PDA

View Full Version : Lớp Học Anh Văn (update: day 11)


jojo11111
10-04-2009, 07:50 AM
Hi mọi người,

Vào thẳng vấn đề: Lớp nào tạo ra là do ta muốn ôn luyện thêm trình độ tiếng anh của mình, đặc biệt là về từ vựng và viết văn, còn những cái khác ta không luyện (đủ rùi không cần luyện nữa!) Do đó, ai có ý muốn học nghe và nói thì ta không giúp được đâu, tại thân ta cũng chẳng có kinh nghiệm về học nghe và nói (ta không hề đi học qua lớp nghe nói nào nên mong mọi người thông cảm!)

Thôi quay lại việc học từ vựng và viết văn!

Mọi người nếu đã đọc đến đoạn này thì chắc là quan tâm đến việc luyện từ vựng và viết văn nên ta nói luôn. Luyện từ vựng trong topic này sẽ là luyện những từ từ trung đến cao cấp, thậm chí sẽ lọt ra đến những từ gọi là literary vocabularies, nên ta khuyến khích ai tự thấy trình độ tiếng anh mình kha khá hãy đọc tiếp nghen. Luyện viết văn cũng vậy, ta sẽ chủ yếu luyện viết essay từ ba bốn trăm chữ trở lên, thậm chí là lên đế tám trăm một ngàn không chừng, nếu tìm được đối tượng!!!

Vậy những người còn đọc topic này... chúng ta bắt đầu học.

Chương trình học đơn giản:
Từ vựng: một hai ngày ta kiếm một hai bài news ở đâu ra post lên xong tìm ra năm từ mới, mọi người với ta tra nghĩa rồi ghi chép lại, xong mỗi người làm 5 câu ví dụ với mấy từ mới học với một đoạn văn có năm chữ mới học. Một tuần chúng ta học 3 bài (vì ta biết ai cũng bận!), cuối tuần chúng ta làm một bài quiz nho nhỏ ôn lại mấy chữ đã học!

Viết văn: mỗi tuần chúng ta kiếm một cái topic rồi viết một bài essay, xong dùng clone post lên, mọi người cùng xem xét rồi sửa cho nhau! Đặc biệt trong bài essay của mình nên có một số từ mới đã học trong tuần qua!!!

Vậy là mỗi tuần mỗi người tham gia topic có trách nhiệm nộp 15 câu ví dụ, 3 đoạn văn ngắn, một bài quiz, và một bài essay! Xong! :050::050::050:

Ai có thắc mắc liên lạc ta để biết thêm chi tiết! :grin::grin::grin:

Cấm SPAM... ai spam ta chém :die:

jojo11111
10-04-2009, 09:19 AM
Ngày 1, week 1

Russia opposes North Korea sanctions

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Nearly a week after North Korea ignored international warnings and launched a long-range rocket, a Russian official said Thursday that Moscow opposes new sanctions against the communist nation.
"There is an idea of a tough resolution stipulating new sanctions against North Korea. We do not want that," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said at his televised weekly briefing.

The U.N. Security Council convened Sunday, just hours after the early-morning test, but took no action, despite calls for tighter sanctions against Pyongyang.

NATO's North Atlantic Council condemned the launch Thursday, saying it violated Security Council resolutions 1695 and 1718.

The resolutions demand that North Korea suspend actions related to its ballistic missile program. The council said the nation should re-commit to the moratorium on its missile program.

Nesterenko disagreed.

"Stricter sanctions may have the opposite result, inflict an irreparable damage on the six-nation negotiations, increase the isolation and anger of North Korea and provoke its disproportionate response," he said.
advertisement

The North Korean government insists the launch was a peaceful one, and said the rocket was carrying a communications satellite.

The United States and other nations say the move demonstrated the country's attempt to develop a long-range missile -- a rocket with a warhead attached.


Từ mới được bôi đập và gạch chân! :grin:
Mọi người lấy đọc qua, lấy từ mới về tra nghĩa rồi làm ví dụ với một đoạn văn nghen! Ngày kia nộp bài :)

kidkad
10-04-2009, 10:41 AM
Ta là học viên gương mẫu nộp bài đầy đủ nè. Lão nào vào chữa cho ta :uong2:

