英語學習筆記

  National Geographic News -- People have been enjoying chocolate for more than 3,000 years -- about 500 years earlier than previously believed, according to a new study. Researchers also think that chocolate was discovered by accident -- when Central American Indians making beer from the pulp of cacao seedpods found a new use for a byproduct of that process.
  The new findings about chocolate's origins were gleaned from traces of cacao found on pottery fragments dating from about 1100 B.C. to 800 B.C. Then fragments were uncovered between 1995 and 2000 at archaeological excavations near Puerto Escondido in Honduras.
  Today's chocolate is made from the fermented seeds of the cacao tree, which only grows near the equator. Around 1100 B.C., ancient beer makers used the cacao's seedpods to make their drinks. The pods -- which were a little smaller than a modern American football -- were fermented, and then the pod pulp was used to make the beer. The seeds were discarded.

by Luis Torres De La Liosa
New York, AFP

以下內容來自一封網路 e-mail

    dpa -- It's every notebook computer user's worst nightmare. You go to retrieve your notebook from the last place you left it, only to discover that someone else -- a thief -- has retrieved it for you.
    Financial records, bank and credit card information, personal data, sensitive files, expensive software -- not to mention the notebook computer itself -- can be gone in an instant.
    That means that if you own a notebook computer, theft prevention is your best defense. But just because your notebook computer is personal doesn't mean it will stay that way. So your first step should be to take a hard look at just what information you have stored on your notebook computer and decide whether it belongs there, remembering that at any time it could be exposed to prying eyes.

by Geoffery A. Fowler & Amy Chozick

France, Land of Cigarettes, May Banish Most Smokes
by Elaine Sciolieno

Never alone: Protecting kids on the Internet

    dpa--The Internet and the wealth of information and entertainment found on it aren't just a draw for adults. Even the smallest of children quickly feel the pull of the World Wide Web.

(In the market) Which light bulb do you think is better?
Belle: I would say the energy efficient one.
Rich: Isn't it more expensive compared with the traditional one?

I ate some white bread and potatoes for breakfast. Why do I feel hungry so soon? It's only 10am.
Richie: Because they are "high-GI" foods, which make your blood sugar surge quickly. What you need are "low-GI" foods, such as high-fiber, whole foods, which increase your blood sugar gradually,  so you'll feel full for a longer period. In addition, your daily calorie intake will be less, too.
Izzy: Cool. I'll try to eat low-GI food for lunch.

A look at how Wikipedia -- the multilingual Web-based, free-content encyclopedia operated by the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation -- woks: