For the last few weeks I’ve been silent on the blog, having been occupied finishing final book edits and working on special Olympics assignments with the Wall Street Journal doing reporting, video and multimedia.
But one thing that did crane my neck while zipping around the city was the sight of a London cab in Beijing taxi colors. So I finally tracked down one of the 30 new London cabs driving the streets of the Olympic city. Made under an agreement between Geely (China) and London Taxis International, the TX4 was brought in as a nod to the international tourists and the Paralympic Games that follow in September. I was lucky enough to find one queueing up, and the driver interested in gabbing.
He said they are indeed limited, to around 30 in the city, and they will continue to stay in service even after all the Olympics are over. They are wheelchair capable, and are left-hand drive, unlike their British-bound counterparts.
2008年12月28日星期日
Government Web Standards Usage: People’s Republic of China
Government Web Standards Usage: People’s Republic of China
In August 2005 the EU-China information society project (中国-欧盟信息社会项目) was launched. The first initiative of this project is dedicated to improving access to and enhancing the participation of people in electronic government in the People’s Republic of China.
The digital divide in China is closing with computers per capita steadily increasing (for more details see The Digital Divide: Lessons from the People’s Republic of China (PDF) by Jonathan Harrington). China has undertaken massive investments in the ICT sector. It is therefore interesting to see what the Chinese government will do within the area of government policy for public web sites.
Background
The EU-China information society project seeks in particular to assist Chinese government in copyright, telecommunications law and information security issues as well as in access to e-government. The four-year project is cooperatively financed by the European Union and the PRC. Five Chinese cities has been chosen as pilot areas for the project, including Chengdu in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Yantai in east China’s Shandong and Baotou, the second largest city in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The project is being implemented by a consortium of the Emerging Markets Group and the German consulting firm GOPA.
Access to government information on the web is relatively new in the PRC. However, a recent report (quoted in an article in People’s Daily Online) said in China, 96.1 percent of government departments at the state level and 81.3 percent of local governments had launched portal websites.
I have gathered links to 80 government web sites from the Chinese Central Government’s Official Web Portal. These have been checked with the W3C validator to see if headings were used and if they were using the W3C HTML recommendations.
Test disclaimer
Please note that the automated test has only tested the start page of the site. Also, usage of the W3C recommendations is only an indication of accessibility. A site that does not validate may still be more accessible than one that does. I have not tested every site manually and you may find that some of the valid ones have a valid splash page but fail miserably for the rest of the site.
The validation result
The validation result details shows that none of the tested sites use valid HTML. More worrying is that only one site is using headings. A common problem with the tested sites is that encoding has been used incorrectly.
Although tests of other countries have shown similar results (USA: 2.4%, New Zealand: 5.7%) having no valid sites indicates the absence of a central policy for government web communication.
It will be interesting to see if the EU-China information society project can help provide a foundation for the Chinese government to implement web guidelines that will help citizens to access information in a better way.
In August 2005 the EU-China information society project (中国-欧盟信息社会项目) was launched. The first initiative of this project is dedicated to improving access to and enhancing the participation of people in electronic government in the People’s Republic of China.
The digital divide in China is closing with computers per capita steadily increasing (for more details see The Digital Divide: Lessons from the People’s Republic of China (PDF) by Jonathan Harrington). China has undertaken massive investments in the ICT sector. It is therefore interesting to see what the Chinese government will do within the area of government policy for public web sites.
Background
The EU-China information society project seeks in particular to assist Chinese government in copyright, telecommunications law and information security issues as well as in access to e-government. The four-year project is cooperatively financed by the European Union and the PRC. Five Chinese cities has been chosen as pilot areas for the project, including Chengdu in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Yantai in east China’s Shandong and Baotou, the second largest city in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The project is being implemented by a consortium of the Emerging Markets Group and the German consulting firm GOPA.
Access to government information on the web is relatively new in the PRC. However, a recent report (quoted in an article in People’s Daily Online) said in China, 96.1 percent of government departments at the state level and 81.3 percent of local governments had launched portal websites.
I have gathered links to 80 government web sites from the Chinese Central Government’s Official Web Portal. These have been checked with the W3C validator to see if headings were used and if they were using the W3C HTML recommendations.
Test disclaimer
Please note that the automated test has only tested the start page of the site. Also, usage of the W3C recommendations is only an indication of accessibility. A site that does not validate may still be more accessible than one that does. I have not tested every site manually and you may find that some of the valid ones have a valid splash page but fail miserably for the rest of the site.
The validation result
The validation result details shows that none of the tested sites use valid HTML. More worrying is that only one site is using headings. A common problem with the tested sites is that encoding has been used incorrectly.
Although tests of other countries have shown similar results (USA: 2.4%, New Zealand: 5.7%) having no valid sites indicates the absence of a central policy for government web communication.
It will be interesting to see if the EU-China information society project can help provide a foundation for the Chinese government to implement web guidelines that will help citizens to access information in a better way.
Supporting web standards in China
In early October I was lucky enough to spend some time in China talking to web professionals and students alike about web standards and their current status. It was an interesting couple of weeks that really opened my eyes to what the challenges are when following best practices. What hit me most is that those who support standards are a small and often isolated voice with little or no resources in Chinese to help back up or explain why we need standards and what the benefits are. Here I give a broad overview of what I learnt, challenges and hopefully some ideas of how we can help improve things.
Please do leave a comment if you have any suggestions, thought or insights. I’d also like to expand on the list of resources below so if you have any then post links and I will update the list.
Market forces
In the main those drivers that we see supporting web standards in some European countries, Australia and the States almost act as the opposite in China. There is no legal requirement to make your website accessible and market forces don’t seem to provide a significant enough push. Market forces is an interesting one. I’ve long held that the business case around web standards is essential even in a country that has a legal requirement for sites to be, for example, made accessible. The reasoning for this is that a site owner may be aware they legally have to make a site accessible but unless they see the direct benefit to them they may not implement accessibility properly and instead merely opt to do the bare minimum that needs to be done to comply with the law.
Currently in China there is a weak business case for web standards for a number of reasons. For one Internet Explorer 6 is still the dominant browser with a 95% market share. In general people are tied into using IE6 as most e-commence sites rely on ActiveX to work. This means that there is a trend towards building web pages that only work in IE6 with other browsers given less focus. This is gradually changing however with the rise of alternative browsers such as Opera, Safari and Firefox and Google Chrome. In fact the arrival of Google Chrome did a lot to raise awareness of alternative browsers in the web design community. Developers I spoke to however were very quick to point out that while they may use an alternative browser to IE when building and testing sites they still made heavy use of IE in day to day browsing simply because so many sites depend on it.
This lack of demand for compliant websites is a problem as without the demand there is little incentive for individual developers as well as companies. This may change however, especially as more and more multinationals outsource and base their development work there. With this increasing hopefully the trickle down theory will hold true and multinationals will have an impact on raising knowledge and awareness. When I asked one developer from Microsoft how he got into web standards he said that it was because the company sent over someone especially to train employees in standards based development. This was great to hear and certainly a key channel for advocating web standards. Opera, a long time champion of web standards (disclaimer, I work for Opera but all opinions are my own) are also playing an active role in advocating web standards. It’s at the heart of the development cycle in the Chinese office and the team are also very active in taking part in meet-ups and conferences.
Legal support
While there is a lack of concrete law to support accessible websites it was interesting to see how the Olympics had affected awareness. Public spaces, streets and buildings were much more accommodating and accessible as a result of the games and had done much to make people more aware. This is a start at least and links in well with the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which China ratified in July of 2008. The Convention is the first international legally-binding convention designed to protect and promote the rights of persons with a disability. As China has ratified the Convention they now have to legally support access to information, recreation, employment and education. As Article 9 states:
“State Parties shall also take appropriate measures to…promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and communications technologies and systems, including the Internet”.
It remains to be seen the direction this will take but at least China is signed up.
Grass roots advocacy
Most exciting of all was the passion and commitment shown by many web professionals I spoke to. There are some influential bloggers in China who are doing great things to promote standards. Notable bloggers include Jun Chen Wu and Xian An AKA Real Lazy. When talking with Xian An he mentioned that back in 2005, when he first started blogging about standards, he was getting around 1000 hits per day. This seemed to prove that there was a desire for people to learn more or, even if they were not researching for information about standards directly, they are landing on his site which was able to introduce standards.
This seemed to make sense as all the developers I spoke to said they they were more or less self taught. As with many countries web development and standards aren’t always covered in university courses so designers and developers have to self teach. One big drawback here however is the lack of resources in Chinese. This is compounded by the fact that while some ebooks exist they can be too expensive to buy for many people.
Probably most exciting while I was there however was the opportunity to take part in the first ever Web Standards Cafe in Beijing sponsored by Opera. The subject was Web Standards and Web 2.0 and focused largely on how we can support web standards in China. Combining grass roots advocacy such as this with BarCamps I think is a positive way forward.
Supporting web standards in China
There a few things that we can start doing now to help promote web standards and accessible web design in China. It may seem like a daunting task but if this is tackled bit by bit there is no reason why standards can’t become more popular. As the old Chinese saying goes “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand”. It’s not long ago that in Europe, Australia and the States that we were fighting for basic adherence of web standards, it’s worth while to look back and learn from that experience. For now I see the following as being instrumental to enabling web standards.
Translated resources - top of the list has to be the availability of translated and free resources for people to use. Currently many individuals have contributed their time to translating (see the resources section below) but I can’t help thinking that larger organisations should contribute to these efforts. Check out instructions and guidance on translating W3C resources for more information.
Multinational responsibility - large international organisations who actively promote and support web standards internationally should do what they can to help support web standards locally in China. This could be done via training in-house, sponsoring free or affordable courses or helping translate resources into Chinese. This should not be restricted to China only.
Grass root advocacy - developers understand the challenges and problems developers face better than anyone else. Advocacy through blogs, forums, BarCamps and Web Standards Cafe are always a useful way to go. This may take a different shape in China to suit cultural norms but communication and sharing have to be at the root.
So if you are a blogger, a developer, someone in a position to translate or communicate knowledge within your organisation then share what you have. As I mentioned above please do leave a comment if you have any suggestions, thought or insights. I’d also like to expand on the list of resources below so if you have any then post links and I will update the list.
Please do leave a comment if you have any suggestions, thought or insights. I’d also like to expand on the list of resources below so if you have any then post links and I will update the list.
Market forces
In the main those drivers that we see supporting web standards in some European countries, Australia and the States almost act as the opposite in China. There is no legal requirement to make your website accessible and market forces don’t seem to provide a significant enough push. Market forces is an interesting one. I’ve long held that the business case around web standards is essential even in a country that has a legal requirement for sites to be, for example, made accessible. The reasoning for this is that a site owner may be aware they legally have to make a site accessible but unless they see the direct benefit to them they may not implement accessibility properly and instead merely opt to do the bare minimum that needs to be done to comply with the law.
Currently in China there is a weak business case for web standards for a number of reasons. For one Internet Explorer 6 is still the dominant browser with a 95% market share. In general people are tied into using IE6 as most e-commence sites rely on ActiveX to work. This means that there is a trend towards building web pages that only work in IE6 with other browsers given less focus. This is gradually changing however with the rise of alternative browsers such as Opera, Safari and Firefox and Google Chrome. In fact the arrival of Google Chrome did a lot to raise awareness of alternative browsers in the web design community. Developers I spoke to however were very quick to point out that while they may use an alternative browser to IE when building and testing sites they still made heavy use of IE in day to day browsing simply because so many sites depend on it.
This lack of demand for compliant websites is a problem as without the demand there is little incentive for individual developers as well as companies. This may change however, especially as more and more multinationals outsource and base their development work there. With this increasing hopefully the trickle down theory will hold true and multinationals will have an impact on raising knowledge and awareness. When I asked one developer from Microsoft how he got into web standards he said that it was because the company sent over someone especially to train employees in standards based development. This was great to hear and certainly a key channel for advocating web standards. Opera, a long time champion of web standards (disclaimer, I work for Opera but all opinions are my own) are also playing an active role in advocating web standards. It’s at the heart of the development cycle in the Chinese office and the team are also very active in taking part in meet-ups and conferences.