North Korea is one of the poorest country in the world. According to UN Radio in 2008, millions of people are facing worst hunger they ever seen for decades. Despite its poverty, North Korea is no doubt a strong military superpower. Country’s leaders proved no hesitation in challenging UN’s resolution, provoking lots of debate in the UN Security Council on how to impose an effective sanction against it. The recent launch of a suspected long-range missile by North Korea presents a clear example of how North Korea would react with any escalated military action from either South Korea or the US that was considered as a provocative factor. This launching of a satellite into orbit as claimed by North Korea, was a call for attention aiming at the international community and a symbolic gesture to strengthen its position in the Six Party Talks. Why it is a call for attention? The success of this action enlists North Korea in 12 countries who have capacity to launch long-range missile, a mass-destruction weapon. Despite this threatening fact, everybody knows that North Korea has an ailing economy that was sanctioned and embargoed by the US for a long time. Recently, it was no longer backed up unconditionally by China and continuously involved in military conflict with South Korea, the main provider of foods besides the UN. Can a country fight international troops with a hungry arm force and bare foot?
The UN has immediately convened right after the missile/satellite was launch. A stricter resolution will be imposed on North Korea, however, Russia, a long time alliance of North Korea attempts to reverse this decision, claiming that this would only result in stronger reaction. In the meantime, this is the last provocative actions by Korea, who knows what response they would inflict in the future?

jojo11111
10-04-2009, 10:52 AM
Bé này viết hay quá... nhưng có sai grammar 1 chút... đợi ta đi ăn xong mình bàn luận :))


Ta đây:

Ta là học viên gương mẫu nộp bài đầy đủ nè. Lão nào vào chữa cho ta :uong2:

North Korea is one of the poorest country in the world. According to UN Radio in 2008, millions of people are facing worst hunger they (
(have) ever seen for decades. Despite its poverty, North Korea is no doubt a strong military superpower. Country’s leaders proved no hesitation in challenging UN’s resolution, provoking lots of debate in the UN Security Council on how to impose an effective sanction against it. The recent launch of a suspected long-range missile by North Korea presents a clear example of how North Korea would react with any escalated military action from either South Korea or the US that was considered as a provocative factor. This launching of a satellite into orbit as claimed by North Korea was a call for attention aiming at the international community and a symbolic gesture to strengthen its position in the Six Party Talks. Why it is a call for attention? The success of this action enlists North Korea in 12 countries who have capacity to launch long-range missile, a mass-destruction weapon. Despite this threatening fact, everybody knows that North Korea has an ailing economy that was sanctioned and embargoed by the US for a long time. Recently, it was no longer backed up unconditionally by China and continuously involved in military conflict with South Korea, the main provider of foods besides the UN. Can a country fight international troops with a hungry arm force and bare foot?
The UN has immediately convened right after the missile/satellite was launch. A stricter resolution will be imposed on North Korea, however, Russia, a long time alliance of North Korea attempts to reverse this decision, claiming that this would only result in stronger reaction. In the meantime, this is the last provocative actions by Korea, who knows what response they would inflict in the future?

1. Sao hai câu đầu dùng present tense cái câu 3 nhảy qua past tense za? Giữ ở một thì đọc cho nó sướng :050:

2. have ever seen :cute:

3. lots of không có nghĩa nghen... a lot of, many... đừng dùng lots of :roft:

4. country thì dùng her hay hơn it :grin:

5. sao it is lại có dấu chấm hỏi ở cuối câu za? chuyển thành is it đi :uong:

6. Trước country ở câu thứ 3 nên thêm 'the' vào :)

Nếu có trên mạng ra yahoo gặp ta 1 chút nghen. Nick ta: blackandwhite392004

neopunk1
10-04-2009, 11:35 AM
Ta là học viên gương mẫu nộp bài đầy đủ nè. Lão nào vào chữa cho ta :uong2:

North Korea is one of the poorest country in the world. According to UN Radio in 2008, millions of people are facing worst hunger they ever seen for decades. Despite its poverty, North Korea is no doubt a strong military superpower. Country’s leaders proved no hesitation in challenging UN’s resolution, provoking lots of debate in the UN Security Council on how to impose an effective sanction against it. The recent launch of a suspected long-range missile by North Korea presents a clear example of how North Korea would react with any escalated military action from either South Korea or the US that was considered as a provocative factor. This launching of a satellite into orbit as claimed by North Korea, was a call for attention aiming at the international community and a symbolic gesture to strengthen its position in the Six Party Talks. Why it is a call for attention? The success of this action enlists North Korea in 12 countries who have capacity to launch long-range missile, a mass-destruction weapon. Despite this threatening fact, everybody knows that North Korea has an ailing economy that was sanctioned and embargoed by the US for a long time. Recently, it was no longer backed up unconditionally by China and continuously involved in military conflict with South Korea, the main provider of foods besides the UN. Can a country fight international troops with a hungry arm force and bare foot?
The UN has immediately convened right after the missile/satellite was launch. A stricter resolution will be imposed on North Korea, however, Russia, a long time alliance of North Korea attempts to reverse this decision, claiming that this would only result in stronger reaction. In the meantime, this is the last provocative actions by Korea, who knows what response they would inflict in the future?

1/ countries
2/ Run-on sentence. Thêm dấu chấm trước However
3/ Câu này nghĩa không rõ lắm.

