President-elect Barack Obama (奥巴马 • Ao4ba1ma3) and his wife Michelle are welcomed to the White House (白宫 • bai2gong1)

On Monday, November 10th, 2008, George Bush, the President of the United States (美国总统布什在 • Mei3guo2 zong3tong3bu4shi2zai4), welcomed (欢迎• huan1yin2) President-elect (当选总统 • dang1xuan3 zong3tong3) Barack Obama and his wife (夫人• fu1ren5), Michelle (米歇尔 • mi3 xie1er3) Obama to a visit to the White House.

Obama and Bush met at the Oval Office (椭圆形办公室 • tuo3yuan2xing2 ban4gong1shi4) while first lady (第一夫人 • di4yi1fu1ren2) Laura Bush gave the future first lady a tour of the White House.

Obama ran as the candidate of the Democratic Party (民主党 • min2zhu3dang3). During the electoral process (选举过程 • xuan3ju3 guo4cheng2) he made numerous negative remarks about Bush while attacking his rival, the Republican candidate (共和党候选人• gong4he2dang3 hou4xuan3ren2). However, President Bush laid out the red carpet (了红地毯 • le5hong2 di4tan3) for Obama and treated him in a warm and hospitable (表现得热情好客 • biao3xian4 dei3 re4qing2 hao4ke4) way.

They both walked through the Rose Garden (玫瑰花园 • mei2gui5 hua1yuan2) before entering the Oval Office and on their way, they greeted and waved to news reporters.(记者 • ji4zhe3)

They have very important (十分重要 • shi2fen1zhong4yao1) differences in issues such as the war in Iraq (伊拉克战争• yi1la1ke4zhan4zheng1) and national security (国家安全 • guo2jia1an1quan2) as well as in their approach in dealing with the financial crisis (金融危机 • jin1rong2wei1ji1); however, the focus of the talks (会谈 • hui4tan2) was on economic issues as it is clear that it is of the utmost importance to stabilize the economy (稳定经济 • wen3ding4 jing1ji4)

Bush promised he will ensure a smooth transition of power (权力交接顺利过渡 • quan2li4 jia1jie1 shun4li4 guo4du4).

We lost Pa4wa3luo2di4!

Luciano Pavarotti in Vélodrome Stadium, 15/06/02. Cropped version.

It's been almost a month since Pavarotti (帕瓦囉蒂 • pa4wa3luo2di4) passed away (去世 • qu4shi4)!

(I have been wanting to write about him for a while but, the truth is that I could not figure out how to write his name in Chinese.)

Luciano (盧恰諾 • Lu2qia4nuo4) Pavarotti was born (生於 • sheng1yu2) on October 12th, 1935 in Italy (意大利 • Yi4da4li4).

He was known as "King of the High Cs" ( 高音C之王 • gao1 yin1 C zhi1 wang2) and as the "World's First Tenor" (世界首席男高音 • shi4jie4 shou3xi2 nan2gao1yin1).

He made his debut (首演 • shou3yan3) at La Scala of Milan (米蘭·斯卡拉 • Mi3lan2 si1ka3la1) Opera House (歌劇院 • ge1ju4yuan4) in 1964. The following year he was invited to go (應邀去 • ying4yao1qu4) to Australia (澳大利亞 • ao4da4li4ya4) to perform and to make a record (唱片• chang4pian4).

From then on his popularity rose steadily (節節上升 • jie2jie2 cheng1wei2). He became the best (最佳 • zui4jia1) international (國際 • guo2ji4) stage opera (歌剧 • ge1 yu4) tenor (男高音 • nan2gao1yin1).

Pavarotti died (逝世 • shi4 shi4) at the age of 71 of Pancreatic Cancer (腺癌病 • xian4 ai2 bing4) at his home in Modena, Italy.

The have lost a great performer!

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Autumn season arrives and the ying1hua1 kai1

In the city of Huaibei, in the Province of Anhui (安徽省 • An1hui1sheng3), the Oriental Cherries (櫻花 • ying1hua1) belonging to the Rosaceae genus (薔薇科 • qiang2 wei2 ke1) of trees (樹 • shu4) once again (再度 • zai4 du4) have begun blooming (花開 • hua1 kai1).

