Custom tattooed fish (纹身鱼) may be big sellers at markets, but an animal expert say it is a cruel and potentially lethal practice.

    In Laitai Flower and Fish Market near the Lufthansa Center in Beijing, four of over 20 fish stores sell marine ornamental fish that are tattooed using laser (激光) guns with beautiful images in order to make them more attractive to customers. Many people just love these kinds of fish, which gives them a unique visual impression. The price of these fish ranges from 50-100 yuan. Some customers are willing to pay an additional 100 yuan to have Chinese characters tattooed on to the fish. The most popular characters are “zhaocai” (attracting fortune) and “fu” (blessing). The color of tattooed fish won't fade away, and the fish can be cared for as regular fishes:

    But Ye Zhenjiang, a professor from the Ocean University of China, said “the practice would damage a fish's mackerel scale, which is its protective layer. Although I haven't done any research on the impact of the laser on mackerel scale, it is obvious that the mackerel scale may be infected or even destroyed under the exposure of laser,” Ye said. “It's like tattooing a human being's body, and it breaks the physiological balance of the fish and damages: the skin's protective surface, It may even cause death among fishes which have thin mackerel scale.”

    A specialist in aquatic(永生的) animal study surnamed Xu, from the Beijing Fisheries Research Institute, said, “We have no specific regulations to prevent fish from being tattooed. An official surnamed Bai from the Fishery Surveillance and Administration Bureau(FSAB), said there is no study showing that the laser threatened a fish's health. He said a regulation on small animal protection, to be passed in the near future, doesn't include regular aquatic animals. He said the institution is only responsible for aquatic animals that are on the verge of extinction. He said tattooed fish are mainly from south China's Guangdong province because Beijing does not have the laser technology to tattoo a fish.

    “It's too brutal to tattoo pictures or characters on fishes, even if it makes them more beautiful,” many tropical fish buyers told METRO yesterday. “We would never buy fish like that and we prefer them with natural beauty.”

    Ecotourism(生态旅游): A Different Way to Travel

    Are you attracted to obscure(偏远的)places? Do you prefer to vacation away from other tourists? Are you careful to take only memories and to leave only footprints? If you answered yes to more than one of these questions, you just might be an ecotourist.

    Ecotourists are people who want to experience the unspoiled natural world and leave it that way when they return home. This trend started in the 1990s and ecotourism is now growing three times faster than the tourism industry at large. The Ecuador's remote Amazon Basin(盆地) is contributing to that expansion, and it gives a snapshot of what ecotourism looks like.

    At the Ecolodge, a small group of cabins(小屋) sits Kapawi Ecolodge in the middle of the Achuar people's reserve(保护区) and is only reached by air. From here, visitors can explore parts of the Amazon rainforest seen by few outsiders. As they do local Achuar guides explain how the forest is like their supermarket, where they find food, clothing, medicine and tools. As a result, tourists learn to appreciate the local culture as well as the natural environment.

    The owners of Kapawi pay monthly rent to the Achuar people, but they also train the community to run and manage the lodge. They have agreed on a plan to turn the operation over to the Achuar completely by 2011.The owners are working to make ecotourism benefit and empower the local people.

    You probably won't start your own ecolodge, but you can be an ecotourist if you follow these guidelines: Protect the environment; Support local businesses; Respect the local customs and traditions.

    The world is full of fascinating places to visit. As an ecotourist, you can enjoy them yourself and make sure that they remain beautiful for future generations as well.

    J.K. Rowling is the writer of Harry Potter, which is now one of the bestsellers in the world.

    J.K. Rowling was born in Bristol on July 31st, 1965. She has one sister who is two years younger than her. Both girls loved listening to their father reading bedtime stories to them. They especially loved stories about magical worlds. Rowling wrote her first story, called Rabbit, at the age of six.

    After she graduated from the university, Rowling worked as a translator in London. During this time, on a long train trip in the summer of 1990, the idea came to her of a boy who has magic but doesn't know it. In 1992 Rowling began to teach English. She lived with her baby daughter, Jessica, and spent much time finishing the first Harry Potter book for young readers. It appeared in June 1997. To her surprise, the book was greatly successful. The film came out in November 2001. Now Harry Potter series(系列) is popular with people of all ages and about 60 million books were sold in 200 countries.

    Why has the series been so successful? There are a few things. Many other magical stories take place in faraway lands or in past or future times. But Harry lives in modern England. He's also a very normal boy: polite, friendly, brave and clever. So when other children read about Harry, they can imagine being like him.