Nói chung là trình viết kiểu này khá hơn thầy jojo kô chừng :grin:

jojo11111
10-04-2009, 11:37 AM
lại chơi ta hả thằng punk... vậy ta giao cho ngươi dạy... ta đi dạy mấy em gái 9x :))

ý thứ 2 của ngươi ta ko đồng ý nghen... however dùng đc ở giữa câu đc mà :)

nhưng mà câu đó đặt dấu chấm vào hay hơn :)

kidkad
10-04-2009, 01:11 PM
Lão jo có gì cứ pm ta hoặc post lên forum. Lúc nào ta rảnh sẽ vào check, ta bình thường không tiện chat chit lắm vì sợ bị lườm :4:

quangthebb91
11-04-2009, 01:40 AM
kể có hệ thống voichat anh em nói chuyện E thì nhanh hơn
cứ như vậy máy móc quá

hoàng long
11-04-2009, 02:45 AM
Luyện từ vựng và viết mà nói chiện rỳ?
Dzụ án này hay ah, jo mới bik. Để mai làm project xong chui vào coi các lão viết để học hỏi, ta viết k tốt lắm :4::4:

thông thiên
11-04-2009, 04:02 AM
mà sao lấy chủ đề báo chí thời sự vậy? Ài, có lão nào chỉ giáo cho tai cách viết computer science's article đi :4:

P.S.: Jo hay néo giao đề khác đi, thắng Triều tiên khố rách áo ôm đấy viết không thik lắm :)

neopunk1
11-04-2009, 05:41 AM
mà sao lấy chủ đề báo chí thời sự vậy? Ài, có lão nào chỉ giáo cho tai cách viết computer science's article đi :4:

P.S.: Jo hay néo giao đề khác đi, thắng Triều tiên khố rách áo ôm đấy viết không thik lắm :)
Viết tóm lược cho chủ đề sau: :uong:
http://linux.wku.edu/~lamonml/algor/sort/sort.html

jojo11111
11-04-2009, 06:18 AM
Đọc xong bài thằng punk tẩu hoả nhập ma... ta ghét đọc nhất là sách toán/lý :die:

thông thiên
11-04-2009, 06:38 AM
ok, thx. Lão néo cho ta cai yahoo nick nào, PM nhé :uong: nếu lười thì hỏi tên jo , hắn biết nick ta, lấy của hắn cũng được ;)

quangthebb91
11-04-2009, 07:39 AM
Đọc xong bài thằng punk tẩu hoả nhập ma... ta ghét đọc nhất là sách toán/lý :die:

vậy là 2 ta có chung 1 sở ghét rồi đó :04(1)::04(1):

jojo11111
16-04-2009, 05:25 AM
Day 2, week 1

How to release the vise-grip of tension headaches

(CNN) -- The stress of being unemployed and looking for a new job gives Lucille Jaesson a tension headache almost every day.
She described the pain as starting near her temples and radiating down the back of her neck into the shoulders.
"Your muscles feel like a taut rubber band and then it feels like a vise, like someone is pressing inward," Jaesson said.
Jaesson, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, is among tens of millions of people worldwide who complain about the most common form of headache: tension headaches.
Doctors estimate 80 percent of the population will suffer from a tension headache at some point. They can last from 30 minutes to a week. Women appear to suffer from the headaches more often than men.
Researchers suspect tension headaches may be caused by changes in certain brain chemicals such as endorphins and serotonin.
According to Dr. Noshir Mehta, chairman of the Craniofacial Pain Center at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, those aren't the only factors.
"The [headaches] come because of tension, they come because of stress, they come because of sleep problems and they come because of trauma or accidents to the neck," Mehta said.
"You have a skull and you have muscles attached to the skull and attached to the neck. So what happens is these muscles start to tighten up," Mehta said. The effect, he said, is like someone pushing down on your head.
Jaesson started experiencing problems nearly 30 years ago, after a car accident in high school.
These days she recognizes the onset of a tension headache almost immediately. She said stress is one of the biggest triggers.
"It could be just day-to-day, normal things, but when they pile up, one stressful thing leads to another and before you know it, you've got a full-blown tension headache," Jaesson said.
For years, she took over-the-counter pain relievers. But doctors say beware: Pain medications won't cure headaches; they'll only relieve the symptoms.
In fact, some experts caution patients that, over time, certain medications may stop working effectively and may actually cause rebound -- or overuse -- headaches. Mehta said patients often have to be weaned off those drugs to avoid rebound headaches.
Keeping a headache calendar or log might help track the time and location of a headache, each of which can be useful to doctors for making a proper diagnosis.
After years of living with chronic pain, Jaesson has now turned her focus to alternative medicine techniques and stress reduction instead of drugs.
She learned about the holistic approach from Mehta. He recommends his patients try everything from acupuncture to exercise and good nutrition to wearing mouth guards during sleep.
As a dental specialist, he examines all his patients for bruxism, or teeth grinding. "Imagine if you are clenching all night long and your neck muscles are stiff. By the morning, you wake up with a headache," Mehta said.
Jaesson recently invested in a mouth guard. She practices meditation and yoga daily to help with stress reduction.
She's also taken a closer look at her diet, eliminating caffeine and other food additives. "If I eat sort of cleaner, healthier food, I feel better than if I have caffeine or foods that make me feel stuffy. I tend not to eat wheat or sugar," she said.
Mehta called his approach multidimensional. "We have the medications, but we also get people into physical therapy ... and psychological relaxation therapy, because we find that anything that can help a person relax the muscles and relax the body is going to help the person," he said.
"Most headaches are treatable ... you don't have to live with it. The pain can be treated," Mehta said.
That's good news for Jaesson, whose goal is to get rid of her headaches and to feel better

