Talk with stars
Photos by Yao Fan



上星期五, 双语周刊英语俱乐部的会员和众多英语爱好者相聚在厦门海上明珠, 在习习的夜风中徜徉于天文气象科普馆内奇妙的声画空间, 畅谈星座、气象、人生…

"Do you believe your horoscope?" This rather broad topic triggered interesting debates among CT club members and other participants in The Maritime Pearl Tower last Friday. Many of them had not realized that constellations, star signs and horoscopes had such a close connection until the visit to the meteorological museum. Some believed that horoscopes could at least help them be aware of their possible shortcomings or bad points in their characters, while some others thought horoscopes were nothing but a psychological barrier, which might have negative effects on one's life. A few claimed to be half-believers…

Don't believe horoscopes blindly
By Lena Zhang

Well, I believe in horoscopes. My star sign is Virgo. It is said that the virgos are modest, contemplative, industrious, merciful and rational, they like to keep everything clean and tidy, but they can be weak in character, always worry too much, give up halfway and criticize a lot. I think my character is more or less the same as this description. Horoscopes help me to know myself better, and I think at least I can pay more attention to my weak points, and try to improve myself. However, I don't have a blind faith in horoscopes. Horoscopes certainly don't mean that all virgos are the same, otherwise, how awful the world would be!

A great surprise and pleasure
By Kathy Li

It was indeed an unforgettable night when I got together with CT club members and many other English enthusiasts to visit the Chronometry and Meteorological Science Museum. I enjoyed the beauty of the universe and was very happy to get involved in a discussion about such an interesting topic as star signs.

It was the first time I'd been so close to the wonders of nature and the universe. The ever-changing weather brings us human beings mild breezes, torrential storms, serene daybreaks and raging tsunamis…Watching the video with special glasses was the most interesting for me. On the screen, plants bloomed by the roadside, and swarmed with butterflies in continual motion. At that moment, I was so eager to be among them, light-heartedly fluttering in the sky and the woods.

As a Libra, I am typically impulsive and ready to follow fashion. But I'm also happy with myself. Everyone is actually unique, despite what his or her horoscope might say. I just want to share the joy I got from this activity with the shinning stars in the sky and the flickering neon lights on the tower.

 

 

Xiamen Maritime Pearl Tower

The Maritime Pearl Tower is located inside the Municipal Meteorological Bureau, on the top of Foxtail Hill, Dongdu. The 19-storey tower is 77 meters high, and the top of the tower is 195 meters above sea level. It functions both as a meteorological station and a tourist attraction. Installed on top of the tower is a latest generation Doppler weather radar weighing 25 tons, the most advanced and accurate one in the world. The huge white ball topping the tower, with a diameter of 12 meters, serves as the round antenna cover of the radar for picking up weather information. The surface of the vase-shaped tower is made of toughened glass and decorated with colorful LEDs.

It was the first steel-structured building in Xiamen and boasts some striking architecture. It is also a key evening visiting spot, as it is the highest and the best site for seeing a panoramic night view of Xiamen. On the 18th and 19th floors are recreational sightseeing halls, which are also suitable for organizations to use to hold large gatherings. The Chronometry and Meteorological Science Museum near the tower, a popular science education center for children in Xiamen, is the largest one in the province, with the most advanced equipment. A cinema with a cyclorama screen, which is under construction, will make it one of the most advanced popular science cinemas in the country, and is the only one of its kind in Fujian.



海上明珠观光塔位于厦门市东渡狐尾山顶气象局内, 高77米共19层, 海拔195米, 集气象、旅游观光功能为一体; 塔顶安装有重达25吨的新一代多普勒天气雷达, 是目前世界上最先进、最精确的雷达系统, 塔顶的白色圆球直径达12米,是气象雷达用于接受天气信息的圆顶天线罩. 塔楼外表呈花瓶状,外墙饰以全钢化玻璃, 点缀以五彩缤纷的霓虹灯, 是厦门市第一座投入使用的全钢结构建筑,更是厦门市标志性建筑和重点夜景工程,也是观赏全厦门景色的最高、最佳点.

塔楼18、19层为休闲观光厅, 为游客观景及休闲之用, 亦可作为单位团体集会活动场所; 塔楼毗邻的天文气象科普馆是全福建省规模最大、设备最先进的科普馆, 是厦门青少年科普教育基地; 在建的穹幕电影院则是国内设备最为先进的科普电影院之一, 也是福建省惟一一家科普电影院.

 

 

Science & technology round-up

Scientists identify earliest dinosaur embryos
科学家鉴定最早恐龙胚胎
A fossile of a long-necked, herbivorous dinosaur from the Jurassic period has been identified as the earliest ever remains of terrestrial vertebrates. The discovery provides a rare glimpse into the life of an early dinosaur that grew from a tiny, 15 centimeter embryo into a five meter adult, and was relatively common in South Africa. In particular it helps to show that this primitive dinosaur was four-legged when it first hatched and then gradually grew to be two-legged as an adult.



New hepatitis B vaccine ready to go on the market
治疗乙肝新疫苗将面世
The first hepatitis B vaccine developed in China has gone through clinical testing and is ready for industrial production. Hepatitis B is one of the most infectious diseases in China. China has 130 million HBV virus carriers and 30 million patients. Medical expenditure on HBV therapy amounts to 30 billion to 50 billion yuan (3.75 million to 6.25 million US dollars) a year in China.

"10th planet" found on edge of solar system
太阳系边缘发现第10颗行星
American astronomers announced the discovery of what they believe is the 10th and most distant planet in our solar system - a lump of rock and ice, similar to Pluto. Though the new planet's exact size is not known, its brightness shows that it is at least as large as Pluto and could be up to 1.5 times bigger. The most surprising thing is that the orbit of the planet is sharply skewed compared to most of the rest of the solar system. The orbits of most planets lie close to the same plane as the Earth's.

Vocabulary
herbivorous 食草的
Jurassic 侏罗系的
terrestrial 地球上的
vertebrate 脊椎动物
hepatitis 肝炎