expanded to several parts of the world, the amounts of of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased somewhat. this leaves room for the suspicion that humans could have been contributing to Global Warming.

Based on scientific results and day-to-day physical evidences, global warming is no longer in dispute. With the the verdict of the fourth assessment report on climate change just released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is also very little contention that man contributes to the heating up of the Earth. However, the question that remains is: how much of the warming is caused by man?

Human activities that lead to production of GHGs are:

Agriculture: During agricultural practices, methane gas (a GHG) is produced when bacteria decomposes organic matter. It has been estimated that close to a quarter of methane gas from human activities result from livestock and the decomposition of animal manure. Paddy rice farming, land use and wetland changes are also agricultural processes that could contribute to the release of methane to the atmosphere. Use of fertilizers for agricultural activities also lead to higherNO2 concentrations.

Deforestation: With the growth of industrial activities has been worldwide deforestation.  As part of the photosynthetic process, trees abstract carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen back to the atmosphere. with deforestation, the number of trees available to take in CO2 from the atmosphere has greatly reduced, leading to more available CO2 and increased greenhouse effect. When forests are cleared, most of the carbon in the burned or decomposing trees escape back into the atmosphere

Fossil Fuels: Fossil fuels is widely used to power our modern day engines and locomotives. The burning of coals, natural gas and oil yields most of the energy used to produce electricity, heat houses, run automobiles and power factories. The burning of fossil fuels to obtain energy to drive these engines lead to production of tremendous amount of CO2 which is released to our environment and increasers the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. It is believed that CO2 generated from the burning of fossil fuel accounts for about three-quarters of the total CO2 emissions from human activities.

Refrigeration/Fire Suppression/Manufacturing: Establishments and Industries used to use chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in refrigeration systems, and CFCs and halons in fire suppression systems and manufacturing processes.

Other human factors leading to release of GHGs (particularly methane) to the atmosphere include pipeline losses, landfill emissions and septic systems that enhance and target the fermentation process also are major sources of atmospheric methane;

Indicators of the Influence of Human Activities on Climate Change:

Measurements of the concentrations of CO2, CH4, NO2 and other GHGs in the atmosphere over time suggests that these concentrations have been on the increase since the beginning of the industrial revolution that began in the 18th century. A couple of the graphical data is presented on this page to illustrate that man's activities are possibly contributory to the heating up of our Earth.

About MIT Library

The MIT Libraries support the Institute’s programs of study and research. Five major subject libraries, for Architecture and Planning, Engineering, Humanities, Science, Management and Social Science, as well as several specialized libraries and the Institute Archives, offer access to a wide range of materials, both print and electronic.

The collection includes

• more than 2.6 million printed volumes
• 17,000 current journal subscriptions
• 478 online databases
• over 30,000 electronic journal titles licensed for access on the Institute’s network

as well as extensive collections of

• microforms
• maps
• images
• musical scores
• sound recordings
• and videotapes.

In 2001 the Libraries implemented Ex Libris’ Aleph system as its public Web-based catalog (Barton) and as the support system for user service and processing functions.

The Libraries’ web site presents information about library services, as well as as well as access to electronic resources through the staff-designed Vera interface.

The MIT Libraries maintain membership in the following organizations:

• the Association of Research Libraries
• the Boston Library Consortium
• the Coalition of Networked Information
• the DDI Alliance
• the Digital Library Federation
• EDUCAUSE
• the International Association of Technological University Libraries
• the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
• the Online Computer Library Center

Kung Pao Chicken

• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 8 small dried red chilies
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
• 1 can (8 oz.) sliced bamboo shoots, drained
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
• 1/3 cup roasted peanuts

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces.
Place chicken in marinade and stir to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl.
3. Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add 2 tablespoons oil, swirling to
coat sides. Add chilies and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10
seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Remove chicken and
chilies from wok.
4. Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil to wok, swirling to coat sides. Add garlic
and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add celery, bell
pepper, and bamboo shoots; stir-fry for 1 1/2 minutes.
5. Return chicken and chilies to wok; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add sauce and
bring to a boil. Add cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until sauce
boils and thickens. Add peanuts and stir to coat.

Simple Ways to Live a Healthy Lifestyle

You hear a lot about living a healthy lifestyle, but what does that mean? In general, a healthy person doesn't smoke, is at a healthy weight, eats healthy and exercises. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

The trick to healthy living is making small changes...taking more steps, adding fruit to your cereal, having an extra glass of water...these are just a few ways you can start living healthy without drastic changes.

Exercise

One of the biggest problems in America today is lack of activity. We know it's good for us but avoid it like the plague either because we're used to being sedentary or afraid that exercise has to be vigorous to be worth our time. The truth is, movement is movement and the more you do, the healthier you'll be. Even moderate activities like chores, gardening and walking can make a difference.

Just adding a little movement to your life can:

• Reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes
• Improve joint stability
• Increase and improve range of movement
• Help maintain flexibility as you age
• Maintain bone mass
• Prevent osteoporosis and fractures
• Improve mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression
• Enhance self esteem
• Improve memory in elderly people
• Reduce stress

So, even if you opt for small changes and a more modest weight loss, you can see the benefits are still pretty good. One study has found that just a 10% weight reduction helped obese patients reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and increase longevity.

Simple Ways to Move Your Body

You can start the process of weight loss now by adding a little more activity to your life. If you're not ready for a structured program, start small. Every little bit counts and it all adds up to burning more calories.

