World in Pictures
Photo source: ImagineChina

	Unique musical instrument 木勺酒瓶出美乐 A busker who goes by the name of "Catfish the Bottleman", plays a tune by tapping beer bottles with wooden spoons, in a Sydney city mall, October 14. Buskers of all types are a popular tourist attraction as they entertain throughout Sydney, which was recently voted the world's number one city.
	Riding on a floating lumber 日本传统节上演水上绝技 A member of the Japanese traditional raftsmen "kawanami", performs a stunt riding on a floating square lumber during a festival in Tokyo, October 17. The stunt derived from lumberjacks' daily work in the Edo period (1603-1868), when they made rafts with fire-hooks in their hands standing on floating lumbers.
	Red Bull Box Cart Race 南非趣味赛车 A competitor races his box-cart through the streets of Durban, South Africa, during the Red Bull Box Cart Race, October 17. The event, which takes place once a year, is when hand made carts race to the bottom of a course, with the eventual winner being the fastest cart having the best design and outfit.
	Latin America's tallest building on fire 委内瑞拉双塔几被大火吞噬 Smoke rises from the East Tower building in Caracas' Central Park Complex, October 17. The fire destroyed at least seven floors. According to the fire brigade's chief, there had been no victims during the blaze that began in the early morning hours in one of Latin America's tallest buildings.
	Pakistani camel-car 巴基斯坦交通方式令人称奇 A Pakistani camel-car moves amongst the transport vehicles in Karachi on October 12. Karachi City which has a population of 14 million people, looks like a country of its own that includes communities of different ethnic backgrounds. The city, which was once known as the city of lights, is now known more for its high traffic concentration.
	Superman contest 俄罗斯超人大赛 Athlete Mukhtar Gusengadzhiyev demonstrates his unusual ability to twist his arms during the "Superman-2004" All-Russian Contest held at the culture and entertainment centre "U Lyovy" ("At Lyova's") in Moscow, October 9. The contest's aim was to find out who was the most unique person of those registered in the Guinness Book of Records. fic concentration.

World in Words
Collected & translated by Beverly

"It's just much cooler to have it out."
Men are letting their shirttails wave, a fact true not just of polo shirts or square-cut tropical styles designed to be worn outside of trousers but of dress shirts with tapered tails never meant to see the light of day.
"只是这样穿更酷些."
--解放衬衣下摆已成为男士着装的新时尚,不论是马球衫还是充满热带风情的平角设计,或是下摆略收的西装衬衣,不论设计之初的意图如何,衬衣下摆统统从裤腰里被抽了出来,感受阳光和轻风的亲密接触.

"Whether there will be a battle or not, I don't know. One thing is for sure. If we want to have 30 percent lower wage costs in six years, we have to start now."
Said Mr. Pischetsrieder in a recent interview. Next month, he will face off against Volkswagen's powerful union in what people predict will be an epic confrontation, as the company wants to freeze the wages of 103,000 workers.
"会不会发生争战,我不知道,但可以肯定的是,如果我们想在六年内将薪资成本降低30个百分点,我们现在就必须行动."
--欧洲最大的汽车生产商大众汽车计划冻结10多万工人的工资,这势必引发公司上层与工会之间的一场激战.对此,大众公司总裁皮斯切茨里德作了上述表态.

"I finally decided to write this book because I saw the importance of my telling my story rather than having others tell it. "
Writes Yao Ming in his memoir, "Yao: A Life in Two Worlds", about his intention to come up with this book.
"最终我决定写这本书,因为我认识到我的故事应该由我来讲,而不是让别人去说,这很重要."
--姚明出自传了:<姚明:两个世界的生活>.对于为什么要写自传,姚在书中做了上述解释.