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　　WENZHOU(Xinhua)－The train collision in east China's Zhejiang Province has killed 39 people and left 192 others injured as of Sunday night, said a spokesman with the Ministry of Railways．

　　A total of 132 people are still being treated in hospitals, said Wang Yongping, spokesman with the ministry at a press conference．Eleven people remain in critical condition, said Cheng Jinguo, head of the health bureau in the city of Wenzhou, where the collision happened Saturday night．Cheng said at the press conference that 52 people who suffered slight injuries had been discharged from hospital．Wang expressed deep sorrow to the concerning families and sincere apology to all the passengers．

　　The train's “black box” has been discovered and the ministry is investigating the cause of the crash, Wang said．Wang said the ministry will make public the cause of the accident as soon as the investigation is done and publish the names of the killed and injured．

　　He said the crash has caused large number of casualties and great property losses．The ministry will find out the cause through thorough investigation and take effective measures to prevent similar accidents．

　　Despite the accident, the spokesman said the ministry is still confident in the high-speed train．“China's high-speed train is advanced and qualified．We have confidence in it,” he said．

　　The damaged rails have been repaired and were ready to restart operation but the reopening was delayed by the stormy weather, according to Wang．Wang did not provide the exact time when the line would start operating again．

　　The accident occurred at about 8∶30 p．m．Saturday on a bridge near Wenzhou when bullet train D301 rear-ended(追尾)D3115, which reportedly lost power after lightning strike．

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　　The secret of carrier pigeons' unbelievable ability to find their way home has been discovered by scientists：the feathered navigators follow the roads just like we do．

　　Scientists now believe the phrase “as the crow(乌鸦)flies” no longer means the shortest most direct route between two points．They say it is likely that crows and other day birds also choose AA-suggested routes, even though it makes their journeys longer．

　　Scientists at Oxford University spent 10 years studying homing pigeons using global positioning satellite(GPS)and got a surprising result．The birds often don't use the sun to decide their directions．

　　Instead they fly along motorways, turn at crossing and even go around roundabouts(绕道), adding miles to their journeys．

　　“It really has knocked our research team sideways to find that after a decade-long international study, pigeons appear to ignore their inbuilt directional instincts(本能)and follow the road system,” said Prof Tim Guilford, reader in animal behavior at Oxford University's Department of Zoology．

　　Guilford said pigeons use their own navigational system(导航系统)when doing long distance trips or when a bird does a journey for the first time．

　　“But once homing pigeons have flown a journey more than once, they can fly home on a habitual route, much as we do when we are driving or walking home from work,” said Guilford．

　　“In short, it looks like it is mentally easier for a bird to fly down a road．They are just making their journey as simple as possible．”

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　　“Hey, little buddy, will you support me when I'm getting old?” Han Wenshan, 35 years old, asked his new-born baby as he picked him up at home．

　　The Chinese tradition of raising sons to support parents in their old age has been weakened by the rapidly growing economy and improved standard of living．As is the case with developed countries, China faces an aging society．People are living longer and having fewer children．Therefore many Chinese families are falling into a 4-2-1 family pattern：a couple raises one child and supports four elderly parents．But few realize this problem．

　　The aging of the population is a trend that now affects a growing number of countries．Not long ago, the Information Office of the state council, China's cabinet, issued a white paper on measures China is taking to help its elderly population．The paper said China's population entered the aging phase(阶段)at the end of the 20th century as the proportion of people aged 60 and above accounted for over 10 percent of the entire population．By the end of 2005, China had nearly 144 million people over 60, accounting for 11 percent of the population, according to the white paper．

　　An expanding aged population inevitably means that many issues must be settled, as the problem concerns every aspect of society．It puts more pressure on each family, causing disturbing economic consequences and serious social problem concerns every aspect of society．It puts more pressure on each family, causing disturbing economic consequences and serious social problem．It also challenges the labor force supply and the pension(养老金)system．

　　“I used to think that it's not an issue for me to provide for the aged．” said Han, whose parents and parents-in-law all enjoy pensions and medical insurance．But last year Han's father suffered a serious illness and afterward Han began to feel the pressure on his shoulders．

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　　One thing we love about soup is that it's easy to make and it only needs a few simple ingredients(食材)．Here are four of our favorite, simple homemade soups．Enjoy!