• Turn off the TV. Once a week, turn off the TV and do something a little more physical with your family. Play games, take a walk...almost anything will be more active than sitting on the couch.
• Walk more. Look for small ways to walk more. When you get the mail, take a walk around the block, take the dog for an extra outing each day or walk on your treadmill for 5 minutes before getting ready for work.
• Do some chores. Shoveling snow, working in the garden, raking leaves, sweeping the floor...these kinds of activities may not be 'vigorous' exercise, but they can keep you moving while getting your house in order.
• Pace while you talk. When you're on the phone, pace around or even do some cleaning while gabbing. This is a great way to stay moving while doing something you enjoy.
• Be aware. Make a list of all the physical activities you do on a typical day. If you find that the bulk of your time is spent sitting, make another list of all the ways you could move more--getting up each hour to stretch or walk, walk the stairs at work, etc.

Eating Well

Eating a healthy diet is another part of the healthy lifestyle. Not only can a clean diet help with weight management, it can also improve your health and quality of life as you get older. You can use the new Food Guide Pyramid to determine how many calories you need and what food groups you should focus on or, if you're looking for smaller changes, you can use these tips for simple ways to change how you eat:

• Eat more fruit. Add it to your cereal, your salads or even your dinners
• Sneak in more veggies. Add them wherever you can--a tomato on your sandwich, peppers on your pizza, or extra veggies in your pasta sauce. Keep pre-cut or canned/frozen veggies ready for quick snacks.
• Switch your salad dressing. If you eat full-fat dressing, switch to something lighter and you'll automatically eat less calories.
• Eat low-fat or fat-free dairy. Switching to skim milk or fat free yogurt is another simple way to eat less calories without having to change too much in your diet.
• Make some substitutes. Look through your cabinets or fridge and pick 3 foods you eat every day. Write down the nutritional content and, the next time you're at the store, find lower-calorie substitutes for just those 3 items.

Creating a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to mean drastic changes. In fact, drastic changes almost always lead to failure. Making small changes in how you live each day can lead to big rewards, so figure out what you can to be healthy today.

Helping a Friend Who Is Dying

Your friend is dying. This is an extremely difficult time not only for you, but for your friend and all who care about him. This brochure will guide you in ways to help your friend - and yourself - during the last days of his life.

When a Friend is Dying
Someone you care deeply about is dying. Confronting this difficult reality for yourself is the first step you can take to help your dying friend.

You will probably come to accept the fact of your friend’s impending death over time, and it may not be until he actually dies that you fully and finally acknowledge the reality. This is normal.

For now, though, try to accept the reality of your friend’s medical condition, if only with your head. You will later come to accept it with your heart.

Give the Gift of Presence
Perhaps the greatest gift you can give your dying friend is the gift of your presence. Particularly if you live nearby, you have the opportunity to demonstrate your support by being there, literally, when your friend needs you most. Visit your friend at the hospital or at home - not just once, but throughout the remainder of her days. Rent a movie and bring popcorn. Play cards or Monopoly. Sit with her and watch the snow fall. Your simple presence will say to your friend, “I am willing to walk this difficult road with you and face with you whatever comes.”

Do respect your friend’s need for alone time, though, and realize that her deteriorating physical condition may leave her with little energy. She may not be up for company all the time.

Be a Good Listener
Your friend may want to openly discuss her illness and impending death, or he may avoid discussing it. The key is to follow your friend’s lead. Keep in mind that your friend will experience this illness in his own unique way.

Allow your friend to talk about his illness at his own pace. And while you can be a “safe harbor” for your friend to explain his thoughts and feelings, don’t force the situation if he resists.

If you can listen well, you can help your friend cope during this difficult time. Your physical presence and desire to listen without judging are critical helping tools. Don’t worry so much about what you will say. Just concentrate on listening to the words your friend is sharing with you.

Learn About Your Friend’s Illness
“People can cope with what they know, but they cannot cope with what they don’t know,” I often say. You will be better equipped to help your friend if you take it upon yourself to learn about his illness. Consult medical reference books at your local library. Request information from educational associations, such as the National Cancer Institute or the American Heart Association. With your friend’s consent, you might also talk to his physician.

If you educate yourself about the illness and its probable course, you will be a more understanding listener when he wants to talk. You will also be more prepared for the reality of the illness’ last stages.

Be Compassionate
Give your friend permission to express his or her feelings about the illness without fear of criticism. Learn from your friend; don’t instruct or set expectations about how he or she should respond. Think of yourself as someone who “walks with” not “behind” or “in front of” the dying person.

Never say “I know just how you feel.” You don’t. Comments like, “This is God’s will” or “Just be happy you have had a good life” are not constructive. Instead, they hurt and make your friend’s experience with terminal illness more difficult. If you feel the need to console your friend, simply tell him he is loved.

Offer Practical Help
Your dying friend will probably need help with the activities of daily living. Preparing food, washing clothes, cleaning the house or driving your friend to and from the hospital for treatment are just a few of the practical ways of showing you care.

Stay in Touch
If you are unable to visit your sick friend due to distance or other circumstances, write a note. What do you say? Tell your friend how much she means to you. Reminisce about some of the fun times you’ve shared. Promise you’ll write to her again soon - and then follow through on that promise. Avoid sending a generic greeting card unless you’ve personalized it with a heartfelt message.

If you’re not comfortable writing, consider sending video or audio taped “notes” to your friend. Or simpler yet, pick up the phone.

Get Support for Yourself
Someone you care deeply about is dying and will soon be gone. Odds are you will need support, too, as you explore your own feelings about this illness and the changes you see in your friend. Find someone who will listen to you without judgment as you talk out your own feelings. And don’t forget to take good care of yourself. Eat nutritious meals. Get ample rest. Continue to exercise. Spend time doing things that make you happy.

Many hospices offer support groups for friends and family of the dying - both before and after the death itself. Take advantage of these compassionate resources.

Realize Your Own Limitations
Not everyone can offer ongoing, supportive friendship to someone who is dying. If you feel you simply can’t cope with the situation, try to understand your reticence and learn from it. Ask yourself, “Why am I so uncomfortable with this?” and “What can I do to become a more open, compassionate friend in times of need?”

