2008年5月29日 星期四

No Sweat


A man finally calls the woman he has liked for a while and asks her out on a date. She says yes and they go to the movies. Halfway through the film, the woman reaches over to hold the man''s hand. As soon as she does this, she feels a wet, cold palm. Both the man and woman give each other a fake smile. The man knows his date has been ruined when the woman slowly pulls her hand away and slips to the bathroom. Things were going fine until the woman felt his sweaty hand. He knows he has to do something about his problem. Hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating on one or more parts of the body. This can include the hands, feet, forehead, and underarms. Scientists believe that hyperhidrosis is hereditary and activated by extreme anxiety. Certain foods and drinks, along with nicotine, can also cause increased perspiration.Sweating profusely can be uncomfortable and embarrassing.Luckily, there are simple treatments for those with minor hyperhidrosis, including wearing deodorant or taking medication. If a person has a serious case of hyperhidrosis, they can take extreme measures.This includes getting Botox injections, which disable the sweat glands for four to six months at a time. Also, sweat glands can be removed or diminished with minor surgery that takes less than an hour. With these treatments, sufferers of hyperhidrosis don''t have to let the condition put a damper on their lives.
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1.This artical is about hyperhidrosis.
2.
a.
palm n. 手掌
hyperhidrosis n. 多汗症
hereditary a. 遺傳的
perspiration n. 流汗
b.
minor a. 不嚴重的;較小的
sweat profusely  汗流浹背
3.I chose this artical because one of my friend has this problem. When summer coming, her both of hands always sweaty. So she does not like to hand in hand with others. and when we play basketball, the ball always wet. i think that is really imbarrassing her.

Calla Lily Festival in Yangmingshan Park opens


Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin opened the 2008 Calla Lily Festival in Yangmingshan National Park at a ceremony last month.
The annual blooming season of the calla lily in a secluded valley in Zhuzihu, or Bamboo Lake, will run for 33 days until April 30. The event is expected to attract over 700,000 visitors.
Hau walked into a flower field, together with underprivileged children from the Taipei Municipal Yangming Home for the Disabled, and plucked bundles of calla lilies and distributed the flowers among guests.
According to the Beitou Farmers' Association, the festival, held in about 13 hectares of calla lily fields owned by 30 farming households in the Zhuzihu Valley, will remain open daily until 8 p.m. throughout the season to allow visitors to pick the flowers they like.
The association indicated that the flower fields will produce some three million calla lilies this year, and that the current price is around NT$100 for a dozen, about 33 percent to 50 percent cheaper than last year, mainly because of a good harvest.
Calla lilies grown at Bamboo Lake are mostly pristine white. They are chalice-shaped with a strong stem and are a favored choice in flower arrangements because they are long lasting.
Festival activities include a landscape show featuring the use of calla lilies, a photography contest and live music every afternoon from 2 p.m.

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1.This artical is about the calla lily Festival in Yangmingshan National Park.

2

a.pristine (adj.) 純樸的;原始的

chalice (n.) 酒杯;酒杯狀物

b.

flower arrangement 花卉擺飾;插花擺飾

long lasting 持久的;耐久的

3.I chose this artical because Zhuzihu is near by our school. Although I did not go to see the lily in Calla Lily Festival ,my parent had went there. They picked lots of flowers and took photos. Next year I will go there with my senior high school friends. i think it must be fun.

2008年5月28日 星期三

Big earthquake in California likely by 2037: forecasters


California faces an almost certain risk of being rocked by a strong earthquake by 2037, scientists said last month in the first statewide temblor forecast.
New calculations reveal there is a 99.7 percent chance a magnitude-6.7 quake or larger will strike in the next 30 years. The odds of such an event are higher in Southern California than Northern California, 97 percent versus 93 percent.
The last time a jolt this size rattled California was the 1994 Northridge disaster, which killed 72 people, injured more than 9,000 and caused US$25 billion in damage.
California is one of the most seismically active regions in the world. More than 300 faults crisscross the state, which sits atop two of Earth's major tectonic plates, the Pacific and North American plates. About 10,000 quakes each year rattle Southern California alone, although most of them are too small to be felt.
The analysis is the first comprehensive effort by the USGS, Southern California Earthquake Center and California Geological Survey to calculate earthquake probabilities for the entire state using newly available data. Previous quake probabilities focused on specific regions and used various methodologies that made it difficult to compare.
Scientists still cannot predict exactly where in the state such a quake will occur or when. But they say the analysis should be a wake-up call for residents to prepare for a natural disaster in earthquake country.
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1.This artical is about a big erathquake may happen in Californi in the future.
2.
a.
seismically (adv.) 地震地;地震活動地
tectonic plate (地殼)板塊
comprehensive (adj.) 總括性的;通盤的
b.
to sit atop 位於…之上;座落
wake-up call 警訊;警告
3.I chose this artical because the earthquake in 四川 is very dangers. A lot of people die in this natural disaster. When I saw the news in TV , i felt sad. Much of children dead in the school. and some of them who did not die become orphan. That was so heartbreaking.

Magician breaks world record for holding one's breath


Magician David Blaine set a new world record last month for breath-holding: 17 minutes and 4 seconds.
The feat was broadcast live during "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and the studio audience cheered as divers pulled Blaine from a water-filled sphere. He looked relaxed afterward and said the record was "a lifelong dream."
The previous record was 16 minutes and 32 seconds, set Feb. 10 by Switzerland's Peter Colat, according to Guinness World Records.
Before he entered the sphere, Blaine inhaled pure oxygen through a mask to saturate his blood with oxygen and flush out carbon dioxide. Guinness says up to 30 minutes of so-called "oxygen hyperventilation" is allowed under their guidelines.
Blaine took on a Zen-like appearance in the water tank as the minutes ticked, but Winfrey was anything but calm.
She fidgeted in her chair, pursed her lips, placed her head in her hands, and kept seeking reassurance from the doctor at her side about the 35-year-old magician's persistently high heart rate. She told Blaine the endurance feat was "nerve-racking to witness."
Next, Blaine said he plans to try to break the world record for staying awake. The current record is 11.5 days, he said. Blaine's previous stunts include being buried alive for a week in a see-through coffin and being encased in a block of ice for 63 hours.
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1. This artical is about a magician broke a world record and he want to brake another world record.
2.
a.
feat (n.) 壯舉;技藝
to inhale (v.) 吸入;呼吸
hyperventilation (n.) 過度呼吸;急速換氣
b.
to saturate (v.) 使飽和;充分吸收
see-through 透明的;極薄的
to be encased in 裝在、放入(密閉空間)裡
3.I chose this artical because it is really scaring me that a man who breath-hoding:17 minutes and 4 seconds. I just cannot imagine it. If I do not breath for 3 minutes, i must die. How wizardly he is.