Legal support
While there is a lack of concrete law to support accessible websites it was interesting to see how the Olympics had affected awareness. Public spaces, streets and buildings were much more accommodating and accessible as a result of the games and had done much to make people more aware. This is a start at least and links in well with the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which China ratified in July of 2008. The Convention is the first international legally-binding convention designed to protect and promote the rights of persons with a disability. As China has ratified the Convention they now have to legally support access to information, recreation, employment and education. As Article 9 states:
“State Parties shall also take appropriate measures to…promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and communications technologies and systems, including the Internet”.
It remains to be seen the direction this will take but at least China is signed up.
Grass roots advocacy
Most exciting of all was the passion and commitment shown by many web professionals I spoke to. There are some influential bloggers in China who are doing great things to promote standards. Notable bloggers include Jun Chen Wu and Xian An AKA Real Lazy. When talking with Xian An he mentioned that back in 2005, when he first started blogging about standards, he was getting around 1000 hits per day. This seemed to prove that there was a desire for people to learn more or, even if they were not researching for information about standards directly, they are landing on his site which was able to introduce standards.
This seemed to make sense as all the developers I spoke to said they they were more or less self taught. As with many countries web development and standards aren’t always covered in university courses so designers and developers have to self teach. One big drawback here however is the lack of resources in Chinese. This is compounded by the fact that while some ebooks exist they can be too expensive to buy for many people.
Probably most exciting while I was there however was the opportunity to take part in the first ever Web Standards Cafe in Beijing sponsored by Opera. The subject was Web Standards and Web 2.0 and focused largely on how we can support web standards in China. Combining grass roots advocacy such as this with BarCamps I think is a positive way forward.
Supporting web standards in China
There a few things that we can start doing now to help promote web standards and accessible web design in China. It may seem like a daunting task but if this is tackled bit by bit there is no reason why standards can’t become more popular. As the old Chinese saying goes “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand”. It’s not long ago that in Europe, Australia and the States that we were fighting for basic adherence of web standards, it’s worth while to look back and learn from that experience. For now I see the following as being instrumental to enabling web standards.
Translated resources - top of the list has to be the availability of translated and free resources for people to use. Currently many individuals have contributed their time to translating (see the resources section below) but I can’t help thinking that larger organisations should contribute to these efforts. Check out instructions and guidance on translating W3C resources for more information.
Multinational responsibility - large international organisations who actively promote and support web standards internationally should do what they can to help support web standards locally in China. This could be done via training in-house, sponsoring free or affordable courses or helping translate resources into Chinese. This should not be restricted to China only.
Grass root advocacy - developers understand the challenges and problems developers face better than anyone else. Advocacy through blogs, forums, BarCamps and Web Standards Cafe are always a useful way to go. This may take a different shape in China to suit cultural norms but communication and sharing have to be at the root.
So if you are a blogger, a developer, someone in a position to translate or communicate knowledge within your organisation then share what you have. As I mentioned above please do leave a comment if you have any suggestions, thought or insights. I’d also like to expand on the list of resources below so if you have any then post links and I will update the list.
范美忠,范跑跑被无限期推迟上岗
在那一刻地动山摇》是范美忠自责文章
开华学校校长冉东先生在新闻发布会上宣读了标题为“这是一场真与善的冲突”的声明。该声明表示，范美忠自身是应试教育的成功者，成功考取了北京大学，但是范美忠一直对应试教育有不同看法，也做过大量研究工作，并且应用于实际教学多年，有相关经验。这和开华学校的教学需要吻合。此外，在全面审视了范美忠引起社会广泛关注的《那一刻地动山摇》一文，开华学校认为范美忠并非如有的文章所说“逃命后还洋洋自得”，相反开华学校认为这是一篇范美忠自责、自省的文章。再加上他毕业于北大历史系得背景，开华培训学校认为他有资格担任开华人文讲堂讲师。
虽然开华学校认为聘任范美忠是基于教学需要，但目前，开华学校已经决定无限期推迟范美忠到开华学校任教上岗，声明表示，这一决定是基于社会对范美忠存在广泛争议。“由于社会对范美忠先生存在广泛争议而在此之前我们对此认识不足，为此，我们向社会各界表示歉意。基于这种情况，我们决定无限期推迟范美忠道开华学校任教上岗，为此我们向范美忠先生表示歉意。”
开华学校：与范美忠仍存在合作关系
记者：无限期推迟范美忠到开华学校任教上岗，与解聘有何不同？
冉东（开华学校校长）：范美忠与我们的合作关系依然存在，但不能上课了。范先生现在不能到其他学校任教。至于经济补偿方面，我们与范先生有沟通，也互有谅解，范先生还是同意按劳取酬的。
记者：范美忠有可能担任其他非教学职务吗？在什么情况下，他才可能上岗呢？
冉东：理论上讲，范美忠可以担任非教师职务，但是舆论似乎认为他不适合进入教育行业。这个要看机会。当社会宽容他的时候，范美忠就会走上讲台。
记者：听说范美忠先生没有教师资格证？
冉东：没有硬性规定说民办教育机构的老师都有教师资格证。
记者：开华学校是如何与范美忠先生接洽的？
冉东：首先是有人推荐，然后我们进行了面谈，达成了合作。范先生到北京签的约。当时，我们聘任范美忠先生时，内部有不同意见，但最后基于教学需要，决定与他合作。确实没想到会引起这些影响。我们本来以为事情已经过去了。
记者：推迟范美忠上岗是基于主管部门压力呢？还是基于社会的压力？
冉东：民办学校要在市场中生存，生存环境很脆弱。作为一个市场中的教育机构，我们还是迫于市场的压力。但是，我们的学生打电话来表示反对的不多，学生还主要是询问他的教学水平。
记者：人文课堂是否要取消呢？
冉东：范美忠只是该课堂其中一位讲师，我们的人文课堂没有取消。只是民族大学拒绝为我们提供场地（已经签了合同，交了订金），我们得寻找场所。
范美忠：我没有需要自省的 暂时不会当老师
在结束开华学校的采访后，记者采访了范美忠。
记者：您认为那篇《那一刻地动山摇》是一篇自省、自责的文章吗？
范：我没有什么自责的，也没有什么自省的。
记者：您会向开华学校要报酬吗？
范：会。我们的合同关系还在，而且我们有协定，我不能到其他教育机构找类似的工作。
记者：您以后会在教育行业找工作吗？
范：目前不会了，没有这个机会。我可以写书、做策划。我讲课写书比于丹好。
记者：您以前的学生还和您联系吗？
范：当然，我昨天还和一位留学的学生联系。
记者：他们对您的看法与社会舆论不同？
范：他们不会这样愚蠢。
开华学校校长冉东先生在新闻发布会上宣读了标题为“这是一场真与善的冲突”的声明。该声明表示，范美忠自身是应试教育的成功者，成功考取了北京大学，但是范美忠一直对应试教育有不同看法，也做过大量研究工作，并且应用于实际教学多年，有相关经验。这和开华学校的教学需要吻合。此外，在全面审视了范美忠引起社会广泛关注的《那一刻地动山摇》一文，开华学校认为范美忠并非如有的文章所说“逃命后还洋洋自得”，相反开华学校认为这是一篇范美忠自责、自省的文章。再加上他毕业于北大历史系得背景，开华培训学校认为他有资格担任开华人文讲堂讲师。
虽然开华学校认为聘任范美忠是基于教学需要，但目前，开华学校已经决定无限期推迟范美忠到开华学校任教上岗，声明表示，这一决定是基于社会对范美忠存在广泛争议。“由于社会对范美忠先生存在广泛争议而在此之前我们对此认识不足，为此，我们向社会各界表示歉意。基于这种情况，我们决定无限期推迟范美忠道开华学校任教上岗，为此我们向范美忠先生表示歉意。”
开华学校：与范美忠仍存在合作关系
记者：无限期推迟范美忠到开华学校任教上岗，与解聘有何不同？
冉东（开华学校校长）：范美忠与我们的合作关系依然存在，但不能上课了。范先生现在不能到其他学校任教。至于经济补偿方面，我们与范先生有沟通，也互有谅解，范先生还是同意按劳取酬的。
记者：范美忠有可能担任其他非教学职务吗？在什么情况下，他才可能上岗呢？
冉东：理论上讲，范美忠可以担任非教师职务，但是舆论似乎认为他不适合进入教育行业。这个要看机会。当社会宽容他的时候，范美忠就会走上讲台。
记者：听说范美忠先生没有教师资格证？
冉东：没有硬性规定说民办教育机构的老师都有教师资格证。
记者：开华学校是如何与范美忠先生接洽的？
冉东：首先是有人推荐，然后我们进行了面谈，达成了合作。范先生到北京签的约。当时，我们聘任范美忠先生时，内部有不同意见，但最后基于教学需要，决定与他合作。确实没想到会引起这些影响。我们本来以为事情已经过去了。
记者：推迟范美忠上岗是基于主管部门压力呢？还是基于社会的压力？
冉东：民办学校要在市场中生存，生存环境很脆弱。作为一个市场中的教育机构，我们还是迫于市场的压力。但是，我们的学生打电话来表示反对的不多，学生还主要是询问他的教学水平。
记者：人文课堂是否要取消呢？
冉东：范美忠只是该课堂其中一位讲师，我们的人文课堂没有取消。只是民族大学拒绝为我们提供场地（已经签了合同，交了订金），我们得寻找场所。
范美忠：我没有需要自省的 暂时不会当老师
在结束开华学校的采访后，记者采访了范美忠。
记者：您认为那篇《那一刻地动山摇》是一篇自省、自责的文章吗？
范：我没有什么自责的，也没有什么自省的。
记者：您会向开华学校要报酬吗？
范：会。我们的合同关系还在，而且我们有协定，我不能到其他教育机构找类似的工作。
记者：您以后会在教育行业找工作吗？
范：目前不会了，没有这个机会。我可以写书、做策划。我讲课写书比于丹好。
记者：您以前的学生还和您联系吗？
范：当然，我昨天还和一位留学的学生联系。
记者：他们对您的看法与社会舆论不同？
范：他们不会这样愚蠢。
2008年2月4日星期一
Wuyi Mountains is thousands of kilometers long,
In 1996 December, Fujian Wuyi Mountains was honored as "World Cultural and Natural Heritage" by the UN Organization of Science, Education and Culture. Wuyi Mountains is situated in the Wuyishan city, the northern part of Fujian Province； the main site is 60km2 in acreage, the average height of peaks is about 350 meters, it is a typical rosy cloud landform； it is a place of interesting with a long history, and among the first group of tourist sites elected as the national key tourist resort, Mrs. Barerke, president of the executive committee of World Tourism Organization, described it as "the model of world environmental protection". If you take a bamboo raft trip fleeting through the river, you will get quite a view of the water and the mountain, and particularly, the raft coffin hanging on the cliff, it is a special and mysterious burial 3800 years ago.
Wuyi Mountains is thousands of kilometers long, just like a green dragon flying among Min, Zhe, Gan and Yue, four provinces. The world famous Wuyi Mountains nature reserve of national level is just located on the highest place of the northern part of Wuyi Mountains； it has the biggest acreage, best-preserved mid-subtropical ecological system in southeastern China. It is selected as a world biological reserve and the A Reserve with world protection value by the United Nations. The natural condition inside the reserve is very advantageous, the forest cover is well preserved, biological resource is very rich, and there are many rare birds and animals. 2466 kinds of higher plants, 840 kinds of lower plants, 475 kinds of spinal animals, and about 5000 kinds of insects have been formally named. There are 26 kinds of most valuable plants, 56 kinds of national first and second class valuable animals, in addition, several dozens of world rare breeds such as "Jiao Guai" can be found here.