Do not, however, avoid your friend altogether. People with terminal illnesses are often abandoned by friends and family, leaving them lonely and depressed. Phone rather than visit. Write if you can’t bring yourself to phone. Let your friend know that this situation is difficult for you while at the same time acknowledging that your friend’s fears and needs come first.

On the other end of the helping spectrum, don’t become obsessed with your friend’s illness or feel that you must be her only means of support. Do not emotionally overburden yourself.

Embrace Your Own Spirituality
If faith is part of your life, express it in ways that seem appropriate to you during this difficult time. Pray for your friend and your friend’s family if prayer is meaningful to you. Allow yourself to be around people who understand and support your religious beliefs. If you are angry at God because of your friend’s illness, that’s OK. Find someone to talk with who won’t be critical of whatever thoughts and feelings you need to explore.

Seek Hope and Healing
After your friend dies, you must mourn if you are to love and live wholly again. You cannot heal unless you openly express your grief. Denying your grief, before and after the death, will only make it more confusing and overwhelming. Embrace your grief and heal.

Reconciling your grief will not happen quickly. Remember, grief is a process, not an event. Be patient and tolerant with yourself. Never forget that the death of someone loved changes your life forever.

List of shopping malls in China

• Beijing apm, Beijing
• CITIC Plaza, Guangzhou
• Grand Gateway, Shanghai
• Plaza 66, Shanghai
• Super Brand Mall, Shanghai
• Golden Resources Mall, Beijing, the world's second largest mall with over 1000 stores and 6,000,000 square feet (557,000 m²) of space.
• South China Mall, Dongguan
• Zhongda International, Xi'an
• Hundred years City, Dalian
• Eurasia Shopping Mall, Changchun
• SM Lifestyle Center, Zibo
• SM City Xiamen, Xiamen
• SM City Jinjiang, Jinjiang
• SM City Chengdu, Chengdu

Hopscotch is a simple children's game which can be played with several players or alone. Hopscotch is often played on playgrounds by children.

Court and rules

Modern schoolyard court; designs vary.

Hopscotch Courts, c. 1900.
English	English (simple)	American

The court (or course)

To play hopscotch, a course is first laid out. Traditionally, children have drawn the course in the dirt of a playground whenever needed, although it was often chalked on pavement when dirt was unavailable. Designs vary, but the course is usually composed of a series of linear squares interspersed with blocks of two lateral squares. Traditionally the course ends with a "safe" or "home" base in which the player may turn before completing the reverse trip. The home base may be a square, a rectangle, or a semicircle. The squares are then numbered in the sequence in which they are to be hopped.

Playing the game

The first player tosses the marker (typically a stone, coin or bean bag) into the first square. The marker must land completely within the designated square and without touching a line or bouncing out. The player then hops through the course, skipping the square with the marker in it. Single squares must be hopped on one foot. For the first single square, either foot may be used. Side by side squares are straddled, with the left foot landing in the left square, and the right foot landing in the right square. Optional squares marked "Safe", "Home", or "Rest" are neutral squares, and may be hopped through in any manner without penalty.

Upon successfully completing the sequence, the player continues the turn by tossing the marker into square number two, and repeating the pattern.

If while hopping through the court in either direction the player steps on a line, misses a square, or loses balance, the turn ends. Players begin their turns where they last left off. The first player to complete one course for every numbered square on the court wins the game.

Although the marker is most often picked up during the game, historically, in the boy's game, the marker was kicked sequentially back through the course on the return trip and then kicked out.

Chinese Kites

History of Chinese Kites

Chinese Kites were first invented by Chinese about 2,000 years ago. At about the 12th century, kites were introduced to the western countries. Afterwards, with the continuous development, the different specific cultures of kites were gradually formed in both eastern and western countries. During the procedure of kites' development, some special local culture concerning kites formed after combining Chinese traditional culture and the handicraft of making kites and presenting some fairy tales, flowers, birds, animals, and some morals implying lucky on kites.

Originally, kites were used in military affairs. When the middle of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) came, the society began to develop steadily and prosperously, thus kites were used in the area of entertainment instead of in military affairs. Besides, the material for making kites was silk at first. But, silk was replaced by papers as the fast development of paper. When the Song Dynasty (960-1279 A.D) came, it had become an occupation to make kites. And it was during the period of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty that the craftsmanship of kites developed rapidly. At that time, litterateurs made kites and painted on them by themselves and then flew those kites or presented them to their relatives and friends, and what’s more, they considered this to be an artistic activity. Recently, kite undertaking in China has been fully developed and flying kites has widely spread as a popular activity suitable for sports and entertainment as well as building up bodies.

Since the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, Chinese kites have spread to the outside world. First, they were introduced to some countries in Southeast Asia such as Korea, Japan, and Malaysia and so on; and later were introduced to some European and American countries. Afterwards, under the influence of the Industrial Revolution of Europe, Chinese kites, originally as a kind of toy, enlightened some scientists to design aerocrafts. And after the contribution and experiments of Carrie in Britain, Hargreave in Australia, and Lee Lindahl in Germany, it was the Wright brothers from America who finally succeeded in making the first manned plane in human history which could successfully take off.

Therefore, in honor of Chinese kites, there hangs a Chinese kite saying "the earliest aircrafts are Chinese kites and fire arrows" on the wall of the hall inside the Astronavigation Museum in Washington, America. 

Chinese Kite Craftmanship

Chinese kites enjoy a long history and super craftsmanship, which has been well-known a long time ago. The traditional skills for making Chinese kites can be introduced in four words – binding, pasting, painting, and flying, which are called “four skills”. Superficially, we can simply understand these four words as follows: binding is to bind a frame; pasting is to paste the surface of paper; painting is to paint some beautiful pictures on the paper; flying is to fly the kite when everything is finished. However, it is difficult to closely study the four skills because they have rich and comprehensive connotation and almost contain all the profound details in making Chinese kites.

