| The
Prime Minister's Daughter Will Work at MacDonald's
Prime Minister's
Daughter to Work at McDonald's
Wed October 1, 2003 09:08 AM ET from Bangkok Post
The Prime Minister
of Thailand is upset about prostitution. He learned
that young girls sell their bodies so that they can
have luxuries like cell phones or have spending money
to go to nightclubs. He decided that his daughter should
set a good example. She is a high school student. She
will start working part-time at MacDonald's.
Animals
Get Married to Help World Peace
from Oddly Enough
- UK Reuters Indian priests marry off animals for peace
Sun Sep 28, 9:35 AM ET NEW DELHI (Reuters)
In India, Hindu
priests are trying to make the world more peaceful.
They are following an ancient tradition to marry animals.
They have been holding wedding ceremonies for crabs,
birds, elephants and other animals. The priests believe
that animals are pure and closer to God than humans.
The wedding ceremonies are to show respect to the animals
to help protect them.
Does
smoking marijuana make you stupid?
Dope-Seeking Teens
Call Cops by Mistake
Mon Sep 8, 8:01 AM ET Strange News
Two teenagers made
a big mistake when they tried to buy marijuana. They
dialed the wrong number and called the police sheriff,
instead. The sheriff told the teenager that she was
the police sheriff and the teenager ended the phone
call. But then the teenager called again! The sheriff
arrested the two teenagers, of course. She was surprised
that the teenagers called her once, but even more surprised
when they called her twice!
Samurai
Sword Killer
Fri
September 5, 2003 10:32 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters)
A man in London
tried to kill a government MP with a 'samurai sword'.
The MP escaped, but his assistant was killed. The man
with the samurai sword was not sent to prison, but he
was sent to a psychiatric hospital.
A
Horror Movie that really Kills
from The Nation,
June 26, 2003
Watching scary
movies can be more dangerous than we believed. In India,
a man was watching a very scary movie at the movie theatre
late at night. He died while watching the movie. Did
the movie kill him?
Internet
Addiction?
froｍ Bangkok Post,
June 25, 2003 Hong Kong
Recently internet
cafes have become very popular in China. Sometimes they
are too popular. A 16 year-old boy became `addicted`
to the internet. He stole money from his parents so
that he could go to the internet cafe. When his parents
ordered him to come home, he refused and stayed there
for three days. Finally, his father came to get him.
He tied up his son and carried him out of the internet
cafe.
Woman
Marries Herself
http://www.thisistrue.com/samples.html
This is TrueR from Reuters
by Randy Cassingham
With This Ring I Me Wed
These days, more
and more people are staying single. People choose their
husbands/wives carefully and don`t want to make a mistake
and marry the wrong person. Janet Downes from Nebraska,
USA, is a woman who wants to be certain that she doesn`t
make a mistake. So she has decided to marry herself!
She will have a wedding ceremony with music, a wedding
cake and a wedding dress. She will have the ceremony
in front of a mirror. Congratulations Janet!
Boy
Flies to Hawaii
from 13-year-old
tries to escape to paradise
June 19, 2003 (NORMANDY PARK, Wash.)
http://abclocal.go.com
A 13 year-old boy
used the internet to buy a flight to Hawaii. The boy
lives in Seattle and decided he would like to take a
holiday. He used his mother's credit card and flew to
Maui! The mother realized that her son was missing.
She checked the computer history and saw that her son
had bought a plane ticket. She called the police. The
police met the boy at the airport in Hawaii when he
arrived there. He didn't get to go to the beach. Instead,
the police put him back on an airplane and sent him
back to Seattle.
Fear,
Panic and Paranoia
from The Nation,
June 26th, 2003
These days, there
is a lot of paranoia and racism in the world. Some people
feel suspicious of anyone who looks Arab. Some people
have racist feelings about Muslim people. I think that
it's sad that we judge people because of their religion
or their appearance. Here in Thailand, many people panicked
and called the police recently. Why? They saw an 'Arab-looking
couple' taking photographs of hotels. They called the
police because they thought the couple were terrorists!
The only reason that they thought the couple were terrorists
was because they looked Arab. I hope people will use
common sense instead of panicking. I hope this racism
will stop.
Smile
to Help your Country
From Bangkok Post
July 3, 2003
Tourists call Thailand
'The Land of Smiles' because Thai people are friendly
and smile a lot. But recently, there have been few tourists
in Thailand. Tourists stopped coming to Asian countries
because they were afraid of SARS. The government of
Thailand is trying to get the tourists to return. The
Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism will
work together to make a smiling campaign. They will
ask Thai people to smile more. They hope that more smiles
will help Thai culture and encourage tourists to come
to Thailand.
