Forever Superman
永远的“超人”
Christopher Reeves, famous as the star of Superman, passed away on Oct 10,2004 from heart failure. He was 52 years old. Christopher was a hero to many people, yet he was better remembered as a champion of sufferers of spinal cord injuries. Unlike the man of steel, he wasn't faster than a speeding bullet or more powerful than a locomotive and he couldn't leap tall buildings in a single bound. But he displayed incredible courage and determination to find a cure for his paralysis, from a 1995 horse-riding accident. He believed nothing was impossible. “He became a real-life Superman. His heroism, his courage was extraordinary,” Colin Blakemore, the chief executive of Britain's Medical Research Council said.
因成功塑造“超人”而一举成名的克里斯托弗·里夫，于2004年10月10日因心脏衰竭而永远地离开了我们，享年52岁。克里斯托弗是许多人心目中的英雄，然而，他所扮演的最著名的角色却是脊椎损伤患者中的斗士。他没有金刚之躯，也不比飞行的子弹飞得更快，不比火车头更有力，不能轻轻一跃就跳上高楼。 但是自1995年不幸坠马以来，在战胜瘫痪的过程中他所表现出的勇气和决心令常人难以置信，他认为世上没有实现不了的事情。 英国医学研究学会主任科林·布莱克莫尔说：“他成了现实生活中的超人。他有非凡的英雄气概和勇气。”
Edinburgh: First City of Literature
爱丁堡——“世界文学城市”
Edinburgh was named the world's first City of Literature by the United Nations' cultural body UNESCO. Scottish Culture Minister expressed delight at the decision and said it finally confirmed how much the city has contributed to world literature. The city's literary greats included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Burns, who all lived and wrote in Edinburgh.
联合国教科文组织授予苏格兰首府爱丁堡“世界文学城市”的称号。 苏格兰文化部长对此表示高兴，他说这个决定肯定了爱丁堡对世界文学所做出的贡献。爱丁堡所拥有的文学大师包括亚瑟·柯南·道尔、沃尔特·司各特、罗伯特·路易斯·史蒂文森和罗伯特·彭斯，他们生前都曾在爱丁堡生活和写作。
Family's Brooms for Harry Potter
《哈利·波特》相中作坊扫帚
A 300-year-old family-run broomstick business is set to take off worldwide after their brooms were chosen to appear in the fourth Harry Potter film. The Nash family of Hampshire, are preparing themselves for global success once their Besom brooms feature in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Purchasing officers working for the movie found the firm on the Internet, and quickly bought more than 80 of their sticks.
一家拥有300年历史的家庭作坊生产的长柄扫帚被哈利·波特之四选中，届时将出现在影片中，其生意将遍布全世界。位于英国汉普郡的纳什家族生产的长扫帚一旦被《哈利·波特与火焰杯》选用，他们面临的将是全球范围内的商业成功。电影的采购员们在网上发现了这家公司，马上抢购了他们生产的80多把扫帚。
Zhang Yimou Film Competes for An Oscar
张艺谋电影角逐奥斯卡
Movies from 49 countries or regions are competing for the foreign-language prize at February's Academy Awards. China's House of Flying Daggers has been nominated. The director, Zhang Yimou, was nominated for the foreign-language award in 2002 for Hero, another martial-arts film. Hero became a hit in U.S. theaters when it was released last August.
来自49个国家和地区的影片将参加明年2月奥斯卡最佳外语片奖的角逐，中国电影《十面埋伏》获得提名。它的导演张艺谋执导的另一部武术片《英雄》曾获2002年奥斯卡最佳外语片提名，去年8月在美国公映后大获成功。
London 2012 Has A "Secret Weapon"
威廉王子: 最后的秘密武器
London's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games has a last-minute secret weapon in the form of Prince William. Talks are underway to use the 22-year old prince as an ambassador for promoting London to the IOC before they make their decision, next July, on who will host the 2012 Olympic Games. London's bid officials believe his presence and international appeal could help persuade IOC members to vote for them rather than one of the other four cities.
