Keep Chinese Close, But English Closer

走出语言困境：Keep Chinese Close, But English Closer 2007-09-15 14:34:25
(http://blog.wenxuecity.com/blogview.php?date=200709&postID=20029)

Have been thinking to write something on the subject of how to improve English, yet not so sure if I am qualified to take on such a heavy topic as I consider my own English a failure – living in an English-speaking country for over a decade, I still find myself in awkward situations from time to time with my English skills, in particular, I always feel intellectually handicapped whenever write in English. Nevertheless, there are certain things, lessons or whatever to be called, that might have characteristics of generalization in terms of language learning and can be shared, and might shed some light for other people’s study.


I am pretty sure that many of us, if not all of the overseas Chinese living in a English country, are constantly struggling between two language systems: in an English-speaking country, we’re entitled and forced to use an alien language, or you’re taking risk of being thrown out the main-stream society, just like some of the Chinese-Americans in Chinatown whose lifetime language commitment is Cantonese. On the other hand, as a Chinese who was born and brought up in Chinese language setting, we all have a “genetic” tendency to find cultural comfort in employing our own mother tongue – it’s an effortless mental process when we speak Chinese; we take a pleasure to read Chinese because the pictographic characters could soothe our mind, to say the least; it won’t pose a linguistic challenge when we write in Chinese, and so forth. In sum, we’re inclined to use the language we were born with; unfortunately the language adds little weight to our survival skills in a society where people speak different language.


In the classic movie, The Godfather II, there is a line, a very famous one if not the most in the movie history, by the young godfather Michael Coreleone, “Keep your friends close, but your enemy closer,” a family-teaching passed onto him from his father, the old godfather, Vito Coreleone. Admiring the sophisticated life philosophy articulated in this simple line, I think it would be also a great metaphor to our English study situation here, as a figure of speech. So, how to balance this equation of English and Chinese? The answer is: Keep your Chinese close, but your English closer. Please allow me to explain how.




It should be fairly easy for us to “keep Chinese close”. Our brains are wired with Chinese to begin with and further reinforced by the education we received back to the Chinese society. Even in a foreign country, we can always find someone who shares the language and with whom we can communicate – nowadays you can probably find Chinese almost in every single corner on this planet, thanks to our people’s survival instinct; we can always call China, talking to family and friends; and we can browse the Chinese-based websites such as Wenxuexity, reading and writing in Chinese. Once again, Chinese is one heritage that we’re born with, not something you could cut it off and walk away from it; rather, it’s something in our blood and you will have to keep it close.


Now, what about English? In what way to keep it closer? Before we move on any further, I would like to make a disclaimer referring back the classical line in The Godfather II. When I say “keep English closer”, I by no means treat English as an “enemy.” The only reason we say “to keep it closer” than Chinese is because it is our second language, and therefore it is something out there alien for us to conquer. To do so, we’ll have to know what we deal with and how; so to speak, to keep it closer.


In order to command a language, one has to immerge himself/herself into it, like swimming in the ocean. It might sound like a cliché talk and easy said than be done. But here are several things, based upon my personal experience, that could help one on the way to be a good swimmer in the ocean of English language. I would like to address these issues starting with a specific question -- no offense to anyone whatsoever, thus to make it more measurable, by which you can see where you fit, and how close you are to your English study.


How often do you read English book? Once a year? Once a month?



Reading is the most fundamental thing to do in terms of improving English skills. If you open any textbook or ask anyone who has good command of language as to how to advance with your study of English, it/he/she will no doubt tell you to read as much as you can. It seems we just can not stress enough how important reading is.


To be specific, reading a book each month might sound too much to do as opposed to one book a year which is too less. How about one book every other month? If you could do this, you will finish reading six books each year; and that means you will read close to one million English words each year if each book averages, let’s say, 150,000 words. Out of this one million words, if you just could remember one percent, it will amount to 10,000. I would say that’s a quite accomplishment; let alone through reading you will also gradually learn grammatical structures, idiom usage and knowledge, etc. The more you read, the better your English skills will be. Speaking and writing definitely benefit a great deal from reading. Unless you have a family library, the local library may be the most convenient reading source. Plus, as a taxpayer, it would be a waste if you don’t take the advantage of the community service when you can.


How often do you listen to radio?



One time a guy, who majored in English in China and just came over to the US, asked me about how to polish his English, as he was baffled when he talked to the locals. I told him listening to radio might help since he as a student did not have much time to read in addition to his study. He seemed distained and scoffed at the idea. “What? Are you kidding? I don’t even listen to radio when I was in China!” I don’t blame on him for saying so. In the age of information exploration when the new media mushrooms in the light speed, radio seems out of fashion for certain people. But, neither does it means it’s out of picture, nor it diminishes its importance to learn English.


As a traditional media, radio still proves to be one of most efficient and accessible tools. You can turn it on in the morning while you’re eating your breakfast; you can listen to it when you drive to & from work, or on a trip – at least it provides a pastime when you’re stuck in a traffic jam; with an earpiece, you can even listen to radio when you’re out jogging or taking a stroll. How convenient could that be!


Beyond its easy accessibility, radio brings you an immense world of information as listening materials. To keep it as a fun instead of a forced task, you’ll have to find something that interests you. Besides the news that all the stations carry, there’s wide range of syndicated talk shows you can choose from, such as Fresh Air by Terry Gross, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Rush Limbaugh Show (not that I like his opinions, but respect his English), Sean Hannity Show, to name a few. Technically, I’d suggest listening to one or two station/show to start with, especially when you’re listening-wise not skilled enough to handle variety of accents, styles and terminologies. Once you’ve got familiar with one show, you can then move on exploring more topics.