Chinese kites are framed by thin bamboos and then pasted with paper or silk. The four skills of "binding, pasting, painting, and flying" for making kites have strict requirements. To bind a kite should meet the requirement of symmetry, which enables both sides of the kite to support itself balanceablely against the wind. To paste a kite demands the neatness and efficiency of the whole kite. Paintings on a kite should be visible in the distance and vivid at close range. When flying a kite, people should adjust the angle of the thread according to the wind. Kites can be divided into two kinds – the one with hard wings and the one with soft wings. Kites with hard wings can support itself in heavy wind and fly higher than others, while kites with soft wings can not fly too high but can fly far away. Besides, there appear many new patterns of kites with characters painted on them in recent years, which are different from those traditional ones with pictures of animals, insects, and fishes. Hence, there form different schools and styles of kites with specific characteristics, among which the most well-known ones are from Beijing, Tianjin, Weifang in Shandong Province, Sichuan Province, and Guangdong Province.

Weifang Kites

Weifang kites mainly have three basic molding: string, hard wings and simple appearance, which can best be presented by a kite of "centipede with dragon head".

Besides centipede, Weifang kites in long strings present many other themes. For example, "the 108 heroes from Liang Hill" vividly show the different appearances and figures of those heroes who are standing in a row with swords in hands. When the kite flies in the wind, it seems that those heroes are about to start off responding to the roaring drums and fight against the Song Dynasty.

In April, 1984, a huge kite of centipede with dragon head flied above the northern beach in Weifang. The kite, which was 320 meters long with a diameter of 1.2-meter in the middle and a head of 4-meter in height and 4-meter in length, was the biggest one all over the country at that time.

Weifang International Kites Festival is held annually from Apr. 20th to 25th at Weifang.

Forum topic:

Traffic was at a standstill as city folk returned to work
and schools reopened after the week-long Hari Raya Aidilfitri
festival break. The congestion lasted several hours.

Have you ever experience traffic congestion where cars basically
standstill or bumper to bumper? What you normally do? Listen to
the radio and sing along? or read newspaper? Make phone calls?

Do share your experience and views here. Thanks

Reply 1:

I usually bring with me a book that I can read to occupy my time. Therefore, if there are traffic jams, I just pull out my book and read it. I have experience some worst traffic problems and it took us one hour to reach our destination where we could normally reach for fifteen minutes. Having something to read will help us not to be bored without doing something.

Reply 2:

Even we often get stuck in traffic in metro cities and highways here at India. Its really a very frustrating experience since it becomes really tough to keep cool. And the hot weather adds to the woes.
I usually try to listen to the radio in the vehicle or talk to someone on phone. Sometimes I enjoy watching the crowd and the way people handle the jams. If I see some kid around, I find it really great watching him do his things. These are the things that I often do.

Reply 3:

I face traffic jams everyday and I go mad, when I am made to wait in traffic jams or longer red lights. I just cannot do anything about it. If I am driving with my better half, at least I can talk to her about one thing or the other, but if I am alone, I just keep staring at the red light and keep counting the seconds to turn it green. I feel that traffic jams raises our blood pressure and one day we will be admitted in an asylum for going made due to traffic jams.............LOL

Reply 4:

Traffic jam, I believe, is something which is MOST HATED THING around the world. It is annoying and I try my best to avoid it every single day. But if I, unfortunately, have to face it, I just spend hours trapped inside the car listening to the music, browsing internet with laptop (only if I bring one), read newspaper or some interesting book. And above all of them, I eat snacks!=) It's a pitty because it is WE, ourselves who make traffic jam does exist.

Reply 5:

We usually bring portable dvd player and some snacks both for long travel and while being stuck in the traffic. sometimes we play scrabble with my nephews. i also carry books whereever i go either book for my study, self-help books or pocket novels. just to keep my mind busy when i encounter such boredom.

CCTV produces its own news broadcasts three times a day and is the country's most powerful and prolific television program producer. Its thirty-minute evening news, Xinwen Lianbo ("News Simulcast"), is on the air at 7:00 PM Beijing Time. By far, it is the most known and watched news program in China which mainland Chinese watch to keep up with the government's politics: all local stations are required to carry CCTV's 7 p.m. main news broadcast; an internal CCTV survey indicates that nearly 500 million people countrywide regularly watch this program.Xinwen Lianbo.

Although news reform has been a prominent feature of CCTV networks, the Evening News has remained relatively the same since its first appearance in the early 1980s, having mainly focused on leaders receiving foreign guests and going on visits to foreign countries, the CPC's leaders having top meetings or conferences, and stories of courage that are supposed to exemplify one form or another of communism. Many important political news stories are broadcast through that program.

Focus is also a popular programme on CCTV, first introduced in 1994. The discussion programme regularly exposes wrong-doing by local officials, which attracts attention from higher levels of government that is taken seriously and hold a meeting to discuss what to do about a particular problem. The programme later announces how the Chinese government has tackled the problem. The programme is a chance for strong investigative journalism.

Its yearly special program of celebrating the Chinese New Year, the CCTV New Year's Gala, is the most watched program. In 2007 research data shows that the Gala was watched by over 800 million people all over the world. It started in the early 1980s. Each year, some singers and comedians become famous because of their single performance that night.

The network, considered the most authoritative in China, is usually the best place for advertisers to win consumer trust of their products - and to compete with local cable channels.

Creative Advertisements

An advertisement by Jung von Matt/Alster for watchmaker IWC. Bus straps have been fashioned from images of IWC’s Big Pilot’s Watch to allow bus travellers near the airport to try before they buy at Berlin, Germany. 16 more advertisements after the jump.

