Update Information You Should Know V

Dear students,

As usual, I do hope these articles will add some flavors to your essays, which will provide more objective evidence or examples for your argument. Make the best use of them. Read more, write more, and think more!

Good luck to you all!

BR,
Christine


The next acts in the Toyota safety crisis

The heat could be further turned up on Toyota, as it now faces probes from U.S. prosecutors and safety regulators.As the Toyota safety saga unfolds, here are some possible scenarios for the next acts:
More Costly Safety Action

Toyota has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles globally for problems related to accelerator pedals that can become jammed by loose floor mats or become stuck because of a flaw.

But National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigators have begun looking into whether those explanations go far enough to explain reports of unintended acceleration. Toyota has estimated that its recall will cost US$2 billion by the end of March but analysts have raised concerns that total could go higher in the new fiscal year beginning in April.

Another source of additional costs could come from a broader application of brake override systems, which Toyota has committed to install on all new vehicles.

Continuing Investigations

Lawmakers could look at how the automaker was treated by safety regulators during the Bush administration, when complaints about unintended acceleration in its vehicles began rising. That would mean a second round of hearings and if regulators conclude that Toyota dragged its feet, Toyota could face a penalty of up to US$16.4 million.

Criminal charges, if they were brought, could further damage Toyota's reputation. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is likely looking into what Toyota knew, when it knew it, and whether it disclosed information selectively ─ specifically, how the information was delivered to dealers compared with the message to consumers or investors, and the timing of such disclosure.

Lawsuits

At last count, some 40 to 50 proposed class actions had been filed or were in the works against Toyota. The cases fall into two broad categories: Lawsuits seeking damages for the diminished value of the vehicles or the loss of their use, and lawsuits seeking damages for death or injuries.

If internal Toyota documents show the company deliberately hid or destroyed documents, that will support a racketeering theory, a statute that warrants triple damages if a defendant is found liable.

Others with financial ties to Toyota could also sue for damages, lawyers said, including shareholders, dealers, auto auction firms, and rental car companies.

NHTSA Reform

Critics charge that NHTSA's technical expertise appears to have lagged developments in new vehicle technology, even though advanced autos like Toyota's Lexus models now run as much computer code as fighter jets. NHTSA has not kept pace with the changes, critics charge, noting that it does not employ any electrical or software engineers.

Another potential area of reform could target disclosure. A review of the records shows that U.S. safety regulators considered a broader set of risks for Toyota vehicles but did not make those concerns public in 2004 or 2007. The NHTSA website that compiles consumer complaints is also notoriously difficult to navigate or for outsiders to use as a way to track potential safety problems. Reforms could take aim at making safety regulation more timely and making the workings of the U.S. safety agency more transparent.

豐田安全危機後續發展

豐田面臨美國檢調與安全控管單位調查，壓力可能進一步增加。隨著豐田安全危機事件持續延燒，以下為接下來可能出現的狀況：
花費更多的改善措施

豐田已因為一項瑕疵，導致地墊鬆脫堵住或卡住油門踏板問題，在全球召回逾八百五十萬輛車。

美國國家高速公路交通安全管理局調查人員，已對這些理由是否足以解釋意外暴衝狀況展開調查。到了三月底，豐田估計此次召回行動將使其損失廿億美元，但分析師擔心在四月份開始的新會計年中，損失總數可能更高。

另一項額外開銷可能來自煞車優先系統更廣泛的運用，豐田允諾將在所有新車配備此系統。

持續進行調查

國會議員可檢視前總統布希執政時期，也就是汽車暴衝投訴開始出現時，安全審查人員如何處置汽車製造商。不但會有第二輪的聽證會，而且若調查人員結論為豐田故意拖延，豐田可能面臨高達一千六百四十萬美元的罰款。

