| Canadian flaps wings and flies |
人動撲翼飛機試飛成功 |
| Todd Reichert, a Canadian engineering student inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's centuries-old sketches of an ornithopter, said Friday he made the first sustained flight in a human-powered, wing-flapping aircraft, AFP reported. Powered and piloted by Reichert, the craft, dubbed Snowbird, flew 145 meters in 19.3 seconds, traveling at an average speed of 25.6 kilometres per hour. The feat was accomplished on August 2 at the Great Lakes Gliding Club in Tottenham, Ontario, north of Toronto. The Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the world-governing body for air sports and aeronautical world records, is expected to confirm the ornithopter's world record at its next meeting in October. |
據法新社報道，加拿大工程學學生托德?賴克特周五表示，他是第一個用人動撲翼飛行器成功實現持續飛行的人。他的靈感來自萊昂納多?達?芬奇數世紀前的撲翼飛機設計稿。此飛行器名叫“雪鳥”，由賴克特提供動力并操作，在空中停留19.3秒，飛行了145米，平均時速為25.6千米。試飛于8月2日在多倫多北部安大略省托特納姆的大湖滑翔俱樂部完成。世界空中運動及航空記錄管理組織——國際航空聯合會將在10月召開的會議上對此撲翼飛行器的世界紀錄進行認證。 |
| Arts degrees "for the rich" |
富家子弟霸占文科專業 |
| Statistics compiled by the Sutton Trust show that 31 percent of those who graduated in 2008 in the UK with degrees in history or philosophy were the children of senior managers – the socio-economic group with the highest income - the Guardian reports. Language graduates were also disproportionately from the wealthiest homes, with 30 percent from the highest income group. In comparison, non-arts and humanities courses – with the exception of medicine and dentistry – had far fewer students from the highest-income group. The Trust believes disproportionately low numbers of low-income students enroll on arts and humanities courses, fearing they will be less employable than if they take other subjects. |
據英國《衛報》報道，薩頓信托基金會的統計數據顯示，2008年英國歷史專業和哲學專業的畢業生中，31%的人是高管子弟——這些高管是享有最高收入的社會經濟群體。富家子弟在語言專業畢業生中也占到了30%。相比較而言，非文科、人文類專業中，醫學及牙醫學除外，富家子弟則少很多。該基金會認為，由于擔心就業前景，所以多數低收入家庭的子女放棄文科類、人文類而選擇其它專業。 |
| Beckham sues over hooker story |
小貝起訴不實報道媒體 |
| David Beckham filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles last Friday alleging that In Touch magazine knowingly published false claims that the soccer superstar had sex with prostitutes, AP reported. The lawsuit names 26-year-old Irma Nici, who is quoted as saying she was a call girl who slept with Beckham five times in 2007. She claimed he also had sex with a second prostitute. |
據美聯社報道，貝克漢姆已經在洛杉磯高等法院提交對美國《In Touch》雜志的訴訟，起訴該刊物在知情的情況下報道假新聞，稱小貝曾與妓女發生性關系。訴訟還起訴了26歲的應招女郎伊爾瑪?尼奇，她稱自己在2007年與貝克漢姆發生過5次性關系，并稱小貝還與另一個妓女也發生過關系。 |
| KTV man wins a million ... dumplings |
唱歌有大獎 餃子百萬個 |
| Edward Pimentel, a technician for an American telephone company, garnered most votes from the audience to win the top prize of a million Russian dumplings at the Karaoke World Championships held on Sunday in Moscow, AP reports. Organizers said the dumplings are enough to last 27 years if eaten at a rate of 100 a day. Amateur singers from 16 countries took part in the three-day competition. |
據美聯社報道，美國一家電信公司的技工愛德華?皮門特爾周日在莫斯科舉行的卡拉OK世界錦標賽上，贏得觀眾投票最多，獲得最高大獎——100萬個俄式餃子。組織者說，如果每天吃100個，這些餃子夠吃27年。來自16個國家的業余歌手參加了為期3天的比賽。 |
| Brother and sister get married |
愛爾蘭兄妹成婚 |
| Irish brother and sister "James" and "Maura" got married last week, the Daily Mail reports. The couple only discovered they were siblings after they conceived their first child. Now they are expecting another baby. But the secret they have shared for years is forcing them to emigrate as they fear that if they remain in Ireland it will only be a matter of time before the authorities prosecute them for incest. They grew up in separate towns about 100 miles apart and met by chance on a night out. |
英國《每日郵報》消息，愛爾蘭的一對兄妹——詹姆斯和毛拉上周舉行了婚禮。他們在第一個孩子出生以后才發現他們原來是兄妹，現在毛拉已經懷上了第二個寶寶。隱藏多年的秘密給他們帶來很大壓力，他們將被迫移民國外。如果他們繼續留在愛爾蘭，政府遲早會對他們的亂倫提起公訴。這對兄妹從小就各自生活在相距100英里（約160公里）的兩個小鎮上，后來在一次夜間舞會上偶然相遇。
(China.org.cn)
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