Wuyi Mountains is thousands of kilometers long, just like a green dragon flying among Min, Zhe, Gan and Yue, four provinces. The world famous Wuyi Mountains nature reserve of national level is just located on the highest place of the northern part of Wuyi Mountains； it has the biggest acreage, best-preserved mid-subtropical ecological system in southeastern China. It is selected as a world biological reserve and the A Reserve with world protection value by the United Nations. The natural condition inside the reserve is very advantageous, the forest cover is well preserved, biological resource is very rich, and there are many rare birds and animals. 2466 kinds of higher plants, 840 kinds of lower plants, 475 kinds of spinal animals, and about 5000 kinds of insects have been formally named. There are 26 kinds of most valuable plants, 56 kinds of national first and second class valuable animals, in addition, several dozens of world rare breeds such as "Jiao Guai" can be found here.
Experience Old Beijing at Bars in Hutong
If one walks into the Nan Luogu Xiang lane in Beijing， the tranquil atmosphere inside the lane will make one forget about the hustle and bustle in the street. The long， narrow lane is shaded by luxuriant tree， under the early afternoon sun， where rows of Siheyuan， or quadrangle houses built in traditional Beijing local style， stretch far on both sides of the lane. At the entry of the lane， some old ladies are chatting with each other， while not far away some tourists are sitting here and there around some wooden tables in front of a bar house， bathing in the afternoon sun.
Nan Luogu Xiang lane， located in the city's downtown area， or as the old Beijingnese called it， “the foot of the imperial city”， is becoming a good place for local residents to go to in their spare time.
The lane is actually situated at the northern part of the Forbidden City. It starts from the Di'anmen Dongdajie and stretches to Gulou Dajie. With a history of over 700 years， it is a typical example of the “chessboard” symmetric street building formula popular in the Yuan Dynasty.
Preserved by the Beijing municipal government as a mirror of the old Beijing city， the lane is now dotted with over 30 bars， cafés， restaurants and small handicraft shops， all attracting people in their unique style.
For Zhang Qiaowen， a Canadian Chinese， his home is not far from here. As he is now studying religion at Peking University， he would visit the lane every day during the recent week-long May Day holiday. The bar he went in very often was called the “Xique Café”， or magpie café， where he normally spent half a day， sipping tea while surfing on the Internet. “I like to come here because it's quiet and everything is easy to get，” said Zhang. To him， the tranquil atmosphere here makes the lane different from most other bar streets that are usually noisy. Also， he said the “Siheyuan here is very well protected and displays the Old Beijing's city feature.”
For Li Fei， who has just finished her postgraduate examination， the lane is an ideal place for her to relieve the pressure of the exam. She happened to find the place by map and when she arrived with her friends， she felt the trip was totally worth it. “It is so different here from the street outside. When everybody in the street seems to be in a hurry， you will calm down once you enter this lane. It is indeed a good place to relax，” she said.
At the Shalou Café， old-style furniture is neatly placed in the room. “Most of our customers are young people，” said the café manager， “they mostly work in Beijing and would like to come here at night for relaxation.” He said the bars and cafés inside the lane were mingled with residential houses. For residents living here， they don't like the lane to be too noisy， and for most tourists， they come here to enjoy the quietness of the lane. Therefore most bars here are usually quiet.
The Guoke Bar， or guest bar， which is located at the southern end of the lane， has been running business here for nearly seven years， and has now become a must for backpackers from home and abroad. A waitress said the bar received some 150 guests every day on average. Manager Haiyan said she had chosen the place to open her business because she liked the family atmosphere here.
When this reporter went into the Laowu Bar， he saw a musician surnamed Mr. Ke， who was absorbed in enjoying the country music being played in the bar room. He said as most bar streets in other places become more and more commercialized， he cherished the cultural atmosphere here， where people often come to experience the old Beijing culture.
According to a rough estimation from the Jiaodaokou Community Office in Dongcheng district， where the lane is located， some 8，000 people visited Nan Luogu Xiang during the recent May Day holiday.
Nan Luogu Xiang lane， located in the city's downtown area， or as the old Beijingnese called it， “the foot of the imperial city”， is becoming a good place for local residents to go to in their spare time.
The lane is actually situated at the northern part of the Forbidden City. It starts from the Di'anmen Dongdajie and stretches to Gulou Dajie. With a history of over 700 years， it is a typical example of the “chessboard” symmetric street building formula popular in the Yuan Dynasty.
Preserved by the Beijing municipal government as a mirror of the old Beijing city， the lane is now dotted with over 30 bars， cafés， restaurants and small handicraft shops， all attracting people in their unique style.
For Zhang Qiaowen， a Canadian Chinese， his home is not far from here. As he is now studying religion at Peking University， he would visit the lane every day during the recent week-long May Day holiday. The bar he went in very often was called the “Xique Café”， or magpie café， where he normally spent half a day， sipping tea while surfing on the Internet. “I like to come here because it's quiet and everything is easy to get，” said Zhang. To him， the tranquil atmosphere here makes the lane different from most other bar streets that are usually noisy. Also， he said the “Siheyuan here is very well protected and displays the Old Beijing's city feature.”
For Li Fei， who has just finished her postgraduate examination， the lane is an ideal place for her to relieve the pressure of the exam. She happened to find the place by map and when she arrived with her friends， she felt the trip was totally worth it. “It is so different here from the street outside. When everybody in the street seems to be in a hurry， you will calm down once you enter this lane. It is indeed a good place to relax，” she said.
At the Shalou Café， old-style furniture is neatly placed in the room. “Most of our customers are young people，” said the café manager， “they mostly work in Beijing and would like to come here at night for relaxation.” He said the bars and cafés inside the lane were mingled with residential houses. For residents living here， they don't like the lane to be too noisy， and for most tourists， they come here to enjoy the quietness of the lane. Therefore most bars here are usually quiet.
The Guoke Bar， or guest bar， which is located at the southern end of the lane， has been running business here for nearly seven years， and has now become a must for backpackers from home and abroad. A waitress said the bar received some 150 guests every day on average. Manager Haiyan said she had chosen the place to open her business because she liked the family atmosphere here.
When this reporter went into the Laowu Bar， he saw a musician surnamed Mr. Ke， who was absorbed in enjoying the country music being played in the bar room. He said as most bar streets in other places become more and more commercialized， he cherished the cultural atmosphere here， where people often come to experience the old Beijing culture.
According to a rough estimation from the Jiaodaokou Community Office in Dongcheng district， where the lane is located， some 8，000 people visited Nan Luogu Xiang during the recent May Day holiday.
East Meets West in Relaxing Macau
Macau is largely unchanged since being returned to China on December 20th 1999 after 112 years as a Portuguese1 colony and visitors appreciate it.
Macau inhabitants regarded the handover as a mere change of administration. Certainly， you see fewer Portuguese faces on the streets nowadays， but there remains the curious mixture of European flair 2 and Far Eastern tradition that make the city so special.
Like its larger neighbour Hong Kong， Macau is now a special administrative region of China， but its special capitalist status is guaranteed for the next 50 years.
When you first glimpse Macau on the ferry from Hong Kong， it looks less than impressive. The skyline is dull compared to the imposing3 glass skyscrapers of Hong Kong， and most people do not take the time to revise4 this first impression， devoting no more than a day trip to it. But this does not do justice to this city of two cultures， which hides plenty of interesting secrets.
The Macau Museum， which opened two years ago， offers an excellent introduction to the peninsula's5 past and present. Children love it because it is full of technical paraphernalia6. You can press buttons to light up trade routes on maps， or to hear the different typical cries of Macau's traders.
Just a few metres from the museum is the city's most photographed symbol： the ruins of Sao Paulo， the Jesuit7 church built in 1602， although today only its imposing stone facade remains.
While the majority of Macau's inhabitants are Buddhist8， some seven per cent are Catholic and the religious sites of Macau testify to the special mix of eastern and western cultures here. As well as the numerous churches inherited from Portuguese rule， there are very many different temples.
The largest is the Kun Iam Tong. In the main hall of this temple， giant spiral9 joss-sticks10 hang from the ceiling， raining small piles of ash on the heads of visitors. Along the sides are smaller ancestors rooms commemorating11 the dead. There is also a room of plants which includes a special bonsai12 tree， the trunk of which happens to be shaped like the Chinese sign meaning long life.
The contrast between the peace of these temples and the bustle13 of Macau city could hardly be more stark14. The lively pedestrian zone flanked15 by colonial buildings with their teeming16 side streets are not at all reminiscent of religious contemplation17. Locals and tourists saunter along with shopping bags.
Macau， on the southeast coast of China， consists of the Macau peninsula and the two offshore islands of Taipa and Coloane in the Pearl River delta18. Ninety-six per cent of the 450，000 inhabitants are of Chinese origin. Anyone who stays a few days， soon realises that the city is small but charming. You soon start to recognise a few faces， even the city tramps19 start to become familiar. Although the tourism industry would like to sell Macau as a racy20， modern city， its real appeal is that it offers a very quiet， relaxing contrast to Hong Kong.
But Macau is one of the richest regions in Asia， with an annual per capita21 gross national product of more than 17，000 U.S. dollars. This is mainly thanks to gambling. Forty per cent of all state income comes from the numerous casinos here， the only legally operating gambling halls on Chinese territory.
Macau inhabitants regarded the handover as a mere change of administration. Certainly， you see fewer Portuguese faces on the streets nowadays， but there remains the curious mixture of European flair 2 and Far Eastern tradition that make the city so special.
Like its larger neighbour Hong Kong， Macau is now a special administrative region of China， but its special capitalist status is guaranteed for the next 50 years.
When you first glimpse Macau on the ferry from Hong Kong， it looks less than impressive. The skyline is dull compared to the imposing3 glass skyscrapers of Hong Kong， and most people do not take the time to revise4 this first impression， devoting no more than a day trip to it. But this does not do justice to this city of two cultures， which hides plenty of interesting secrets.
The Macau Museum， which opened two years ago， offers an excellent introduction to the peninsula's5 past and present. Children love it because it is full of technical paraphernalia6. You can press buttons to light up trade routes on maps， or to hear the different typical cries of Macau's traders.
Just a few metres from the museum is the city's most photographed symbol： the ruins of Sao Paulo， the Jesuit7 church built in 1602， although today only its imposing stone facade remains.
While the majority of Macau's inhabitants are Buddhist8， some seven per cent are Catholic and the religious sites of Macau testify to the special mix of eastern and western cultures here. As well as the numerous churches inherited from Portuguese rule， there are very many different temples.
The largest is the Kun Iam Tong. In the main hall of this temple， giant spiral9 joss-sticks10 hang from the ceiling， raining small piles of ash on the heads of visitors. Along the sides are smaller ancestors rooms commemorating11 the dead. There is also a room of plants which includes a special bonsai12 tree， the trunk of which happens to be shaped like the Chinese sign meaning long life.
The contrast between the peace of these temples and the bustle13 of Macau city could hardly be more stark14. The lively pedestrian zone flanked15 by colonial buildings with their teeming16 side streets are not at all reminiscent of religious contemplation17. Locals and tourists saunter along with shopping bags.
Macau， on the southeast coast of China， consists of the Macau peninsula and the two offshore islands of Taipa and Coloane in the Pearl River delta18. Ninety-six per cent of the 450，000 inhabitants are of Chinese origin. Anyone who stays a few days， soon realises that the city is small but charming. You soon start to recognise a few faces， even the city tramps19 start to become familiar. Although the tourism industry would like to sell Macau as a racy20， modern city， its real appeal is that it offers a very quiet， relaxing contrast to Hong Kong.