如果提起刑事訴訟，將對豐田的聲譽造成更大傷害。美國證交委員會很可能深入調查豐田知道什麼，什麼時候知道的，和是否選擇性公佈，特別是豐田告知廠商和顧客及投資人的方式有何不同，以及公佈的時間點。

訴訟

根據最新訊息，約有四十至五十件集體訴訟已立案或還在處理中。這些案件分為兩大類：尋求車輛價值降低與使用權損失的賠償金，以及致死和受傷案例的理賠。

如果豐田內部文件顯示該公司蓄意隱瞞或損毀檔案，即符合敲詐勒索論，若發覺被告有此情節，法令將勒令支付三倍賠償。

律師表示，與豐田有金融往來者，含股東、經銷商、汽車拍賣與租車公司也可提告索賠。

美國國家高速公路交通安全管理局大改革

評論家譴責管理局技術業在新車技術上無法跟上發展，即使如豐田Lexus等先進車款，在今日得經過跟戰鬥機一樣多的電腦模擬，但管理局沒有跟上腳步，評論家也指出管理局沒有聘用任何電機與軟體工程師。

改革的另一部份可針對公開化。重新檢閱紀錄顯示，美國安全審查人員對豐田汽車有諸多安全危機顧慮，卻未在二００四或二００七年公開讓大眾知道。管理局彙整客訴的網站也因難以瀏覽，或讓外界人士難以用來追蹤潛在安全問題而惡名昭彰。改革可以使安全規章更及時，並使美國安管機構運作更透明化。




What does money have to do with true love?

Everything is changing; the times, youths' views on love and marriage, tradition and culture, and family and society, and festivals especially when economic pressure makes it difficult for them to get married and start a family. A recent survey shows how monetary pressure is compelling Chinese people to take a U-turn on their decision to get married or their views on starting a family.
The survey shows that 77 percent of the people looked for high morals in their spouses in 2007. But in 2009, the same percentage of people were looking for economic stability among their would-be life partners. It shows Chinese people may have developed vague, blundering and diverse views on love and marriage.

Some experts say it is society's responsibility to nurture the correct perception of love and marriage among its youths. But then society itself is changing, and with it the values.

Take skyrocketing housing prices ─ housing may not be an impediment to marriage in other countries, but it is in Asia. According to traditional belief, marriage means a stable life, and for stability you need to own a house, and a house provides escape from uncertainty.

One girl says she hates the trend of girls comparing their boyfriends' wealth, especially those flaunting their cars and money. "It's not that women have become more material. Actually, society itself has changed with advanced production and raised consumption levels. Given today's material richness, can a man still propose to a woman, saying all he has as assets for the family they may start is a bicycle, a watch or a suitcase of clothes?"

A house is a symbol of the pressure a person is undergoing in today's fast-changing society. A house is the magic wand that could turn the love between a man and woman to the institution of marriage. But love or romance may have nothing to do with things in real life, even though marriage does.

But the young cannot be blamed for their attitude toward marriage. People who got married between the late 1970s and the early 1990s had their own source of material happiness: TV sets, refrigerators and washing machines. And they used to do great lengths to get them. Today's youths are doing the same ─ only that the products have become more advanced and expensive.

財富等於真愛嗎？

一切事物不斷地變遷，包含時代、年輕人對於愛情和家庭的觀點、傳統與文化、以及家庭、社會與節慶。特別是處在經濟壓力下，使年輕人難以結婚成家。最近一項調查顯示，經濟壓力為中國人在決定結婚、共組家庭觀念上有一百八十度大轉變的重大因素。
此項調查指出，二００七年有七成七的人希望伴侶品行優良，但在二００九年時，相同數字的受訪者在未來終身伴侶上尋求經濟穩定。這也顯示中國人在愛情與婚姻間，可能已發展出一些歧異的觀點。

