【Encyclopedia】
>Greetings for sneezers
为何祝福打喷嚏者
Do you know there was once a law to say "God bless you" to any one who sneezed? During the 6th Century, it was a custom to congratulate people who sneezed. That's because they thought the person who sneezed was expelling evil from his body. During the great plague of Europe, the Pope passed a law. The law said you say "God bless you" to anyone who sneezed.
你知道吗？曾经有法令要求人们对打喷嚏的人说"上帝保佑你"。在公元6世纪，向打喷嚏的人表示祝贺是一种习惯，因为人们相信打喷嚏能够赶走体内的恶魔。在欧洲大瘟疫期间，罗马教皇通过了一项法令，规定人们在打喷嚏时要说"上帝保佑你"。
【Encyclopedia】
>Audio: Story about Jazz
有声百科:漫谈'爵士乐'
Jazz began in the southern areas of the US among blacks. Its rhythm came mostly from songs of labor and religion from black slaves. Street bands in New Orleans made jazz popular. In the 1920s many blacks moved north, and brought jazz to Chicago and New York. This was the start of the big band era. The Jazz Age is a name for the 1920s, when jazz was very popular in the US. Miles Davis is the best-known jazz musician in the US.
爵士乐为美国南部非洲裔美国人首创，它的许多旋律都来自黑奴的劳动歌谣和圣歌。新奥尔良的街头乐队最先让爵士乐流行起来。20世纪20年代，很多非洲裔美国人迁往北方，芝加哥和纽约随后成为爵士乐的中心，大乐队爵士乐时代由此开始。整个20年代爵士乐在美国非常流行，也被称为"爵士时代"。温顿?马萨利斯是当今最著名的爵士音乐家。
【Encyclopedia】
>Veggies to buy fresh
9种蔬菜不宜储存过久
Vegetables like green peppers, beans, cauliflower, leek, spinach, fennel, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and lettuce should not be stored for more than 3 days even if the temperature is proper because of the nitrates they contain. Though nitrates are not noxious, if these vegetables are stored too long, the nitrates convert to nitrite -- which is noxious -- because of enzymes and bacteria.
青椒、豆角、菜花、韭葱、菠菜、茴香、生笋、蘑菇、生菜这9种蔬菜，即使温度适宜，也别存放3天以上。虽然蔬菜本身含有硝酸盐是无毒的，但如果储存时间过长，在酶与细菌的作用下，硝酸盐被还原成亚硝酸盐，就变成了有毒物质。
【Encyclopedia】
>Use brine to wash new items
新衣服穿前先用盐水洗
Sometimes new clothes come with a peculiar smell. This smell comes from formaldehyde, which is used for resisting creases. It's a substance which causes cancer. Edible salt can disinfect, sterilize and resist fading, so we'd better dip new clothes in brine for some time before we wear them.
新衣服有时会散发一种特殊的味道，这种味道来自衣服防皱处理时残留的致癌性化学药品甲醛
，因此必须用食盐水浸泡后洗一洗再穿，食盐能消毒、杀菌、防棉布褪色。
【Encyclopedia】
>Origin of the lunar calendar
百科:农历的起源
The beginnings of the lunar calendar can be traced back to ancient China. Legends say that the Emperor Huangdi invented the calendar in 2637 BC. He introduced the first circle of the zodiac and named each of the 12 years after an animal. Today people in China use the Gregorian calendar for most practical matters in daily life. But the old system still serves as the basis for marking some seasonal holidays and events.
农历的起源可追溯到中国古代。传说黄帝在公元前2637年发明了这套历法。同时，他也引入了第一个12生肖体系，用动物来命名12年中的每一年。现在，中国人在日常生活中大多使用公历，但老的历法依然是一些季节性节日和活动的依据。
【Encyclopedia】
>Unusual use of toothpaste
百科:巧用牙膏去茶垢
The dirt in a porcelain teacup is difficult to wipe off. A good way to clean it is to rub it with gauze and toothpaste until the dirt is easily removed. Shirt collars will easily turn yellow from sweat in summer. Using toothpaste to wash collars not only cleans them, but helps ward off skin allergies since toothpaste contains less irritative chemicals than other detergents.
搪瓷茶杯如果长期沉积茶垢，通常不易洗去。不过，如果用细纱布沾少许牙膏擦拭，即可轻松除去茶垢。夏天穿衬衫，领口很容易被汗浸得发黄。用牙膏清洗衣领，不但可以轻松去除污垢，而且牙膏中所含的刺激性化学成份远远低于其它洗涤剂，不会让皮肤过敏。
【Encyclopedia】
>Los Angeles
'天使之城'洛杉矶
Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the 2nd largest in the US. Often called LA or the "the City of Angels," Los Angeles has about 3.8m people and covers 1290 sq kms in Southern California. L.A. has a mild climate and enjoys plenty of sun throughout the year. The city is famous for Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Attractions include Disneyland, Sunset Boulevard, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Hollywood Bowl, Universal Studios and Rodeo Drive.
洛杉矶是美国第二大城市，加利福尼亚州第一大城市。该城位于南加州，经常缩写为L.A.，别称"天使之城"，市区人口约为380万，面积1290平方公里。洛杉矶拥有地中海气候，一年四季阳光灿烂。该城以好莱坞和贝弗利山而闻名，其旅游胜地包括迪斯尼乐园、日落大道、好莱坞星光大道、好莱坞圆形剧场、环球影城和罗迪欧大道。
【Kaleidoscope】
>Women cannot keep a secret
研究:女人最难守住秘密
UK researchers found that women are overcome by a burning desire to share gossip and they will typically spill the beans to others in 47 hours and 15 minutes, according to the Daily Telegraph. Their boyfriends, husbands, best fri
ends or mothers are most likely to be the initial recipients of the information. The study of 3000 women aged between 18 and 65 also found that 4 out of 10 admitted they were unable to keep a secret – no matter how personal or confidential the news was.
据英国《每日电讯报》报道，英国研究人员发现女性有一种传播小道消息的急切愿望，通常保守秘密的时间是47小时15分钟。她们通常会把消息先透露给男友、丈夫、闺蜜或母亲。在接受调查的3000个18岁至65岁的女性中，有40%的女性承认，不管多么私人或机密的信息，她们都无法保守秘密。