The Oriental Cherry is a defoliating (落葉喬木 • luo4 ye4 jiao1 mu4) tree with a glossy (光澤 • guang1 ze2) purple-brownish (紫褐色 • zi3 he4 se4) bark (樹皮 • shu4 pi2). The bottle-green (深綠色 • shen1 lv4 se4) leaves are oval (橢圓形 • tuo3 yuan2 xing2) shaped with stiff serrated edges (邊緣芒齒 • bian1 yuan2 mang2 chi3). The inflorescences (開花 • kai1hua1) grow in clusters of at least 35 flowers (花 • hua1) with petals (花瓣 • hua1 ban4) colored from white (白色 • bai2 se4) to red (紅色 • hong2 se4).

A truly wonderful sight!

Note: Huabei is adjacent to the Yangtze River Delta (長江三角洲 • chang2jiang1san1jia3zhou1)

© Photographer: Olga Martelet | Agency: Dreamstime.com

A 500 sui4 turtle found in Guang3dong1

A villager (村民 • cun1 min2) from Guandong province (廣東省 • Guang3dong1 sheng3) captured (獲 • huo4) a wild (野生 • ye3 sheng1) turtle (鱉 • bie1) which the experienced fisherman guessed (猜測 • cai1 ce4) could be at least 500 years old (五百歲了 • wu3bai3 sui4 le5).

While fishing (釣 • diao4) in a brook near the Raoping district in the city of Chaozhou (潮州市饒平縣 • Chao2zhou1 shi4 Rao2ping2 xian4), he detected (發現了 • fa1xian4 le5) a giant turtle's neck (巨大的鱉的脖子 • ju4da4 de5 bie1 de5 bo2zi5) caught in the fishing line (魚線 • yu2 xian4).

The giant turtle's weight (重量 • zhong4 liang4) is calculated to be approximately 70 kilograms (公斤 • gong1 jin1); the body weight (體重 • ti3 zhong4) of an ordinary (普通 • pu3 tong1) man. The appearance of the turtle's shell (殼 • ke2) is that of a piece (一塊 • yi1 kuai4) of green (綠色 * lv4 se4) glossy (光滑 • guang1 hua5) stone (石頭 • shi2tou5).

This "Large Longevity God" (大壽星 • da4 shou4xing1), as the villagers called the turtle, was scheduled to be released (放 • fang4) into a large reservoir (大水庫 • da4 shui3 ku4) in Raoping as part of the Mid Autumn Celebrations.

Good for them!

"© Photographer: Noel Powell | Agency: Dreamstime.com"

yin3shi2 da1pei4 that will keep you healthy

It is very important to pay particular attention (講究 • jiang3 jiu4) to the correct food combination (正確的搭配 • zheng4 que4 de5 da1 pei4) we serve on our tables (桌 • zhuo1). The proper mixture of foods can allow us to obtain (獲得 • huo4 de2) an excellent nutrition (營養 • ying2 yang3); however, the wrong combination (錯誤搭配 • cuo4wu4 da1pei4) might even put our health (身體 • shen1 ti3) in jeopardy (危害 • wei1 hai4).

Fish (魚 • yu2) & Tofu (bean curd) (豆腐 • dou4fu5)

Tofu contains great amounts (大量 • da4 liang4) of calcium (鈣 • gai4) which may prevent (預防 • yu4 fang2) many kinds of osteopathic diseases (骨病 • gu3 bing4) such as child rickets (兒童佝僂病 • er2tong2 kou4 lou2 bing4) or osteoporosis (骨質疏鬆症 • gu3 zhi4 shu1 song1 zheng4). However, the rate of calcium absorption is very low (率 • lv4) if eaten on its own. On the other hand, fish is rich ( 富 • fu4) in vitamin (維生素 • wei2 sheng1 su4) D. Fish eaten together (一起 • yi4 qi3) with Tofu makes the calcium better assimilated (吸收 • xi1 shou1).

Think of it, besides being a very tasty combination is excellent for your health!

© Photographer: Vincent Go | Agency: Dreamstime.com

10 shu4 tou2fa = 0.56 karat lan2 zuan4

According to the "Daily Telegraph" (每日電訊報 • mei3ri4 dian4xun4 bao4), a lock of 10 hairs (10束頭髮 • shi2shu4 tou2fa5) belonging to the late Beethoven (貝多芬 • Bei4duo1fen1) have been turned into a diamond (鑽石 • zuan4 shi2) which is expected to auction (拍賣 • pai1 mai4) for at least £500,000 (５０萬英鎊 • wu3shi2 wan4 ying1bang4).