一些專家表示，在年輕人間孕育出對愛情與婚姻的正確觀點是社會的責任，但社會與其價值觀也在改變。

以飆漲的房價為例，其他國家中也許住宅不為婚姻的阻礙，但在亞洲卻是，根據傳統觀念，婚姻代表穩定的生活，而要穩定就需要有一棟房屋，房屋為遠離不確定性的避所。

一名女性指出，她不喜歡一堆女生比較男友財富的風潮，特別是炫耀男友的車與財力。「不是女性變得很物質化，實際上，隨著產品進階與消費水平提高，社會也跟著改變。鑒於富足的今日，男性有可能向女性求婚時表示，他一開始能提供給家庭的所有財產是台腳踏車、一隻錶或一箱衣服嗎？」

房屋是一個人在社會變遷迅速下的一種壓力象徵，一棟房屋即是能將男女間的愛情變成婚姻制度的魔杖。雖然婚姻與現實生活有關，但愛或浪漫則是無關的。

但你無法責怪年輕一輩的人對婚姻抱持的態度，在七０年代末和九０年代初間結婚的人，亦有可滿足現實的來源─電視、冰箱與洗衣機，而且這些物品要花許多時間才能賺得。今日年輕人在做一樣的事，只是產品更先進且更昂貴而已。




Overcoming gaming addiction: A true story

Addicted to computer games is a description that fits the lifestyle of more and more young adults ─ the addiction often creeps up unsuspectingly, similar to the way other dependencies develop.
For more than a year Torben Berger, an 18-year-old German teen, was addicted to the infamous online game Counterstrike. In the final stages of his addiction he didn't want to leave his room, talk with other people, or even eat and take a shower. All he wanted to do was play the game.

Counterstrike involves fighting between terrorists and members of a special police unit. The opponents kill each other by shooting guns of all shapes and sizes. What makes it so fascinating?

"Looking back on it, it's just a meaningless killing spree," said Berger. Back then he felt bullied in his job and thus he withdrew to his room, put on a headset and let himself be distracted from his troubles by the melody and sounds of the game.

His escape from reality lasted longer every day. All the money he earned as an apprentice systems mechanic went toward supporting his gaming, leaving no money for going out in the evening. He had little interest anyway in real life friends.

Eventually, he recognized that something was wrong. "Outwardly, I was alive, but on the inside I was dead," Berger admitted one day. His parents were shocked.

"We were told what our son had was not a recognized illness. If some people are not able to deal with a PC, then they have themselves to blame," said the teenager's father.

With his apprenticeship forfeited and the beginning of a new school year threatening to come and go without Berger getting a new start on a career, Berger's parents immediately organized a place for their son in a clinic.

Under treatment he had to learn to open up and slow his life down. At the beginning he didn't know where to channel his aggression. Then he discovered fitness and body- building. Three and a half weeks later, the teen had changed.

"He could hold a conversation again and he was approachable. There was life in his expression. Laughing and crying were only things he couldn't do yet," his father said.

一篇克服電玩成癮的真實故事

越來越多年輕人的生活可用沉迷電腦遊戲來加以描述，跟其他依賴行為發展過程一樣，電玩成癮通常在不知不覺中養成。
十八歲的德國青少年柏傑沉迷於聲名狼藉的線上遊戲《絕對武力》一年多，在上癮後期柏傑不想離開房間、與人交談、甚至是進食或洗澡，他想做的只有玩遊戲。