Do you write in English? If yes, how often?



Let’s face it, unless you’re a professional writer or in an occupation that requires a lot of writing, most of us probably won’t have much time to sit down racking our brains on an English essay, as we all have work to do, family and friends to be with and all kind of personal things to tend. However, writing is just as important as reading, to not just improve your English to handle daily conversation, but, one step up, to enhance your English on a professional, educated level. Comparing to reading and listening, writing is a much more complex process. That said, it means you can speak English as good as you can, but that does not necessarily means you will automatically have good command of writing skill. When write, you have to think, ponder on your thoughts in English, and organize the thoughts in a logical fashion, and then find proper words, terminologies to express them. Through writing, not only you can have solid grasp of the meaning, the nuance of each word, but also learn different way of expressions by using different grammatical structures. Of course writing does not have to be lengthy and impeccable, you can just write down a short paragraph or even a sentence for sake of practice. Over time, your writing proficiency will grow as your practice accumulates.


Related to the above, when you write an email at work or to a friend, do you just treat it as a routine? or an opportunity to practice your English?



As mentioned before, we hardly have time to sit down writing English just for practice since we all live in a bustled, fast-paced society. However, nowadays email becomes something that on a daily basis we can not escape from, either at work or at home. And more importantly, it actually poses an occasion for English writing practice. Even for business emails at work, you can either put it in a blunt language; or you can choose to elaborate in a more sophisticated and diplomatic way that will yield a better result, and in return your writing skill will advance before you’re even aware of.


When you watch TV, do you pay attention to the captioning?



In our society, TV has become an inseparability of people’s daily life. We get news from TV each day that keeps us updated with what’s going on nationally and internationally; we’re entertained by watching the diversity of TV shows; and we can even get educated from some special TV programs. But for a foreigner, TV can also pave another road for your English study. Unless you can completely understand the language, the best way to catch up with the plot and story is to closely follow the captioning on your screen. In doing so, you can utilize caption-reading to help your listening in case there are issues of vocabulary and mis-hearing; thus put your understanding in sync with the development of the characters and story. With captioning, the drawback is that it may sacrifice your visual enjoyment. But, it will definitely facilitate your language study, and in a long run your eyes will be eventually freed from the caption once your listening gets better.


The issues above we’ve discussed are just my personal experience and opinions that I wanted to share with the forum. Hope it will help; if not, at least a further discussion on the topic is expected.


Last, but not the least, learning a language is not an easy task, but a lifetime commitment; It is a hard work plus proper methodologies, not an overnight magic; It is an odyssey that you will have to go through without taking any short-cut.


So, let’s work on it, shall we?

Today is mid-autumn festival!

Today is the second Mid-Autumn Festvial I spent at United State. Time is going fast, I still remember that last year my wife learned to how to make mooncake at a church. But today, just me alone with my second Mid-Autumn festival, Fortunately, One of my friends invited me to have dinner tonight with his familiy and spend the Mid-Autumn Festival together, which definitely make me feel better and be away from lonely. In fact, the the round shape of mooncake means happiness and family gather. Sometimes, I am thinking that what is most important to me. Career? or Familiy? Maybe I need to look back, and do not need to care about so much things out of myself.


Happy Autumn Moon Festival to All of us. :)



Mid-Autumn Festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Mid-Autumn Festival


The Mid-Autumn Moonfestival is also celebrated in Chinese communities like the San Francisco Chinatown
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese: 中秋節
Simplified Chinese: 中秋节
[show]Transliterations
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōng qiū jié
Min
- Min-nan POJ: Tiong-Chhiu-Chiat
Yue (Cantonese)
- Jyutping: zong1 tsau1 zit3

Japanese name
Kanji: 月見
Kana: つきみ
[show]Transliterations
- Romaji: Tsukimi

Korean name
Hangul: 추석
Hanja: 秋夕
[show]Transliterations
- Revised
Romanization: Ch'usǒk

Vietnamese name
Quoc Ngu: Tết Trung Thu
Chu Nom: 節中秋

Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations in Victoria Park, Hong Kong.
Mooncake is often eaten during the festival.The Mid-Autumn Festival (Simplified Chinese: 中秋节; Traditional Chinese: 中秋節; pinyin: zhōngqiūjié), also known as the Moon Festival, is a popular East Asian celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Zhou Dynasty. In Malaysia and Singapore, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or "Mooncake Festival", which is just the same as "Mid-Autumn Festival" but with different names.

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the Gregorian calendar), a date that parallels the Autumn Equinox of the solar calendar. This is the ideal time, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar (the other being the Chinese Lunar New Year), and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:

Eating moon cakes outside under the moon
Putting pomelo rinds on one's head
Carrying brightly lit lanterns
Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e
Planting Mid-Autumn trees
Lighting lanterns on towers
Fire Dragon Dances
Shops selling mooncakes, before the festival, often display pictures of Chang'e floating to the moon.

Contents [hide]
1 Origin
2 Stories of the Mid-Autumn Festival
2.1 Houyi and Chang'e
2.1.1 Houyi, the archer
2.1.2 Houyi, the builder
2.2 The Hare - Jade Rabbit
2.3 Overthrow of Mongol rule
2.4 Vietnamese version
2.5 Korean Version
3 Dates
4 References
5 See also
6 External links



[edit] Origin
The custom of celebrating the moon (called Xi yue in Chinese) for both the Han Chinese and minority nationalities, can be traced as far back as the ancient Xia Dynasty and Shang Dynasty of China (20th century BC-1060s BC). In the Zhou Dynasty (1066 BCE-221 BCE), the people celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival to worship the moon.

