【轻松英文阅读】美国和欧洲的餐桌礼仪

China has some of the highest skyscrapers in the world. But now construction is under way to build one of the world's deepest 'groundscrapers' near the city of Shanghai. The structure will open as a five-star hotel in 2015. It is being constructed in

【轻松英文阅读】一种新的飞行生物

A new species of flying squirrel has been discovered in the jungles of Laos (map). When you hear of a new species being discoveredyou expect it to be small and hard to find. But as the name implies, the Laotian giant flying squirrel is not very tiny.

【轻松英文阅读】15岁少年的发明

You may not need to worry about batteries someday soon. A 15-year old girl, Ann Makosinski from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada has invented a flashlight that uses the heat from your hand for power. Instead of using batteries the flashlight uses P

【轻松英文阅读】第五种味觉

Everybody knows these four tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. But did you know there was a fifth one? Well, dont feel too bad; it wasnt even recognized by the scientific community until the eighties. The fifth taste is called umami, which is a J

【轻松英文阅读】科威特妇女的离婚诉求

Couples divorce for all sorts of reasons: disagreements about money, cheating, abuse, different ideas on how to raise kids, but a woman in Kuwait has a most unusual reason. It appears she cannot take her new husbands poor table manners. The unidentif

【轻松英文阅读】水母入侵

These jellyfish have a comparatively harmless sting, but they have shut down a nuclear power plant in Sweden. The power plant, located on the Baltic coast, had to be shut down to prevent overheating after an onslaught of jellyfish. The jellyfish clog

【轻松英文阅读】科学家的新发现

Recently, some researchers in Australia were excited about messages from a distant galaxy. But it turns out that the signals were from a completely different source. The scientists at Parkes Observatory in Australia specialize in radio bursts- short

【轻松英文阅读】伦敦旅游指南

London is certainly one of the most iconic cities in the world. Its monuments, parks and sights have appeared within so many books, movies and songs. Its citizens are famously colorful and diverse, and its culture is extensive and unique. For the abo

【轻松英文阅读】步行治疗方案

Its a classic image; the philosopher strolling along deep in thought. Since ancient times the great thinkers from Socrates to Plato have known and talked about the benefits of a good stroll for the mind. And now scientists are discovering evidence th

【轻松英文阅读】医疗上的突破

For more than ten years of his life Nick Wilkins fought leukemia. It was a heartbreaking time for his parents. But now at 15, Nick is cancer-free thanks to a new experimental therapy. Nick went through many kinds of treatment: chemotherapy, radiation

【轻松英文阅读】可口可乐公司的贴心设计

You rarely hear the names Pakistan and India in the same sentence without the word 'conflict.' Peace for these two nations remains a distant dream. And the task of bringing them together is quite daunting. Despite this, the soft drink maker, Coca Col

【轻松英文阅读】有史以来最炎热的夏天

Last year the world was hot like never before. That is according to international weather researchers. They say it was due to climate change. Weather researchers from the United States and Switzerland measured the temperatures around the world. They

【轻松英文阅读】丰田新款能源车

One of the hottest cars at this years Geneva Motor Show is not a car. In fact, Toyotas i-ROAD concept vehicle could create a whole new category of vehicle. Toyota wanted to create a vehicle with the usability of a motorbike, but safer and more comfor

【轻松英文阅读】冰岛广播电视台

Iceland Airwaves is a super hip, long weekend music festival that dominates the festival scene each year. Its been around since 1999 and the name comes from its first location an airplane hangar. Part of what makes this festival so special is the unt

【轻松英文阅读】服务员手势的秘密

In a noisy restaurant when you want to get a refill or the check, have you ever used a hand signal to communicate with the waiter? Sometimes, it is just the best way to get what you want. Restaurant staff dont want you to know this, but they use hand

【轻松英文阅读】咖啡因对大脑的危害

Those all-nighters powered by caffeine may be doing more damage than expected. According to a recent study, brain development in teenagers can be delayed by over-consumption of caffeine. Teenage brains need solid sleep for their development. Caffeine

【轻松英文阅读】紫色的西红柿

Its no secret that dark foods with purple pigment, such as purple onions, grapes, blueberries, and prunes are loaded with nutrients. They have been scientifically proven to reduce cancer risk, help your heart by lowering bad cholesterol, repair liver

【轻松英文阅读】边玩边学

Paper, pencil, whiteboard, textbook. Those are the tools you need if you want to go to school. But recently, you can add another one to the list: an iPad. Because the popular Apple tablet is not only useful for searching the Internet and watching vid

【轻松英文阅读】巧克力的益处

We love chocolate. We love it so much we eat five kilograms of it a year. But how did it get so popular? Chocolate was first introduced to Europe about 400 years ago. But it was quite different from the chocolate of the Aztecs in Mexico who first pro

【轻松英文阅读】咖啡要涨价了

The price of Brazilian Arabica coffee has just surged by 94 percent on the New York futures market. What's behind the rise? Well, its the result of bad weather in Brazil. That country's coffee harvest accounts for more than one third of the world's o