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　　MONTREAL(Reuters)－Crossing the US-Canada border(边界)to go to church on a Sunday cost a US citizen ＄10 000 for breaking Washington’s strict new security(安全)rules．

　　The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert, who lives right on the Canadian border．Like the other half-dozen people of Township 15, crossing the border is a daily occurrence for Albert．The nearby Quebec village of St．Pamphile is where they shop, eat and go to church．

　　There are many such situations in these areas along the largely unguarded 5530-mile border between Canada and the US－which in some cases actually runs down the middle of streets or through buildings．

　　As a result, Albert says he did not expect any problems three weeks ago when he returned home to the US after attending church in Canada, as usual．The US customs(海关)station in this area is closed on Sundays, so he just drove around the locked gate, as he had done every weekend since the gate appeared last May, following a tightening of border security．Two days later．Albert was told to go to the customs office, where an officer told him he had been caught on carnera crossing the border illegally(非法地)．

　　Ottawa has given out special passes to some 300 US citizens in that area so they can enter the country when Canadian customs stations are closed, but the US stopped a similar program last May．That forces the people to a 200-mile detour along hilly roads to get home through another border checkpoint．

　　Albert has requested that the Customs office change their decisions on the fine, but he has not attended a Sunday church since．“I feel like I’m living in a prison,”he said．

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　　The Chongyang Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, so it is also known as the Double Ninth Festival．

　　The festival is held in the golden season of autumn, at harvest-time．The bright clear weather and the joy of bringing in the harvest make for a festival happy atmosphere．The Chongyang Festival is usually perfect for outdoor activities．Climbing a mountain, carrying a spray of dogwood(茱萸)and drinking chrysanthemum(菊花)wine have become the traditional activities of the festival．

　　The dogwood is a plant with a strong fragrance(香气)，and is often used as a Chinese herbal medicine．People in ancient times believed it could drive away evil spirits and prevent one from getting a chill(寒意)in late autumn．So its history as a medicine goes back many centuries．But the custom of carrying a spray of dogwood during the Double Ninth Festival is slowly dying out and many people in the cities, do not even know what a dogwood spray looks like．

　　Early in Han Dynasty, about 2000 years ago, people used to climb a high platform outside the capital city of Chang’an on the occasion of the Chongyang Festival．For many, it was the last outing of the year before the onset of winter．The custom evolved(发展成)into present form, when people go climbing to get some exercises as well as enjoy the autumn scenery．

　　But what about those people who live in plains far from any mountain?The problem is solved by going for a picnic and eating cakes．The Chinese word for“cake”is“Gao”, a homony of the Chinese word for“high”．Mountains are high, so eating cakes can, by a stretch of the imagination, take the place of going for a climb．

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　　Falling on the fifth day of the fifth month in the lunar calendar, Duanwu Festival, is usually celebrated with boat races and the eating of zongzi, pyramid-shaped zongzi made of glutinous rice and wrapped in bamboo leaves．

　　South Korea’s Gangneung Danoje Festival, which occurs at the same time and has roots in Chinese culture, is celebrated with masked performances and traditional Korean games．

　　When the news that the Republic of Korea planned to nominate(提名)its Gangneung Danoje Festival for inclusion in the UNESCO list in 2005, many Chinese people thought China would lose its“patent”(专利权)on the celebration．

　　The furore(狂热)eventually died down, but the widespread interest in protecting traditional Chinese festivals remained．The festival has been the focus of such interest．

　　Wen Yangyang, deputy secretary-general of the China Food Industry Association,said the association had submitted a proposal in 2005 urging the government to add traditional festivals to the state list of intangible cultural heritage．

　　That and five other traditional festivals, including Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, were added to the list last year．

　　“Last year, more than 10 000 people signed a banner calling for the festival to be recognized as part of the world’s intangible heritage,”Wen said．

　　The Ministry of Culture is reportedly ready to accept application documents for the preparatory list．

　　However, Zou Qishan, a ministry official, said China would not recommend the festival for inclusion on the UNESCO list this year．

　　Zou added that it was still exciting to see that so much care about the country’s intangible heritage．

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　　Sometimes a book can help change history．One book that certainly did was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe．It was a book that spoke out against slavery．

　　At the time Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote her book, there were over 3.5 million slaves in the United States．Slaves were usually in the cotton-growing states of the South．The Northern States had ended slavery．They did not mind that slavery continued in the South．

　　Stowe decided to make people understand that slavery was very bad．Each night after putting her six children to bed she worked on her book．She told the story of an old slave, Tom and Simon Legree, a slave owner．She also told how the slaves tried to run away for freedom．Uncle Tom’s Cabin first came out in 1852．Over 300 000 books were sold out in a year．