A print of a cup of Folgers coffee was placed on top of manhole covers in New York City, USA. Holes on the print allows the steam to come out. Wordings around the cup reads ‘Hey, City That Never Sleeps. Wake up.” from Folgers.

An innovative idea on a large billboard in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It really makes you want that ‘Heineken’.

This is a great advertisment campaign at Unicenter Shopping Mall in Buenos Aires, Argentina for Valentine’s Day. It magnifies the romantic ambience with a simple idea.

Life-size stickers of people were stuck on automatic sliding doors at a mall in Mumbai, India. When someone approaches the doors move apart and it feels like the people on the door are moving away. The person enters to find the message ‘People Move Away When You Have Body Odour’.

A sticker has been placed on the high voltage box depicting that Duracell’s batteries were used. Cool advertisement found in Malaysia.

An ambient exercise to promote Eatalica burgers. A ‘Caution Wet Floor’ board was placed near an Eatalica burger signboard. The copy on the board reads ‘Oogling at the burger may involuntarily cause drooling which may in turn lead to a wet floor. Issued for your safety by the management of Eatalica restaurant’. Eatalica is an American-Italian Food Joint in Chennai, India.

A life size sticker for the horror movie ‘The Maid’ in Singapore placed near the toilet round the corner. The kind of advertisement that makes you pee in your pants.

A giant mirror was built that allowed passersby to stop and look at themselves wearing Indivi clothes at a shopping mall in Tokyo, Japan

An advertisement for a job recruiting company in Berlin, Germany. Depicting people working in the vending machines, ATMs, it delivers the message that ‘Life is too short for the wrong job’.

Stickers were placed in selected car park locations and car workshops where the product is sold in Malaysia. It delivers the message that M-Tech Plasma HID Lights are 300% brighter than regular headlights. The burn effect sticker from the headlights really leaves an impression.

This controversial idea was done in Dubai by Sandeep Fernandes and Husen Baba Khan for the male deodorant, Axe. The mouse pad that every guy needs.

This is an advertisement found in Vancouver during the National Non-Smoking Week. The car was placed at the Vancouver Art Gallery and the message reads ‘Death from car accidents: 370, Death from smoking-related causes: 6,027, Quit now before it kills you.’

Life size images were stuck on glass doors at shops, airports in South Africa for the advertisement of glass and window cleaner I.C.U. The expression_r on the face is priceless.

Another creative idea by The Fitness Company. Heavy Weights were placed at various subways in New York City which creates an illusion that the person holding the safety bar is doing weights.

A very cost-effective advertisement in Hong Kong for a yoga school. It showcases the prowess of a yoga practitioner on the flexible stems of drink straws. A surge of enquiries and enrollment went after up this promotional stunt.

This is a creative ad by Mini Cooper placed at the Zurich, Switzerland train station. It gives the perception that the Mini Cooper has a large space.

Historical site in Changchun

>>The False Man colonize relics
The False Man colonizes relic¡¯s dispersal in the downtown of Changchun, mainly in the Guangfu Road which is the false Man Palace, the Xinmin Street and the Renmin Street etc. It is one of the tour developments programming in four greatest tectonic plate which are colonize relics, showbiz culture, industry culture and the ecosystem tour of Changchun. It is the fist tour product and prominent position of Changchun. The False Man colonize relics which dispersal in downtown of Changchun is not only an unrivalled cultural inheritance, having the important cultural content, but also the cultural tour product that has the special property, having the important history and culture realistic meaning that is worth and deep.

One of the three greatest palaces ruins in our country
There are three keeping better greatest palaces in China. They are the imperial Place of Beijing, the imperial Place of Shenyang and the False Man Place. The corpus part of the False Man Place keeps the integrity; the whole layout structure of palace area and the building corpus also were conservancy. So they are called three place ruins of China. And the three buildings' styles and the history cultural value are different. In regard to the building style, the False Man Place represent the approaching death flounder and Japanese doctrines of the Chinese feudalistic society the end generation monarchs to invade the Chinese northeast at the right moment bloody and ruthlessness.

The irrefutable arguments of Japan invaded China
Take the False Man Place and Badabu as the represent of colonize historic relic which is Japanese doctrine invaded China then over lorded among states the world completely and in the our country northeast to plan of dynastic governance center of puppet, is the palace ruins of the Chinese feudalistic society last emperor who is Puyi instrument, it is a Japanese doctrine to invade one of the most important history of China witnesses, also is it jumped a claim the northeast to capture whole Chinese dangerous work hard of true portrayal.

The reduction of the Chinese northeast modern history
The modern history of China is the filling with sad and the anger of tears of blood history. Puyi was as the last emperor of Chinese feudalistic society, experiencing the process and special positions and the bodies from it, is vitally related with the modern history of China; rely on the False Man Place and Badabu etc. buildings in order to carry the body. Passing the demonstration of Puyi's whole life, it can grasp China and basic grain of the northeast modern histories.
The previous incarnation does not forget the lesson of the future generations. In the history of the Chinese modern humiliation, the Japanese doctrine put on up layer after layer, the False Man Place colonize relics, the histories offense certificates that records the Japanese doctrine to invade China, it jots down the Chinese nation a page of the humiliation, warning the people always, not forgetting the national humiliation, developing the China, particularly to the materials that the teenager carry on the patriotism education's is a typical model.

The False Man Place is the False Man Place Museum of Changchun now.	The False Man Ministry of State Department is the foundation medical department of the University of Jilin now.	The False Man National Central Bank is the branch of the China People Bank in Changchun now.	The False Man Ministry of Military Affairs is the first clinic hospital of the University of Jilin now.
The False Man Ministry of Economic Affairs is the third clinic hospital of the University of Jilin now.	The False Man Ministry of Comprehensive Affairs is the China People Liberation Army Air Force Hospital in Changchun now.	The False Man Ministry of Transportation is the foundation medical department of the University of Jilin now.	The False Man Central Broadcasting Station is the police bureau of Changchun City now.