jojo11111
29-04-2009, 12:19 AM
Romeo and Juliet
Prologue
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

jojo11111
16-06-2009, 07:22 AM
Seven dangerous destinations

When it comes to travelling the world, there's always risk - risk of getting robbed, getting caught in a tourist scam, or being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

That's why it's important to exercise caution and know what to expect when travelling to a new destination for your first time and to avoid dangerous destinations. But you'd be surprised that some of these travel destinations are actually more dangerous that you know.

Read on with TripAtlas.com as we take you to seven dangerous destinations and countries in the world to let you know what to watch out for and whether it's worth the risk - or adrenaline rush - to visit. Get more travel tips like How to Avoid Food Poisoning When Travelling and Safety Tips for Women Travelling Alone; or discover the 10 Most Unfriendly LGBT Travel Destinations.

Seven dangerous destinations in the world

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is known as one of the most heterogeneous indigenous populations in the world, with over 700 languages spoke by indigenous groups. It's also not a tourism destination in a traditional sense, but many travellers visit for a taste of adventure and to experience the many cultures in PNG. In major cities like Port Moresby and rural towns like Tari, Mt. Hagen, and Goroka in the highlands, criminal gangs are known to be active and police presence is minimal or non-existent. Tribal conflict is also known to take place. It's not a good idea to go out at night, especially for female travellers. Another threat in Papua New Guinea are saltwater crocodiles that grow to 7 metres or more and occasionally prey on humans.

Colombia

In the past five years, Colombia has become a great travel destination for its coffee tourism, Amazon rainforest, Carnival celebrations, the pre-Columbian city of Ciudad Perdida, and high-altitude volcano park, Los Nevados National Park. In the 1980s and 1990's, Colombia was ravaged by violence, had the highest rate of kidnappings in the world and was overrun by the drug trade. Government presence and security has improved drastically but there is still crime in certain regions and some guerrillas still exist in rural areas. It's best to stay within major cities and in developed areas like Bogota, Cartagena, and Santa Marta.

Laos

Laos is a popular must-visit country for backpackers travelling through South-East Asia (usually en route to or from Cambodia, Thailand or Vietnam). Laos boasts the Pha That Luang in Vientiane; Si Phan Don or the "Four Thousand Islands"; and the World Heritage City of Luang Prabang. Despite being one of the poorest countries in South-East Asia, crime levels are low though petty theft is growing and many travellers don't venture far at night. It's dangerous to travel the eastern and northern parts of the country near the Vietnam border where land mines from the Vietnam War kill hundreds of people each year. Sexual relations between locals and foreigners along with drug use and criticism of the Lao government can you get in serious trouble in an arbitrary judicial system.

North Korea

Guided tours are the only way you can travel in North Korea, getting in via China (no entry from South Korea since Dec 2008), thus requiring two visas. All foreigners are monitored in conversations, movement, and behaviour - especially involving political or religious activity. There are, however, many sites and monuments to the country that travellers can visit like the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum or the tomb of King Kongmin.

You are never to speak the name let alone speak ill of Kim II-sung, Kim Jon-II, the Juche ideology, the North Korean people or government - lest you face the consequences. If the nuclear weapon testing and the arrest, imprisonment, and trial of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling isn't enough to deter a visit to North Korea - then perhaps Lee and Ling's sentence of 12 years of hard labour for undefined "grave crimes" against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea regime - will change your mind.

Haiti

Haiti is a popular destination along major cruise routes heading to Mexico, the Caribbean and South America. Most cruise ships stop in Labadee, the safest tourist destination in Haiti. The country has been plagued by political violence for most of its history and is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. So despite a newly elected president in May 2006, Haiti is still quite dangerous with high political tension, lawlessness, crime, roadblocks, armed gangs, kidnapping, assault and more. Political demonstrations and spontaneous violent confrontations are known to happen in areas like Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince.

Georgia

Georgia is believed to be one of the oldest wine producing regions and a big drawn for oenophiles. Ancient monasteries, mountaineering, and skiing in Bakuriani are also popular draws for travellers. It is in the separatist regions of Georgia, in Akhmeti, Abkhazia and South Ossetia that pose a danger to travellers. In these volatile areas, Georgian military fight separatists groups partnered with Russia troops. Foreign tourists have been kidnapped, crime is high, and it is advised to bring an armed escort should you decide to visit those areas.

