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　　TOKYO－An express train traveling through strong winter winds derailed(出轨)in northern Japan, killing four people and injuring more than 30, officials said Monday?．?

　　Five cars of the six-car express train derailed Sunday evening, three of them topping onto their sides in Yamagata, about 189 miles north of Tokyo．The train was going from northern Akita to Niigate．

　　The injuries of the survivors did not appear to be life-threatening, Yamagata police spokesman Yoshikatsu Oe said．It was unclear how many passengers were on the train, but Oe said most of the injured were in the first two cars．The dead included two men and two women．One of the men was pulled from the wreckage(残骸)early Monday and was believed to be the last body on the train．

　　Rescuers planned to lift the wreckage later in the day to see if any other passengers remained beneath．

　　Transport Ministry official Hiromi Mishima said it was not known what caused the derailment and officials were assessing(估计)the extent of the damage．Railway operator JR East Co．President Mutsutake Otsuka apologized for the accident at a news conference Monday morning and promised to look into the accident．Yamagata police official Yasuhiro Sugiu said there had been high-speed wind warnings for the area．Public broadcaster NHK(日本广播协会)quoted a train conductor as saying a strong wind hit the train just before the accident．Winds in the area were about 48 mph, Kyodo News agency reported．

　　Japan in recent days has suffered from unusually heavy snowfall, and storms have led to the deaths of eight people．But snow did not appear to be a cause in Sunday’s crash．

　　Authorities said they did not know how fast the train was going．Speed was believed to be a cause in an April 25 train wreck that killed 107 people and injured more than 500 others in Amagasaki, western Japan．That accident was Japan’s worst train wreck since 1963．

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　　For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming home to an empty house．Some deal with the situation by watching TV．Some may hide．But all of them have something in common．They spend part of each day alone．They are called latchkey children．

　　They’re children who look after themselves while their parents work．And their bad condition has become a subject of concern．?

　　Lynette Long was once the headmaster of an elementary school．She said, “We had a school rule against wearing jewelry．A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys attached．I was constantly telling them to put them inside shirts．There were so many keys, it never came to my mind what they meant．” Slowly, she learned they were house keys．

　　She and her husband began talking to the children who had them．They learned of the impact(影响)working couples and single parents were having on their children．Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone．One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared．Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety．

　　The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding．It might be in a shower stall, under? a bed in a closet．The second is TV．They’ll often play it at high volume．It’s hard to get statistics(情况,材料)on latchkey children, the Longs learned．Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone．

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　　Most British telephone cards are just plain green, but card collecting is becoming a popular hobby in Britain and collectors even have their own magazine, International Telephone Cards．One reason for their interest is that cards from around the world come in a wide variety of different and often very attractive designs．There are 100 000 different cards in Japan alone, and there you can put your own design onto a blank card simply by using a photograph or a business card．

　　The first telephone cards, produced in 1976, were Italian．Five years later the first British card appeared, and now you can buy cards in more than a hundred countries．People usually start collecting cards because they are attractive, small and light, and they do not need much space．It is also a cheap hobby for beginners, although for some people it becomes a serious business．In Paris, for example, there is a market where you can buy only telephone cards, and some French cards cost up to 4000 pounds．The first Japanese card has a value of about 28 000 pounds．Most people only see cards with prices like these in their collectors magazine．

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　　Language learning begins with listening．Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and later starters are often long listeners．Most children will “obey” spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word “obey”

　　is hardly exact as a description of the eager and delighted co-operation(合作)usually shown by the child．Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gestures and by making questioning noises．

　　Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties．It’s agreed that they enjoy making? noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves out as particular expression like delight, pain, friendliness．But since these can’t be said to show the baby’s intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language．It is agreed too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able? to add new words to their store．This self-imitation(自我模仿)leads out to deliberate(有意的)imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people．The problem then arises to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech．

　　It is a problem we need to get our teeth into．The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world．Thus the use, at seven months, of “mama” as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply because he also uses it at another time for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes．Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself．I doubt, however, whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of his ability in an attempt to teach new words．

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　　Every day we go to school and listen to the teacher, and the teacher will ask us some questions．Sometimes, the classmates will ask for your opinions of the work of the class．When you are telling others in the class what you have found out about these topics, remember that they must be able to hear what you are saying．You are not taking part in a family conversation or having a chat with friends－you are in a slightly unnatural situation where a large group of people will remain silent, waiting to hear what you have to say．You must speak so that they can hear you－loudly enough and clearly enough but without trying to shout or appearing to force yourself．

　　Remember, too, that it is the same if you are called to an interview whether it is with a professor of your school or a government official who might meet you．The person you are seeing will try to put you at your ease(not worried)but the situation is somewhat different from that of an ordinary conversation．You must take special care that you can be heard．

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　　I always felt sorry for the people in wheelchair．Some people, old and weak, cannot get around by themselves．Others seem perfectly healthy, dressed in business suits．But whenever I saw someone in a wheelchair, I only saw a disability, not a person．

　　Then I fainted(晕倒)at Euro Disney due to low blood pressure．This was the first time I had ever fainted, and my parents said that I must rest for a while after First Aid．I agreed to take it easy but, as I stepped toward the door, I saw my dad pushing a wheelchair in my direction! Feeling the color burn my cheeks, I asked him to wheel that thing right back to where he found it．

　　I could not believe this was happening to me．Wheelchairs were fine for other people but not for me, as my father wheeled me out into the main street, people immediately began to treat me differently．

