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.

U.S. shoppers defy economic blues on 'Black Friday'
by Luis Torres De La Liosa
New York, AFP

以下內容來自一封網路 e-mail

---

There was a one-hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

1. 1. He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he  started too late!
2. 2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering  newspapers.
3. 3. He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
4. 4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
5. 5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.
6. 6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given his CEO's only two rules.
   

    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.

Cartoon Characters Get Big Makeover for Overseas Fans
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.

Rich: (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?

Izzy: 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.

Putting  Wikipedia's pieces together

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