《絕對武力》包含恐怖份子與特警小組成員相互激戰的情節，雙方可用各式與各種尺寸的槍枝射殺對方。到底是什麼讓這類電玩有如此吸引力？

柏傑表示：「回想從前，這個遊戲只是無意義的瘋狂殺人。」但在當時，他在工作上受人欺負，於是他退回自己的房間，戴上耳機讓自己能藉遊戲音樂與音效，忘卻不愉快。

逃避現實的時間一日多過一日，當系統技工學徒的薪水也全投注到遊戲上，讓他沒錢可花在夜間活動，反正他對真實世界的朋友也沒什麼興趣。

最後柏傑認清有哪裡出了問題，他有天承認：「外表看來上我還活著，但在內心我已經死了。」他的父母為此感到震驚。

柏傑的父親表示：「我們被告知兒子的情況不被認定為疾病，如果有人無法應付電腦，那麼他們只能怪自己。」

喪失學徒資格後，新學年逼近又過去，柏傑卻還未開始新工作，他的父母立即在一間診所安排了療程。

在療程中柏傑學到如何展開心胸，並放慢生活步調，起初他不知道如何紓張暴戾之氣，隨後他發現了健身與鍛鍊身體。三週半後，這名青少年已截然不同。

柏傑的父親表示：「他又可以與人交談，也比較容易親近了。他的表情中看得出活力，他還做不到的只剩下大笑與大哭了。」




A teacher? Oh no, daddy, I want to be a star

LONDON, Reuters ─ Forget about persuading your children to consider life as a doctor, vet or teacher, and start training them for the talent shows.
A poll of 3,000 British parents showed the aspirations of their children are radically different from what they dreamed about when considering what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Although "astronaut" still remains fairly high on the list of careers kids dream about these days, others like doctor and teacher have been supplanted by the desire to win fame and fortune as a sports hero, pop star or actor.

The parents of children aged 5 to 11 said the one near-constant was lawyer, which slipped only one place on a top 10 list to sixth, while teacher had slipped to ninth from the top in the last 25 or more years.

The survey for British TV channel "Watch" found a sharp divide between the genders of today's youngsters when compared with their parents' dreams 25 years or more ago.

Playing professional football, being an astronaut or joining the firefighting service topped the boys' career choices, while girls are more likely to be dreaming of taking to the stage as a pop star or actress or joining the medical profession.

When asked what they would like their children to do for a living, today's parents still favor the academic professions, with law and medicine scoring highly, while being self-employed as an entrepreneur came third.

Parents also praised job satisfaction and happiness (53 percent) above wealth (21 percent) when it comes to their hopes for their children.

Nearly 70 percent of the parents surveyed admitted that they failed to follow their dreams when it came to their career, with 37 percent putting this down to a lack of ambition and not having the necessary qualifications.

老爸，我想當的是明星不是老師！

倫敦，路透社 — 別白費心力說服你的小孩立志當醫生、獸醫或是老師，開始訓練他們參加才藝表演吧。
一項針對三千名英國父母進行的調查顯示，當考慮到未來想從事的工作，小孩的志向與父母的期望是天差地遠。

雖然近日太空人依舊在小孩夢想中的職業榜上居高不下，其他職業如醫生及老師，已被可獲得名聲及財富的運動明星、流行歌手或演員所取代。

小孩年齡介於五到十一歲之間的父母們表示，其中地位較穩固的是律師，前十大排名中只下滑了一名到第六位，而老師在居冠至少廿五年後，落至第九名。

這項替英國電視頻道「Watch」所作的調查，依性別比較現代青少年與父母廿五年前的夢想後，發現有顯著的差異。

男生前三名的志向選擇為職業足球員、太空人及加入消防服務，而女生則夢想登上舞台成為流行歌手、演員，或是從醫。

當父母被問及希望他們的小孩將來能以哪些職業維生，現代父母還是偏好學術方面的職業，以法律及醫學排名最高，而自己當老闆的創業家則為第三名。

當家長提到對小孩期望的工作時，也贊同工作滿足感及快樂(佔百分之五十三)勝過財富(佔百分之廿一)。

近百分之七十的父母在調查中承認，在職業選擇上並沒有實現自己的夢想，而其中百分之卅七因缺少野心與所需能力而放棄追尋夢想。




Music for Relief

Hard rock act Linkin Park hadn't planned to resurrect a 3-year-old unfinished song, but in the days after the devastating 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, the band went scouring through its vaults, eventually finding and completing the track "Not Alone" at 3 a.m. last week.
The song, which was released online on Jan. 20, is now the leadoff cut on the band's "Download for Haiti" digital-only benefit compilation. Artists including the All-American Rejects, guitarist Slash, Enrique Iglesias, the Dave Matthews Band, and rapper Lupe Fiasco have contributed to the album, available for free on the Web site Music for Relief, Linkin Park's disaster-relief charity.

