lesson 68

北半球今冬最冷

据《扬子晚报》报道，波兰科学家称，北半球今年冬天可能要比往年更冷，欧洲将面临千年一遇的新低温，亚洲地区也可能难以幸免。之所以会出现这种极端天气形态，是因为“拉尼娜”现象使得墨西哥湾暖流活动速度减缓；而一旦墨西哥湾暖流完全停止活动，欧洲将进入新的冰河世纪。

米歇尔获评最牛女性

据英国《每日电讯报》报道，美国第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马荣登《福布斯》年度百名最具 影响力女性榜榜首，其排名比去年上升了39个位次。位列第二的是卡夫食品首席执行官艾琳·罗森菲尔德，第三是知名脱口秀主持人奥普拉·温弗瑞。连续四年位 列第一的德国总理安吉拉·默克尔这次屈居第四。希拉里·克林顿因被赞为美国国务院带来了“明星影响力”而位列第五。百事可乐首席执行官英德拉·努伊第六。 一向抓人眼球的歌手嘎嘎小姐紧随其后，位列第七。澳大利亚银行首席执行官盖尔·凯利和流行歌手碧昂丝·诺利斯分列第八﹑九位，脱口秀主持人艾伦·狄珍妮丝 第十。值得一提的是，法国第一夫人卡拉·布鲁尼-萨科齐只排到了第35位。

英国发明新型无人机

据英国《每日邮报》报道，英国推出一款新型无人机，它在飞行期间仅依靠喷射气流来飞 行，而不是像传统技术那样采用襟翼等方法，堪称航空史上的创举。这款新型无人机被称为“恶魔”，没有传统的机械升降舵和副翼，而是依靠喷射气流来控制飞 行。专家认为，这种设计减少了机内的零部件数量，使得飞机的维护变得更加容易，同时飞机的外形也更加隐蔽。

乌克兰禁公务员穿短裙

据乌克兰《基辅邮报》报道，乌克兰内阁制定新规定，禁止女性公务员在办公室内穿着迷你裙和细跟高跟鞋。为了“始终保持职业形象”，女公务员只能穿中低跟皮鞋，化淡妆，喷少量香水。工作时不许穿着褶边连衣裙、轻薄透明材质衣服及过分暴露大腿和胸部的紧身衣。

常吃西兰花防骨关节炎

西兰花因为其防癌作用而被称为“超级食物”。据英国《每日邮报》报道，英国东安格利 亚大学科学家研究首次发现，西兰花还具有防止骨关节炎的功效。西兰花中的化学物质萝卜硫素可以减缓软骨受损进程。研究小组目前已经启动一项新的研究项目， 希望能研制出一种基于西兰花的关节炎新疗法，以造福广大关节炎患者。

高中生用安全套手机链

据《深圳特区报》报道，近日，一对父母发现正在上高中的儿子用的手机链居然是安全套，着实被吓了一跳。当父亲想和和孩子聊聊此事时，却被儿子嘲笑太老土。

英国人患病得法国口音

据美联社报道，一个来自英格兰东南部、名为凯·拉塞尔的女性称自己在一场严重的偏头 痛之后，说话中带有了法国口音。英国广播公司将她的情况认定为“外国口音综合征”，全世界仅有几十例。伦敦大学一名研究员称口音现象源于人们发音方式的不 同，而脑部受伤则会改变这种方式，导致口音变化。

女性喝啤酒易患牛皮癣

据美国哥伦比亚广播公司报道，最新研究发现，爱喝啤酒的女性易染上牛皮癣。每周喝 2.3杯以上酒精饮品的女性患牛皮癣的几率高出常人72%。每周喝5杯以上普通啤酒的女性患牛皮癣的几率是常人的2.3倍。美国布里格姆妇女医院和哈佛医 学院的研究人员发现，葡萄酒、白酒和低度啤酒不会增加患牛皮癣的几率。而元凶是经过传统方式发酵的啤酒及制作啤酒的原料——含淀粉的大麦麸质。

东莞现基孔肯雅热病疫

据新华社报道，广东省卫生厅通报，东莞市大约有200多人感染了基孔肯雅热病。感染的204位病人都以发热伴有关节疼痛或皮疹症状为主，目前并无重症及死亡病例。

台湾渔船遭海盗挟持

据台湾《中国时报》报道，台湾东港籍渔船“丰国一六八号”5日在印度洋海域遭到海盗挟持，船上共有包括船长翁圣雄在内的十四名船员。

南非抽烟黑猩猩去世

据《洛杉矶时报》报道，吸烟成瘾的黑猩猩查理5日在南非布鲁方登市动物园去世，“享 年”52岁。大约5年前，动物园工作人员注意到游客们老是丢香烟给查理，而它也模仿起人抽烟的模样。后来，查理的故事上了报纸和美国的电视新闻，它从此声 名大噪。据说，野生黑猩猩的寿命大概是15年，只有7%的黑猩猩能活过40岁。

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Scientists: Coldest winter in years

Polish scientists say the upcoming winter in the Northern Hemisphere will be colder than in previous years, Yangtze Evening Post reports. Europe will see the lowest temperature in 1,000 years, and Asia is unlikely to be spared. The scientists said the extreme weather is a result of La Nina, a recurring weather phenomenon that slows the speed of warm currents in the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Stream. Without the Gulf Stream, Europe would enter into another ice age.