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is home to lots of wildlife safaris, ancient African city of Great Zimbabwe, the rock formations of Matobo, and Victoria Falls, one of the most prominent natural attractions in the world. It is also home to a long history of political strife, financial debt, and human rights issues, especially under the current Mugabe administration. With a weak infrastructure and an estimated 80% unemployment rate, Zimbabwe is known for outbreaks of civil unrest, political violence, crime, the 4th highest HIV/AIDS infection rate and a new spread of Cholera since late 2008.

The Philippines, Venezuela, and Jamaica are pretty well-developed destinations for tourism but it is still easy for tourists to become victims to robbery, crime, and assault.

Most dangerous countries and destinations in the world

In case you're wondering, the most dangerous places in the world today are those that are fighting wars and are politically unstable: Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen. For journalists, tourists, and many innocent locals, the violence, war, and injustices taking place in these countries is life threatening.

Unfortunately, what most dangerous destinations have in common is that they were all once subjected to colonization by Europeans (while European countries find themselves as some of the safest countries) and have suffered from inadequate development in the aftermath of independence.

For more information on many of the countries and more, visit the CIA World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html).

Want to book a holiday or vacation to a safe, secure destination? Visit TripAtlas.com's Trip Builder to connect with over 104,000 travel agents and companies ready to offer you the best competitive prices on their flights, hotels, and more.

Theo Yahoo

jojo11111
17-06-2009, 02:21 AM
New Zealand reports swine flu case without travel history

OTTAWA (CBC) - New Zealand reported 28 new cases of swine flu on Monday, the country's largest single day jump.
ADVERTISEMENT

It's the first time swine flu has been recorded in a patient who had not travelled abroad or been in contact with someone who had been, Health Minister Tony Ryall said in announcing the number of cases in New Zealand has reached 99.

The southern hemisphere is facing more cases during its annual winter flu epidemic.

Earlier on Monday, Croatia's health minister confirmed the country's first case of swine flu as health officials in Scotland commented on the first death from the virus outside of the Americas.

Health Minister Darko Milinovic said a man fell ill after returning from a trip to Turkey and Egypt but has since recovered and returned to work.

A World Health Organization lab confirmed that the man had swine flu.

As of Monday, the UN health agency said its has received reports of 35,928 cases of H1N1 infection, including 163 deaths.

The virus has officially spread to 76 countries.

Scottish Health Minister Secretary Nicola Sturgeon stressed that the death Sunday of Jacqueline Fleming, 38, of Glasgow does not mean the situation has become more serious.

"In any flu outbreak we will unfortunately see a small number of deaths," Sturgeon said.

"That doesn't change the fact that for the vast majority of people contracting this virus, the symptoms are relatively mild. And I think it's that fact above all else that will help to reassure the public."

Fleming died two weeks after giving birth prematurely.

Fatalities have occurred in eight countries in the Americas: Mexico, the United States, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.

In Monday's online issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers concluded that the antiviral drugs Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir) are relatively safe for use by pregnant and breastfeeding women.

The team from Motherisk Program at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and the Japan Drug Information Institute in Pregnancy reviewed the issue since pregnant women, especially in the third trimester, and infants are at high risk of complications from both swine flu and seasonal flu.

Tamiflu is probably the better choice for treating or preventing swine flu in pregnant women since there is more safety data regarding its use in pregnancy, the team said.

For women who are breastfeeding, either drug may be used since only small amounts are excreted in breast milk.

Neither drug appeared to affect the growth and development of the fetus, the researchers said.

As of Friday, a total of 3,515 cases of the H1N1 flu virus have been reported in Canada, according to Heath Canada's website.

Last week, WHO declared a pandemic of swine flu, saying it expects more cases and deaths from the virus over the next few years.

jojo11111
18-06-2009, 03:07 AM
Astronomers take virtual plunge into black hole

(CNN) -- Dare to fall into a black hole and you would get vaporized in what is probably the most violent place in the universe. But the journey would yield some amazing sights, though you might need three eyes for the best view of what's going on, new research suggests.
This image shows an artist's impression of a supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy MCG-6-30-15.

This image shows an artist's impression of a supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy MCG-6-30-15.

Humans have only gotten close to black holes in sci-fi books and movies.

In fact, astronomers can't even see black holes directly, though there is strong evidence millions of them exist in our galaxy alone.

Scientists can try to simulate a trip inside with the help of equations in Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, which make predictions about black hole behavior, said Andrew Hamilton, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

"Black holes are some of the simplest things in the universe. We think of them as being complicated things because they're described by complicated mathematics," Hamilton said.

"But as a practical matter, they are, in fact, much simpler than the sun, far simpler than stars and infinitely simpler than human beings."