Fans are encouraged to donate after downloading the album and Linkin Park bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell said the band wanted to give people a way to help the cause ─ all the proceeds from the compilation will be given to disaster relief efforts ─ without having to open their wallets.

"Even if you can't donate a dollar, or you aren't willing to up front, you can still be a part of the effort by helping to get the word out," Farrell said. "They may be able to reach a community that can. I didn't want the project to stop at a certain point because of a cost barrier."

The band launched the nonprofit Music for Relief after returning from a 2005 tour of Southeast Asia and glimpsing firsthand the relief efforts in the wake of the region's 2004 tsunami.

With its Haiti efforts, Music for Relief will be raising funds for the United Nations Foundation, Habitat for Humanity and the Dave Matthews Band's Bama Works Fund's Haitian relief effort.

The act hasn't ruled out a benefit concert, either.

"I want to be involved well past the six-month window that this is in the news," Farrell said.

He said the band used its own contacts, as well as those of its management, to reach out to a broad range of artists. Responses were immediate.

"It's tough to get in contact with all these people," Farrell said. "That's usually something that's very difficult. But for this project, it came together really well."

"My desire for Music for Relief is for it to be an organization that lives and resides in the music community," he concluded.

用音樂撫慰海地

硬派搖滾樂團「聯合公園」本無預期使三年來未完成的歌曲起死回生，但當七級地震撼動海地後，這個樂團開始在地下室翻找，終於在上週凌晨三點鐘，找到並完成了《Not Alone》這首歌。
「Not Alone」於一月廿日在網路上發佈，是聯合公園數位限定募款合輯「為海地下載」的首支單曲，合集中涵蓋「全美反對陣線」、吉他手史萊斯、安立奎、「大衛麥修樂團」與饒舌歌手路沛費艾斯可等歌手，民眾可在聯合公園救災慈善網站「Music for Relief」中免費下載。

他們鼓勵歌迷在下載專輯後捐款，聯合公園貝斯手「菲尼克斯」指出，樂團希望能讓大家有不用打開荷包即可救援的管道，合輯的所有收入都將用在救災援助。

菲尼克斯表示：「就算是你無法捐出一元，或你不願意站在救援前線，你也能幫忙將這訊息傳下去，也許能傳達到能出力救助的社群中，我不想因為經費問題而讓計畫突然停頓。」

聯合公園在二００五年東南亞巡迴演出後，開始非營利的「Music for Relief」計畫，在二００四年的印尼大海嘯後，他們隨即開始第一手的救援工作。

而在海地的募款活動中，「Music for Relief」將替「聯合國基金會」、「仁人家園」及大衛麥修樂團的「Bama Works Fund」海地救災工作基金會募集基金。

這項行動也不排除進行慈善演唱會。

菲尼克斯表示：「我希望六個月後，就算新聞不再報導這件事，還能繼續參與救援活動。」

他並說樂團以自己的管道，以及經紀公司的管道，將觸手伸及更廣大的歌手群，馬上就得到了迴響。

他指出：「要與這些人聯絡上很艱難，這通常來說是很困難的事，但對這項計畫來說，事情進展得很順利。」

菲尼克斯結尾時說道：「我希望『Music for Relief』能一直留存於音樂圈中。」




Many people who say 'I feel your pain' really do

NEW YORK, Reuters ─ Ever literally felt somebody else's pain? You're not alone, with new research showing some people do have a physical reaction to others' injuries.
British researchers used brain-imaging technology to show that people who say they feel the pain of others have heightened activity in pain-sensing brain regions when they see someone else being hurt.