But Macau is one of the richest regions in Asia， with an annual per capita21 gross national product of more than 17，000 U.S. dollars. This is mainly thanks to gambling. Forty per cent of all state income comes from the numerous casinos here， the only legally operating gambling halls on Chinese territory.
Yulong Snow Mountain
The glacier of Yulong Snow Mountain is giving way to global warming.
This photo of Yulong Snow Mountain was taken on November 28， 2004.
Located 25 kilometers north of Lijiang， Yulong Snow Mountain is the southernmost snow-capped mountain in China， and the ocean glacier nearest to the equator of all the snow mountains in Eurasia.
In recent years， due to the increased quantity of ice melting， the glacial tongue of Yulong Snow Mountain has withdrawn along with reduced glacial area and raised the snow line. The retraction of the glacier was as much as 100 meters during the five years from 1998 to 2002. Its thickness and snowy areas also decreased during the same period.
The main cause to the glacier retraction in Yulong Snow Mountain is global warming， according to He Yuanqing， an expert from Chinese Academy of Science.
Yulong Snow Mountain has 13 peaks， stretching 35 kilometers from north to south. Shanzidou， the main peak， is 5，596 meters above sea level.
Neighboring the famous ancient town of Lijiang， Yulong Snow Mountain is a popular tourist destination in Yunnan province. It is the one and only place you can ski in South China.
All year around， snow falls on the peaks and which are frequently lost in the clouds and fog. Looking from a distance， the mountain resembles a Jade Dragon （Yulong）， which is how it got its name.
This photo of Yulong Snow Mountain was taken on November 28， 2004.
Located 25 kilometers north of Lijiang， Yulong Snow Mountain is the southernmost snow-capped mountain in China， and the ocean glacier nearest to the equator of all the snow mountains in Eurasia.
In recent years， due to the increased quantity of ice melting， the glacial tongue of Yulong Snow Mountain has withdrawn along with reduced glacial area and raised the snow line. The retraction of the glacier was as much as 100 meters during the five years from 1998 to 2002. Its thickness and snowy areas also decreased during the same period.
The main cause to the glacier retraction in Yulong Snow Mountain is global warming， according to He Yuanqing， an expert from Chinese Academy of Science.
Yulong Snow Mountain has 13 peaks， stretching 35 kilometers from north to south. Shanzidou， the main peak， is 5，596 meters above sea level.
Neighboring the famous ancient town of Lijiang， Yulong Snow Mountain is a popular tourist destination in Yunnan province. It is the one and only place you can ski in South China.
All year around， snow falls on the peaks and which are frequently lost in the clouds and fog. Looking from a distance， the mountain resembles a Jade Dragon （Yulong）， which is how it got its name.
A Tale of Two Cities
It's now more than 10 years since "The Wall" come down - but Berlin is still two cities - The Eastern sector is still under reconstruction but it is more exciting and definitely has retained its grandeur all the university buildings. opera houses and churches. some still pock marked by bullets stand along the Unter den Linden about 500 metres from Alexander Plutz in complete contrast to the square high storeys of 1960， flats， offices and hotels.
All within walking distance are the museums such as the Pergamon and now the Kunst （Art） - five in total which take days alone to explore. The former Reichsteig now grows daily into a new seat for Germany's Central Government in Berlin which is now the capital of Germany.
In the former Western Berlin the pace of life is unchanged - all the best shops. restaurants are here - plus the night life， if you still have the energy - Kurfurstendamm is still the street - 3.5km long， full of shops - many of them world famous fashion boutiques - and all the side streets - pubs and restaurants of every kind
All within walking distance are the museums such as the Pergamon and now the Kunst （Art） - five in total which take days alone to explore. The former Reichsteig now grows daily into a new seat for Germany's Central Government in Berlin which is now the capital of Germany.
In the former Western Berlin the pace of life is unchanged - all the best shops. restaurants are here - plus the night life， if you still have the energy - Kurfurstendamm is still the street - 3.5km long， full of shops - many of them world famous fashion boutiques - and all the side streets - pubs and restaurants of every kind
Golden Gate Bridge
The orange towers of the Golden Gate Bridge probably the most beautiful， certainly the most photographed bridge in the world are visible from almost every point of elevation in San Francisco. The only cleft in Northern California's 600-mile continental wall， for years this mile-wide strait was considered unbridgeable. As much an architectural as an engineering feat， the Golden Gate took only 52 months to design and build， and was opened in 1937. Designed by Joseph Strauss， it was the first really massive suspension bridge， with a span of 4200ft， and until 1959 ranked as the world's longest. It connects the city at its northwesterly point on the peninsula to Marin County and Northern California， rendering the hitherto essential ferry crossing redundant， and was designed to withstand winds of up to a hundred miles an hour and to swing as much as 27ft. Handsome on a clear day， the bridge takes on an eerie quality when the thick white fogs pour in and hide it almost completely.
You can either drive or walk across. The drive is the more thrilling of the two options as you race under the bridge's towers， but the half-hour walk across it really gives you time to take in its enormous size and absorb the views of the city behind you and the headlands of Northern California straight ahead. Pause at the midway point and consider the seven or so suicides a month who choose this spot， 260ft up， as their jumping-off spot. Monitors of such events speculate that victims always face the city before they leap. In 1995， when the suicide toll from the bridge had reached almost 1000， police kept the figures quiet to avoid a rush of would-be suicides going for the dubious distinction of being the thousandth person to leap.
Perhaps the best-loved symbol of San Francisco， in 1987 the Golden Gate proved an auspicious place for a sunrise party when crowds gathered to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Some quarter of a million people turned up （a third of the city's entire population）； the winds were strong and the huge numbers caused the bridge to buckle， but fortunately not to break.
You can either drive or walk across. The drive is the more thrilling of the two options as you race under the bridge's towers， but the half-hour walk across it really gives you time to take in its enormous size and absorb the views of the city behind you and the headlands of Northern California straight ahead. Pause at the midway point and consider the seven or so suicides a month who choose this spot， 260ft up， as their jumping-off spot. Monitors of such events speculate that victims always face the city before they leap. In 1995， when the suicide toll from the bridge had reached almost 1000， police kept the figures quiet to avoid a rush of would-be suicides going for the dubious distinction of being the thousandth person to leap.
Perhaps the best-loved symbol of San Francisco， in 1987 the Golden Gate proved an auspicious place for a sunrise party when crowds gathered to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Some quarter of a million people turned up （a third of the city's entire population）； the winds were strong and the huge numbers caused the bridge to buckle， but fortunately not to break.
Disneyland
Walt and Roy Disney began their partnership on October 16， 1923 when they signed a contract to produce the Alice Comedies， a series of six- to eight-minute animated films， or "shorts，" combining live-action and animation. What began as the Disney Brothers Studio evolved into The Walt Disney Company.
Throughout the decades， the company has expanded worldwide from shorts to feature-length animated and live-action films and television production； character merchandise licensing； consumer products retailing； book， magazine and music publishing； Internet activities； television and radio broadcasting； cable television programming； and the operation of theme parks and resorts.
From the creation of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in 1927 and the debut of Mickey Mouse in 1928 to the premiere of Tarzan in 1999， animation has remained the defining signature of the company. Along the way， Disney has added successful TV shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire， opened theme parks in California， Florida， France and Japan， launched more than 700 Disney Stores and added brands such as Touchstone， Miramax， ABC and ESPN to the fold.
To make the most of Disneyland the ultimate escapist fantasy and the blueprint for imitations worldwide throw yourself right into it. Don't think twice about anything and go on every ride you can. The high admission price （$36） includes them all， although during peak periods each one can entail hours of queueing. Remember， too， that the emphasis is on family fun； the authorities take a dim view of anything remotely anti-social and eject those they consider guilty.
Over four hundred "Imaginers" worked to create the Indiana Jones Adventure， Disneyland's biggest opening in years. Two hours of queueing are built into the ride， with an interactive archeological dig and 1930s-style newsreel show leading up to the main feature a giddy journey along 2500ft of skull-encrusted corridors in which you face fireballs， falling rubble， venomous snakes and， inevitably， a rolling boulder finale. Disney claims that， thanks to computer engineering， no two Indiana Jones rides are ever alike. Judge for yourself.
Among the best of the older rides are two in Adventureland： the Pirates of the Caribbean， a boat trip through underground caverns， singing along with drunken pirates； and the Haunted Mansion， a riotous "doom buggy" tour in the company of the house spooks.
Tomorrowland is Disney's vision of the future， where the Space Mountain roller coaster zips through the pitch-blackness of outer space， and the Star Tours ride simulates a journey into the world of George Lucas. The Skyway cable-car line that connects Tomorrowland with the clever but cloyingly sentimental Fantasyland is the only spot in the park from which you can see the outside world.
As for accommodation， try to visit Disneyland just for the day and spend the night somewhere else. Most of the hotels and motels nearby cost well in excess of $70 per night.
You're not permitted to bring your own food to the park； you can only consume the fast food sold on the premises.
Disneyland is at 1313 Harbor Blvd， Anaheim， 45 minutes by car from downtown using the Santa Ana Freeway. In summer， the park is open daily between 8am and 1am； otherwise opening hours are weekdays 10am to 6pm， Saturday 9am to midnight， and Sunday 9am to 10pm. Arrive early； traffic quickly becomes nightmarish， especially in the summer. For further information
Throughout the decades， the company has expanded worldwide from shorts to feature-length animated and live-action films and television production； character merchandise licensing； consumer products retailing； book， magazine and music publishing； Internet activities； television and radio broadcasting； cable television programming； and the operation of theme parks and resorts.
From the creation of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in 1927 and the debut of Mickey Mouse in 1928 to the premiere of Tarzan in 1999， animation has remained the defining signature of the company. Along the way， Disney has added successful TV shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire， opened theme parks in California， Florida， France and Japan， launched more than 700 Disney Stores and added brands such as Touchstone， Miramax， ABC and ESPN to the fold.
To make the most of Disneyland the ultimate escapist fantasy and the blueprint for imitations worldwide throw yourself right into it. Don't think twice about anything and go on every ride you can. The high admission price （$36） includes them all， although during peak periods each one can entail hours of queueing. Remember， too， that the emphasis is on family fun； the authorities take a dim view of anything remotely anti-social and eject those they consider guilty.
Over four hundred "Imaginers" worked to create the Indiana Jones Adventure， Disneyland's biggest opening in years. Two hours of queueing are built into the ride， with an interactive archeological dig and 1930s-style newsreel show leading up to the main feature a giddy journey along 2500ft of skull-encrusted corridors in which you face fireballs， falling rubble， venomous snakes and， inevitably， a rolling boulder finale. Disney claims that， thanks to computer engineering， no two Indiana Jones rides are ever alike. Judge for yourself.
Among the best of the older rides are two in Adventureland： the Pirates of the Caribbean， a boat trip through underground caverns， singing along with drunken pirates； and the Haunted Mansion， a riotous "doom buggy" tour in the company of the house spooks.
Tomorrowland is Disney's vision of the future， where the Space Mountain roller coaster zips through the pitch-blackness of outer space， and the Star Tours ride simulates a journey into the world of George Lucas. The Skyway cable-car line that connects Tomorrowland with the clever but cloyingly sentimental Fantasyland is the only spot in the park from which you can see the outside world.
As for accommodation， try to visit Disneyland just for the day and spend the night somewhere else. Most of the hotels and motels nearby cost well in excess of $70 per night.
You're not permitted to bring your own food to the park； you can only consume the fast food sold on the premises.