Hamilton and Gavin Polhemus, a physics teacher in Fort Collins, Colorado, set out to visualize what an "infaller" might see if he or she were swallowed by the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. The results are described in a recent paper and shown in a simulation that took more than 100,000 lines of computer code to create.

Black holes form when massive stars run out of nuclear fuel, collapse and become so compressed and dense that not even light can escape their gravitational pull.

Hamilton also described them as places where space is falling faster than light.

"I think of a black hole as rather like a waterfall, except it's not a fall of water but rather a fall of space," he said. "Even light itself, which is struggling to get out, pointed away from the black hole, will find itself dragged inward, like doing a Michael Jackson moonwalk."

Falling in

To be sucked in by a black hole, you need to reach its event horizon, the one-way boundary beyond which nothing can escape. The more massive a black hole, the bigger this point of no return around it, said Jeff McClintock, a senior astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

The most common black holes, which weigh on average 10 times as much as the sun, have boundaries 40 miles across. But most galaxies also have supermassive black holes at their centers, which weigh millions of suns and would have boundaries that stretch millions of miles. Blog: What is a white hole?

Approaching the horizon, you would notice nothing special, but someone observing you from the outside would see you freeze in place and become a lot dimmer because light that you emit at the boundary takes a long time to get out, Hamilton said.

Many people think you would be engulfed in darkness when you fall in, but that is a common misconception, Hamilton points out. The view of the outside universe would become distorted, but would not disappear.

Once you pass the horizon -- or go over Niagara Falls, in the waterfall analogy -- you would be falling faster than the speed of light toward the black hole's center -- called a singularity -- and feeling the effects, Hamilton said.

"The gravity at your feet is stronger than the gravity at your head, as long as you fall in feet first. ... You feel this difference in gravity between your feet and your head as a tidal force, which pulls you apart vertically in a process called 'spaghettification,' " Hamilton writes on his Web site.

"At the same time as you are pulled apart vertically, you are crushed in the horizontal direction, like a rubber band being pulled. So if you would like to be taller and thinner, then one way to achieve that is to fall into a black hole."

Strange sights

The same force ripping you apart would also concentrate the view of the universe into a thin band around your waist. It would cause the scene above and below you to appear redshifted, or dimmer, and the light around your waist to become blueshifted, or very bright, Hamilton said.

You may also regret that you only have two eyes. In a strange twist, Hamilton and Polhemus argue that three eyes would be needed to properly judge distances inside a black hole, where space-time is highly curved and our binocular vision would become confused.

Even a third eye wouldn't help you see the black hole's center, however, because all light is headed toward the singularity and none away from it, Hamilton writes on his Web site.

"What you see is the outside universe appear to be squashed down into a thin plane, dark above and dark below, bright in this very thin plane," Hamilton said. "In [the singularity], the curvature of space-time goes to infinity, the tidal forces go to infinity, everything gets ripped apart and space and time as we know them come to an end."

It's fun to imagine what might happen in a black hole, but people should remember that any journey inside the event horizon is based on pure theory, McClintock said.

Anyone worried about Earth being swallowed by a black hole should also be relieved to know the closest one astronomers know about is 3,000 light years away, which McClintock called a "super, super, super safe" distance. He added that we wouldn't be sucked in even if the sun, which is only 8 light minutes away from Earth, were suddenly replaced by a black hole of the same mass.
advertisement

"All the planets would keep going around just the same. ... Nothing would change except there wouldn't be any light and heat," McClintock said.

"There would be no attempt by the black hole to suck us in any more than the sun sucks us in. It's only when you get really, really close that all the bizarre things happen."

lostintranslation
18-06-2009, 03:45 AM
mà sao lấy chủ đề báo chí thời sự vậy? Ài, có lão nào chỉ giáo cho ta cách viết computer science's article đi :4:


viết comp sci article là dễ nhất rồi, sao thông thiên nhà ngươi không biết nhỉ:09(1):, ta gửi xem tạm ví dụ đính kèm nhá!

xem xong thì tự sản xuất vài cái đi (http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/scigen/), nhớ cho tên ta vào làm đồng tác giả đó.

jojo11111
18-06-2009, 07:29 AM
Introducing Around Ho Chi Minh

As the geographic footprint of Ho Chi Minh City continues to expand, finding a respite from urban life has become a somewhat complicated undertaking. Thankfully, there are still some refreshing escapes – to wild forests, inviting beaches and fascinating historical and cultural sights – just a short journey from town.

One of the region’s top attractions is the Cat Tien National Park, a 70, 000-hectare Unesco-rated biosphere boasting a startling variety of flora and fauna. Visitors can go bird-watching, take to hiking trails, overnight in a crocodile swamp and look for signs of Vietnam’s rarest wildlife. The Con Dao Islands, a 40-minute flight from the city, offer an equally attractive getaway, albeit of a tropical island flavour. A former prison colony under the French and US regimes, Con Dao today boasts largely undiscovered beaches, empty coastal roads and a healthy ecosystem complete with coral reefs and colonies of green sea turtles – one of Vietnam’s best places to see them in the wild.