The practice became very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) that people enjoyed and worshipped the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), however, people started making round moon cakes, as gifts to their relatives in expression of their best wishes of family reunion. At night, they came out to watch the full moon to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644), and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration has become unprecedentedly popular.


[edit] Stories of the Mid-Autumn Festival

[edit] Houyi and Chang'e
While Westerners may talk about the "man in the moon", the Chinese talk about the "woman in the moon". The story of Chang'e and her flight to the moon, is familiar to every Chinese citizen, and a favourite subject of poets. Unlike many lunar deities in other cultures who personify the moon, Chang'e lives in the moon. Tradition places Houyi and Chang'e around 2170 BC, in the reign of the legendary Emperor Yao, shortly after that of Huang Di.

There are so many variations and adaptations of the Chang'e legend that one can become overwhelmed and utterly confused. However, most legends about Chang'e in Chinese mythology involve some variation of the following elements: Houyi, the Archer; Chang'e, the mythical Moon Goddess of Immortality; an emperor, either benevolent or malevolent; an elixir of life; and the Moon:


[edit] Houyi, the archer
There are at least four variations to this story where Houyi was an archer.

Version 1: Houyi himself was an immortal, while Chang'e was a beautiful young girl, working in the Jade Emperor's (Emperor of Heaven) (玉帝 pinyin:yùdì) Palace as the attendant to the Queen Mother of the West (wife of the Jade Emperor), just before her marriage. One day, Houyi aroused the jealousy of the other immortals, who then slandered him before the Jade Emperor. Houyi and his wife, Chang'e, were subsequently banished from heaven, and forced to live by hunting on earth. He became a famous archer.

Now at this time, there were 10 suns that took turns to circle the earth — one every 10 days. One day, all 10 of the suns circled together, causing the earth to burn. Emperor Yao, the Emperor of China, commanded Houyi to shoot down all but one of the suns. Upon the completion of his task, the Emperor rewarded Houyi with a pill that granted eternal life, and advised him: "Make no haste to swallow this pill; first prepare yourself with prayer and fasting for a year". Houyi took the pill home and hid it under a rafter, while he began healing his spirit. While Houyi was healing his sprit, Houyi was summoned again by the emperor. Chang'e, noticing a white beam of light beckoning from the rafters, discovered the pill, which she swallowed. Immediately, she found that she could fly. At that moment, Houyi returned home, and, realizing what had happened, began to reprimand her. Chang'e flew out the window into the sky.

With bow in hand, Houyi sped after her, and the pursuit continued halfway across the heavens. Finally, Houyi had to return to the Earth because of the force of the wind. Chang'e reached the moon, and breathless, she coughed. Part of the pill fell out from her mouth. Now, the hare was already on the moon, and Chang'e commanded the animal to make another pill from it, so that she could return to earth to her husband.

As of today, the hare is still pounding herbs, trying to make the pill. As for Houyi, he built himself a palace in the sun as "Yang" (the male principle), with Chang'e as "Yin" (the female principle). Once a year, on the 15th day of the full moon, Houyi visits his wife. That is why, that night, the moon is full and beautiful. [2]

This description appears in written form in two Western Han dynasty (206 BCE-24 CE) collections; Shanhaijing (Classic of the Mountains and Seas, a book of travels and tales), and Huainanzi (scientific, historical and philosophical articles, named for the Prince of Huai). [3]

Version 2: Another version, very similar to the above story, had it that the Emperor of Heaven, moved by the people’s suffering caused by the 10 scorching suns, sent the archer, Prince Houyi, from heaven to help Emperor Yao bring order. Houyi, with his wife, Chang'e, descended to earth, carrying a red bow and white arrows given him by the Emperor of Heaven.

Version 3: The earth once had ten suns circling over it, each taking turn to illuminate the earth. One day, however, all ten suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. Houyi, a strong and tyrannical archer, saved the earth by shooting down nine of the suns. He eventually became King, but grew to become a despot.

One day, Houyi stole the elixir of life from a goddess. However, his beautiful wife, Chang'e, drank it in order to save the people from the her husband’s tyrannical rule. After drinking it, she found herself floating, and flew to the moon. Houyi loved his divinely beautiful wife so much, he did not shoot down the moon.

Version 4: Another version, however, had it that Chang'e and Houyi were immortals living in heaven. One day, the ten sons of the Jade Emperor transformed into ten suns, causing the earth to scorch. Having failed to order his sons to stop ruining the earth, the Jade Emperor summoned Houyi for help. Houyi, using his legendary archery skills, shot down nine of the sons, but spared one son to be the sun. The Jade Emperor was obviously displeased with Houyi’s solution to save the earth. As punishment, he banished Houyi and Chang'e to live as mere mortals on earth.

Seeing that Chang'e felt extremely miserable over her loss of immortality, Houyi decided to journey on a long, perilous quest to find the pill of immortality so that the couple could be immortals again. At the end of his quest, he met the Queen Mother of the West, who agreed to give him the pill, but warned him that each person would only need half a pill to regain immortality.