>>The False Palace
The False Palace locates in the Guangfu Road which is in the northeast of Changchun City. It covers 12 hectares of area and is Puyi¡¯s palace. He lived here from 1932 to 1945. The corpus building of the False Palace is a small yellow building which has glazed tiles and has two floors. It includes the Qinmin Building, the Jixi Building and the Tongde Hall. The three small buildings' styles are special and the structure is mixing with the Chinese and western style together.
The False Palace can be divided into two parts. They were outside which was carrying on the political activity and inside which was carrying on the daily life. It is divided into two parts which are the False Man Basilica Displaying Building and the False Man Palace Displaying Building. The outside palace was the place that Puyi handled the governmental affairs, the main buildings are the Qinmin Building, the Huaiyuan Building and the Jiale Hall. Puyi worked in the Qinmin Building. There are still other subsidiary places such as garden, rockery, fish pond, swimming pool, tennis court, golf course, race course and the calligraphy and painting database...etc. The inside palace was the place where Puyi and his family lived. Puyi and his empress who was Wanrong lived in the Jixi Building. The Fuguiren lived in the Tongde Hall. There were also some amusement facilities. Now, a part of the palace has already been openned up for the museum of Jilin Province. Some dynastic historical data of feudalism built up in the northeast such as Gaojvli, Bohai, Liao, JIn ...etc. are showed here.

>>The museum of Jilin Province
It was the False Man Place once. The False Palace locates in the Guangfu Road which is in the northeast of Changchun City. It covers 12 hectares of area and is Puyi¡¯s palace. It was also the place of Puyi's daily life and political activity. There are some Chinese classic, European and Japanese type building and its subsidiary facilitieses buildings such as the Qinmin Building, the Jixi Building and the Tongde Hall...etc. The waxes of Puyi and his many imperial concubines are showed there. There are pictures showing about Japan invade China, the emperor and the civilian in anther palace. The center door of the False Palace is called Laixun Door and the west door is called Baokang Door. The False Palace can be divided into two parts. They were outside which was carrying on the political activity and inside which was carrying on the daily life. It is divided into two parts which are the False Man Basilica Displaying Building and the False Man Palace Displaying Building. The outside palace was the place that Puyi handled the governmental affairs, the main buildings are the Qinmin Building, the Huaiyuan Building and the Jiale Hall. Puyi worked in the Qinmin Building. There are still other subsidiary places such as garden, rockery, fish pond, swimming pool, tennis court, golf course, race course and the calligraphy and painting database...etc. The inside palace was the place where Puyi and his family lived. Puyi and his empress who was Wanrong lived in the Jixi Building. The Fuguiren lived in the Tongde Hall. There were also some amusement facilities. Puyi lived there as a puppet for 14 years. Japan surrendered and Puyi escaped in 1945. The False Palace was destroyed deeply and the internal facilities were destroyed deeply. After relieved, it experienced successively to renovate, restored to original gradually. The existing cultural object data are more than 7000 pieces to exhibition in the palace. The visitors come to visit as if they reread the history of Japan invade China and witness in former days the life of the imperial palace, take away the mysterious feeling of the palace.

>>The Jichangdaoyi official bureau
The Jichangdaoyi official bureau is so called yamun. It locates in the Qima Road of Nanguan Downtown of Chagchun. The Jichangdaoyi official bureau which was called the Jilinxiluobingbeidao and changed Jichangdaoyi in 1914 was established in 1908. It is the tallest authorities in Changchun, ruling 12 countries which were Jinlin, Changchun, Yitong, Nongan, Dehui, Changling, Shulan, Huadian, Panshi, Shangyang, mengjiang which is Jingyu, Qianan etc. The houses in the official bureau are the buildings that are the Chinese and west combining.Its house is the west type, but the arrangement of the symmetry layout and its big hall, the living housing are the Chinese traditional type. The whole building is the green gray brick cement structure, covering 105,000 square meters. Its positive gate tower sits the west toward east, it is decorous and firm about 12 meters, and the cement hangs to face the lace pattern. The two sides of the gate tower are five houses, as the conduct and actions informs the room; the armed escort office uses the building. They cover more than 700 square meters. Go through the gate tower is an ex- hall which is the big hall, set up with the vehemence very much, constructing to be up to seven meters, covering more than 700 meters, spacious brightness inside the hall. Go west again after several ten meters, it would be the hall, construct and the main hall homology, is just slightly short. A north side contain four western buildings, which cover 900 square meters, are the place of senior officer's living, the building are exquisite very much fashionable. After the Incident on September 18th, Japan seized the Northeast and propped up Puyi to do the emperor of the False Man Country in Changchun. They held the inauguration in the official bureau on March in the second year. So the official bureau became the temporary imperial palace. The place was used by the False Man State Department, the False Man Canyifu, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the legal system bureau, the negotiation office, the municipal ready bureau etc. It was the ground of the Xinyijun Artillery of the Kuomintang in 1945. After relieved it was used by the telephone equipments factory the first factory of Changchun to now.The official bureau was kept the original kind.

>>The headquarters of Japanese Guandongjun ruins
It locates at the west side of the Xinfa Square, the No.55 in People Street.It is the office building of Jilin now. The building is the Japanese type, the coping is the copper tile bedding, it is high greatly than the False Palace. The western region inside the yard was the Guandongjun headquarters official residence. The Guandongjun headquarters official residence which was built in 1933 was the tallest organization in northeast in Japanese militarism and the base camp of the invaders.

1

To me, the favorite room in my house is definitely my private room, which is separated from other common rooms of the family. While I have dinner in the dining room and watch television in the living room, my most important room is my own one. That room is an ideal place for my concentration and it has become more than a room – a friend.