Other fine beaches stretch just east of the gruff oilman’s town of Vung Tau. Although lacking the popularity of Mui Ne and Nha Trang further up the coast, there are some sparkling gems here – particularly Long Hai and Ho Tram – for those seeking a quiet beach holiday far from the madding crowd. More popular than HCMC’s nearby beaches and forests, however, are the dark, stifling tunnels of Cu Chi, where VC guerrillas once lived, fought and – in many cases – died. Nearby, the fantastical Cao Dai Temple provides a surreal point to learn about Vietnam’s uniquely home-grown religion. Both of these sights are extremely popular tour-bus day trips from HCMC.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009

Link: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/vietnam/around-ho-chi-minh-city

Ngạo Quân Long
19-06-2009, 01:32 AM
Argentine glacier advances despite global warming

Jeannette Neumann, The Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier is one of only a few icefields worldwide that have withstood rising global temperatures.

Nourished by Andean snowmelt, the glacier constantly grows even as it spawns icebergs the size of apartment buildings into a frigid lake, maintaining a nearly perfect equilibrium since measurements began more than a century ago.

"We're not sure why this happens," said Andres Rivera, a glacialist with the Center for Scientific Studies in Valdivia, Chile. "But not all glaciers respond equally to climate change."

Viewed at a safe distance on cruise boats or the wooden observation deck just beyond the glacier's leading edge, Perito Moreno's jagged surface radiates a brilliant white in the strong Patagonian sun. Submerged sections glow deep blue.

And when the wind blows in a cloud cover, the five-kilometre glacier seems to glow from within as the surrounding mountains and water turn a meditative grey.

Every few years, Perito Moreno expands enough to touch a point of land across Lake Argentina, cutting the nation's largest freshwater lake in half and forming an ice dam as it presses against the shore.

The water on one side of the dam surges against the glacier, up to 60 metres above lake level, until it breaks the ice wall with a thunderous crash, drowning the applause of hundreds of tourists.

"It's like a massive building falling all of the sudden," said park ranger Javier D'Angelo, who experienced the rupture in 2008 and 1998.

The rupture is a reminder that while Perito Moreno appears to be a vast, 30-kilometre-long frozen river, it's a dynamic icescape that moves and cracks unexpectedly.

"The glacier has a lot of life," said Luli Gavina, who leads mini-treks across the glacier's snow fields.

Ngạo Quân Long
19-06-2009, 02:04 AM
First hard evidence found of a lake on Mars

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A long, deep canyon and the remains of beaches are perhaps the clearest evidence yet of a standing lake on the surface of Mars -- one that apparently contained water when the planet was supposed to have already dried up, scientists said on Wednesday.


Images from a camera called the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate water carved a 30-mile-(50-km-)long canyon, a team at the University of Colorado at Boulder reported.

It would have covered 80 square miles (200 sq km) and been up to 1,500 feet deep, the researchers wrote in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

There is now no dispute that water exists on the surface or Mars -- robot explorers have found ice. There is also evidence that water may still seep to the surface from underground, although it quickly disappears in the cold, thin atmosphere of the red planet.

Planetary scientists have also seen what could be the shores of giant rivers and seas -- but some of the formations could also arguably have been made by dry landslides.

"This is the first unambiguous evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars," said Gaetano Di Achille, who led the study.

"The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago," Di Achille said in a statement.

Water is key to life and scientists are looking desperately for evidence of life, past or present, on Mars. Having water on the planet could also be useful to future human explorers.

"On Earth, deltas and lakes are excellent collectors and preservers of signs of past life," said Di Achille. "If life ever arose on Mars, deltas may be the key to unlocking Mars' biological past," Di Achille said.

"Not only does this research prove there was a long-lived lake system on Mars, but we can see that the lake formed after the warm, wet period is thought to have dissipated," assistant professor Brian Hynek said.

The lake probably either evaporated or froze over after abrupt climate change, the researchers said. Its waters would have turned into vapor. No one knows what turned Mars from a warm, wet planet into the frozen, airless desert it is now.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Eric Walsh)

balasat
20-06-2009, 10:50 AM
Botox helps Australian stroke victim to walk again

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian stroke victim paralysed for more than 20 years has walked again thanks to anti-wrinkle drug botox, in a case hailed as extraordinary by his medical team.

Russell McPhee, 49, was confined to a wheelchair after suffering a severe stroke 23 years ago that left him so disabled that doctors initially told him he would never leave hospital.

But after being injected with botox, the anti-ageing treatment popular among Hollywood celebrities, McPhee can walk around his home unaided and travel up to 100 metres (330 feet) using a walking stick.