This is the first time in history ( 有史以來第一次 • you3 shi3 yi3 lai2 di4 yi1 ci4) that a diamond has been ever created out of carbon (碳 • tan4) extracted from a celebrity (名人 • ming2 ren2).

The lock of hair belonged to the collection of "famous hairs" at the University (大學 • da4xue2) Archives (檔案 • dang4an4) in Connecticut (康涅狄格 • kang1nie4di2ge2) in the US. This authenticated collection (收集 • shou1ji2) includes hairs from Albert Einstein (愛因斯坦 • Ai4yin1si1tan3) and former president (前總統 • qian2 zong3tong3) Abraham Lincoln (林肯 • Lin2ken3).

Beethoven's hair, estimated to be about 200 years old, was donated (捐贈 • juan1zeng4) to LifeGem a company (公司 • gong1 si1) specializing in creating high-quality (優質 • you1 zhi4) diamond from the carbon of loved ones. Experts (專家 • zhuan1jia1) at LifeGem extracted (提煉 • ti2lian4) 130 milligrams of carbon (毫克碳 • hao2ke4 tan4) from the hair strands and created 3 round diamonds. One of them will be auctioned on Ebay. The proceedings will go to charity (慈善 • ci2shan4). The second one will return to the University Archives and the 3rd will be put on display at the LifeGem archives.

Photo: Ludwig van Beethoven 1820 (Joseph Karl Stieler)
This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, Canada, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years

Don't eat too many yue4bing3 during Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節 • zhong1qiu1jie2) is a popular Asian festival that celebrates abundance and togetherness and which dates back over 3,000 years. It falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. This year it will celebrated on the 25th of September.

Mooncakes (月餅 • yue4bing3), traditionally eaten during this festival, are round thick pastries with a salted egg yolk suspended inside a sweetened bean paste. Contemporary mooncakes are quite varied, some are made with red jujubes (紅棗 • hong2 zao3), an edible berrylike fruit of a Eurasian plant formerly taken as a cough cure, husked lotus (蓮子• lian2zi3), green beans (綠豆 • lv4 dou4), almond (杏仁 • xing4ren2) among many other ingredients.

Mooncakes are already piling up in the store shelves of every Asian country and every family is beginning to accumulate their share of treats but from any nutritionist (營養學家 • ying2yang3xue2jia1) point of view, eating them in excess is not very good for the health (健康• jian4kang1).

Since they are very rich and dense, some people like to eat them for breakfast (早餐 • zao3can1) or as an early snack (零食 • ling2shi2); however, mooncakes are not a suitable (不適宜 • bu4kuo4yi2) meal. Even though (雖然 • sui1ran2) their caloric content ( 能量 • neng2liang4) is comparatively high (比較大 • bi3jiao4 da4), they contain large amounts of sugar (糖 • tang2) and grease (油脂 • you2zhi1), two substances which do not satisfy (不能 滿足 • bu4neng2 man3zu2) a person's nutrition demand. Their nutritional (營養 • ying2yang3) content (含量 • han2liang4) is low (就低 • jiu4 di1); apart from the sugar and the fat, they only contain a few minerals (礦物 • kuang4wu4) and some micronutrients (微量營養素 • wei1liang4ying2yang3su4).

Mooncakes are best ( 最好 • zui4hao3) eaten fresh (吃新鮮 • chi1 xin1xian1). Leftovers (吃不完 • chi1 bu4 wan2) should be refrigerated (放冰箱 • fang4 bing1xiang1) because their high fat content is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria (細菌 • xi1jun1). It is advisable to accompany them with some tea (茶 • cha2 ) or hot water (熱水• re4shui3) to assist (幫助 • bang1zhu4 ) the digestion (消化 • xiao1hua4) and to eliminate the greasy aftertaste (除油膩感 • chu2 you2ni4 gan3).

Many nutritionist think of mooncakes as junk food (垃圾食品 • la1ji1 shi2pin3) so if you suffer from diabetes (糖尿病 • tang2niao4bing4), Cholecystitis (膽囊炎 • dan3nang1yan2), circulatory diseases (心腦血管病 • xin1 nao3 xue4guan3 bing4) or obesity (肥胖病 • fei2pang4 zhe3) it would be wise to stay clear of these Chinese treats. Needless to say, if you have any carious tooth (蟲牙 • chong2ya2) clean your teeth inmediately (立即刷牙 • li4ji2 shua1 ya2) after!

© Photographer: Norman Chan | Agency: Dreamstime.com