Extensive Reading Lesson 35

利用电线也能上网

据中国广播网周一报道，福建省福州市千余户居民开始试点利用电线上网。在这项新技术——“宽带电力线通信技术”中，用户使用了一种新型的调制调解器，俗称“电力猫”，并利用现有电力线来传输模拟或数字信号。不需要拨号，不需要复杂的布线，用户只需要将“电力猫”插入电源插座，再连上电脑即可上网冲浪。

青少年了解性知识首选网络

上周，民意中国网对3032人进行的一项调查显示，对于青少年了解“性知识”的渠道，79.2%的人首选“网络”；“书籍”排第二（72.5%）；排名第三的是“同伴”（56.0%）；接下来是“报纸、电视等媒体” （47.0%）；“学校”和“家长”排在最后，分别有31.9%和30.5%的选择。首都师范大学一位性教育专家认为，性教育应该渗透到孩子的养育中。

闲置土地被“点名”

据《广州日报》报道，国土资源部已将一份涉及全国1457宗闲置土地的统计表交予银监会，银监会将根据这份“黑名单”暗查这些闲置土地的信贷情况，做一次全面的风险排查，其中80%的闲置土地可能被收回；京穗琼苏成“重灾区”，四地闲置土地数量占全国的近四分之一，70%以上闲置土地性质为住宅用地。

章光101被查含西药 香港警示勿买

据新华社报道，香港当局周一呼吁当地消费者不要购买或者使用两种头发护理产品，因为产品中含有西药成分米诺地尔，与其注册的“纯中药制品”不符。下架的两种产品分别是“章光101金装101高级生发灵”和“章光101D发宝”。米诺地尔是一种治疗脱发的西药，副作用包括引起皮肤不适、红肿和骚痒。章光101公司办公室主任称这两种产品大陆没有销售。

一家族12人奔丧遭车祸 11人亡

中国新闻网报道，上周日，广东广宁县发生车祸，载满13人的商务车与一辆重型半牵引车相撞，造成11人当场死亡。据调查，这一家12人租车回老家广宁“奔丧”。不料途中发生车祸，家族12人中仅有一个小女孩生还。她和司机均受重伤。目前，该县慈善组织已筹集善款12万元人民币救助伤员。

被炒男子射杀8同事后自杀

据美联社报道，美国康涅狄格州曼彻斯特市一家啤酒公司3日发生枪击案，造成至少9人死亡，死者中包括枪手本人。枪手为现年34岁的奥马尔•桑顿，是公司里的一名司机，他因偷窃啤酒被抓，同意离职，但在看到监控录像后，立刻持枪向同事疯狂乱射，在射杀8名同事后，饮弹自尽。

布洛克成好莱坞吸金女王

毋庸置疑，2010年对好莱坞女星桑德拉•布洛克来说真是起伏跌宕的一年。《弱点》让她摘得奥斯卡最佳女主角桂冠，但丈夫杰西•詹姆斯的丑闻也让两人的婚姻画上了句号。据路透社报道，周二，布洛克被财经网站Forbes.com选为过去12个月中薪水最高的女演员，两部卖座影片《假结婚》与《弱点》让她收获5600万美元。据Forbes.com介绍，布洛克不仅有表演收入，还参与了影片利润的分配，而两部影片的票房均非常可观。

女画家巨乳当画笔

英国《太阳报》报道称，一名美国康涅狄格州的女画家琦拉用她的38DD巨乳当作画笔。现年34岁的琦拉每次先在胸部涂上颜料，再把“画笔”用不同角度压在画布上，以创作不同图案。这些作品都在她自己的网店“龟吻设计”出售，有些售价可以达到600镑。

穿红色衣服男人更惹女人爱

英国《每日邮报》报道，美国《实验心理学杂志》刊登一份新报告显示，穿红色服装可以让男人更性感，对女人更具吸引力。一项研究发现，女性认为穿红色T恤的男人往往社会地位高，挣钱多，容易获得升职，不仅如此，“红衣男人”也更能唤起女性爱欲。研究人员表示，在全球很多文化中，红色一直与权力、激情和财富密切相关。
 

Going online via power line

In a pilot program, thousands of households in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, are using power lines to access to internet, China National Radio reported Monday. The new technology, called Broadband over Power Line, or BPL, allows users to use a new kind of modem powered by power lines that can transmit analog or digital signals. There is no longer a need to dial and lay out complicated wires for Internet access: all users have to do is just plug the modem into a socket and connect to the computer.