　　Little kids ran in front of me, forcing my father to stop the wheel chair suddenly．Bitterness set in as I was thrown back and forth．“Stupid kids－they have perfectly good legs．Why can’t they watch where they are going?” I thought．People stared down at me, pity in their eyes．Then they would look away, maybe because they thought the sooner they forgot me the better．

　　“I’m just like you!” I wanted to scream．“The only difference is you’ve got legs, and I have wheels．”

　　People in wheelchairs are not stupid．They see every look and hear each word．Looking out at the faces, I finally? understood：I was once just like them．I treated people in wheelchairs exactly the way they did not want to be treated．I realized it is some of us with two healthy legs who are truly disabled．

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　　BALTIMORE－When 15-year-old Michael Thomas left home for school last May, he couldn’t have been prouder．On his feet, thanks to his mother’s hard work, were a pair of new Air Jordans－＄100 worth of leather, rubber and status(身份)that to today’s youth are the Mercedes-Benz of athletic footwear．The next day it was James David Martin, 17，who was walking down the street in Thomas’ new sneakers, while Thomas lay dead in a field not far from his school．

　　Martin was arrested(逮捕)for murder．

　　For the Baltimore school system, Thomas’ death was the last straw．He was the third youngster to have been killed over his clothes in five years．Dozens of others had been robbed of brand-new sneakers, fashionable jogging suits, leather jackets and jewelry．

　　This fall, the school board announced a dress code preventing leather shirts and jackets, jogging suits, gold chains and other expensive items．Joseph Smith, Board President, said, “Clothes have just gotten out of control”．Across the nation, parents, school officials, psychologists and even some children agree．They say that today’s youngsters, throughout the nation, have become clothes concerned(关心)．They worry about them, compete over them, pay no attention to school for them and sometimes even rob and kill for them．

　　In many cases, students are so concerned about what they and their classmates are wearing, they forget what they come to school for, educators said．In response, many public schools, mainly in eastern cities, have used school uniforms to cut down on competition．Educators say, in the present fashion climate, dressing students alike allows them more freedom to be normal individuals．

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Coal mines(矿)claim more lives

　　A coal mine explosion(爆炸)in Jixi, Heilongjiang left more than 100 miners dead on Thursday．The mines in Jixi were ordered to stop production．The government has tried to shut down thousands of small, illegal mines in the country that do not meet safety standards．

　　Palestinians killed 32 Israelis in three major attacks between Tuesday and Thursday．There were two suicide bombings(自杀性爆炸)and a militant attack on a Jewish settlement．They rang one of the highest Israeli death bell in such a short period over the last two years．

　　The average height of Chinese young people has risen by 6 centimeters compared to that of 20 years ago．This is far over the world’s average growth speed．A survey on health conducted by a group of Chinese students found the results．According to the world average level, youths get taller by 1 centimeter every 10 years．

　　The Group of Eight(G8)－the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Canada and Russia－will hold a summit on June 26 and 27 in Kananasiks, Canada．The G8 are the richest and most powerful countries in the world．G8 leaders and some African presidents will discuss strengthening world’s economic growth and helping Africa．Kofi Anna, United Nations Secretary-General, will also attend．

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　　Kimiko Fukuda always wondered what her dog was trying to say．Whenever she put on makeup, it would pull at her sleeve．

　　Now, the Japanese girl thinks she knows．When the dog barks, she glances at a small electronic gadget(小机械)．The following “human” translation appears on its screen：“Please take me with you．”

　　“I realized that was how he was feeling,” says Fukuda．

　　The gadget is called Bowlingual, and it translates dog barks into feelings．People laughed when the Japanese toy-maker Takara Company made the world’s first dog-human translation machine in 2002．But 300 000 Japanese dog owners bought it．More customers are expected when the English version(型号)is launched this summer．

　　“Nobody else had thought about it,” said Masahiko Kajita, who works for Takara, “We spend so much time training dogs to understand our orders; what would it be like if we could understand dogs?”

　　Bowlingual, one of US Time Magazine’s 42 coolest inventions of 2002, has two parts．A wireless microphone is attached to the dog’s collar(项圈), which sends information to the gadget held by the owner．The translation is done in the gadget using a database(数据库)containing every kind of bark．

　　Based on animal behavior research, these noises are divided into six kinds：happiness, sadness, frustration(沮丧), anger, declaration and desire．

　　Each one of these emotions is then linked to a phrase like “Let’s play,” “Look at me,” or “Spend more time with me．” In this way, the database scientifically matches a bark to an emotion, which is then translated into one of 200 phrases．

　　When a visitor went to Fukuda’s house recently, the dog barked a loud “bow wow”．This is translated as “Don’t come this way”．It was followed by “I’m stronger than you” as the dog shouted angrily and sniffed at the visitor．

　　The product will be on sale in US pet stores this summer for about US ＄120．

　　It can store up to 100 barks, even recording the dog’s emotions when the owner is away．Meanwhile, the Meowlingual, aimed at cat owners, will be available(可提供的)in November．

　　However, the translations are never completely accurate．“We can’t say it’s 100 percent right,” said Yoko Watanabe of Takara．“You can’t really understand how a dog feels unless you become one yourself．”

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　　When I was small and my grandmother died, I couldn’t understand why I had no tears．But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying．

　　So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come form the same part of the brain．Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying．

　　Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional health, and crying seems to work well．One study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying．

　　Besides, tears attract help from other people．Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort．Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don’t even know we’re very sad until we cry．We learn about our emotions through crying, and then we can deal with them．

　　Just as crying can be healthy, not crying－holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering－can be bad for physical health．Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses．If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry．But when you feel like crying, don’t fight it．It’s natural－and healthy－emotional response．