Playboy
Magazine and the Economy
from Playboy Models'
Curves May Be Sign of the Times Tue June 24, 2003 06:20
PM ET
By E. J. Mundell NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
A psychology researcher
and a psychology student have discovered that Playboy
models change with the economy. They studied about 40
years of Playboy magazines and researched the types
of models. When the economy is poor, the models are
usually strong-looking. They are older, taller and heavier.
The psychologists say that this is not surprising. When
the economy is down, people look for strong partners
that can support them. When the economy is good and
people feel wealthy, they focus more on having fun.
When the economy was good over the past 40 years, the
Playboy models were different. The models looked younger
and thinner. They had bigger eyes and smaller waists.
Can
money buy happiness?
from Economic researchers quantify a ‘happiness calculus’
NBC NEWS June 15 2003
Do you remember
the song "Can't buy me love" by the Beatles?
Money may not buy love, but some researchers believe
that it can buy happiness! Researchers have been studying
what things make humans happy. They discovered that
money can buy happiness in some situations. They even
made a mathematical formula to calculate how much money
is needed. They say that a very unhappy person will
be able to change into a happy person with $1.5 million
(1,500,000 yen). But it also depends on how you get
the money. People who get their money from hard work
are less happy. The harder they work, the more money
they expect they will get. People who get money as a
surprise are more happy, because they didn't expect
it. So maybe we should buy tickets for the lottery instead
of working overtime! Money is not the only factor in
making people happy, of course. People with less money
can be more happy if they have many loved friends and
family. Researchers don't yet have a formula to calculate
the ratio of friends:money needed for happiness.
A
Tax on Fatty Foods?
Mon June 9, 2003
09:37 AM ET By Corinne Amoo LONDON (Reuters)
In many modern
countries, there is a big health problem. Many people
are overweight and too fat to be healthy. What can be
done to stop this problem? The British Medical Assocation
has an idea. They would like to put a 17.5% tax on high-fat
foods. Foods such as french fries, cookies, and hamburgers
would be taxed. They believe that the tax could help
save lives. Some people say that the tax would be a
good idea. Food manufacturers would try make foods that
were not high-fat. But some people say that poor people
eat the most high-fat foods because they are cheaper
than healthy foods. So they believe that a new tax would
just hurt poor people and wouldn't change the situation.
What do you think?
The
Wrong Choice if You Miss the Plane
from cbsnews.com
MEDFORD, Ore., June 3, 2003 MMIII The Associated Press
A man was late
and missed his flight from Phoenix, USA. What did he
do? He called the airport and said that there was a
bomb on the plane. Because he knew the exact number
of the flight, the people at the airport thought that
he was telling the truth. The airplane had already departed
but it returned to the airport to be checked for bombs.
The man thought that now he would be able to catch his
flight! Now the FBI are questioning him. He will probably
face criminal charges.
Bad
news for Japanese Restaurants in Bulgaria
from http://www.lutheransonline.com
Friday, May 30, 2003.
There was a lot
of excitement when the first Japanese restaurant opened
in Bulgaria. But it wasn't the delicious Japanese food
that caused the excitement. Felix Naygir had a bad experience
at the Mount Fugi restaurant in Sofia. He was amazed
by the skill of the Japanese chef as he used his cutting
knife. Felix was so interested in the cutting skills
that he got very close to watch. He got too close, actually,
and the knife cut off his fingers! Luckily, he was rushed
to a hospital where the doctors were able to sew his
fingers back on.
Good
Luck at a Second-Hand Shop
May 9, 2003 The
Associated Press
Sometimes there
are big surprises at second-hand shops (recycle shopes).
A woman from Newport, USA, bought a brooch at a second-hand
shop for $14 (about 1640 yen)
Later, she learned
that the brooch was made of real gold. But the biggest
surprise was the two pearls on the brooch. The little
purple pearls didn't look real, but they are real! The
two purple pearls are very rare. In fact, they might
be the only two in the world. The woman and her husband
plan to sell the brooch at an auction. No one can guess
the value of the brooch, since the pearls are unique.
But the value is definitly more than $14. There are
no other pearls like this in the world. They might be
worth millions of dollars. They might even be worth
billions of dollars!
Superhero
in England
from Oddly Enough
- Reuters
Tue May 6,10:07 AM ET
There is a superhero
in England! A man wearing a mask and cape has been helping
people in a town called Tunbridge Wells which is southeast
of London.
A group of young
men tried to steal a woman's purse. The superhero came
and scared them away and returned her purse. The superhero
has also saved a man being chased by a gang and helped
another woman who lost her purse.
Who is this superhero?!