Disneyland is at 1313 Harbor Blvd， Anaheim， 45 minutes by car from downtown using the Santa Ana Freeway. In summer， the park is open daily between 8am and 1am； otherwise opening hours are weekdays 10am to 6pm， Saturday 9am to midnight， and Sunday 9am to 10pm. Arrive early； traffic quickly becomes nightmarish， especially in the summer. For further information
Chinatown in New York
On the surface， Chinatown is prosperous a "model slum，" some have called it with the lowest crime rate， highest employment and least juvenile delinquency of any city district. Walk through its crowded streets at any time of day， and every shop is doing a brisk and businesslike trade： restaurant after restaurant is booming； there are storefront displays of shiny squids， clawing crabs and clambering lobster； and street markets offer overflowing piles of exotic green vegetables， garlic and ginger root. Chinatown has the feel of a land of plenty， and the reason why lies with the Chinese themselves： even here， in the very core of downtown Manhattan， they have been careful to preserve their own way of dealing with things， preferring to keep affairs close to the bond of the family and allowing few intrusions into a still-insular culture. There have been several concessions to Westerners storefront signs now offer English translations， and Haagen Dazs and Baskin Robbins ice-cream stores have opened on lower Mott Street but they can't help but seem incongruous. The one time of the year when Chinatown bursts open is during the Chinese New Year festival， held each year on the first full moon after January 19， when a giant dragon runs down Mott Street to the accompaniment of firecrackers， and the gutters run with ceremonial dyes.
Beneath the neighborhood's blithely prosperous facade， however， there is a darker underbelly. Sharp practices continue to flourish， with traditional extortion and protection rackets still in business. Non-union sweatshops their assembly lines grinding from early morning to late into the evening are still visited by the US Department of Labor， who come to investigate workers' testimonies of being paid below minimum wage for seventy-plus-hour work weeks. Living conditions are abysmal for the poorer Chinese mostly recent immigrants and the elderly who reside in small rooms in overcrowded tenements ill-kept by landlords. Yet， because the community has been cloistered for so long and has only just begun to seek help from city officials for its internal problems， you won't detect any hint of difficulties unless you reside in Chinatown for a considerable length of time.
Beneath the neighborhood's blithely prosperous facade， however， there is a darker underbelly. Sharp practices continue to flourish， with traditional extortion and protection rackets still in business. Non-union sweatshops their assembly lines grinding from early morning to late into the evening are still visited by the US Department of Labor， who come to investigate workers' testimonies of being paid below minimum wage for seventy-plus-hour work weeks. Living conditions are abysmal for the poorer Chinese mostly recent immigrants and the elderly who reside in small rooms in overcrowded tenements ill-kept by landlords. Yet， because the community has been cloistered for so long and has only just begun to seek help from city officials for its internal problems， you won't detect any hint of difficulties unless you reside in Chinatown for a considerable length of time.
Arlington National Cemetery
Across the Potomac River in Arlington， Virginia； closest Metro Arlington Cemetery. AprilSept daily 8am7pm； rest of year daily 8am5pm. 202/703/692-0931. Admission free.
A poignant contrast to the grand monuments of the capital is provided by the vast sea of identical white headstones on the hillsides of Arlington National Cemetery. The country's most honoured final resting place was first used during the Civil War， when the grand mansion at the top of the hill， and all the surrounding land， belonged to Confederate leader Robert E Lee. Nearly 200，000 US war dead lie here， and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier remembers thousands more whose bodies were never recovered or identified. An eternal flame marks the grave of President John F Kennedy， near his brother Robert and， as of 1994， next to his widow， Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Among other well-known names is Pierre L'Enfant， whose grave site offers a superb view over the Mall and the District he designed； while the new Women in Military Service Memorial， by the main gate， is just one of several high-profile memorials to celebrated personnel， like the doomed crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
Unless you have strong legs and lots of time， the best way to see the vast cemetery is by Tourmobile， which leaves from the visitor center at the entrance. You can also walk here from the Lincoln Memorial across the Arlington Bridge.
A poignant contrast to the grand monuments of the capital is provided by the vast sea of identical white headstones on the hillsides of Arlington National Cemetery. The country's most honoured final resting place was first used during the Civil War， when the grand mansion at the top of the hill， and all the surrounding land， belonged to Confederate leader Robert E Lee. Nearly 200，000 US war dead lie here， and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier remembers thousands more whose bodies were never recovered or identified. An eternal flame marks the grave of President John F Kennedy， near his brother Robert and， as of 1994， next to his widow， Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Among other well-known names is Pierre L'Enfant， whose grave site offers a superb view over the Mall and the District he designed； while the new Women in Military Service Memorial， by the main gate， is just one of several high-profile memorials to celebrated personnel， like the doomed crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
Unless you have strong legs and lots of time， the best way to see the vast cemetery is by Tourmobile， which leaves from the visitor center at the entrance. You can also walk here from the Lincoln Memorial across the Arlington Bridge.
2008年2月2日星期六
Rome (Italy)
There's no escaping it： Rome means history. There are layers of the stuff - Etruscan（伊特鲁里亚的） tombs， Republican meeting rooms， Imperial temples， early Christian churches， medieval bell towers， Renaissance（文艺复兴） palaces and baroque basilicas（长方形基督教堂）。 In this city a phenomenal concentration of history， legend and monuments coexists（共存） with an equally phenomenal concentration of people busily going about their everyday life. It's hard to say what you'll find most breathtaking（惊人的） about the eternal city - the arrogant opulence of the Vatican（梵蒂冈）or the timelessness（永恒） of the Forum（古罗马广场）。
Rome is halfway down Italy's western coast， about 20km inland. It's a vast city， but the historic centre is quite small. Most of the major sights are within a reasonable distance of the central railway station. It is， for instance， possible to walk from the Colosseum（罗马圆形大剧场）， through the Forum， up to Piazza di Spagna（西班牙广场） and across to the Vatican in one day， but you wouldn't really want to. All the major monuments are west of the train station， but make sure you use a map. While it can be enjoyable to get off the beaten track（平坦的路） in Rome， it can also be very frustrating and time-consuming.
Most of the budget（便宜的） places to stay are clustered around Stazione Termini； this area is rife with pickpockets（扒手） and gangs of thieving children， so beware - do your best to look like you know where you're going. It is only slightly more expensive and definitely more enjoyable to stay closer to the city centre.
Rome's mild climate makes it visitable year-round； however， spring and autumn are without doubt the best times to visit， with generally sunny skies and mild temperatures. Unfortunately， these times are also the peak tourist season， when the tour buses pour in（川流不息的涌入） and tourists are herded around like cattle. July and August are unpleasantly hot， and Romans traditionally desert the stiflingly hot city in August， with many businesses closing； try to avoid visiting at this time. From December to February there is briskly cold weather， although it's rarely grey and gloomy.
Events-wise， Italy's calendar bursts year-round with cultural events ranging from colourful traditional celebrations with a religious and traditional flavour， through to cultural events. Summer is definitely the best time to visit if you want to catch the best of the festivals； however， the Romaeuropa festival is now a feature of the autumn calendar， the Roma opera season runs from December until June and the classical and contemporary music scene is lively all year round.
Rome is halfway down Italy's western coast， about 20km inland. It's a vast city， but the historic centre is quite small. Most of the major sights are within a reasonable distance of the central railway station. It is， for instance， possible to walk from the Colosseum（罗马圆形大剧场）， through the Forum， up to Piazza di Spagna（西班牙广场） and across to the Vatican in one day， but you wouldn't really want to. All the major monuments are west of the train station， but make sure you use a map. While it can be enjoyable to get off the beaten track（平坦的路） in Rome， it can also be very frustrating and time-consuming.
Most of the budget（便宜的） places to stay are clustered around Stazione Termini； this area is rife with pickpockets（扒手） and gangs of thieving children， so beware - do your best to look like you know where you're going. It is only slightly more expensive and definitely more enjoyable to stay closer to the city centre.
Rome's mild climate makes it visitable year-round； however， spring and autumn are without doubt the best times to visit， with generally sunny skies and mild temperatures. Unfortunately， these times are also the peak tourist season， when the tour buses pour in（川流不息的涌入） and tourists are herded around like cattle. July and August are unpleasantly hot， and Romans traditionally desert the stiflingly hot city in August， with many businesses closing； try to avoid visiting at this time. From December to February there is briskly cold weather， although it's rarely grey and gloomy.
Events-wise， Italy's calendar bursts year-round with cultural events ranging from colourful traditional celebrations with a religious and traditional flavour， through to cultural events. Summer is definitely the best time to visit if you want to catch the best of the festivals； however， the Romaeuropa festival is now a feature of the autumn calendar， the Roma opera season runs from December until June and the classical and contemporary music scene is lively all year round.
Copenhagen (Denmark)
Copenhagen has been the capital of Denmark for 600 years and is also the largest city in Scandinavia， but it hasn't let these high-ranking geopolitical facts go to its urban head - the city maintains a refreshingly low-level approach to the modernisation of its historic skyline， while its high-spirited denizens party in the streets. The city's seemingly interminable（无止尽的）pedestrian mall， Stroget， supplies numerous options for shopping and entertainment， from street theatre to offstreet theatre， while the famous Tivoli fun park serves up amusement in more traditional forms and the cosmopolitan Latin Quarter will leave you covered in aromatic（芳香的；馨香的）coffee grounds.
There's plenty of the green stuff in the city centre， with a couple of large parks and gardens in which to doze（打盹）or ramble（闲逛；漫步）。 If even that sounds too energetic， try a cruise through the canals of Christianshavn， saving just enough adrenalin（兴奋）for a courteous（殷勤的，谦恭的，有礼貌的）nod in the direction of the Little Mermaid. Architecturally， Copenhagen has more than its share of interesting sights， from the administrative palace of Christiansborg Slot on the island of Slotsholmen to the scenic steeple of Vor Frelsers Kirke. The Danish capital pretty much covers all the needs of the international visitor， and does it with typical Scandinavian assurance and flair（天资）。
Many visitors enjoy taking boat rides through Copenhagen's canals.
Copenhagen got its name from the word k？ben-havn， which means "merchants' harbor." It grew in size and importance because of its position on the sound， the body of water between Denmark and Sweden， guarding the entrance to the Baltic.
From its humble beginnings， Copenhagen has become the largest city in Scandinavia， home to 1 1/2 million people. It's the seat of one of the oldest kingdoms in the world.
Over the centuries Copenhagen has suffered more than its share of disasters. In the 17th century the Swedes repeatedly besieged it， and in the 18th century it endured the plague and two devastating fires. The British attacked twice during the Napoleonic wars in the early 1800s. Its last major disaster occurred in 1940 when the Nazis invaded Denmark and held it in their grip until 1945 when the British army moved in again， this time as liberators.
Copenhagen still retains some of the characteristics of a village. If you forget the suburbs， you can cover most of the central belt on foot， making it a great place to visit.
There's plenty of the green stuff in the city centre， with a couple of large parks and gardens in which to doze（打盹）or ramble（闲逛；漫步）。 If even that sounds too energetic， try a cruise through the canals of Christianshavn， saving just enough adrenalin（兴奋）for a courteous（殷勤的，谦恭的，有礼貌的）nod in the direction of the Little Mermaid. Architecturally， Copenhagen has more than its share of interesting sights， from the administrative palace of Christiansborg Slot on the island of Slotsholmen to the scenic steeple of Vor Frelsers Kirke. The Danish capital pretty much covers all the needs of the international visitor， and does it with typical Scandinavian assurance and flair（天资）。
Many visitors enjoy taking boat rides through Copenhagen's canals.
Copenhagen got its name from the word k？ben-havn， which means "merchants' harbor." It grew in size and importance because of its position on the sound， the body of water between Denmark and Sweden， guarding the entrance to the Baltic.
From its humble beginnings， Copenhagen has become the largest city in Scandinavia， home to 1 1/2 million people. It's the seat of one of the oldest kingdoms in the world.
Over the centuries Copenhagen has suffered more than its share of disasters. In the 17th century the Swedes repeatedly besieged it， and in the 18th century it endured the plague and two devastating fires. The British attacked twice during the Napoleonic wars in the early 1800s. Its last major disaster occurred in 1940 when the Nazis invaded Denmark and held it in their grip until 1945 when the British army moved in again， this time as liberators.