　　1．Chicken Soup

　　Chicken soup can help fight a cold．You can prepare your soup using a whole chicken or just thin pieces of chicken．Do either of them－although a whole chicken is likely to make your soup more delicious．The main ingredients are：chicken, water, onions, carrots, celery(芹菜), salt and pepper．

　　2．White Bean Soup

　　There are many types of beans to choose from．It's simply a matter of personal taste．Dried beans are more traditional and cost less．However, canned beans also work．．The other main ingredients are：onions, tomatoes and carrots．Add salt and pepper to taste．

　　3．French Onion Soup

　　When you get French onion soup in a restaurant, it might look a bit difficult to make．Actually, it's not．The hardest part is cutting up all those onions．Get ready for a good cry!The main ingredients are：six sweet onions, butter, water and salt．

　　4．Garden Vegetable Soup

　　In summer, you may find yourself with a lot of vegetables that need using up．Throw in potatoes, rice or even some meat with the vegetables．The best thing about this soup is that you can put in whatever you want．The main ingredients are：onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes and potatoes．

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　　Many Chinese students who have learnt English for more than ten years are still unable to speak English very well when they meet a foreigner．They seem to have mastered the basic language structure(结构), but a conversation in English will make them feel uneasy．They are afraid that other people might find out their mistakes．

　　It's uncommon that many students who are bad speakers of English can write English perfectly．This proves that they are unable to organize their idea in English．The center of the problem is that they lack practice and confidence(自信)．

　　Why should you be afraid?Do you fear those foreigners with whom you are speaking?Don't be shy, they will not laugh at you just for a little mistake you make．The best way to get rid of trouble is to learn to speak by speaking more．I am sure that constant practice will help you succeed．

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　　What exactly is a lie?Is it anything we say which we know is untrue?Or is it something more than that?For example, suppose a friend wants to borrow some money from you．You say “I wish I could help you, but I am short of money myself．” In fact, you are not short of money but your friend is in the habit of not paying his debts and you don't want to hurt his feelings by reminding him of this．Is this really a lie?

　　Professor Jerald Jellison of the University of southern California has made a scientific study of lying．According to him, women are better lies than men, particularly when telling a “white lie”, such as when a woman at a party tells another woman that she likes her dress when she really thinks it's terrible．However, this is only one side of the story．Other researchers say that men are more likely to tell more serious lies, such as making a promise that they have no intention of carrying out．This is the kind of lie politicians and businessmen are supposed to be particularly skilled at：the lie from which the liar hopes to profit or gain in some way．

　　Research has been done into the way people's behavior changes in a number of small, unimportant ways when they lie．It has been found that if they are sitting down at the time, they tend to move about in their chairs more than usual．To the trained observer they are saying “I wish I were somewhere else now”．They also tend to touch certain parts of the face, particularly the nose．One explanation of this may be that lying causes a slight increase in blood pressure．The tip of the nose is very sensitive to changes and the increased pressure makes it itch．

　　Another gesture that gives liars away is what the writer Decmond Morris in his book Man Watching calls the “mouth cover”．He says that there are several typical forms of this, such as covering part of the mouth with the fingers, touch the upper lip or putting a finger of the hand at one side off the mouth．Such a gesture can be understood as an unconscious(未察觉的)attempt on the part of the liar to stop himself from lying．

　　Of course, such gestures as rubbing the nose or covering the mouth, moving about in a chair can not be taken as proof that the speaker is lying．They simply tend to happen more often in this situation．It is one gesture alone that gives the liar away but a whole number of things, and in particular the context(上下文)which the lie is told．

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　　A traveler hurried down to the hall of an American hotel and went to the cash-desk．He had just 15 minutes to pay his bill and get to the station．Suddenly he remembered that he had left something in his room．

　　"Look here, boy," he said to the bellboy, "run up to my room and see if I have left a parcel on the table there．Be quick about it．"

　　The boy ran upstairs．Five minutes passed．The traveler was walking up and down the hall, looking very angry．At last the boy appeared．

　　"Yes, sir," he reported to the traveler," you have left the parcel there, it's right on the table in your room．"

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　　One day a few years ago, a very funny thing happened to a neighbor of mine．He is a teacher at one of London's big medical schools．He had finished his teaching for the summer term and was at the airport on his way to Russia to give a lecture．