Houyi brought the pill home and stored it in a case. He warned Chang'e not to open the case, and then left home for a while. Like Pandora in Greek mythology, Chang'e became curious. She opened up the case and found the pill, just as Houyi was returning home. Nervous that Houyi would catch her, discovering the contents of the case, she accidentally swallowed the entire pill, and started to float into the sky because of the overdose. Although Houyi wanted to shoot her in order to prevent her from floating further, he could not bear to aim the arrow at her. Chang'e kept on floating until she landed on the moon.

While she became lonely on the moon without her husband, she did have company. A jade rabbit, who manufactured elixirs, also lived on the moon.

Version 5: In a popular school version, Houyi was a lazy boy who did nothing but to practice his archery. He practiced day and night until he became the greatest archer in the world. One day, the 10 suns all assembled around the earth. Their presence destroyed all vegetation, and hundreds of thousands were perishing. The emperor, who was desperate, offered his crown to anyone who could shoot down the suns. Houyi answered his call. He shot down 9 of the suns, and as he pulled his bow to shoot the last one, the emperor stopped him. Saying the earth must leave 1 sun. Houyi then became the emperor. He was pampered to the extent that he wanted to be emperor forever. He called his advisors to look for a way to make him immortal. His advisors found a way. They found a recipe for the Pill of Immortality. It required 100 adolescent boys to be ground into a biscuit like pill. Every night he was supposed to ground 1 boy. On the hundredth night, his wife Chang'e could not bear to watch her husband become the tyrannical dictator for eternity. She prayed to Xi Wang Mu for help. She stole the pill, with Houyi shooting arrows at her, and flew to the moon grabbing a rabbit to keep her company.


[edit] Houyi, the builder
Houyi, a famous builder, built a beautiful jade palace for the Goddess of the Western Heaven (also called the Royal Mother). In appreciation, she gave Yi a special pill that contained the magic elixir of immortality. But with it, came the condition and warning that he may not use the pill until he had accomplished certain self-purification.

His wife, Chang'e, was a beautiful but inquisitive woman. One day, she discovered the pill, and without telling her husband, swallowed it. The Goddess was very angry, and as a punishment, banished Chang'e to the moon where, according to the legend, she can be seen at her most beautiful, on the night of the bright harvest moon. This holiday is always celebrated during the time when the moon is at its fullest. Children gather around, climbing hills and mountains to be able to see the moon so their wish can be granted


[edit] The Hare - Jade Rabbit

A depiction of Chang'e and the Jade RabbitAccording to tradition, the Jade Rabbit pounds medicine, together with the lady, Chang'e, for the gods. Others say that the Jade Rabbit is a shape, assumed by Chang'e herself. You may find that the dark areas to the top of the full moon may be construed as the figure of a rabbit. The animal's ears point to the upper right, while at the left are two large circular areas, representing its head and body. [1]

In this legend, three fairy sages transformed themselves into pitiful old men, and begged for food from a fox, a monkey, and a hare. The fox and the monkey both had food to give to the old men, but the hare, empty-handed, jumped into a blazing fire to offer his own flesh instead. The sages were very thankful for the meat and ate it but the sages were so touched by the hare's sacrifice and act of kindness that they let him live in the Moon Palace, where he became the "Jade Rabbit".


[edit] Overthrow of Mongol rule
According to a widespread folk tale (not necessarily supported by historical records), the Mid-Autumn Festival commemorates an uprising in China against the Mongol rulers of the Yuan Dynasty (1280–1368) in the 14th century. As group gatherings were banned, it was impossible to make plans for a rebellion. Noting that the Mongols did not eat mooncakes, Liu Bowen (劉伯溫) of Zhejiang Province, advisor to the Chinese rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang, came up with the idea of timing the rebellion to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival. He sought permission to distribute thousands of moon cakes to the Chinese residents in the city to bless the longevity of the Mongol emperor. Inside each cake, however, was inserted a piece of paper with the message: "Kill the Tatars on the 15th day of the Eighth Moon" (八月十五殺韃子).[citation needed] On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), under Zhu. Henceforth, the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated with moon cakes on a national level.

Frightening new maps of U.S. coastal areas to be inundated by global warming

These maps correspond with a one meter rise in sea level -- the amount of sea level rise scientists predict will occur whether or not we cease emitting carbon today, on account of all the warming the earth has yet to do in order to reach equilibrium with the amount of C02 we've already put into the atmosphere.

http://blog.sciam.com/index.php?title=frightening_new_maps_of_u_s_coastal_area&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1&ref=rss

Let us think about the biofuels..

Biofuels could boost global warming, finds study

21 September 2007


Growing and burning many biofuels may actually raise rather than lower greenhouse gas emissions, a new study led by Nobel prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen has shown.1 The findings come in the wake of a recent OECD report, which warned nations not to rush headlong into growing energy crops because they cause food shortages and damage biodiversity.

Crutzen and colleagues have calculated that growing some of the most commonly used biofuel crops releases around twice the amount of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) than previously thought - wiping out any benefits from not using fossil fuels and, worse, probably contributing to global warming. The work appears in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics and is currently subject to open review.

'The significance of it is that the supposed benefits of biofuel are even more disputable than had been thought hitherto,' Keith Smith, a co-author on the paper from the University of Edinburgh, told Chemistry World. 'What we are saying is that [growing many biofuels] is probably of no benefit and in fact is actually making the climate issue worse.'