Copenhagen still retains some of the characteristics of a village. If you forget the suburbs， you can cover most of the central belt on foot， making it a great place to visit.
Vienna (Austria)
This statue of the goddess Athena is an example of the Greek influence on Vienna's public architecture.
The Austrian capital of Vienna （Wien）， with a population of more than 1.6 million， is a city forever implanted into the international imagination as a dreamy place of cream-filled pastries（奶油馅饼）and angelic choir boys， of prancing white horses and swirling Strauss waltzes. It is a city where legend overrules reality —— the Danube River（多瑙河）， which flows through Vienna， may not be true blue， yet， the "Blue Danube" waltz（蓝色多瑙河华尔兹）has permanently painted the waterway that hue in the mind's eye.
The imperial seat of the Habsburg court since the 17th century， Vienna was one of the world's most powerful cities， both culturally and politically， until World War I， when the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire（奥匈帝国）left it humbled by the redefinition of Europe's political structure. Despite having the power plug pulled， the city has retained its cultural cache（文化蕴藏地）。This statue of the goddess Athena is an example of the Greek influence on Vienna's public architecture.
The world-famous Vienna Boys Choir
Music is the soul of Vienna —— the great composers of Europe， from Mozart to Beethoven， Haydn to Schubert， Strauss to Mahler， called the city home. And at every opportunity， from the grand Opera Ball to the smallest of musical gatherings， Viennese swoon（陶醉）together in the city's famously romantic waltz. Or they gather for dramatic musical stagings（上演的节目）at the Staatsopera （State Opera House）， one of the world's great opera venues.
Vienna celebrates its well-composed heritage with numerous festivals and concerts， as well as well-preserved landmarks such as Schubert's birthplace and the homes of Mozart and Beethoven. Another noteworthy Viennese note-taker， Sigmund Freud， is honored at a museum devoted to his life and work as the father of psychotherapy（精神疗法，心理疗法）。
Kunsthistorisches Museum （Museum of Fine Art） contains some of the world's greatest art.
Art and architecture are also Viennese trademarks， and with 90 museums， many devoted to art， the city is awash in great works. Art Nouveau （known locally as "Jungendstil，" or Young Style） took hold here， born of the Vienna Secession which straddled（跨越，横跨）the turn of the 20th century. The movement's most famous member was Viennese painter Gustav Klimt， and his work， as well as that of other secessionists， is showcased at the Secession Pavilion， designed by Josef Maria Olbrich. Vienna's most famous art museum， however， is the Kunsthistorisches， housing works by such greats as the Dutch master Pieter Brueghel the Elder.
As for Vienna's other cultural icons， they still thrive： from the Spanish Riding School， home of the world-famous， high-stepping Royal Lipizzaner Stallions， to the dulcet-toned Vienna Boy's Choir（维也纳男童合唱团）， which tours the globe when not singing morning mass at the Hofburgkapelle during the summer months.
The Austrian capital of Vienna （Wien）， with a population of more than 1.6 million， is a city forever implanted into the international imagination as a dreamy place of cream-filled pastries（奶油馅饼）and angelic choir boys， of prancing white horses and swirling Strauss waltzes. It is a city where legend overrules reality —— the Danube River（多瑙河）， which flows through Vienna， may not be true blue， yet， the "Blue Danube" waltz（蓝色多瑙河华尔兹）has permanently painted the waterway that hue in the mind's eye.
The imperial seat of the Habsburg court since the 17th century， Vienna was one of the world's most powerful cities， both culturally and politically， until World War I， when the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire（奥匈帝国）left it humbled by the redefinition of Europe's political structure. Despite having the power plug pulled， the city has retained its cultural cache（文化蕴藏地）。This statue of the goddess Athena is an example of the Greek influence on Vienna's public architecture.
The world-famous Vienna Boys Choir
Music is the soul of Vienna —— the great composers of Europe， from Mozart to Beethoven， Haydn to Schubert， Strauss to Mahler， called the city home. And at every opportunity， from the grand Opera Ball to the smallest of musical gatherings， Viennese swoon（陶醉）together in the city's famously romantic waltz. Or they gather for dramatic musical stagings（上演的节目）at the Staatsopera （State Opera House）， one of the world's great opera venues.
Vienna celebrates its well-composed heritage with numerous festivals and concerts， as well as well-preserved landmarks such as Schubert's birthplace and the homes of Mozart and Beethoven. Another noteworthy Viennese note-taker， Sigmund Freud， is honored at a museum devoted to his life and work as the father of psychotherapy（精神疗法，心理疗法）。
Kunsthistorisches Museum （Museum of Fine Art） contains some of the world's greatest art.
Art and architecture are also Viennese trademarks， and with 90 museums， many devoted to art， the city is awash in great works. Art Nouveau （known locally as "Jungendstil，" or Young Style） took hold here， born of the Vienna Secession which straddled（跨越，横跨）the turn of the 20th century. The movement's most famous member was Viennese painter Gustav Klimt， and his work， as well as that of other secessionists， is showcased at the Secession Pavilion， designed by Josef Maria Olbrich. Vienna's most famous art museum， however， is the Kunsthistorisches， housing works by such greats as the Dutch master Pieter Brueghel the Elder.
As for Vienna's other cultural icons， they still thrive： from the Spanish Riding School， home of the world-famous， high-stepping Royal Lipizzaner Stallions， to the dulcet-toned Vienna Boy's Choir（维也纳男童合唱团）， which tours the globe when not singing morning mass at the Hofburgkapelle during the summer months.
Paris (France)
Arc de Triomphe
The discovery of the City of Light and the experience of making it your own is and always has been the most compelling reason to visit. If you're a first-timer， everything in Paris， of course， will be new to you. If you've been away for a while， expect changes： Taxi drivers may no longer correct your French but address you in English——and that's tantamount to（同等的，相当于） a revolution. More Parisians（巴黎人） have a rudimentary（基本的，初步的）knowledge of English， and the country， at least at first glance， seems less hysterically（歇斯底里地，极端地）xenophobic（对外国人无理仇视的，排外的） than in past years. Part of this derives from Parisians' interest in music， videos， and films from foreign countries， and part is caused by France's growing awareness of its role within a united Europe.
Yet France has never been more concerned about the loss of its identity， as it continues to attract an increasing number of immigrants from its former colonies. Many have expressed concern that the country will lose the battle to keep its language strong， distinct， and unadulterated（无搀杂的，纯正的）by foreign （particularly American） slang or catchwords （le weekend， for example）。
Touring the Seine River by boat
Though Paris is in flux （巨变）culturally and socially， it lures travelers for the same reasons it always has.
Both the capital of the nation and of the historic Ile de France region， Paris is located in northern central France， 265km （165mi） south-west of Brussels， 295km （185mi） south-west of Luxembourg and 510km （315mi） west of Stuttgart. The city centre - known as Intra-Muros， or within the walls - is bisected by the River Seine. The area north of the river， the Rive Droite （Right Bank）， includes the tree-lined Avenue des Champs-élysées， running west to the Arc de Triomphe. East of the avenue is the massive Musée du Louvre， the Centre Georges Pompidou and a lively district of museums， shops， markets and restaurants. Immediately south of the Pompidou Centre on the Ile de la Cité is the world-famous Notre Dame. The area south of the river， the Rive Gauche （Left Bank）， is home to the city's most prominent landmark， the Eiffel Tower.
The discovery of the City of Light and the experience of making it your own is and always has been the most compelling reason to visit. If you're a first-timer， everything in Paris， of course， will be new to you. If you've been away for a while， expect changes： Taxi drivers may no longer correct your French but address you in English——and that's tantamount to（同等的，相当于） a revolution. More Parisians（巴黎人） have a rudimentary（基本的，初步的）knowledge of English， and the country， at least at first glance， seems less hysterically（歇斯底里地，极端地）xenophobic（对外国人无理仇视的，排外的） than in past years. Part of this derives from Parisians' interest in music， videos， and films from foreign countries， and part is caused by France's growing awareness of its role within a united Europe.
Yet France has never been more concerned about the loss of its identity， as it continues to attract an increasing number of immigrants from its former colonies. Many have expressed concern that the country will lose the battle to keep its language strong， distinct， and unadulterated（无搀杂的，纯正的）by foreign （particularly American） slang or catchwords （le weekend， for example）。
Touring the Seine River by boat
Though Paris is in flux （巨变）culturally and socially， it lures travelers for the same reasons it always has.
Both the capital of the nation and of the historic Ile de France region， Paris is located in northern central France， 265km （165mi） south-west of Brussels， 295km （185mi） south-west of Luxembourg and 510km （315mi） west of Stuttgart. The city centre - known as Intra-Muros， or within the walls - is bisected by the River Seine. The area north of the river， the Rive Droite （Right Bank）， includes the tree-lined Avenue des Champs-élysées， running west to the Arc de Triomphe. East of the avenue is the massive Musée du Louvre， the Centre Georges Pompidou and a lively district of museums， shops， markets and restaurants. Immediately south of the Pompidou Centre on the Ile de la Cité is the world-famous Notre Dame. The area south of the river， the Rive Gauche （Left Bank）， is home to the city's most prominent landmark， the Eiffel Tower.
Kos (Greece)
Kos （Greece）
Hippocrates Statue
The third largest island in the Dodecanese（希腊的多德卡尼斯群岛）， after Rhodes and Karpathos （喀帕苏斯岛）， Kos （科斯岛）lies between Kalimnos （卡利姆诺斯岛）and Nissiros . It is mainly flat with a mountain chain -Mts. Dikeos （875 m.） and Simpatras—— running along （绵延）the south coast.
Famous as the birthplace of Hippocrates （希腊名医希波克拉底）， the father of medicine， Kos is also known for its lovely， gentle scenery. It is both lush （繁荣的）and fertile（富饶的）， with an abundance of （大量的）springs and streams， gorgeous beaches and a marvelous climate.
Inhabited since prehistoric times， Kos， like Rhodes and the other Dodecanese， has known periods of great prosperity but also times of great hardship over the centuries.
During the Mycenaean （迈锡尼文明的）period （15th - 12th century B.C.）， the island was densely settled and took part in （参与）the Trojan War （特洛伊战争）。 In the 7th and 6th century B.C.， it was the sixth city-state —— along with （除……以外）Halicarnassus， Knidos， Lindos， Ialyssos and Kameiros- in the Dorian （多里斯的）hexapolis.
After the end of the Persian Wars it became a member of the First Delian （爱琴海中的得洛斯岛）or Athenian Confederacy（联盟）。
In the 2nd century A.D.， however， Kos fell under the sway （受到……的统治）of Rome and sank into （陷入）obscurity.
landscape of Kos
The long centuries under Byzantine（东罗马帝国的）rule were beneficial to the island， but by the 11th century， it was under constant threat from Saracen （撒拉逊人）and pirate raids before passing into the hands of the Venetians， the Genoese and， eventually， the Knights of the Order of St. John in 1315.
In 1522， the Turks finally conquered it after a series of unsuccessful attempts. The Turks held it until 1912， when the Italians occupied it and the other Dodecanese， and Kos did not become united with Greece until 1947.
Kos today has developed into a cosmopolitan resort（世界性的旅游胜地）， which is becoming more and more in demand （非常需要的）for apart from（除了）its physical beauty， it possesses some remarkable archaeological sites and important monuments —— leftovers （残留物）of various eras - excellent facilities for tourists and， furthermore， it is easy to get to whether by boat or by plane.
Hippocrates Statue
The third largest island in the Dodecanese（希腊的多德卡尼斯群岛）， after Rhodes and Karpathos （喀帕苏斯岛）， Kos （科斯岛）lies between Kalimnos （卡利姆诺斯岛）and Nissiros . It is mainly flat with a mountain chain -Mts. Dikeos （875 m.） and Simpatras—— running along （绵延）the south coast.