　　He had put a few clothes and his lecture notes in his shoulder bag, and he had put Rupert, the skeleton(人体骨架)to be used in his lecture, in a large brown suitcase．At the airport desk, he suddenly thought that he had forgotten to buy a newspaper．He left his suitcase near the desk and went over to the shop．

　　When he got back, he discovered that someone had taken his suitcase by mistake．He often wonders what they said when they got home and found Rupert．

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　　A chip inserted in a young quadriplegic's(四肢麻痹患者)brain is already improving his quality of life．Soon the benefits may be more widespread．

　　A 25-year-old man unable to move from the neck down recently did what many assumed impossible．After a knife attack that had left him paralyzed, all he could move was his head, which he used to push a switch and call for a nurse．And he could turn his wheelchair by blowing into a straw near his face．That was it．

　　Then last June, a Foxborough(Mass．)company called Cyber Kinetics opened the man's skull and inserted a special chip no larger than a baby aspirin．That insert has given him a few additional and precious abilities．When connected to a special computer via a cable, the chip translates the young man's thoughts into commands that let him move a cursor across a PC screen and open e-mail．He can draw a circle with a computer painting program．And he can use a robotic hook(钩)to perform simple tasks like picking up a candy and sliding it across a table．

　　All he has to do is to think．

　　Several new studies have begun or been completed in the past year．In fact, more than half of the scientific papers in this field, called brain-to-computer interaction(BCI), have been published in the past two years, notes Jonathan Wolpaw, a research physician at Wadsworth Center, the New York State Health Dept．'s research laboratory．

　　Brain surgeries(手术)are no longer rare：Thousands of Parkinson's disease patients have had special devices inserted in their brains to ease uncontrollable shaking and other symptoms．The inserts themselves have improved, so the body doesn't reject them as furiously(猛烈地)．And significant development has been achieved in software used to interpret the brain's signals and change them into commands understood by computers．

　　But increased demand for thought technology remains the biggest reason for the field's progress．Today, 4 million Americans live with paralysis according to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation．

　　Scientists hope that thought technology will reduce the impact of such disabilities．People with spinal-cord injuries, for example, often lose their ability to walk because the communications network between their brain and their legs has been interrupted．The brain still commands the leg muscles to move, but they don't hear its orders．

　　Thought technology, scientists hope, will bridge this communications gap．"Our goal is for you to see paralyzed people eating at a restaurant and for you not to know that they are paralyzed," says John Donoghue, founder and chief scientific officer at Cyber Kinetics．

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Why I Don't Spare “Spare Change”

　　“Poor but honest．” “The deserving(值得帮助的)poor．” These words always come to my mind when I think of “the poor．” But I also think of people who, perhaps through alcohol or drugs, have ruined not only their own lives but also the lives of others in order to give way to their own pleasure．Perhaps alcoholism and drug addiction really are “diseases,” as many people say, but my own feeling——based, of course, not on any serious study——is that most alcoholics and drug addicts belong to the “undeserving poor．” And that is largely why I don't give spare change to beggars．

　　But surely among the street people there are also some who can rightly be called “deserving．” Deserving what?My spare change?Or simply the government's assistance?It happens that I have been brought up to believe that it is proper to make contributions to charity, but if I give some change to a beggar, am I making a contribution to charity and thereby helping someone, or, am I perhaps simply encouraging someone not to get help?Or, maybe even worse, am I supporting a cheat?

　　If one believes in the value of private charity, one can either give to needy people or to charitable organizations．In giving to a beggar one may indeed be helping a person who badly needs help, but one cannot be certain that one is giving to a needy person．In giving to an organization, on the other hand, one can feel that one's money is likely to be used wisely．True, facing a beggar one may feel that this particular unfortunate person needs help at this moment——a cup of coffee or a sandwich——and the need will not be met unless I put my hand in my pocket right now．But I have come to think that the beggars whom I meet can get along without my spare change, and indeed perhaps they are actually better off for not having money to buy alcohol or drugs．

　　I know nothing about these beggars, but it's my impression that they simply prefer begging to working．I am not generalizing about street people．I am talking about the people whom I actually meet．That's why I do not give “spare change,” and I don't think I will in the future．