Obama named most powerful woman

US First Lady Michelle Obama has been named the most powerful woman in the world on the Forbes 100 list, the Daily Telegraph reports. Obama rose 39 places in the rankings compiled by Forbes. Second on the list is Irene Rosenfeld, the chief executive of Kraft Foods. Oprah Winfrey, the talk show host, was third, followed by Angela Merkel, who has topped the list for the past four years. Hillary Clinton was fifth, praised for bringing "star power" to the State Department. Lady Gaga, the attention-grabbing singer, was in seventh place behind PepsiCo chief executive Indra Nooyi and one place ahead of Australian banking chief Gail Kelly. Beyoncé Knowles, the pop singer, was ninth, and Ellen DeGeneres, the talk show host, rounded out the top 10. France's First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, managed only 35th place in the list.

UK makes first jet without flaps

A British unmanned plane that uses jets of air to fly instead of conventional "flaps" has made aviation history, the Daily Mail reports. The experimental unmanned air vehicle, called DEMON, uses blown jets of air to control the plane's movement in flight rather than conventional mechanical elevators and ailerons. Experts say this will make it much easier to maintain, as there are far fewer moving parts and gives the aircraft a more stealthy profile.

Ukraine bans miniskirts in government

New regulations from Ukraine's cabinet of ministers ban miniskirts and high heels in the high corridors of the Ukrainian government, the Kyiv Post reports. Female government workers should maintain "a professional appearance at all times" and wear moderate heels, minimal makeup and limited perfume. Ruffled dresses, transparent materials and outfits displaying excessive leg or cleavage should not be worn at work, the regulations state.

Broccoli could treat osteoarthritis

Scientists at the University of East Anglia have found that broccoli, long hailed as a "super food" for cancer, is good for you but linked the vegetable for the first time to osteoarthritis, the Daily Mail reported. A chemical, sulforaphane, in broccoli can slow down cartilage destruction. The team is now launching a new project that they hope will lead to a new broccoli-based treatment for arthritis sufferers.

Teens uses condom creatively

Parents were surprised when they noticed that their high-school-aged son was using a condom as a cell-phone charm, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported. The boy laughed when his father wanted to talk with him about the accessory.

Migraine leaves Briton sounding French

A woman named Kay Russell from a village in southwestern England says that a severe migraine attack left her speaking with what sounds like a French accent, AP reports. The BBC identified her condition as Foreign Accent Syndrome, known only in a few dozen cases across the world. What sounds like an accent could result from the ways people articulate certain syllables that the brain injury might shift the way of articulation, said a researcher at University College London.

Beer linked to psoriasis in women

A new study found that women who like drinking beers are at a higher risk of getting psoriasis, CBS reported. Among women who drank an average of 2.3 drinks or more per week, the chances of getting psoriasis skyrocketed 72 percent compared to women who didn't drink at all. For women who drank five or more beers each week, the risk of coming down with the affliction was 2.3 time higher. Scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that wine, booze and light beer didn't increase the psoriasis risk at all. Full calorie beers use barley for fermentation, which contains gluten, a starch that many people with psoriasis are sensitive to.

Chikungunya virus found in Dongguan

More than 200 people have been infected with the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, according to the provincial health department, Xinhua reports. Of the 204 cases, most victims suffered fever, joint pains and rash. No deaths or serious cases have been reported.

Taiwan fishing vessel hijacked

Pirates hijacked a Taiwanese fishing vessel Tuesday in the Indian Ocean, Taiwan's China Times reports. Captain Weng Shengxiong and 13 other crewmembers were aboard Fengguo 168 from Donggang Town in Taiwan.

Charlie the smoking chimpanzee dies

Charlie, a chimpanzee once hooked on smoking, died Tuesday at South Africa's Bloemfontein Zoo at the relatively advanced age of 52, the Los Angeles Times reports. Zoo officials noticed about five years ago that visitors were tossing Charlie cigarettes and he was mimicking smokers. Newspapers picked up the story. Charlie was featured in a US TV news report and became the first animal visitors would ask to see. The life expectancy for chimps in the wild is about 15 years. Only 7 percent of wild chimps live past 40.