"What we are saying is that growing biofuels is probably of no benefit and in fact is actually making the climate issue worse"
- Keith Smith
Crutzen, famous for his work on nitrogen oxides and the ozone layer, declined to comment before the paper is officially published. But the paper suggests that microbes convert much more of the nitrogen in fertiliser to N2O than previously thought - 3 to 5 per cent or twice the widely accepted figure of 2 per cent used by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

For rapeseed biodiesel, which accounts for about 80 per cent of the biofuel production in Europe, the relative warming due to N2O emissions is estimated at 1 to 1.7 times larger than the quasi-cooling effect due to saved fossil CO2 emissions. For corn bioethanol, dominant in the US, the figure is 0.9 to 1.5. Only cane sugar bioethanol - with a relative warming of 0.5 to 0.9 - looks like a viable alternative to conventional fuels.

Some previous estimates had suggested that biofuels could cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40 per cent.2

Global picture

The IPCC's N2O conversion factor is derived using data from plant experiments. But Crutzen takes a different approach, using atmospheric measurements and ice core data to calculate the total amount of N2O in the atmosphere. He then subtracts the level of N2O in pre-industrial times - before fertilizers were available - to take account of N2O from natural processes such as leguminous plants growing in forests, lightning, and burn offs.

Assuming the rest of the N2O is attributable to newly-fixed nitrogen from fertilizer use, and knowing the amount of fertilizer applied globally, he can calculate thecontribution of fertilizers to N2O levels.

The results may well trigger a rethink by the IPCC, says Smith. 'Should we go along the road of adding up the experimental evidence for each of the processes or are we better off using the global numbers?'

Critical reception

But other experts are critical of Crutzen's approach. Simon Donner, a nitrogen researcher based at Princeton University, US, says the method is elegant but there is little evidence to show the N2O yield from fertilized plants is really as high as 3-5 per cent. Crutzen's basic assumption, that pre-industrial N2O emissions are the same as natural N2O emissions, is 'probably wrong', says Donner.

One reason he gives is that farmers plant crops in places that have nitrogen rich soils anyway. 'It is possible we are indirectly increasing the "natural" source of N2O by drawing down the soil nitrogen in the world's agricultural regions,' he explains.

Others dispute the values chosen by Crutzen to calculate his budget. Stefan Rauh, an agricultural scientist at the Instituteof Agricultural Economics and Farm Management in Munich, Germany, says some of the rates for converting crops into biofuel should be higher. 'If you use the other factors you get a little net climate cooling,' he said.

Meanwhile, a report prepared by the OECD for a recent Round Table on Sustainable Development questions the benefits of first generation biofuels and concludes that governments should scrap mandatory targets.

Richard Doornbosch, the report's author, says both the report and Crutzen's work highlights the importance of establishing correct full life-cycle assessments for biofuels. 'Without them, government policies can't distinguish between one biofuel and another - risking making problems worse,' said Doornbosch.

"Shuishou" Sailor

I am trying to tanlate the song "Shuishou" to Englsih. If you have good translation, please tell me. Your advice is acknowledgable.

水手
(Sailor)
编:ansen
苦涩的沙吹痛脸庞的感觉
像父亲的责骂母亲的哭泣
永远难忘记
It is so hard to forget the feel as the saline sand on the beach fly to hit your face, what is like father's blame and mother's weeping in your mind.
年少的我喜欢一个人在海边
I like to stay aside the sea
卷起裤管光着脚丫踩在沙滩上
Curling up the pants, walking on the beach with naked foot.
总是幻想海洋的尽头有另一个世界
Always be deaming that there is another wonderful world at the end of the sea
总是以为勇敢的水手是真正的男儿
Always be thinking brave sailor is a real man
总是一副弱不禁风孬种的样子
Always be extremely delicate behavior
在受人欺负的时候总是听见水手说
I always keep sailor's word in my mind as I stand tease from others
他说风雨中这点痛算什么
He said this means nothing
擦干泪不要怕至少我们还有梦
Wipe your tear away, Do not scare, at least we have dreams
他说风雨中这点痛算什么
He said this means nothing
擦干泪不要问为什么
Wipe your tear away, do not ask why.
长大以后为了理想而努力
Strive for ideality as grown up
渐渐的忽略了父亲母亲和
故乡的消息
Little by little, Overlook your parent's advice and news from your hometown
如今的我生活就像在演戏
Now, life to me is like a game
说着言不由衷的话戴着伪善的面具
say what I do not want to say with insincere mask
总是拿着微不足道的成就来骗自己
Alway take the insignicant achievment to cheat myself
总是莫名其妙到一阵的空虚
Alway feel alone without rhyme or reason
总是靠一点酒精的麻醉才能够睡去
Just fall into sleep with help of alcohol

在半睡半醒之间仿佛又听见水手说
As like sailor is singing in my dream.

他说风雨中这点痛算什么
He said it is nothing in the storm
擦干泪不要怕至少我们还有梦
Wipe your tear away, Do not scare, at least we have dreams
他说风雨中这点痛算什么
擦干泪不要问为什么
Wipe your tear away, do not ask why.

(music)
寻寻觅觅寻不到活着的证据
I can not find the proof of life
都市的柏油路太硬踩不出足迹
there is no footprint after walking over the rigid blacktop road at city
骄傲无知的现代人不知道珍惜
The innocent modern people do not know how to cherish life

那一片被文明糟踏过的海洋和天地


只有远离人群才能找回我自己
在带着咸味的空气中自由的呼吸
耳畔又传来汽笛声和水手的笑语
永远在内心的最深处听见水手说
他说风雨中这点痛算什么
擦干泪不要怕至少我们还有梦
他说风雨中这点痛算什么
擦干泪不要问为什么


A little bit hard to do,,:) have a rest

I finally made the decision today!

