13.TheMilkmaidandHerPailofMilk

Afarmer’sdaughterwasoncecarryingherpailofmilkfromthe

fieldtothefarmhousewhenshebegantothinkandplan.“Iwillsellthis

milk,”shesaidtoherself,“andwiththemoneyIcansurelybuythree

hundredeggs.Iwillputtheseeggsunderhens,andsurelytwohundred

andfiftyofthemwillhatch.Iwillfeedthesechickens,andmakethemfat,

andIwilltakethemtothemarketwhenchickensaredear.Iwillsellthem

atthemarket,andwiththismoney,Iwillbuyanewdress.Inthisdress,I

willgotothefair.Ishalllooksofinethatalltheyoungmenwillaskme

tomarrythem.ButIwilltossmyheadandrefusethemall.”Asshesaid

this,shereallytossedherhead.Downfellthepail,andthemilkspilledall

overtheground.Thatwastheendofherfineplans.

Themoralofthisstoryis:Don’tcountyourchickensbeforetheyare

hatched.

14.SpelloftheRisingMoon

byPeterSteinhart

ThereisahillnearmyhomethatIoftenclimbatnight.Thenoiseof

thecityisafar-offmurmur.InthehushofdarkIsharethecheerfulnessof

cricketsandtheconfidenceofowls.Butitisthedramaofthemoonrise

thatIcometosee.Forthatrestoresinmeaquietandclaritythatthecity

spendstoofreely.

FromthishillIhavewatchedmanymoonsrise.Eachonehadits

ownmood.Therehavebeenbroad,confidentharvestmoonsinautumn;

shy,mistymoonsinspring;lonely,whitewintermoonsrisingintothe

uttersilenceofanink-blackskyandsmoke-smudgedorangemoonsover

thedryfieldsofsummer.Each,likefinemusic,excitedmyheartandthen

calmedmysoul.

15

AdelegationfromNorthKoreahasarrivedinSeoultodiscuss

agreementssignedlastmonthattalksbetweentheleadersofNorthand

SouthKorea.The5-memberdelegationarrivedinSeoulfromBeijing,

becausetherearenodirectflightsbetweenthetwoKoreas.Thetwo

sidesaretodiscusswaystocarryoutanagreementtoreducedifferences

betweenNorthandSouthKorea.

16

Theopeningceremonyofthe2010WorldExpoinShanghaiwas

launchedattheExpoParkat8:10pmonFridaynight.Thesix-month

eventkicksoffwithalavishriversidedisplayoffireworksandlights.

ChinesePresidentHuJintaoandotherseniorofficialsaswellasforeign

leadersattendedtheceremony.TheExpoParkwillofficiallyopentothe

publiconSaturday.TheExpoisexpectedtodraw70millionpeopleto

pavilionsfromalmost200nationsdesignedtoreflecttheurban

sustainabilitythemeof"BetterCity,BetterLife."

17

India’spopulationnowhasreachedmorethanonethousandmillion

people.India’spopulationgrowsbyabout42,000peopleeveryday.

Chinaistheonlycountrywithmorepeople.Butpopulationofficialssay

Indiacouldhavetheworld’slargestpopulationinthenext50yearsif

India’sbirthrateisnotslowed.India’scitizenshaveexpressedfearthat

soontherewillbemorepeoplethanthecountry’snaturalresourcescan

support.India’sgovernmentsaysitisdevelopingnewwaystodealwith

theproblem.Theseincludeimprovementsinhealthcareandfamily

planningservices.

18

AhugefireisburninginamajormarketareaofthecapitalVientiane.

Atleast7peoplewereinjured.Therehavebeen8reportedexplosionsin

Vientianeinthelast4months.Itisnotknowniftheexplosionsandthe

fireTuesdayarerelated.LaoofficialsbelieveethnicHouamuangrebels

carriedoutthebombingattacks.Therebelsdenyanyinvolvement.