Famous as the birthplace of Hippocrates （希腊名医希波克拉底）， the father of medicine， Kos is also known for its lovely， gentle scenery. It is both lush （繁荣的）and fertile（富饶的）， with an abundance of （大量的）springs and streams， gorgeous beaches and a marvelous climate.
Inhabited since prehistoric times， Kos， like Rhodes and the other Dodecanese， has known periods of great prosperity but also times of great hardship over the centuries.
During the Mycenaean （迈锡尼文明的）period （15th - 12th century B.C.）， the island was densely settled and took part in （参与）the Trojan War （特洛伊战争）。 In the 7th and 6th century B.C.， it was the sixth city-state —— along with （除……以外）Halicarnassus， Knidos， Lindos， Ialyssos and Kameiros- in the Dorian （多里斯的）hexapolis.
After the end of the Persian Wars it became a member of the First Delian （爱琴海中的得洛斯岛）or Athenian Confederacy（联盟）。
In the 2nd century A.D.， however， Kos fell under the sway （受到……的统治）of Rome and sank into （陷入）obscurity.
landscape of Kos
The long centuries under Byzantine（东罗马帝国的）rule were beneficial to the island， but by the 11th century， it was under constant threat from Saracen （撒拉逊人）and pirate raids before passing into the hands of the Venetians， the Genoese and， eventually， the Knights of the Order of St. John in 1315.
In 1522， the Turks finally conquered it after a series of unsuccessful attempts. The Turks held it until 1912， when the Italians occupied it and the other Dodecanese， and Kos did not become united with Greece until 1947.
Kos today has developed into a cosmopolitan resort（世界性的旅游胜地）， which is becoming more and more in demand （非常需要的）for apart from（除了）its physical beauty， it possesses some remarkable archaeological sites and important monuments —— leftovers （残留物）of various eras - excellent facilities for tourists and， furthermore， it is easy to get to whether by boat or by plane.
2008年2月1日星期五
THE LADIES OF THE IDYLL
Little Primrose dames of the English classic, the wife and daughters of the Vicar of Wakefield have no claim whatever to this name of lady. It is given to them in this page because Goldsmith himself gave it to them in the yet undepreciated state of the word, and for the better reason that he obviously intended them to be the equals of the men to whom he marries them, those men being, with all their faults, gentlemen. Goldsmith, in a word, meant them to be ladies, of country breeding, but certainly fit for membership of that large class of various fortune within which the name makes a sufficient equality.
He, their author, thought them sufficient. Having amused himself ingeniously throughout the story with their nameless vulgarities, he finally hurries them into so much sentiment as may excuse the convention of heroes in love. He plays with their coarseness like a perfectly pleased and clever showman, and then piously and happily shuts up his couples-the gentle Dr. Primrose with his abominable Deborah； the excellent Mr. Burchell with the paltry Sophia； Olivia—— but no, Olivia is not so certainly happy ever after； she has a captured husband ready for her in a state of ignominy, but she has also a forgotten farmer somewhere in the background——the unhappy man whom, with her father's permission, this sorry heroine had promised to marry in order that his wooing might pluck forward the lagging suit of the squire.
Olivia, then, plays her common trick upon the harmless Williams, her father conniving, with a provision that he urges with some demonstration of virtue： she shall consent to make the farmer happy if the proposal of the squire be not after all forthcoming. But it is so evident her author knew no better, that this matter may pass. It involves a point of honour, of which no one——neither the maker of the book nor anyone he made——is aware. What is better worth considering is the fact that Goldsmith was completely aware of the unredeemed vulgarity of the ladies of the Idyll, and cheerfully took it for granted as the thing to be expected from the mother-in-law of a country gentleman and the daughters of a scholar. The education of women had sunk into a degradation never reached before, inasmuch as it was degraded in relation to that of men. It would matter little indeed that Mrs. Primrose "could read any English book without much spelling" if her husband and son were as definitely limited to journeyman's field-labour as she was to the pickling and the gooseberry wine. Any of those industries is a better and more liberal business than unselect reading, for instance, or than unselect writing. Therefore let me not be misunderstood to complain too indiscriminately of that century or of an unlettered state. What is really unhandsome is the new, slovenly, and corrupt inequality whereinto the century had fallen.
That the mother of daughters and sons should be fatuous, a village worldling, suspicious, ambitious, ill-bred, ignorant, gross, insolent, foulmouthed, pushing, importunate, and a fool, seems natural, almost innocently natural, in Goldsmith's story； the squalid Mrs. Primrose is all this. He is still able, through his Vicar, in the most charmingly humorous passage in the book, to praise her for her "prudence, economy, and obedience." Her other, more disgusting, characteristics give her husband an occasion for rebuking her as "Woman！" This is done, for example, when, despite her obedience, she refuses to receive that unlucky schemer, her own daughter, returned in ruins, without insulting her by the sallies of a kitchen sarcasm.
She plots with her daughters the most disastrous fortune hunt. She has given them a teaching so effectual that the Vicar has no fear lest the paltry Sophia should lose her heart to the good, the sensible Burchell, who had saved her life； for he has no fortune. Mrs. Primrose begins grotesquely, with her tedious histories of the dishes at dinner, and she ends upon the last page, anxious, amid the general happiness, in regard to securing the head of the table. Upon these feminine humours the author sheds his Vicar's indulgent smile. What a smile for a self-respecting husband to be pricked to smile！ A householder would wince, one would think, at having opportunity to bestow its tolerance upon his cook.
Between these two housewifely appearances, Mrs. Primrose potters through the book； plots——always squalidly； talks the worst kinds of folly； takes the lead, with a loud laugh, in insulting a former friend； crushes her repentant daughter with reproaches that show envy rather than indignation, and kisses that daughter with congratulation upon hearing that she had, unconsciously and unintentionally, contracted a valid marriage （with a rogue）； spoils and makes common and unclean everything she touches； has but two really gentle and tender moments all through the story； and sets, once for all, the example in literature of the woman we find thenceforth, in Thackeray, in Douglas Jerrold, in Dickens, and un peu partout.
Hardly less unspiritual, in spite of their conventional romance of youth and beauty, are the daughters of the squalid one. The author, in making them simple, has not abstained from making them cunning. Their vanities are well enough, but these women are not only vain, they are so envious as to refuse admiration to a sister-in-law——one who is their rival in no way except in so much as she is a contemporary beauty. "Miss Arabella Wilmot," says the pious father and vicar, "was allowed by all （except my two daughters） to be completely pretty."
They have been left by their father in such brutal ignorance as to be instantly deceived into laughing at bad manners in error for humour. They have no pretty or sensitive instincts. "The jests of the rich," says the Vicar, referring to his own young daughters as audience, "are ever successful." Olivia, when the squire played off a dullish joke, "mistook it for humour. She thought him, therefore, a very fine gentleman." The powders and patches for the country church, the ride thither on Blackberry, in so strange a procession, the face-wash, the dreams and omens, are all good gentle comedy； we are completely convinced of the tedium of Mrs. Primrose's dreams, which she told every morning. But there are other points of comedy that ought not to precede an author's appeal to the kind of sentiment about to be touched by the tragic scenes of The Vicar of Wakefield.
In odd sidling ways Goldsmith bethinks himself to give his principal heroine a shadow of the virtues he has not bestowed upon her. When the unhappy Williams, above-mentioned, has been used in vain by Olivia, and the squire has not declared himself, and she is on the point of keeping her word to Williams by marrying him, the Vicar creates a situation out of it all that takes the reader roundly by surprise： "I frequently applauded her resolution in preferring happiness to ostentation." The good Goldsmith！ Here is Olivia perfectly frank with her father as to her exceedingly sincere preference for ostentation, and as to her stratagem to try to obtain it at the expense of honour and of neighbour Williams； her mind is as well known to her father as her father's mind is known to Oliver Goldsmith, and as Oliver Goldsmith's, Dr. Primrose's, and Olivia's minds are known to the reader. And in spite of all, your Goldsmith and your Vicar turn you this phrase to your very face. You hardly know which way to look； it is so disconcerting.
Seeing that Olivia （with her chance-recovered virtue） and Sophia may both be expected to grow into the kind of matronhood represented by their mother, it needs all the conditions of fiction to surround the close of their love-affairs with the least semblance of dignity. Nor, in fact, can it be said that the final winning of Sophia is an incident that errs by too much dignity. The scene is that in which Burchell, revealed as Sir William Thornhill, feigns to offer her in marriage to the good-natured rogue, Jenkinson, fellow prisoner with her father, in order that, on her indignant and distressed refusal, he may surprise her agreeably by crying, "What？ Not have him？ If that be the case, I think I must have you myself."
Even for an avowedly eccentric master of whims, this is playing with forbidden ironies. True, he catches her to his breast with ardour, and calls her "sensible." "Such sense and such heavenly beauty," finally exclaims the happy man. Let us make him a present of the heavenly beauty. It is the only thing not disproved, not dispraised, not disgraced, by a candid study of the Ladies of the Idyll.
He, their author, thought them sufficient. Having amused himself ingeniously throughout the story with their nameless vulgarities, he finally hurries them into so much sentiment as may excuse the convention of heroes in love. He plays with their coarseness like a perfectly pleased and clever showman, and then piously and happily shuts up his couples-the gentle Dr. Primrose with his abominable Deborah； the excellent Mr. Burchell with the paltry Sophia； Olivia—— but no, Olivia is not so certainly happy ever after； she has a captured husband ready for her in a state of ignominy, but she has also a forgotten farmer somewhere in the background——the unhappy man whom, with her father's permission, this sorry heroine had promised to marry in order that his wooing might pluck forward the lagging suit of the squire.
Olivia, then, plays her common trick upon the harmless Williams, her father conniving, with a provision that he urges with some demonstration of virtue： she shall consent to make the farmer happy if the proposal of the squire be not after all forthcoming. But it is so evident her author knew no better, that this matter may pass. It involves a point of honour, of which no one——neither the maker of the book nor anyone he made——is aware. What is better worth considering is the fact that Goldsmith was completely aware of the unredeemed vulgarity of the ladies of the Idyll, and cheerfully took it for granted as the thing to be expected from the mother-in-law of a country gentleman and the daughters of a scholar. The education of women had sunk into a degradation never reached before, inasmuch as it was degraded in relation to that of men. It would matter little indeed that Mrs. Primrose "could read any English book without much spelling" if her husband and son were as definitely limited to journeyman's field-labour as she was to the pickling and the gooseberry wine. Any of those industries is a better and more liberal business than unselect reading, for instance, or than unselect writing. Therefore let me not be misunderstood to complain too indiscriminately of that century or of an unlettered state. What is really unhandsome is the new, slovenly, and corrupt inequality whereinto the century had fallen.
That the mother of daughters and sons should be fatuous, a village worldling, suspicious, ambitious, ill-bred, ignorant, gross, insolent, foulmouthed, pushing, importunate, and a fool, seems natural, almost innocently natural, in Goldsmith's story； the squalid Mrs. Primrose is all this. He is still able, through his Vicar, in the most charmingly humorous passage in the book, to praise her for her "prudence, economy, and obedience." Her other, more disgusting, characteristics give her husband an occasion for rebuking her as "Woman！" This is done, for example, when, despite her obedience, she refuses to receive that unlucky schemer, her own daughter, returned in ruins, without insulting her by the sallies of a kitchen sarcasm.
She plots with her daughters the most disastrous fortune hunt. She has given them a teaching so effectual that the Vicar has no fear lest the paltry Sophia should lose her heart to the good, the sensible Burchell, who had saved her life； for he has no fortune. Mrs. Primrose begins grotesquely, with her tedious histories of the dishes at dinner, and she ends upon the last page, anxious, amid the general happiness, in regard to securing the head of the table. Upon these feminine humours the author sheds his Vicar's indulgent smile. What a smile for a self-respecting husband to be pricked to smile！ A householder would wince, one would think, at having opportunity to bestow its tolerance upon his cook.