For the study, the researchers exposed 108 college students to images of painful situations, ranging from athletes suffering sports injuries and patients receiving an injection. Nearly a third said that, for at least one image, they not only had an emotional reaction, but also fleetingly felt pain in the same site as the injury in the image.

The researchers found that while viewing the painful images, both people who said they felt pain and those who did not showed activity in the emotional centers of the brain. But those who said they felt pain showed greater activity in pain-related brain regions compared with the others, and as compared with their own brain responses to the emotional images.

"Patients with functional pain experience pain in the absence of an obvious disease or injury to explain their pain," Dr. Stuart Derbyshire of the University of Birmingham, one of the researchers, told Reuters Health.

"We think this confirms that at least some people have an actual physical reaction when observing others being injured or expressing pain," Derbyshire said.

He noted that the people who reported feeling pain also tended to say that they avoided horror movies and disturbing images on the news "so as to avoid being in pain."

「身歷其痛」真有其事

紐約，路透社 — 你曾對別人的痛苦感同身受嗎？可不只有你這樣─新研究指出有些人對別人的痛會有生理上的共同感應。
英國研究人員運用的腦成像技術發現，看到別人痛苦時說自己也感到痛的人，其大腦疼痛感應區的活動提高。

在這項研究中，研究人員向一百零八名大學生展示疼痛情境的圖片，包括遭受運動傷害的運動員，及接受打針的病患。

近三分之一的人表示，他們不僅對至少一張情境圖片有情緒上的反應，也會短暫產生如同圖片中情境的痛感。

研究人員發現，觀看痛苦的圖片時，不論是否產生痛感，受測者腦部情感中樞都有活動的跡象。

但感到痛楚的人，腦部疼痛感應區與他人相比反應更劇烈；和自身觀看情緒性圖片時的腦部活動相比，疼痛感應區的活動也較多。

伯明罕大學的德比希爾博士為研究人員之一，他向路透社健康表示，感到疼痛的病人在未有明顯疾病或外傷的情況下，感到無法解釋的疼痛。

德比希爾博士指出：「我們認為這證實至少某些人看到別人受傷或感到疼痛時，本身也會有痛的感覺。」

他指出，這些有痛感的人也會避免看恐怖片和新聞中令人不安的影像，「以免感覺到痛」。




Robot scientists can think for themselves

LONDON, Reuters — Watch out scientists -- you may be replaced by a robot.
Researchers have created machines that could reason, formulate theories and discover scientific knowledge on their own, marking a major advance in the field of artificial intelligence.

Such robo-scientists could be put to work unraveling complex biological systems, designing new drugs, modeling the world's climate or understanding the cosmos.

For the moment, though, they are performing more humble tasks.

At Aberystwyth University in Wales, Ross King and colleagues have created a robot called Adam that can not only carry out experiments on yeast metabolism, but also reason about the results and plan the next experiment.

It is the world's first example of a machine that has made an independent scientific discovery -- in this case, new facts about the genetic make-up of baker's yeast.

"On its own it can think of hypotheses and then do the experiments, and we've checked that it's got the results correct," King said in an interview.

Their next robot, Eve, will have much more brain power and will be put to work searching for new medicines.

King hopes the application of intelligent robotic thinking to the process of sifting tens of thousands of compounds for potential new drugs will be valuable in the hunt for treatments for neglected tropical diseases like malaria.

The researchers do not think robots will make scientists obsolete any day soon, but believe they could take over much of the routine work in research laboratories.