Internet first choice for sex education

Youngsters' first choice for sex education is the Internet, according to a poll of 3,032 people on minyi.net.cn last week. When asked about where they learn about sex, 79.2% chose the Internet, followed by books with 72.5 percent. Peers took third place with 56 percent. Media, such as newspaper and TV, ranked fourth with 47 percent. School and parents came last, with 31.9 percent and 30.5 percent, respectively. An expert on sex education from Capital Normal University in Beijing said sex education should not be absent from cultivation of children.

Idle parcels blacklisted

The Ministry of Land and Resources has listed 1,457 plots of land as "idle," or undeveloped,Guangzhou Daily reported. The China Banking Regulatory Commission will review the list and complete a risk inspection on credit that developers took to buy the land. The government may take back 80 percent. Beijing, Guangzhou, Hainan and Jiangsu together have a quarter of the total idle plots. More than 70 percent of the land is residential land.

Hair products mislabelled, HK warns

Hong Kong authorities urged local residents Monday not to buy or use two hair care products registered as proprietary Chinese medicines since they were found to contain a Western medicine, minoxidil, Xinhua reported. The two products are Zhang Guang Gold 101 Super Effective Hair Growth Agent and Zhang Guang 101D Fabao. Minoxidil is a Western drug used for treating hair loss. Its side effects include skin irritation, rash and itchiness. A company senior official said these two products are not sold in the mainland.

11 in family killed on way to funeral

A heavy tractor truck crashed into a bus Sunday in Guangning County, Guangdong Province, killing 11 of the 13 people on the bus, Chinanews reported. According to investigators, 12 people on the bus were family members who had rented the bus to hasten back to their hometown for a relative's funeral. Of them, only a little girl survived. She and the bus driver were seriously injured. Charity organizations in Guangning County have raised 120,000 yuan to help them.

Fired man killed 8 coworkers, self

A shooting rampage in a Manchester, Conn., brewery Tuesday claimed at least nine lives, including the shooter himself, AP reported. Omar Thornton, a driver at the company, had agreed to resign after being caught stealing beer but then began firing at co-workers after being shown video evidence. The 34-year-old blasted his handgun, killing eight and injuring another two before committing suicide.

Bullock earns top paychecks in Hollywood

Nobody would argue that 2010 has been an up-and-down year for Sandra Bullock, given her best actress Oscar for The Blind Side followed by her divorce from scandal-plagued husband Jesse James. But on Tuesday, Bullock landed atop Hollywood's heap when financial website Forbes.com named her the highest paid actress of the past 12 months, having earned US$56 million from two box office hits, The Proposal and The Blind Side, Reuters reported. Bullock not only received a fee for acting, but also participated in the profits, and for both films, the box office numbers were hefty, according to Forbes.com.

Artist paints with her breasts

A busty artist in Connecticut is making good use of her 38DD breasts – by painting pictures with them, The Sun reported. Kira Ayn Varszegi, 34, presses her paint-covered breasts against canvases, applying different colors and "brush" positions to create images. She then sells her pieces on her online shop, Turtle Kiss Designs, with some fetching more than ￡600.

Women prefer a man in red

A new report of the Journal of Experimental Psychology claims that wearing red makes men more attractive and sexy to women, the Daily Mail reported. The finding shows that women in a follow-up study perceived men wearing red T-shirts to be significantly more likely to be high in status, earn more money, get promotion, in addition to the men in red seeming more generally and sexually attractive. Researchers say red is associated with power, passion and fertility in different world cultures.