Is he a regular man who wants to help people? Is he
a crazy man who loves costumes? Or is he really a superhero?
World
News?!
Sometimes I read
about Japan in English newspapers Usually, the news
is about the Japanese economy or about some new technology.
This week, I found some funny news from Japan. I read
it in the newspaper, The Nation (May 7, 2003). There
was a photo of Masanori Murakawa, the politician in
Morioka. He was wearing a funny mask! The news article
said that Murakawa was a pro wrestler nicknamed 'The
Great Sasuke" before he was a politician. Now he will
wear the pro wrestling mask at work at the council chamber
in Iwate. So "The Great Sasuke" is now famous all over
the world!
Sleep
is Better than Medicine or Juku!
A study done in England
shows that more than 60% of children don't get enough
sleep every night (from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2815683.stm).
People who don't sleep enough feel frustrated and tired.
They have poor memories and poor concentration. It also
affects intelligence. If you miss one hour of sleep,
your IQ is lowered by one point. If you miss two hours,
your IQ lowers by 3 points.
There are other problems
for people who don't sleep enough. People who don't
sleep well are more agressive and get sick easily.
Also, children who
don't sleep enough can't grow properly, because the
growth horomone is released when chidren sleep.
When I worked at
junior high schools in Japan, I noticed that many students
got less sleep than me! I wonder if students in Japan
get enough sleep every night?
Here are the recommended
levels of sleep:
elementary school
students: 9-11 hours, but younger children might need
as much as 13 hours.
junior high school students: 9-10 hours
high school students: 9.25 hours
adults: 8 hours
Now help your body
and your mind: get some sleep!
Catch
a Cold from Paul McCartney
This news is from
ABC Online, Thursday, April 17th, 07:16:00
These days, many
people are nervous about the new virus, SARS. But there
are some people who are trying to catch a disease!
On the Ebay.uk website,
you can buy germs from the ex-Beatle, Paul McCartney.
A fan named Ian Mears met Paul McCartney last month.
At that time, Paul had a cold. The next week, Ian also
had a cold. Ian believes that the cold came from Paul.
Now, he is selling Paul McCartney's cold!
The person who wins
the auction will get a bag that Ian coughed into.
Making
Clones of Special Animals
from BBC Online News,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ Wednesday, 9 April, 2003, 11:49
GMT 12:49 UK
Scientists have made
a clone of a banteng. A banteng is an endangered animal
that lives on Java Island in southeast Asia. There are
only about 4-8000 bantengs still living. The baby clone
was born last week.
Since the 1970s,
scientists have been keeping DNA and blood samples of
endangered species. Now, scientists hope that they can
clone endangered animals. Although they created a banteng
clone, they don't know if the clone was successful.
When the banteng becomes an adult, they will see if
it can sexually reproduce and make baby bantengs. Scientists
hope that the banteng clone will be able to make babies
and increase the banteng population.
Some people say that
it is not natural to make clones. Many people believe
that making clones is dangerous technology.
Other people say
that it is foolish to make clones of endangered species.
These people say that we must first learn why a species
becomes endangered and then fix the problem. For example,
many animals become endangered because the forests disapear.
People say that it is better to fix these problems and
protect the animals.
Do you think it's
a good idea to clone endangered species? How about extinct
species (fox example, the saber-tooth tiger)? Do you
think that cloning endangered species will affect humans?
What
is `Googling`?
From “Americans
go `Googling`” New York, AFP Bangkok Post March 19,
2003
Do you know what
`Googling` is? It`s the newest trend for people using
the internet. The search engine, Google, has over three
million sites listed in its English database. Almost
any information is available. Information from companies,
biography research, and even e-mail is listed on Google.
These days, Google is being used to search for information
about other people. We call this `googling`. You may
be able to find information about a person`s job, hobbies,
criminal records, etc. If anyone has ever written something
about you on the internet, it can be found using Google.
Someone might be googling you right now!
Why do people google
other people? There are many reasons. Imagine that you
talk with someone in a chat room. Then you decide to
really meet that person. First, you could google them
to find out some information about them. You might find
that they had lied about their job. Or you might find
that they are married! Googling strangers is a useful
way to get information.
Googling also has
bad points. Some people want privacy. They are not happy
that other people can google them and find out information.
Also, we must be more careful about what we submit to
the internet. If you make a joke about a friend or post
an embarassing picture, it will be available many years
later. Because we can be googled by anyone, we have
less freedom to post things on the internet. If you
are looking for a job, the boss might google to see
what kind of person you are. We lose our freedom to
separate private life and work life.
What do you think
about googling? Do you think its good that we can google
other people? Or do you think googling is harmful? Send
us an email with your opinion!
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