可自行思考的科學家機器人

倫敦，路透社 — 注意了，科學家們—你有可能被機器人所取代。
研究人員已研發出可推理，闡述理論並自己發堀科學新知的機器人，在人工智慧的領域裡是一重要的突破。

這樣的科學家機器人可闡明複雜的生物系統、設計新藥，模擬世界天氣或是理解宇宙。

雖然現階段，他們執行的都是比較簡單的任務。

威爾斯亞伯大學，金和同事們已製造出一名叫亞當的機器人，它不僅可以執行酵母新陳代謝實驗，還可以推論出結果並計劃下一個實驗。

這是世界上第一個機器獨立完成科學發現的例子，這個例子中，機器人在麵包師傅所使用的酵母的基因組成上有了新的發現。

他們下一個機器人，夏娃，將會有更多大腦能力，並將負責搜尋新藥。

金希望智慧型機器人思考，在新藥幾萬個化合物的轉移程序應用上，可以在類似像瘧疾這種備受忽略的熱帶疾病的療法搜尋上有所價值。

研究人員認為機器人短期之內不會完全替代科學家，但他們相信它們可以接手實驗室內大部分的例行工作。




Shopping for exercise

Mall walking, or ambling around a shopping center for exercise, has become a major fitness option in the United States. The AARP, a leading senior organization in the U.S., lists managing weight, controlling blood pressure, decreasing risk of heart attack and stroke, among its many benefits.
Mall walking began when the first fully enclosed U.S. mall, the Stockdale, opened in Minnesota in 1956 and local doctors counseled patients recovering from heart attacks to exercise there, away from the snow and ice of Minnesota's harsh winters.

"It was very grassroots. People who wanted to get exercise gravitated to the Stockdale mall," explained Sara Donovan, a novelist who wrote a book on this phenomenon. "Then the managers opened their doors earlier."

The 1980s saw a boom in the construction of malls and by 2001, some 2.5 million people were walking in 1,800 malls in the United States. Mall walking has since spread to Europe and Asia.

The Mall of America, in Bloomington, Minnesota, has been operating its mall-walking program, called Mall Stars, since opening in 1992. Over 200 people belong to Mall Stars. A US$15 annual fee gets them monthly breakfasts, retail discounts, swipe cards to track their hours walked, and lectures on health and fitness.

"It gets really cold here, but the mall is always 70 degrees (21 degrees Celsius)," said Erica Dao, spokeswoman for the massive mall, described as "the largest, fully enclosed retail and family entertainment complex in the U.S."

The mall opens at 7 a.m., three hours before the stores, to accommodate walkers. The distance around one level of Mall of America is .57 of a mile. Donovan said malls provide a place walkers can feel safe.

"You don't have to worry about a dog slipping out. You always have a bathroom, and most malls have security. Even if you have a heart issue, they have defibrillators."

She recalls that when the Evergreen Mall, in suburban Chicago, tried to stop their mall walking program in 2001, the ensuing tsunami of bad press and threats of boycotts forced management to beat a hasty retreat.

"They had a revolt on their hands," she explained. "These are the people who make their exercise happen. By hook or by crook they're going to get their walk in."

商場散步正熱門

在商場散步，或在購物中心閒逛作為運動，已成為美國一種主要的健身選擇。美國一主要年長組織「美國退休協會」列出這種活動可控管體重、控制血壓、降低心臟病與中風的機率等許多益處。
商場散步始於一九五六年明尼蘇達州美國首間封閉式購物中心「Stockdale」開幕時，醫生建議自心臟病復原中的患者可以到此商場運動，以避開明尼蘇達嚴冬的冰雪。

把此現象寫成書的小說家唐娜文解釋道：「這種運動很平民化，想去運動的人被吸引至『Stockdale』商場，然後店經理就提早開門了。」

一九八０年代營建購物中心開始興盛，到了二００一年，全美已有兩百五十萬人在一千八百家商場散步，在購物中心散步自那時開始擴展到歐洲與亞洲。

而明尼蘇達伯明頓的「美國購物中心」自一九九二年開始自己的商場散步計畫「商場之星」，有逾兩百人參加。會員每年繳交十五美元(約台幣四百五十元)的會費即有每月早餐、零售折扣與可追蹤行走時數的磁卡，還附上健康與健身講座。