　　People had different ideas about the book．In the North, many people finally believed that slavery must be ended after they read the book．In the South, many people were very angry at the people in the North．By 1861 the two parts of the country were at war．The Civil War, which lasted until 1865, finally brought an end to slavery．

　　Of course, there were many things that made the Civil War happen．Yet, Uncle Tom’s Cabin surely played a part．Stowe met President Lincoln in 1862．As Lincoln took her hand, he said,“So you are the little woman who started the big war．”

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　　Serena Williams took a leaf out of Goran Ivanisevic’s book and created her own entry in the annals(年报)of the Australian Open on Saturday．

　　Croatian Ivanisevic turned out to be the poster-boy of all dreamers in the sport when he won the first prize in grasscourt tennis while ranked 125th in the world．

　　Williams copied Ivanisevic’s miraculous run to the 2001 Wimbledon title this past fourteen days in Melbourne, though if she had lived up to(证明与……等同)her ranking she would have been back home in Florida after the first round．

　　Instead the world number 81 announced her comeback to top flight tennis in the only manner she knows how, to make her way to an eighth grand slam(大满贯)title．

　　“We all know I’m not really 81,”the American said following her 6-1 6-2 rout of top seed Maria Sharapova．

　　“It’s exciting for women’s tennis but I think it’s exciting that it’s Serena Williams and not just anyone else．”Because I’ve been number one before and I’ve won seven grand slams before today．Today it’s eight．It makes a difference, absolutely．

　　“It tells people you can’t sleep on anybody．They might not be here, or they might not be here for a couple of days but they come back and I’m here to stay．”

　　“M y best years are ahead of me．”

　　Before the final, Williams defeated the seeds of Mara Santangelo(27), Nadia Petrova(5), Serbian Jelena Jankovic(11), Shahar Peer(16)and Nicole Vaidisova(10)．

　　On Saturday, she added world number one Sharapova to that list in what she described as“one of the best matches I’ve ever played”．

　　Already guaranteed to shoot up to 14th when the new rankings are released on Monday, Williams wasted no time in making her mind to be the number one ranking．

　　“I would love to be number one,”said the American after winning her third crown in Melbourne．

　　I think I played the best in this tournament and I played like the number one seed．

　　I’ve never been one to play 50 tournaments, 30 tournaments or even 20 tournaments．I always figured that if I play 12 to 15 tournaments and I win 10 of them, I’ll be fine．

　　“The year I was number one, that’s what I did．”

　　Williams’s 57-week reign as world number one ended in August 2003 and since then she has been hit by a series of injuries that often cut into her schedule．

　　Last year she played in only four tournaments and made her comeback from a four-month injury in a low-key tournament in Hobart earlier this month．

　　Having struggled there, she was only expected to make up the numbers at Melbourne Park．She had not won a title of any kind since winning her seventh major in Australia two years ago．

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　　Newly from its second manned spaceship, China’s space program wants to be able to put a man on the moon and build a space station in 15 years, an official said Sunday．

　　“I think in about 10 to 15 years, we will have the ability to build our own space station and to carry out a manned moon landing,”said Hu Shixiang, deputy commander of China’s manned spaceship program．

　　But the plan depends on the money getting from the government, Hu said, explaining that the space program must fit in the larger plan of the country’s overall development．

　　Hu was in Hong Kong with the two astronauts who piloted China’s second successful manned spaceship in October．He spoke during a television talk with executives from various television stations and newspapers．

　　Nie Haisheng and Fei Junlong circled Earth for five days aboard the Shenzhou 6 capsule(太空舱)，traveling 2 million miles in 115 hours, 32 minutes．China’s first manned spaceship was in 2003, when astronaut Yang Liwei stayed for 21 1/2 hours．

　　China wants to master(精通)the technology for a space walk in space by 2012, Hu said．He said China was developing its space program at its own pace,not in competition with the United States．“It’s not the competition of the Cold War era,”he said．

　　Hu stressed China’s intention to use space exploration for peaceful ends, saying the government“is willing to work hard with people around the world for the peaceful use of space．”

　　He said Chinese space officials want to study the possibility of making rockets with the capacity to carry spacecraft weighing 27.5 tons－three times the capacity of their existing rockets－but the government hasn’t approved the funding．

　　Hu dismissed suggestions the space program is too costly for a country that, despite rapid economic growth, is still struggling to put an end to rural poverty．He noted the recent space ship cost ＄111.4 million, compared to the ＄23.5 billion that China spent on fighting against pollution last year．

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　　Make Puppets(木偶)－Find photographs from magazines or books of endangered species．From these pictures, create a puppet that looks like your favorite endangered animal．You can use socks, buttons, orange juice cans, small bowls, plastic and aluminum wrap(铝箔)，glue, thread and needle, magic markers, pipe cleaners, and other odds and ends to make your puppets．Once you have made your puppet, you can create a story explaining why the species has become endangered．Use your local library and the Internet to research why the species is endangered．Using your puppet, tell your story to an audience．