"I thought I was going to die in a wheelchair," McPhee told AFP.

The former meatworker admitted he and girlfriend Kerry Crossley were initially sceptical when told about the treatment.

"(Kerry) chipped in and said 'what, don't you think he's pretty enough?'" McPhee said.

Botox, or botulinum toxin, blocks the nerve signals which tell muscles to contract, flattening wrinkles when used on the face. But it can also help patients left immobile by brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, spinal problems or strokes.

Valentina Maric, physiotherapist at the St. John of God Hospital in Victoria state, explained that McPhee was unable to walk because the stroke had left his muscles in permanent spasm.

"The muscles were turned on all the time because of the messages coming from his brain," she said.

The botox stopped the spasms, Maric said, allowing the McPhee to stretch out the affected leg muscles for the first time in decades and strengthen other muscles needed for walking.

She said muscles that had not been used for so long would normally have withered away, but McPhee's were remarkably intact, leading to rapid progress after he started the treatment 18 months ago.

"You usually see results in someone who has recently had a stroke but we've never has such a good response from someone so far down the track (decades after a stroke)," Maric said.

"The botox provided the kickstart needed to start the treatment."

However, doctor Nathan Johns stressed that McPhee's muscle strength and determination were a key element in his remarkable progress.

"Not every case is so successful," he said. "Mr McPhee had unusually good muscle power and great determination, despite the fact that he had been confined to a wheelchair for so long."

McPhee said he had been forced to push through the pain barrier to become mobile again.

"It's not just a matter of getting your botox injection then going to bed and being able to walk in the morning, it takes a lot of hard work," he said.

He says inspiration came from girlfriend Kerry, a childhood sweetheart who rescued him from a spiral of depression and talked him into rehabilitation when they were reunited two-and-a-half years ago.

"I was in a pretty bad way with depression," said McPhee, who played football, cricket, basketball and tennis -- "any sport you like" -- before his stroke.

"I felt like my life was over."

With the help of Kerry and the team from St. John of God, McPhee hopes that one day he will no longer need the three-monthly botox shots in his legs and arm.

McPhee said he was working on making his non-spastic muscles strong enough to compensate for the ones that contract, creating a long-term solution to his condition.

"That's the aim," said McPhee, adding that he also plans to marry Kerry.

jojo11111
26-06-2009, 04:09 AM
Brain food for thought

A French epicurean once said, "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are." But can eating certain foods make you smarter, happier, or more able to constructively respond to stress? Could junk food lead to a junk attitude? Connections are being made all the time between the foods we eat and the way we feel, think, and act.

Did you know, for instance, that depression and aggression have been linked to diets that are high in harmful fats and low in beneficial fruits and veggies? Or that eating fish and seafood may reduce the risks of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease? Or that tea may bring on a calm yet alert state of mind?

Memory, alertness, and mood can all be impacted by your nutritional choices. And while intelligence and mental functions are complex and involve many bodily systems and processes, there are a few key nutrients that could help to boost your cerebral stamina.

Foods to boost your brain power

* Antioxidants: Foods and supplements containing antioxidants (e.g., phytochemicals, catechins) could boost your brain health and longevity. Darkly coloured vegetables and fruits contain phytochemicals (blueberries, in particular), and green tea is packed with catechins.
* Omega-3 fatty acids: Omega-3 fatty acids found in many kinds of seafood, including salmon, halibut, and scallops, have been linked to nerve cell regeneration and reduced brain inflammation.
* B vitamins: B is for brain, that's for sure. The B family of vitamins is a rich source of food for the nervous system. The messages our brain sends back and forth between our nerves depend on B-complex vitamins, especially folic acid, vitamin B6, and choline. Finding foods full of B-complex vitamins isn't too hard. Folic acid can be found in dark greens, including spinach, asparagus, romaine lettuce, and turnip or mustard greens. Loads of beans contain folic acid, too. Try black, garbanzo, or pinto for a folic acid feast. Crack an egg for choline: egg yolks contain this B-vitamin in abundance. Other sources include soybeans, peanut butter, potatoes, and whole-wheat bread.
* Iron: Iron helps our blood to supply oxygen to our body. Deficiencies in iron have been associated with ADHD, learning disabilities, and lowered IQ. It stands to reason, then, that our reasoning skills could benefit from foods that contain iron. Find iron in foods like spinach, blackstrap molasses, lentils, tofu, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.
* Vitamin E: Some stave off mental decline with a daily crossword or Sudoku puzzle. Foods with vitamin E could keep you sharp, too! Vitamin E, especially taken along with vitamin C, has been linked to reduced cognitive decline with aging. Take note of vitamin-E-rich foods: mustard and turnip greens, spinach, and broccoli. And if green is not your colour, you can pop sunflower seeds, almonds, or olives for a dose of vitamin E.

Amy Toffelmire