這座大型商場的發言人艾瑞卡道表示：「就算這裡的冬天會變得很冷，但商場內永遠是華式七十度(約攝氏廿一度)。」該商場被描述為「美國最大的全封閉式零售店及家庭娛樂複合中心。」

購物中心在早上七點開門，比商店早三小時，以適應散步的人。「美國購物中心」每層樓一圈的距離為零點五七公哩(約零點九二公里)，唐娜文指出商場也提供散步的人一種安全感。

你不用擔心狗兒溜走、隨時都有廁所，而且絕大多數的商場都有保全，如果你的心臟出了問題，他們有心臟電擊器。

她回想起芝加哥市郊的「Evergreen Mall」購物中心在二００一年時，試圖停止散步計畫，緊接著掀起海嘯般的負評和抵制商場的威脅，迫使經營人連忙打消主意。

她解釋道：「散步的人非常反對，這些人不想停止這項運動，不論如何都要繼續在商場中散步。」




Four Cool Facts About Leonardo da Vinci

The Washington Post ─ What do you think of when someone says "Leonardo da Vinci"?
If you answered "old, dead-guy painter" or "my mom's reading a book about his code," we understand.

But what if we challenged you to spend five minutes reading four cool facts about da Vinci? We bet you would never think of him in the same way again.

Four amazing facts about da Vinci:

1. He wrote backward, so the easiest way to read his notes was to hold them up to a mirror. It's not clear why he did that, but da Vinci filled notebook after notebook with sketches and backward writing. About 6,000 pages of his notes still exist.

2. He was fascinated by the human body, and he cut up cadavers to learn about human anatomy. Around the year 1487, he made a famous drawing called Vitruvian Man. It shows off da Vinci's interests in art and science. The drawing illustrated several observations on the nature of an adult man's body. See if they hold true for you:

─ The palm is the width of four fingers.

─ The length of a man's foot is one-sixth of his height.

─ The length of a man's outspread arms is the same as his height.

3. He was as much an inventor as an artist. Though he never built many of the inventions he designed, some of the things he envisioned in the late 1400s are in use today, including helicopters and parachutes.

4. Da Vinci, one of the greatest artists in human history, lived at the same time, in the same country — Italy — as another of the greatest artists of all time, Michelangelo. But the two were not buddies; instead, they were bitter rivals. They even insulted each other in public. Think Red Sox vs. Yankees.

達文西不為人知的秘密

華盛頓郵報 — 當有人說出李奧納多達文西這個名字時，你會想到什麼？
若你的回答是「掛了的老畫家」或「我媽在看跟他密碼有關的書」，我們可以理解。

但要是我們強烈建議你花五分鐘看完四個達文西的超酷真相呢？我們敢說你不會再以同樣方式看他。

達文西驚人的四項事實：

1. 他寫字是反著寫的，因此要讀他的筆記，最簡單的方法就是─對著鏡子讀。達文西這麼做的原因不明，但他一本本的筆記裡盡是素描和反寫字跡。現今依然存有約六千頁的筆記。

2. 達文西對人體十分著迷。他切開屍體以研究人類解剖學。約在一四八七年，他畫了幅知名的素描「維特魯威人」。這幅素描顯示了達文西對藝術和科學的興趣。這幅素描描繪數項對成年男子身體本質的觀察。看看它們是否能運用在你身上：

─ 四支手指與手掌同寬。

─ 腳板長是身高的六分之一。

─ 雙臂伸展全長等同於身高。

3. 除了藝術家，他還是個發明家。雖然他有許多發明從未實際建造出來；現今我們使用他在十五世紀末構思的事物，包括直升機和降落傘等。

4. 身為人類史上最偉大藝術家之一的達文西，與另一位最偉大的藝術家生活在同一個時間、同個國家─義大利，而這位藝術家就是米開朗基羅。但他們兩個可不是死黨，反而是死對頭。兩人甚至公開辱罵對方。試想洋基對上紅襪就知道了。