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!

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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

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"