I need a quiet and isolated room where I can concentrate in study and entertainment. I can hardly raise my thinking to a high level of concentration in a noisy and disturbing atmosphere. My room is the only place where I can work or study for the whole day without somebody knocking on the door, which is really annoying to me. I can’t image how I can try to find solutions to a math problem while my little brothers are annoyingly playing around and sister is listening to music. Additionally, the room is also a perfect place for me to play music. I play the guitar and I love the silence of my room that enables the sound of my guitar to evolve purely and beautifully.

Last but not least, my private room has become something personally special to me. I have been living in that room for about 15 years or so. I have had many anniversaries with that room. That is where I study all the long nights for exams. That was where I started practicing the guitar until becoming an advanced player – a period of ten years. I clean my room every day. I repair it when something is broken. I paint it every year. I would say I treat it like a friend. I always want to stay in that room rather than any other ones in my house.

I don’t have to think much when asked about which my favorite room is. My private room is a place that offers me a small freedom, a place for concentration, and a passionate space. It is a very old room now, but I never want to leave it. One day, I will have to leave for a new and larger room; I will feel sad though.

2

My Favorite Room Created By My Recreation room is an excellent place to lounge; it is the den in my home. Where my family can listen to music, or just getaway from the rat race of society. This den offers superior comfort and entertainment. It is a “no work area”, which creates a soothing and peaceful environment. This room represents total rest and relaxation for the whole family. My family enjoys the den, because the air is cool with the slight fragrance of lemon pledge. The floors are of very thick soft carpet, for walking or lying. The ceilings are a mere six-feet, and walls of paneling in light colored oak. There is one window on each side of the room and one entrance door. The room has soft wall lighting and a comfortable living room suit for watching movies. The furniture is large and of contemporary styling. The couch has all the lazy boy features and is made of the finest soft Italian leather. In front of that is a large coffee table of thick glass supported by thick gray marble and end tables that match. The entertainment center is a full wall unit made of red oak. The entertainment center offers a wood bound big screen television. It has awesome surround sound and complete remote features. It is equipped with a digital videodisc player, that adds to the televisions’ clarity for life like action movies. The center also houses a full collection of digital videodisc movies for the families’ viewing pleasure. The stereo is located in the top of the wall unit. It consists of a high-end receiver, a digital optical compact disc player, and the traditional double cassette player. These items allow very high quality music to be played at high and low volumes. The speakers are carefully placed to allow my family and guest to hear real quality surround. On the sides of the center are CD racks that have a wide array of music. There are two types of games available, a Nintendo 64 and a pool table. The pool table is a Brunswick Bristol with a slate top and quiet rubber pockets. This table and Nintendo allows for the family to enjoy a friendly game during the day for stress relief and recreation. A refrigerator is available with soothing refreshments and hardy snacks for family and friends to enjoy. A few other features have been added to create an environment with reduced stress and enhanced relaxation. The installation of soundproofing was added to the walls for reduction of outside noise and greater acoustics. Some rules were put in place to maintain a peace of mind, Music must be at low volumes at night, and Games will only be played during the day. These rules will allow the preservation of the rooms serenity. This den has the properties of rest and relaxation for the whole family. It would be almost impossible not to enjoy this room. This room may not be the dream of everyone, but it is one of mine. It allows the family to sit and rest and enjoy life together in peace and harmony.

School Uniforms

Pros and Cons

Every school is in essence a learning environment. That which aids learning is acceptable, and that which hinders it should be unacceptable. Add to this the fears of school violence and student safety and you can see why many school boards are calling for uniforms. This issue brings up numerous questions:

What is a school uniform?

What are the potential benefits of having school uniforms?

What are the potential problems with having school uniforms?

How can you get parents and students to buy-in to the idea of school uniforms?

What does the Supreme Court have to say on this issue?

Are school uniforms truly effective?

1. School Uniforms Defined

School uniforms range from the formal to the informal. Some schools that have implemented school uniforms have chosen what one usually thinks of in connection to Catholic schools: nice pants and white shirts for boys, jumpers and white shirts for girls. However, most public schools are turning to something more casual and more acceptable to parents and students: khakis or jeans and knit shirts of varying colors. The latter appear to be more affordable too because they can be used outside of school. Many school districts that have implemented school uniforms have provided some sort of financial assistance for families that can not afford the extra expense.

2. Potential Benefits of School Uniforms

Preventing gang colors, etc. in schools

Decreasing violence and theft because of clothing and shoes

Instilling discipline among students

Reducing need for administrators and teachers to be 'clothes police' (for example, determining whether shorts are too short, etc.)

Reducing distractions for students

Instilling a sense of community

Helping schools recognize those who do not belong on campus

3. Potential problems of School Uniforms

Students and parents argue that uniforms violate their freedom of expression_r_r_r (see below for more about what the Supreme Court has to say on this)

Parents raise concerns about the cost

Families fear it might interfere with religious clothing like yarmulkes

4. Parent and Student Support for Uniforms

Make uniforms more casual - jeans and a knit shirt

Allow students an outlet for their own expression_r_r_r: buttons to support political candidates, but not gang related paraphernalia

Provide financial assistance to those parents who can not afford the uniforms

Accommodate students religious beliefs. This is required by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Make your program voluntary if community pressure is too large

Institute an 'opt-out' provision. Not including this would probably cause a court to rule against your program unless there is proof that lesser measures are ineffective.

Make uniforms an integral part of the school safety program.

5. Supreme Court Rulings

In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School (1969), the court said that a student's freedom of expression_r_r_r in school must be protected unless it would seriously interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline. In the dissenting opinion written by Justice Hugo Black, he said, "If the time has come when pupils of state-supported schools, ..., can defy and flout orders of school officials to keep their minds on their own schoolwork, it is the beginning of a new revolutionary era of permissiveness in this country fostered by the judiciary."