Between these two housewifely appearances, Mrs. Primrose potters through the book； plots——always squalidly； talks the worst kinds of folly； takes the lead, with a loud laugh, in insulting a former friend； crushes her repentant daughter with reproaches that show envy rather than indignation, and kisses that daughter with congratulation upon hearing that she had, unconsciously and unintentionally, contracted a valid marriage （with a rogue）； spoils and makes common and unclean everything she touches； has but two really gentle and tender moments all through the story； and sets, once for all, the example in literature of the woman we find thenceforth, in Thackeray, in Douglas Jerrold, in Dickens, and un peu partout.
Hardly less unspiritual, in spite of their conventional romance of youth and beauty, are the daughters of the squalid one. The author, in making them simple, has not abstained from making them cunning. Their vanities are well enough, but these women are not only vain, they are so envious as to refuse admiration to a sister-in-law——one who is their rival in no way except in so much as she is a contemporary beauty. "Miss Arabella Wilmot," says the pious father and vicar, "was allowed by all （except my two daughters） to be completely pretty."
They have been left by their father in such brutal ignorance as to be instantly deceived into laughing at bad manners in error for humour. They have no pretty or sensitive instincts. "The jests of the rich," says the Vicar, referring to his own young daughters as audience, "are ever successful." Olivia, when the squire played off a dullish joke, "mistook it for humour. She thought him, therefore, a very fine gentleman." The powders and patches for the country church, the ride thither on Blackberry, in so strange a procession, the face-wash, the dreams and omens, are all good gentle comedy； we are completely convinced of the tedium of Mrs. Primrose's dreams, which she told every morning. But there are other points of comedy that ought not to precede an author's appeal to the kind of sentiment about to be touched by the tragic scenes of The Vicar of Wakefield.
In odd sidling ways Goldsmith bethinks himself to give his principal heroine a shadow of the virtues he has not bestowed upon her. When the unhappy Williams, above-mentioned, has been used in vain by Olivia, and the squire has not declared himself, and she is on the point of keeping her word to Williams by marrying him, the Vicar creates a situation out of it all that takes the reader roundly by surprise： "I frequently applauded her resolution in preferring happiness to ostentation." The good Goldsmith！ Here is Olivia perfectly frank with her father as to her exceedingly sincere preference for ostentation, and as to her stratagem to try to obtain it at the expense of honour and of neighbour Williams； her mind is as well known to her father as her father's mind is known to Oliver Goldsmith, and as Oliver Goldsmith's, Dr. Primrose's, and Olivia's minds are known to the reader. And in spite of all, your Goldsmith and your Vicar turn you this phrase to your very face. You hardly know which way to look； it is so disconcerting.
Seeing that Olivia （with her chance-recovered virtue） and Sophia may both be expected to grow into the kind of matronhood represented by their mother, it needs all the conditions of fiction to surround the close of their love-affairs with the least semblance of dignity. Nor, in fact, can it be said that the final winning of Sophia is an incident that errs by too much dignity. The scene is that in which Burchell, revealed as Sir William Thornhill, feigns to offer her in marriage to the good-natured rogue, Jenkinson, fellow prisoner with her father, in order that, on her indignant and distressed refusal, he may surprise her agreeably by crying, "What？ Not have him？ If that be the case, I think I must have you myself."
Even for an avowedly eccentric master of whims, this is playing with forbidden ironies. True, he catches her to his breast with ardour, and calls her "sensible." "Such sense and such heavenly beauty," finally exclaims the happy man. Let us make him a present of the heavenly beauty. It is the only thing not disproved, not dispraised, not disgraced, by a candid study of the Ladies of the Idyll.
Butterfly Kisses
My newlywed husband said the same thing every morning. “You’re beautiful today.”
我的新婚丈夫每天早晨都对我说出同样的话。“你今天真美。”
One glance in the mirror revealed that it was far from the truth.
只需往镜子里一瞥就能揭示他说的根本不是事实。
A skinny girl with mashed hair on one side of her head and no makeup smiled back at me. I could feel my sticky morning breath.
镜中的女孩瘦瘦的，乱乱的头发倒向头的一侧，没有任何化妆，她微笑地望着我。我还能感到早晨起来嘴里不大好闻的气味。
“Liar，” I shot back with a grin.
“说谎，”我咧着嘴笑，回敬了他一句。
It was my usual response. My mother’s first husband was not a kind man and his verbal and physical abuse forced her and her two children to find a safe place. He showed up on her doorstep one day with roses. She let him in and he beat her with those roses and took advantage of her. Nine months later she gave birth to a 9 lb. 13 oz. baby girl —— me.
我总是这样回敬我的丈夫。我母亲的第一个丈夫可不是个善良的男人，他粗暴的语言攻击和身体虐待迫使我母亲带着两个孩子去寻找一个安全的地方。有一天他出现在母亲的门前，手里拿着玫瑰花。她让他进了门，但他却用玫瑰花打她，并强行占了她的便宜。9个月后她生了一个9磅12盎司重的女孩——就是我。
The harsh words we heard growing up took root. I had trouble seeing myself as someone of value. I had been married two years when I surprised myself. My husband wrapped his arms around me and told me I was beautiful.
长大过程中我们听到的刺耳的话语也扎根在我心底。我难以把自己看作一个有价值的人。结婚两年后我感到惊讶了。我的丈夫双臂拥着我告诉我，我是美丽的。
“Thank you，” I said.
The same thin girl with the mousy3 brown hair still stared back at me in the mirror， but somehow the words had finally blossomed in my heart.
“谢谢你，”我说。
同样瘦弱，一头灰棕色头发的女孩在镜中盯着我，但是温柔的话语终于在我的心中开花了。
A lot of years have passed. My husband has grey in his hair. I’m no longer skinny. Last week I woke up and my husband’s face was inches from mine.
许多年过去了。我的丈夫己经长出了灰发。我也不再骨瘦如柴。上周的一天早晨我醒来时，我丈夫的脸离我只有几英寸。
“What are you doing？” I asked.
“你在干什么？” 我问。
I covered my mouth， trying to hide my morning breath. He reached down and kissed my face.
我捂住嘴，不想让他闻到嘴里的气味。他俯身过来亲吻我的脸。
“What I do every morning，” he said.
“做我每天早晨都做的事。”他说。
He leaves in the early hours of the morning while I sleep. I miss our morning conversations， but I had not realized that he continued to tell me that he loved me even while I slept. When he left， I rolled over and hugged my pillow. I envisioned4 the picture of me lightly snoring5 with my mouth open and giggled.
他清晨就得离开家，我常常还在熟睡。我因我们早上没有谈话而感到遗憾，但是我还未曾意识到他一直在告诉我他爱我，哪怕是在我还睡着时。当他离开后，我在床上翻过身去，抱着我的枕头。我想象着我睡觉时轻轻打鼾，嘴巴还微微张着的样子，不禁咯咯笑了。
What a man！ My husband understands my past. He’s been beside me as I’ve grown from an unsure young girl to a confident woman， mother， speaker and author.
这样一个男人！我丈夫知道我的过去。在我从一个不自信的年轻女子变成一个成熟自信的女人、母亲、演讲者、作家的过程中，他一直在我身边。
But I’m not sure that he understands the part he played in that transition6. The words I heard growing up pierced7 my soul， yet his words pierced even deeper.
但是我不确信他是否知道在这一变化过程中他起着怎样的作用。伴我长大的话语曾刺入我的灵魂，但他的话语更是深深地感动了我的灵魂。
This Anniversary Day I plan to wake early. I want to tell Richard how much I love him. He may look in the mirror and see an extra pound or two， or wish for the day when his hair was dark and curly8， but all I’ll see is the man who saw something in me when I couldn’t see it myself， and who leaves butterfly kisses， even after twenty-three years of marriage.
我的新婚丈夫每天早晨都对我说出同样的话。“你今天真美。”
One glance in the mirror revealed that it was far from the truth.
只需往镜子里一瞥就能揭示他说的根本不是事实。
A skinny girl with mashed hair on one side of her head and no makeup smiled back at me. I could feel my sticky morning breath.
镜中的女孩瘦瘦的，乱乱的头发倒向头的一侧，没有任何化妆，她微笑地望着我。我还能感到早晨起来嘴里不大好闻的气味。
“Liar，” I shot back with a grin.
“说谎，”我咧着嘴笑，回敬了他一句。
It was my usual response. My mother’s first husband was not a kind man and his verbal and physical abuse forced her and her two children to find a safe place. He showed up on her doorstep one day with roses. She let him in and he beat her with those roses and took advantage of her. Nine months later she gave birth to a 9 lb. 13 oz. baby girl —— me.
我总是这样回敬我的丈夫。我母亲的第一个丈夫可不是个善良的男人，他粗暴的语言攻击和身体虐待迫使我母亲带着两个孩子去寻找一个安全的地方。有一天他出现在母亲的门前，手里拿着玫瑰花。她让他进了门，但他却用玫瑰花打她，并强行占了她的便宜。9个月后她生了一个9磅12盎司重的女孩——就是我。
The harsh words we heard growing up took root. I had trouble seeing myself as someone of value. I had been married two years when I surprised myself. My husband wrapped his arms around me and told me I was beautiful.
长大过程中我们听到的刺耳的话语也扎根在我心底。我难以把自己看作一个有价值的人。结婚两年后我感到惊讶了。我的丈夫双臂拥着我告诉我，我是美丽的。
“Thank you，” I said.
The same thin girl with the mousy3 brown hair still stared back at me in the mirror， but somehow the words had finally blossomed in my heart.
“谢谢你，”我说。
同样瘦弱，一头灰棕色头发的女孩在镜中盯着我，但是温柔的话语终于在我的心中开花了。
A lot of years have passed. My husband has grey in his hair. I’m no longer skinny. Last week I woke up and my husband’s face was inches from mine.
许多年过去了。我的丈夫己经长出了灰发。我也不再骨瘦如柴。上周的一天早晨我醒来时，我丈夫的脸离我只有几英寸。
“What are you doing？” I asked.
“你在干什么？” 我问。
I covered my mouth， trying to hide my morning breath. He reached down and kissed my face.
我捂住嘴，不想让他闻到嘴里的气味。他俯身过来亲吻我的脸。
“What I do every morning，” he said.
“做我每天早晨都做的事。”他说。
He leaves in the early hours of the morning while I sleep. I miss our morning conversations， but I had not realized that he continued to tell me that he loved me even while I slept. When he left， I rolled over and hugged my pillow. I envisioned4 the picture of me lightly snoring5 with my mouth open and giggled.
他清晨就得离开家，我常常还在熟睡。我因我们早上没有谈话而感到遗憾，但是我还未曾意识到他一直在告诉我他爱我，哪怕是在我还睡着时。当他离开后，我在床上翻过身去，抱着我的枕头。我想象着我睡觉时轻轻打鼾，嘴巴还微微张着的样子，不禁咯咯笑了。
What a man！ My husband understands my past. He’s been beside me as I’ve grown from an unsure young girl to a confident woman， mother， speaker and author.
这样一个男人！我丈夫知道我的过去。在我从一个不自信的年轻女子变成一个成熟自信的女人、母亲、演讲者、作家的过程中，他一直在我身边。
But I’m not sure that he understands the part he played in that transition6. The words I heard growing up pierced7 my soul， yet his words pierced even deeper.
但是我不确信他是否知道在这一变化过程中他起着怎样的作用。伴我长大的话语曾刺入我的灵魂，但他的话语更是深深地感动了我的灵魂。
This Anniversary Day I plan to wake early. I want to tell Richard how much I love him. He may look in the mirror and see an extra pound or two， or wish for the day when his hair was dark and curly8， but all I’ll see is the man who saw something in me when I couldn’t see it myself， and who leaves butterfly kisses， even after twenty-three years of marriage.
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