19

Americanmedicalresearcherssaydrinking4ormorecupsofgreen

teaadaycouldhelppreventskincancer.Researchersmadethestatement

inareportintheAmericanMedicalAssociationJournal.Theyexamined

earlierresearchsuggestingthatasubstanceingreenteacankillcancer

cells.Itsaidthesubstancemayalsosuppresscancerousgrowthby

limitingbloodvesselgrowtharoundthem.

20

AnewWorldBankreportsaysalmost50%oftheworld’speople

liveonlessthan2dollarsaday.Thereportsayseffortstoendpoverty

differgreatlyindifferentareas.InEastAsia,thenumberofpeopleliving

onlessthan1dollaradayfellfromabout420millionin1987toabout

280millionin1998.Butthenumberofpoorpeoplehasbeenincreasing

inSouthAsia,LatinAmerica,andinAfricasouthoftheSaharaDesert.

Povertyhasincreased20timesinEasternEuropeandcentralAsia.The

reportsaystheworld’spoorcouldbehelpedbyincreasingworld

economicgrowth.

21.Xi’an’sTerra-cottaSoldiers

Forover2,000yearstheterra-cottasoldiersofXi’an,havesilently

stoodprotectingtheirking.Thesoldierswereburieddeepbelowground.

Safelyhidden,theyguardedthehistoryofancientChina.

In1974,agroupoffarmerswerediggingintheirfield.Suddenly

theyfoundalargeobject.Itwasoneoftheclaysoldiers.Sincethen,

archaeologistshavefoundmoresoldiersandtheburialsitesofanancient

king.

In221BC,KingYingZhengofQinconqueredthesixstatesof

China.Forthefirsttime,Chinabecameonecountrywithoneking.The

kingwantedpeopletorememberhisaccomplishmentsinthefuture.Sohe

gavehimselfanewtitle,theFirstEmperorofChina.Healsobuiltahuge

burialsite.TheEmperor’sbodyliesnearthecenterofthesite.Guarding

himisanarmyofnearly8,000life-sizeclaysoldiers.

Theclaysoldiersalmostlookreal.Life-likefacesstarebackatyou.

Eachoneisdifferent.Someareyouthful.Othersarewrinkledwith

experienceandage.Eachsoldierwearsauniformandarmor.Manyofthe

figuresarestillwhole.However,anumberofthemhavemissingarmsor

heads.Besidesthesoldiers,archaeologistshavealsofound600clay

horses.

Theburialsitecovers56.25squarekilometers.Insideacovered

area,visitorscanseetheclaysoldiersandwatchthearchaeologistsat

work.Onlythreesectionsofthesitehavebeendugup.TheEmperor’s

graveremainsuntouched.

Theterra-cottasoldiersgiveusawindowtothepast.Thankstothis

discovery,wecanbetterunderstandChina'sancienthistory.TheFirst

EmperorofChinagothiswish.Hewillnotbeforgotten.

22.DisneyWorld

DisneyWorld,Florida,isthebiggestamusementresortintheworld.

Itcovers24.4thousandacres,andistwicethesizeofManhattan.Itwas

openedonOctober1,1971,fiveyearsafterWaltDisney'sdeath,anditis

alarger,slightlymoreambitiousversionofDisneylandnearAngeles.

ForeignerstendtoassociateWaltDisneywithSnowWhiteandthe

SevenDwarfs,andwithhisotherfamouscartooncharacters,Mickey

MouseandDonaldDuck.

ThereisverylittlethatcouldbecalledvulgarinDisneyWorld.It

attractspeopleofmosttastesandmostincomegroups,andpeopleofall

ages,fromtoddlerstograndpas.Therearetwoexpensivehotels,agolf

course,foresttrailsforhorsebackridingandriversforcanoeing.Butthe

centralattractionoftheresortistheMagicKingdom.

BetweenthehugeparkinglotsandtheMagicKingdomliesabroad

artificiallake.InthedistancerisethetowersofCinderella'sCastle.Even

gettingtotheMagicKingdo