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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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

A barrel of yuan2 you2 for US$ 80!

On September 13th, the price of Crude Oil (原油 • yuan2 you2) reached the historical record (歷史紀錄 • li4 shi3 ji4 lu4) price (價格 • jia4 ge2) of 80 US Dollars (美元 • mei3 yuan2) per barrel (每桶 • mei3 tong3) at the New York Mercantile Exchange (紐約商品交易市場 • niu3yue1 shang1pin3 jiao1yi4 shi4chang3); likewise, at the London (倫惇 • lun2dun1) Commodity Exchange, it reached 77.5 US dollar per barrel. This is an "all time high", not seen since 1979 when the Iranian (伊朗 • yi1lang3) Islam (伊斯蘭 • yi1 si1 lan2) revolution (革命 • ge2 ming4) erupted.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (石油輸出國組織 • shi2 you2 shu1 chu1 guo2 zu3 zhi1) (OPEC • 歐佩克 • ou1 pei4 ke4) had already resolved (決定• jue2 ding4) to increase oil production ( 提高產量 • ti2 gao1 chan3 liang4) in order to alleviate (緩解 • huan3 jie3) the impact that the dramatic oil price increment has had on the world's economic development (經濟發展 • jing1 ji4 fa1 zhan3) but to to little or no avail. Crude oil keeps on the rise with no signs of stopping.

In view of the soaring petroleum prices, many (很多• hen3duo1) countries (國家 • guo2jia1) are seriously starting to develop biological sources of energy (開始發展生物能源 • kai1shi3 fa1zhan3 sheng1wu4 neng2yuan2). At present, Europe (歐洲 • ou1 zhou1) leads the field of biodiesel development - fuel made from natural, renewable sources, such as new and used vegetable oils and animal fats, for use in a diesel engine - while the United States and Brazil (巴西 • Ba1xi1) are at the front of the manufacture of Ethanol (乙醇• yi3 chun2)

The downside to these new developments is that they require massive amounts of raw material (原材料 • yuan2 cai2 liao4). In 2006, the US invested 42 million tons of corn (玉米• yu4 mi3) to produce ethanol. According to the global food consumption level figures, this amount of corn could fully satisfy (足可以 滿足 • zu2 ke3yi3 man3zu2) the yearly alimentary needs of at least 1.35 hundred million people!

Furthermore, experts (分析人士 • fen1 xi1 ren2 shi4) believe that the use of grain crops for the development of biofuels will undoubtedly make grain prices climb, thus generating an unwanted world-wide chain reaction (連鎖反應 • lian2 suo3 fan3 ying4) of uncontrollable product price increases.


Damned if we do; damned if we don't. We stand at a historic crossroads!

Remember that for Chinese pronunciation purposes and if using Pinyin Talker, when there are several 3rd tones in a row, all but the last one becomes a 2nd tone.

© Photographer: Gino Santa Maria | Agency: Dreamstime.com

The fei1zhou1 da4 xing1xing5 might become extinct in 10 years

Gorillas (大猩猩 • da4 xing1xing5), the largest living primates and human's closest relatives (类最近的近亲 • ren2lei4 zui4jin4 de5 jin4 qin1), are seriously at risk of extinction (滅絕 • mie4 jue2)

In the past 15 years ( 在过去15年 • zai4 guo4qu5 shi2wu3nian2), the Ebola (埃博拉 • ai1 bo2 la1) virus (病毒 • bing4 du2] )has made 1/3 of the gorilla's population disappear. Scientist (科學家• ke1 xue2 jia1) warn that if this tendency continues (繼續下去• ji4 xu4 xia4 qu5) , the entire species will be extinguished (消亡 • xiao1wang2) in less than 12 years.

This terrible virus has killed at least 1300 people in Central Africa (中非• Zhong1 Fei1) in the last 30 years. In most of these cases the source has been traced to the consumption of contaminated apes (猿猴• yuan2hou2) or antelopes (羚羊 • ling2yang2).

Carefully monitoring of the gorilla population in the Republic of Congo (剛果共和國 • Gang1guo3 gong4he2guo2) has revealed that the dissemination of the disease between gorilla groups has played an important role in the spread of the Ebola virus.
Unfortunately, due to the high mortality rate (死亡率• si3 wang2lv4) affecting the gorilla population, it would only take about 23 soccer fields (兩三個足球場 • liang3san1 ge4 zu2qiu2 chang3) to locate the remaining global (全球 • quan2 qiu2) surviving members of this species (種 • zhong3).

Isn't this sad?

© Photographer: Vincent Giordano | Agency: Dreamstime.com"

Ba1bi3 wa2wa5 is going to China!

The world famous Barbie Doll (芭比娃娃 • ba1bi3 wa2wa5) will journey through China for the first time in her life. From January 2008 to January 2009 she will be on a traveling exhibition (巡展 • xun2zhan3) through several of China's major cities (大城市 • da4cheng2shi4): 重庆 • Chong2qing4, 青岛 • Qing1dao3, 杭州 • Hang2zhou1, 昆明• Kun1ming2, 上海 • Shang4hai3 and 北京 • Bei3jing1.

Barbie was created by Ruth Handler, an american (美国人 • mei3guo2ren2) businesswoman and has been distributed worldwide by Mattel, Inc. (美泰公司 • mei3 tai4 gong1si1) since 1959. She named the doll after her daughter (女儿• nv3er2) Barbara (芭芭拉 • ba1ba1la1).

Barbie dolls have been marketed portraying at least 45 (si4shi2 wu3) different nationalities (个不同的 国籍 • ge5 bu4tong2 de5 guo2ji2) and no less that same number of job occupations (职业 • zhi2ye4). As years go by we have seen Barbie as an astronaut (宇航员 • yu3hang2yuan2), a pilot (飞行员 • fei1xing2yuan2), a flight stewardess (空姐 • kong1jie3), a computer designer (电脑设计师 • dian4nao3 she4ji4shi1), a doctor (医生 • yi1sheng1), a teacher (教师 • jiao4shi1), a warrior (战士 • zhan4shi4), an athlete (运动员 • yun4dong4yuan2) and, of course, as a movie (影星 • ying3xing1) and pop star (歌星 • ge1xing1).

She has been a very progressive girl always changing with the times; we have seen not only changes in her hairstyle (发型 • fa1xing2) and clothing attire (服装 服饰 • fu2zhuang1 fu2shi4) but also in her race (种族 • zhong3zu2), skin color (肤色 • fu1se4) and language (语言 • yu3yan2).

That's probably why she has so many fans around the globe! and the number keeps growing...

You can read the Chinese News article here
Barbie is a trademark of Mattel, Inc. You can download the image as a Screensaver here

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