I felt so relax today. i finally made the decision. Since I chose the way to go forward,I will keep going and strive for my dream.

I try to choose a nice backgroud music for the post,and express my think today, finally i chose this song "shuishou" (sailor), which encouraged so many pepole to go forward. Sometimes it can give you powder as enjoying it. Help you to go through every trouble.

As a sailor, you do not scare the wide sea and ferocity wave! what the hell thing can make you be afraid of ? Nothing.


Fighting,,,,Fighting,,,,

SOMETIMES, IT IS SO HARD TO MAKE A DESICION!

SOMETIMES, IT IS SO HARD TO MAKE A DECISION FOR EVERYONE. I READ THIS STORY INVOLUNTARY TODAY. OF COURSE, I AM NOT AS GREAT AS THEM. BUT "NO REASON FOR BACKING TO YOUR HOME COUNTRY, ONLY STAYING HERE NEED A REASON" IMPRESSED ME DEEPLY.

彭桓武

理论物理学家

彭桓武，理论物理学家，中国科学院院士。

1915年10月出生于吉林长春，祖籍湖北麻城。1937年6月清华大学物理系研究生肄业。
翌年赴英国爱丁堡大学理论物理系，师从著名物理学家马克斯·玻恩（Max Born），从
事固体物理、量子场论等理论研究。1940年和1945年分获哲学博士和科学博士学位。
1941年8月后，曾两度在诺贝尔物理学奖获得者薛定谔（Erwin Schrödinger）任
所长的爱尔兰都柏林高等研究院理论物理研究所从事研究工作。1945年与玻恩共同获得
英国爱丁堡皇家学会麦克杜加尔－布列兹班奖。1947年回国，先后担任过云南大学、清
华大学、北京大学、中国科技大学教授，并参与创办中国科学院近代物理研究所。1955
年当选为中国科学院学部委员（院士）。历任中国科学院近代物理研究所研究员、副所
长，二机部第九研究院副院长、中国科学院高能物理所副所长、中国科学院理论物理所
所长等职。1948年被选为爱尔兰皇家科学院院士。

从20世纪50年代中期开始，彭桓武参与和领导了我国原子能物理和原子弹、氢弹以及战
略核武器的理论研究和设计。他在中子物理、辐射流体力学、凝聚态物理、爆轰物理等
多个学科领域取得了重要成果，对分子结构提出过新的处理方法，在量子多体问题研究
中提出了自洽场的推广理论，并为中国核事业培养了一批优秀人才。曾荣获国家自然科
学奖一等奖、国家科技进步奖特等奖、何梁何利基金科学与技术成就奖。1999年获“两
弹一星功勋奖章”。

☆ 他们拿56块钱的工资就创造了奇迹

在“两弹一星”功勋科学家中，彭桓武的名字最好地诠释着这个群体在学术圈内的声名
卓著和学术圈外的默默无闻。从20世纪40年代末回国之后，他的名字与新中国在核反应
堆、原子弹、氢弹、核潜艇和基础物理上的辉煌成就紧密地联系在一起。他是中国科学
院近代物理研究所的建所人之一；他培养了中国第一批反应堆理论与反应堆计算人才；
他是核潜艇动力方案的领导者；他领导和参加了原子弹设计方案的制定；他领导和参加
了氢弹的原理设计和试验；他参加了我国第一次地下核试验的理论领导工作；他培养了
周光召、黄祖洽等一大批中国原子能科学研究的中坚力量。但一直以来，彭桓武把自己
隐藏在普通人群之中，被很多人看作一个“怪老头”，以致与他订交半个多世纪的挚友
钱三强多次感叹：彭桓武默默地做了许多重要工作，但很少有人知道。著名生物化学家
邹承鲁说：彭桓武先生才是真正的大家。

☆ 轰动是因为这个研究处在物理学的前沿

隐身在集体协作帷幕后面的彭桓武，在献身中国核武器事业之前，就已经是师出名门、
广受赞誉的年轻物理学家了。1938年，23岁的彭桓武考取中英庚款留学资格，来到爱丁
堡大学，投师于德国理论物理学家,量子力学的奠基人之一马克斯??玻恩门下。彭桓
武是玻恩的第一个中国学生。在玻恩的指导下，彭桓武于 1940年和1945年分获爱丁堡
大学哲学博士和科学博士学位。玻恩和爱因斯坦有着30多年的交谊。在给爱因斯坦的信
中，玻恩数次提到这位得意的中国学生。1941年，经玻恩推荐，彭桓武前往爱尔兰都柏
林高等研究所做博士后研究，在著名科学家埃尔温??薛定谔领导的理论物理所工作。
不久，帮助量子化学的创始人之一W.海特勒进行介子理论方面的研究。

据《薛定谔传》，薛定谔在给爱因斯坦的一封信中这样描述彭桓武：简直不敢相信，这
个年轻人学了那么多，知道那么多，理解得那么快。

1941年8月至1943年7月，彭桓武和海特勒、哈密顿合作，发表了一系列综合了介子场的
若干成果，对宇宙线理解进行较系统的解释，称为HHP理论。 HHP理论，是以三位作者
姓名的头一个字母命名，其主要工作出自彭桓武。这一理论发展了量子跃迁几率的理论
，用能谱强度首次解释了宇宙线的能量颁布和空间分布。在这个理论中已经出现了后来
被称为戴森（Dyson）方程的方程。随着HHP理论名扬国际物理学界，彭桓武的名字也广
为同行所知。当时身在法国的钱三强曾说，连我这个不搞理论的人都知道HHP理论，可
见彭桓武他们这个工作在当时的名气。