威廉王子将成为帮助伦敦获得2012年夏季奥运会举办权的最后秘密武器。伦敦奥申委官员正与英皇室官员讨论将在明年7月举办城市确定前夕向公众透露今年22岁的王子将出任广受瞩目的伦敦申奥大使。伦敦申奥官员们相信，王子的到场及其国际魅力将有助于说服国际奥委会成员投票给伦敦而不是其他四个申办城市。
Don't Eat those, They're for My Battery
蔬菜变电池
US scientists say they have invented a device that uses spinach to convert sunlight into electricity. Zhang Shuguang, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, used an extract from the vegetable to make a solar energy cell. The substance, chloroplast, gives plants their green color, it also allows them to change sunlight into energy. So far, the cells convert only 12 percent of light into electricity, but this could be increased a lot by placing cells on top of one another.
美国科学家说他们已发明一种装置利用菠菜将光能转化为电能。美国麻省理工学院研究人员张曙光用一种蔬菜提取物研制太阳能电池。这种叫叶绿体的物质不仅使植物保持绿色，还能使其进行光合作用。目前，这种电池只能将12%的光能转化成电能，但如果将电池头尾连接，就可能将转化效率大大提高。
Huge Album Sales
席琳·迪翁：专辑销量创奇迹
Canadian pop singer Celine Dion received a special honor, the Diamond Award, at the World Music Awards for being the top-selling female artist of all time in October. Celine, 36, sold nearly 175 million records worldwide between 1987 and August 2004. Her new album, Miracle, is out on October 12. The World Music Awards benefit a charity which supports hospitals and orphanages, around the world.
加拿大流行歌手席琳·迪翁作为多年专辑销量最佳的女艺人10月获得世界音乐大奖“钻石奖”殊荣。现年36岁的席琳唱片销量从1987年始至2004年8月在世界范围内已达1.75亿。 她的新专辑《爱的奇迹》于10月12日发行。世界音乐奖用于支持一个救助全世界病人和孤儿的慈善团体。
US Elections: Short Name, Short Odds
美国总统选举——名字越短，当选的几率越高
What's the big question US presidential candidates should be asking themselves? Is my name short enough? Since World War II most candidates with short names have won the election. If both candidates had short names then the person with the most common name usually became president. There are only two presidents since WWII to have beaten rivals with fewer syllables in their name. One is, Bill Clinton, the other was Jimmy Carter. “A single syllable name is going to sound ‘strong, sturdy and forceful’”, says Professor Kellerman.
作为美国总统候选人，有个最重要的问题要好好问问自己：我的名字够短吗？自二战以来，当选人的名字越来越短，如果两名候选人的名字都很短，名字最普通的人通常会成为总统。第二次世界大战以来只有两位总统战胜了姓氏所含音节比自己少的竞争者，一位是比尔·克林顿；另一位是吉米·卡特。“单音节的名字听起来会显得‘强大、坚定、有力’。” 凯勒曼教授说道。
Bush Re-elected
布什连任美国总统
In the end, America's presidential election closed with a familiar-sounding result: George W Bush winning after a technical wrangle in a heavily contested state, Ohio, in Nov 3. The victory was a narrow one. The president carried Ohio by just 136,000 votes (or around 2% of the votes cast there), defeating Democratic challenger John Kerry. Later, Bush told Kerry in a phone call that he was an “admirable, worthy opponent” who should be proud of the presidential campaign he ran.
最终，美国总统大选以人们耳熟能详的结局收场：11月3号在竞争异常激烈的俄亥俄州出现技术方面争议的情况下，乔治·W·布什获得了最后胜利。这只是一次险胜。总统布什仅以13.6万张选票（约占俄亥俄州总票数的2%）的优势拿下了俄亥俄州，从而击败民主党候选人约翰·克里连任美国总统。事后布什在电话中称克里是一位“杰出、顽强和值得尊敬的对手”，应该为自己在总统选举中的表现感到自豪。