　　Make A Storybook－Select a single, or many, endangered species that interest you．Do research in your local library and on the Internet to learn more about the species．Decide where they live and why, what they eat, what eats them, who shares their home, and why they are endangered．Draw pictures to make your story lively．Share your storybook with others．

　　Personal Reading－Read and learn as much about endangered species as you can．Your local library is probably the best place to begin．You could look in encyclopedias(百科全书)，reference books, picture books, storybooks, magazines, and even cd-roms using a computer．

　　Local Species Research－Research to make sure if there are some endangered species in your hometown．Try to find out what other people in your community are doing for these species．Perhaps you can interview them and ask why they are interested, and what they are doing．

　　Tell Others!－Share your new knowledge with others．Tell them about endangered species and explain why they are endangered．Encourage others to learn more about endangered species．Let them know that together, we can all make a difference．

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　　Let us say there is something you don’t know how to do．

　　In the past if you were determined to learn, you might have called a friend or relative, taken a night class off and walked down to the local library for a research term．But now a host of websites are springing up to provide free practical advice on these subjects and actually anything else you can think of．

　　In one sense, these“how-to”sites represent(表明)a part of the growing world of on line learning．This tradition found one of its earliest forms in the FAQs－or Frequently Asked Questions files－that began on Usenet, the Internet’s global discussion group．These FAQs, many of which still circulate(go round continuously), took a specific subject－and explained it to complete novices．

　　But“how-to”sites take the FAQs idea in a somewhat different direction by addressing subjects that aren’t necessarily related to discussion forums(论坛)．These sites take the style of a written tutorial(teaching period)and a tone of friendly advice．Possibly the biggest and best known of these sites is learn 2.com(www.learn 2.com)．It offers nearly 1000 free tutorials and adds new ones frequently for a job interview．

　　At ehow.com(www.ehow.com)you can learn how to train for your first marathon, how to buy a vacation home or how to make a movie in eight steps．

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　　“Smoking is bad for the nation’s health．”The plain truth, proved by ever-increasing medical truth, repeated by health authorities, and printed on cigarette packages, has failed to prevent our innocent youth from smoking．

　　Many young smokers light up their first cigarette in the mistaken belief that puffing away(吹出气)at a cigarette is cool．

　　Anti-smoking supporters here in China must envy their counterparts(极相似的人)in France．To help implement a nationwide smoking ban coming into force there on Thursday, 175 000 special inspectors(巡视员)and members of the police force will be sent to patrol public places．

　　When people foolishly believe smoking is cool, it is of little use telling them to stop．What the French did, just like what has been done in our Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, is a good way to drive home the message that smoking kills．The forceful bans in both Hong Kong and France actually make smoking in public impolite．

　　We cannot expect the same to happen here anytime soon．Not until our country gives up the high profits from tobacco．

　　It is a paradox(自相矛盾)that while the central government promises to control tobacco, some local governments depend on the health damaging leaves to fill their banks．

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　　If you asked me what the newest fad(时尚)is for teens today, I would have to say the iPod．This handheld electronic device can store and play thousands of songs．Everyone has one．After all, to most teens, music is more than a way to express themselves．It’s their“escape”．

　　On popular music radio stations, almost every song is about love, and many love songs are about break-ups(分手)．There are two ways people react to break-ups．They may be glad to break up with people that don’t appreciate them：“Get out!Leave, right now, it’s the end of you and me．I can’t wait for you to be gone,”goes a popular song by a singer named Jo Jo．Or they may beg their ex-boy/girlfriends to come back：“Baby, when you left, I lost a part of me…Please come back, we belong together,”goes an equally popular song by Mariah Carey, a huge star．

　　But not all songs are about break-ups; some songs about true love are also popular．DJ Sammy’s“Baby you’re all that I want/when you’re lying here in my arms/I’m finding it hard to believe/we’re in heaven．”(Will they be singing“Get Out, Leave”or“We Belong Together”tomorrow?)

　　Other songs are about growing up．“Did I grow up according to plan?And do you think I’m wasting my time doing things I want to do?But it hurts when you disapprove all along,”goes a song by Simple Plan, addressed to a dad who tried to plan out his son’s life．

　　However, the best songs are the ones about important issues in the world．A couple of years ago, the longest-reigning number one song of the year, a favourite of mine as well, was a song promoting(提倡)non-violence in a tumultuous world．But another song tops my list：“I don’t want another pretty face…I want you and your beautiful soul．”Other songs make me want to scream at the radio, especially when they top the ratings charts：“Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?”However, all songs, whether about falling in love or out of it, truly reflect the mood of a generation．

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