1945年，彭桓武与玻恩因为关于场的量子力学与统计力学的一系列探索性工作，共同获
爱丁堡皇家学会的麦克杜加尔-布列兹班奖。1948年，在薛定谔和海特勒的推荐下，彭
桓武当选爱尔兰皇家科学院院士，时年33岁。当时，彭桓武已经回国，正执教于云南大
学。直到中美建交后的70年代，彭桓武收到爱尔兰皇家科学院的院刊时，才知道自己30
年前就已经是它的会员了。

☆ 等到国家荣辱摆在你身上，那个动力比原来就大得多了

1947年彭桓武代表云南大学前往比利时参加“大学教授会议”，之后，绕道法国巴黎看
望钱三强、何泽慧夫妇。钱三强是彭桓武在清华大学物理系的同学，日后同被誉为中国
原子弹的元勋。钱三强当时已经获得了博士学位，在巴黎大学居里实验室和法兰西学院
原子核化学实验室从事原子核物理研究工作，是法兰西国家科学研究中心研究员和研究
生导师。两人在1939年相识，并从此开始了长达半个世纪的友谊。那时候，美国已经在
日本投了原子弹，彭桓武与钱三强心照不宣地相约：回祖国大干一场！当时的都柏林，
找一个到中国的轮船座位十分困难。无奈之下，彭桓武写信请在英国海军部工作的一个
科学家朋友布莱克特帮忙，在一条英国的运兵船上找了个舱位。

1949年，彭桓武回到北京，暂住在清华大学的老师叶企荪家，与先期到达这里的钱三强
重逢。此后，两人共同筹建中国科学院近代物理研究所，发展原子能事业，培养科研人
才。多年以后，当有人问起彭桓武，当年已在英国学术界有了极高的声誉与地位，为何
还要选择回国时，彭桓武说：回国是不需要理由的，不回国才需要理由。

☆ 我的博士毕业论文还没做完

彭桓武自幼体弱多病，读小学和私塾花了7年时间。彭桓武经常在家翻看父亲书柜里的
书，养成了自学的习惯。1931年，只有半年高中学历的彭桓武主要通过自学考入清华大
学。在清华大学，彭桓武严格遵循着主修物理、选修化学、旁听数学的学习计划，生活
紧张而有序。清华6年，他和王竹溪、林家翘、杨振宁被称为 “清华四杰”。彭桓武的
清华生活，由于日寇的入侵被迫中断。60年后，八十多岁的彭桓武写了一篇论文，当作
自己的毕业论文，还清华大学周培源导师的债。 1940年，彭桓武完成了自己在英国
爱丁堡大学的博士论文，论文得到了导师玻恩教授的赞赏，并获得哲学博士学位。但是
，彭桓武对自己的论文并不满意，他说，我的论文只做了一半。玻恩说，如果都做了，
就不能只给你哲学博士，还要给你科学博士了。直到现在，彭桓武还在为那剩下的一半
论文劳作。第二年8月，经马克斯??玻恩推荐，彭桓武到爱尔兰都柏林高等研究所做
博士后研究，在著名科学家埃尔温??薛定谔领导的理论物理所中工作。在彭桓武与玻
恩告别时，玻恩说，薛定谔没有学生。到都柏林后，彭桓武才逐渐明白玻恩这句话的深
层含义。原来，薛定谔思虑深沉严密，对一个问题在没想清楚前是不会跟别人说的，一
旦想清楚后再说，便十分严谨和正确，因而无从激发学生的创造性。而玻恩则让学生尽
量独立思考，多创造性地做研究工作。这后来也成为了彭桓武的为师之道，就是要多激
发学生的创造性潜能。

☆ 当年看《三国演义》也是，诸葛亮死了以后我就不看了

在清华的第一年，彭桓武每周有三天第四节无课。他就利用这段时间进书库，挑选要借
的书。每次总凑满三册，这是借书规定的上限。借的书大多与上的课无关。当时的借书
期限一般是两个星期，少数需要精读的才续借一次。那一年里，16岁的彭桓武读了英译
本的康德《纯粹理性批判》和《实用理性批判》，罗素的散文集，怀特海的逻辑著作。
第二年夏天，他每天上午都要到图书馆老阅览室去，从靠墙的一个书柜中，取出先秦诸
子丛书，连续浏览。这时的彭桓武，已经在四年前读完了《史记》，两年半前浏览过达
尔文的《物种起源》和汤姆逊《科学大纲》的中译本，刚学完了大学一年级的数学、物
理和化学，看过几本英文哲学书，年龄已十六七，正是个人认识世界的关键时期，所以
对诸子的观点不无思辨，有时晚上还在宿舍写心得。在先秦诸子学说中，他比较认同荀
子的唯物观“天行有常，不为尧存，不为桀亡”。后来，曾专门借荀子精读，并假设该
书章节在流传中有位置错乱，为之试作更正。他还对“道心维微，人心维危。维精维一
，允执厥中”这16个字作科学认识论的理解。若干年后他才体会到这里面包含着中西文
化的根本差异，而他从选物理系时起则更强调科学地认识物质世界这方面。

英伦十年，未改彭桓武书生本色。他中西兼容，融古今于一炉。雅好诗词，淡定情怀。
很难单向度定义他到底是以学术为志业的西方式知识分子，还是天下滔滔，独善其身的
狂狷之士。晚年，彭桓武辞去了兼任的各种职务，只保留了一张北京图书馆的图书证。