    J.K. Rowling is very happy with the success, and she is now busy finishing the whole series of seven books. She's writing full time and she's really enjoying life. She says she will go on living a normal life with her daughter and writing children's books.

    Charity Cycling UK has recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of dooring after discovering that many people don't know what it is and those that do seem to think it's a joke. Dooring happens when a driver or passenger opens the door into another road user - typically a cyclist - without looking for other road users.

    Cycling UK's chief executive Paul Tuohy told Gloucestershire Live, "Some people seem to see car dooring as a bit of a joke, but it's not and can have serious consequences. Cycling UK wants to see great awareness made about the dangers of opening your car door, and people to be encouraged to look before they open."

    The charity says 2,009 of the 3,000 injuries were sustained(遭受) by cyclists, resulting in five deaths but says this might not be the full extent of the dangers.

    Cycling UK says not all car dooring incidents will be attended by police, so the charity has written to transport minister Jesse Norman calling for a public awareness campaign urging all drivers to look before opening vehicle doors. One of the ways that the charity suggests could prevent injuries through dooring is the "Dutch Reach", where people leaving a vehicle reach over and use the non-door side hand to open the door.

    Cycling UK also suggests serious laws and advice on safer road positioning for people who cycle.

    Mr Tuohy said, "In the Netherlands they are known for practising a method, known sometimes as the 'Dutch Reach', which we think could be successfully encouraged in the UK."

    "Cycling UK has written to the Department for Transport asking them to look into this, and stress the dangers of 'car dooring' through a public awareness THINK style campaign."

    If you're really concerned about opening a door into the path of a cyclist coming behind you, consider using what's known as the "Dutch Reach" to open the door. That will naturally turn you in your seat and give you a much better view of what's coming up alongside the car.

    If you're DIY-minded, you can build your own solar power system. In some cases, you can even build your own solar panels (电池板), although the amount that you can effectively DIY home solar depends on how much you want to power. Making your own solar panel is a time-consuming process and requires some electrical skills. However, it can also be very rewarding-learning to build your own panel is a great way to understand how solarelectricity is generated.

    Before you can build your own solar panels, you first need to understand how solar cells generate electricity. Once you've bought individual solar cells (they can be purchased online), the basic process for building your own solar panel goes like this: Prepare the backing for your panel. Many DIY solar panel builders prefer to use a wooden board as the base for their solar cell. You'll need to drill holes in the board so that the wires for each cell can pass through. Wire your solar cells together. This requires some experience with electrical work. Use a soldering iron (烙铁) to attach wire to the solar cells and then link each of the cells together. Attach cells to your backing. If possible, attach each solar cell to the backing individually. This makes it easier to replace a single cell in the event that becomes damaged or is not operating properly.

    At this point you have a functional solar panel that can produce electricity when the sun shines. However, a solar panel by itself is not useful. If you are trying to generate electricity to power devices in your home, you need to pair your panel with an inverter (换流器) that will turn direct current (DC) power from the sun into the alternating current (AC) power used in most modern electronic devices.

The Big Ben is located in the tower at the eastern end of the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, Greater London. It was designed by Edmund Beckett and Baron Grimthorpe.

The Big Ben is very famous throughout the world, but nobody really knows why it is called Big Ben. There are two hearsays about this. Some people say that it was named after Benjamin Caunt, a boxer, who was called Big Ben. More people believe it was called after Welshman, Sir Benjamin Hall. He was the commissioner(特派员)of the work at the time of its installation in 1859. A story was told that during a debate in the Commons on what to call the bell, Sir Benjamin was about to give his ideas when a MP who sat behind the front bench shouted, "Let's call it Big Ben!" Then this name came into being.

The bell hasn't gone through a smooth road since the beginning of its design. Because there was great disagreement about the design of the clock. It took fifteen years to build. In 1857, the bell was completed and tested on the ground, but a four-foot crack appeared and the bell had to be cast again. Finally, the clock started ticking on 31 May, 1859, and struck its first chime(报时)on 11, July. Then in September, the bell cracked again. It was silent for four years but was eventually turned a quarter of a revolution(旋转). In this way, the crack was not under the striking hammer. Craftsmen made a square above the crack to stop it growing longer and it can still be seen today.

The Big Ben is famous not only for its 13-ton weight, but also for its accuracy(准确性) which is a result of its precise mechanism(机械装置). Even one extra penny's weight on the balance will cause a gain of two fifths of a second in twenty-four hours. Although there have been several problems, the bell is still striking today. Its chimes can be heard all over the world on the B. B. C.