Students are still protected under Tinker. However, with an increase in school violence and gang-related activities, the political climate seems to have turned more conservative, and the Supreme Court has begun to return many decisions back to the discretion of the local school board. The issue of school uniforms itself, however, has not yet been faced by the Supreme Court.

6. Effectiveness of School Uniforms

There are two types of evidence to look at on the issue of effectiveness. One is a statistical study produced by the University of Notre Dame, and the other is the actual words and beliefs of school officials who have implemented school uniforms.

Notre Dame's Department of Sociology produced a study in 1998 concerning school uniforms. Their findings using 10th grade students showed that uniforms have no direct effect on "substance abuse, behavioral problems or attendance." (Brunsma, 1) It also claimed a negative effect on student achievements for those students considered 'pro-school'. (Brunsma, 1)

With that said, we now turn to the less scientific words and thoughts of administrators in schools that have implemented uniform policies. Note that all of the following were from middle schools. In Long Beach, officials found that the year after their mandatory program with parental opt-out was implemented, overall school crime decreased by 36%. In Seattle, Washington, which has a mandatory policy with an opt-out saw a decrease in truancy and tardies. They had also not had a reported incident of theft. As a final example from Baltimore, Maryland, Rhonda Thompson, an official from a middle school that has a voluntary policy noticed a "sense of seriousness about work." Whether any of these results can be directly linked to school uniforms is hard to say. However, it can be said that something has changed to make the officials take notice. We cannot discount the coincidence of school uniforms with these changes either. If you would like more information about schools that have implemented uniform policies, see the Department of Education's Manual on School Uniforms.

Schools must educate students in a safe environment. Over time, education has often slipped away as the main focus of schools. As we have unfortunately seen, school safety is such an enormous issue that it is hard to come up with policies that truly work without turning a school into a prison camp. After the events at Columbine where students were singled out partially for what they wore, and after numerous thefts and murders over designer shoes, it is obvious why many school districts want to institute uniforms. We must realize that learning cannot take place without some sense of decorum and discipline. Possibly instituting school uniforms might help bring back that sense of decorum and allow teachers to do what they are hired to do: teach.

Popular Sports in China

Different types of games have always been played in China with great enthusiasm. The country has traditionally excelled in sports like badminton and table tennis at the international level. Read on to know more about some popular sports that are prent in China.

Sports have formed an important part of the lives of the Chinese people ever since the beginning of the civilization till the present day. Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of certain health building sports that were played in China about 4000 years ago. Hunting, archery and rowing races are some of the earliest sports played by the people here. There is evidence of a sport similar to football being played in China around 1000 AD. However, the Asian Giant embraced modern sports only as recently as the 20th century. Through its government's support and the interest of the people in general, the country has been producing players of immense talent in the world of sports. The following paragraphs discuss some of the popular sports in China.

Table tennis, a game that originated in England, now is one of the most popular sports in China. Its official name in the country is Ping Pong. In this game two teams of one or two players each hit a small hollow ball across a hard table that is divided by a net. Table tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988. Since then the Chinese have won 16 out of the 20 gold medals on offer. Chinese table tennis champions like Wang Ho (in the men's category) and Zhang Yinning (among the women) enjoy celebrity status in their homeland. Table tennis is taken very seriously in China and hence the country has always managed to produce quality players. China maintained its position as the world champions by lifting the title for the third time in a row in the 2009 H.I.S. World Table Tennis Championships held in Yokohama, Japan. Many other countries like Japan, South Korea and Australia also have had players of Chinese origin in their winning teams.

This sport is played on a hard court divided by a net. It can be played in singles and doubles too, with each player using a racquet (or racket) to hit the shuttlecock. Since the inception of the World Badminton Championships in 1977, China has dominated the event wining 40 golds, with Indonesia in second position with 18 golds. In fact, the dominance of this Asian Giant in badminton is so much that it has sparked fears that the sport may soon become 'boring'. Like table tennis, this sport also originated in England. However, it is an established sport in China and is taken up by Chinese children quite early in life. No wonder the country has produced a string of world class players like Zhang Ning, Lin Dan, Gao Ling, and Huang Sui.

After the USA and Canada, China is oldest country that started playing basketball. Basketball arrived in this country in the 1890s and was declared a national past time in 1935. However, basketball became popular only in the 1990s when globalization and the Internet allowed the Chinese population to come in greater contact with the sport being played elsewhere in the world. The first professional team was established in Shenyang which was sponsored by the Anshan Steel Company. The Chinese Basketball Association was formed in 1995. The popularity of the sport touched new heights after Yao Ming joined the NBA as a player of the Houston Rockets in 2002. It is estimated that almost 300 million Chinese play this game. The massive viewership for the screening of the basketball games during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games has led many believe that basketball may soon replace table tennis as the most played game in China.

With large government support, China is slowly developing as a major chess power of the world. In the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy, China emerged as the nation with the best overall performance when its men's team won the second position and the women came third. In 1974, a meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur with the aim of raising the standards of the Asian chess players. It was in recognition of the potential of chess in the country, that it was decided that chess would be first promoted in China under the 'Big Dragon Project'. Despite its lack of experience in comparison to other countries like Russia, Germany and Ukraine, China has five of the top hundred players of the world. Some of the grandmasters that this country has produced are Bu Xiangzhi, Hou Yifan (who became the world's youngest ever female grandmaster) and Li Chao.

China has also excelled in other sports like boxing and gymnastics. Despite the failure of its national team to perform well in the international arena, football also has a huge fan following in the country. Cricket which is a relatively new sport in China is slowly gaining popularity. It's a known fact that when China takes up any sport, it means serious business.