☆ 科学家最高的追求也无非就是做工作

彭桓武祖籍湖北麻城，父亲彭树棠，母亲陈思敬。父亲留给他的，是一首《七律??咏
雪》：“本来明月是前身，玉骨冰肌别有真。百尺寒光能彻地，一毫余热不因人。方圆
自在都无相，潇洒风流总出尘。何事洛阳裘万丈，袁安原不厌清贫。”

彭桓武43岁结婚，62岁那年爱妻离世，后来惟一的儿子也远赴美国求学。此后的二十多
年，彭桓武独自一人，过着简朴的生活。80岁的时候，即1996年，他以自己独有的方式
设立了一个特殊的奖项：彭桓武纪念赠款。第一位获赠的，是一位曾经的合作者、因伤
早退的黄毅英。彭桓武在赠款信中这样说：“黄毅英同志：您好！彭桓武纪念赠款将于
1996年10月-11月首次举行。赠款对象为（暂定）彭桓武个人认为在核方面与他合作的
工作中值得纪念的合作者。今年初办，只赠一位，希望明年能赠两位。在我多忘的记忆
中首先浮出脑海的便是您，希望您能接受这次纪念赠款（不是奖，也不评）。款暂定为
每人三万元人民币，已经准备好，现特商定寻求一个合适的时间，请您乘便来中关村一
晤，并同去福利楼工商银行办理转账（我提取活期您再同时存入，利用通存通兑免得动
用现钞）。您最好带一同伴来以减少您的劳累。时间在电话上商定更好，因为我有时还
要出去有事。”

时隔4年，彭桓武纪念赠款又增添了新的项目，他在给黄毅英的信中这样说：“黄毅英
同志：您好！报告您一个消息，彭桓武纪念赠款，从2001年开始，将增加一项医疗补助
报销，专为过去和未来的纪念赠款获得者，由于公费医疗改革，个人负担份额加重而新
设立的。因为银行利率已几次降低，赠款和补助报销均以基金本金支付，用完即结束，
所以补助报销金额，根据实际情况，不作任何限制。北京人请20、21、22日电话告知我
数目，23日我将准备好，电话联系待取。长期病号或外地人可协商简化手续。”

黄毅英的女儿回忆说：我妈是1958年开始工作，到她1960年回来的时候人已病得很厉害
。那时候我大概上小学一年级，所以在我的记忆里，就是我一上小学我妈就开始病。她
在北京三院看病，没有任何一个大夫能说出来她是什么病。彭老通知我们领赠款的时候
，我还特别奇怪。蔡荣业先生告诉我，彭老希望把他得到的奖金同一些跟他合作过的同
事分享。这些人都是早期参加核方面工作，健康受到过损伤，此后被人们忘记了的。任
何奖、任何纪念都绝对不会轮到他们头上。彭老的赠款不需要跟任何人商量，彭老决定
是谁就是谁，然后彭老第一个纪念款就给了我妈。

主持人：您在1995年的时候获得了何梁何利基金科学与技术成就奖，奖金是100万港币
，我想可能这也是您一生中获得的数额最多的奖金了。

彭桓武：对！这100万港币到明年就要报销完了。

主持人：您把它全部捐赠了？

彭桓武：全部赠了，纪念赠款明年就结束了。本来应该到后年，不过依照我现在的身体
状况，我想把后年的提前到明年，两届一块给。

主持人：这100万对普通人来说，意味着舒适的生活，但对您来说……

彭桓武：对我来说没用。我生活足够了，加不加这100万都一样。因为我一个人用不了
那么多钱。像我现在，大夫给我限制，每天只许吃这么多东西，一天只许吃一个鸡蛋，
吃两个鸡蛋都不行，那个钱有什么用？！

主持人：现在已经有将近三十五位科技工作者获得了这笔赠款，分到他们每个人手里的
是三万块钱。您想通过它来表达您对这些同志的什么敬意呢？是想用来解决他们生活上
的实际困难吗？

彭桓武：没那个意思，就是表示纪念而已，纪念当初合作过、工作过的人。

主持人：您知道黄毅英先生已经去世了吗？

彭桓武：这一次她病我都不知道，我的消息不灵通。上一次病时我让蔡荣业送了两万块
钱医疗补助，她自己也不要，我只好自己送去了。上次她出院后我以为她没事了，这回
她又病我还不知道。她的工作是搞核潜艇的时候参加原子能所的大协作。每回她都带头
做报告，工作也做得很好，所以我对她有印象。

主持人：看起来您是一个很固执很克制的人，但是谈到您的同事，您很难克制住自己的
感情，看来您是一个习惯于把感情藏起来的人。您的老伴儿去世快30年了，您一个人做
菜、洗衣服，5年、10年我们能理解，但30年如此，您不觉得孤独吗？

彭桓武：不孤独，我有理论物理陪伴我，不孤独！如果实在难受我就写诗，升华过去。
所以我的诗里有三分之一是写我的老伴儿。这是心理学的措施，转移注意力，干事去就
完了，就没功夫去想这些废话了。

主持人：您为国家做了这么多，留给自己的是什么呢？

彭桓武：留给自己的就是乐趣呀，做事的乐趣！

主持人：您最终追求的是什么？

彭桓武：追求什么？科学家的追求还是做工作。王淦昌临死前我见他最后一面，他就说
，“我能做的都做了，再有工作我也做不了了”。就是这样，就是要做工作。科学家最
高的追求也无非就是做工作。