As the audience got larger, thetechnology got better. Television sets became more reliable through the 1960s. The reception (接收效果)improved. The picture improved. The major networks started broadcastingprograms in color.

    Even greater improvements were comingaccording to Sanford Brown, who wrote an article for the Post in 1967.Surprisingly, just about every prediction he made in the article became areality. For example: All sets in the not-distant future will be colorinstruments. He also predicted that TV sets would become smaller, simpler, morereliable and less expensive and may forever put the TV repairman out of work.Smaller sets do not, of course, mean smaller screens. TV engineers expectscreens to get much bigger. However, today's 3-D TV is even farther away, if it's coming at all. There is some doubt whether the public would be eager topay for it, in view of people's cold reception given to 3-D movies.

    But the technology with the greatestpotential, according to Brown, was cable television (有线电视), whichwas still in its early stages then. As he predicted, the future of cabletelevision was highly interactive (互动的). It wasn't cable television that gaveAmericans their electronic connection to the world, however. It was theInternet. He even foresaw the future office: using picture phones, big-screentelevisions for conferences, and computers providing information at the touchof a button.

    Brown ever said, “The future oftelevision is no longer a question of what we can invent. It's a question ofwhat we want.”

    The American newspaper has been around for about three hundred years. In 1721, the printer James Franklin, Benjamin's older brother, started the New England Courant, and that was what we might recognize today as a real newspaper. He filled his paper with stories of adventure, articles on art, on famous people, and on all sorts of political subjects.

    Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin's Courant, few believe that newspapers in their present printed form will remain alive for long. Newspaper companies are losing advertisers, readers, market value, and, in some cases, their sense of purpose at a speed that would not have been imaginable just several years ago. The chief editor of the Times said recently, "At places where they gather, editors ask one another, 'How are you?', as if they have just come out of the hospital or a lost law case.” An article about the newspaper appeared on the website of the Guardian, under the headline “NOT DEAD YET.”

    Perhaps not, but the rise of the Internet , which has made the daily newspaper look slow and out of step with the world, has brought about a real sense of death. Some American newspapers have lost 42% of their market value in the past three years. The New York Times Company has seen its stock drop by 54% since the end of 2004, with much of the loss coming in the past year. A manager at Deutsche Bank suggested that stock-holders sell off their Times stock. The Washington Post Company has prevented the trouble only by changing part of its business to education; its testing and test-preparation service now brings in at least half the company's income.

    In the United States 30 percent of the adult population has a “weight problem”. To many people, the cause is clear: We eat too much. But scientific evidence does little to support this idea. Going back to the America of 1910, we find that people were thinner than today, yet they ate more food. In those days people worked harder physically（体力地）, walked more, used machines much less, and didn't watch television.

    Several modern studies, moreover, have shown that fatter people don't eat more on average（平均）than thinner people. In fact, some investigations, such as a 1970 study of 3,545 London office workers, report that, on balance, fatter people eat less than slimmer people.

    Studies show that slim people are more active than fat people. A study by a research group at Stanford University School of Medicine found the following interesting facts.

    The more the men ran, the greater loss of body fat.

    The more they ran, the greater their increase in food intake（吸收）.

    Thus those who ran the most ate the most, yet lost greatest amount of body fat.

    Asia can boast(吹嘘) that it has some of the best beaches in the world. Sihanoukville, Cambodia is a seaside town located 200km or a four­hour bus ride away from the country's capital, Phnom Penh. With several beaches and small offshore islands, it is definitely not a place to miss out if you are intending to visit Angkor Wat, as the beaches there are stunning and still unspoiled by mass tourism.

    Serendipity Beach

    Serendipity Beach is the most popular beach for the masses, since it is the most accessible beach, being the nearest one from the main town area. There are plenty of bars scattered around the beach, so be prepared for the crazy parties every night.

    Ochheuteal Beach

    Ochheuteal Beach is located south of Serendipity Beach, and it's a bit of an improvement from Serendipity Beach itself in terms of the people that go there. Over here, there are bars and pubs, but at night, don't expect wild parties like at the Serendipity Beach area.

    Otres Beach

    All the way down south, near Moat Peam, lies a hidden gem called Otres Beach. This is where you can get your yoga suit on and practice meditation(冥想). This is the quietest beach in Sihanoukville and it is the least crowded, with very few parties. If your idea of a beach holiday is just yourself and the sun, sea and sand, this place is for you.

    Koh Rong

    Koh Rong is an island off Sihanoukville that is covered with beautiful sandy beaches. True relaxation lies at Long Beach, which is located on the other side of the island. Clear water surrounds the beach, and once you get there, you'll be greeted with fine white sand.

    Koh Rong doesn't have any roads, so there are no cars or motorbike rentals — everything is mostly on foot.

    Reuel Tolkien (1892－1973), the British linguist, writer. He created a fantasy novel "The Lord of the Rings" the well­known trilogy (三部曲).

    Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. When he was 4 years old, his father died and his family moved back to England. Tolkien graduated from Oxford University when he was 23 years old, and participated in the First World War. During the war, Tolkien suffered from "trench fever" and stayed in the hospital until the end of World War Ⅰ. It was the days in the hospital that he began his writing career first.

    After the war, Tolkien became a linguist. He was an editor of the "New English Dictionary" of 1918－1920. However, he was more researching into Anglo­Saxon language which makes his extensive contacts in Britain and the Nordic spread all over the folklore and mythology.

    In 1937, Tolkien completed his first work "The Hobbit". Although this was a fairy tale, it was also suitable for adults to read. Because of good sales, the publisher Allen & Unwin convinced Tolkien to write its sequel. This encouraged Tolkien to complete his most famous works the epic (史诗) trilogy "The Lord of the Rings". The works of writing went on for almost a year with the support from his good friend Lewis.

    At the beginning "The Lord of the Rings" was similar works for children, but after that writing style quickly became serious and dark. "The Lord of the Rings" was one of the most popular literary works in the 20th century in terms of sales and readers' evaluation. Tolkien's influence is important, for the success of "The Lord of the Rings" makes the fantasy novels of this literature genre (体裁) develop rapidly.

Four Unmissable Cultural Attractions in Cambridge

Set on the east bank of the River Cam, Cambridge is surely one of England's most traditional and famous cities, where there is a world-famous university and great writers, thinkers and scholars. It comes as no surprise that this age-old centre of learning is home to a variety of splendid museums.

Fitzwilliam Museum

The Fitzwilliam, a museum at the University of Cambridge, houses about half a million artworks worldwide. Highlights include masterpieces by Titian and Canaletto, Anglo-Saxon jewelry (珠宝), and a wide range of priceless china, to name just a few. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Polar Museum

This small museum is based in the university's Scott Polar Research Institute, set up by a surviving member of Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition (探险) to Antarctica. It's packed with all manner of objects relating to polar exploration; sleeping bags, Inuit artworks and expedition diaries. The museum is open from Wednesdays to Saturdays; check the latest times before visiting.

Museum of Zoology

Celebrate the diversity of animal life at this university museum, which has some of the best natural history collections in the world. It's home to a variety of impressive exhibits, from an almost-70-foot fin whale to an African elephant. The specimens (标本) on display cover the whole animal kingdom. It is open from Tuesdays to Sundays.

Centre for Computing History

With a focus on the social and cultural impact of technology, this museum explores the incredible advances made in computing over the past few decades, as well as during the earlier days of the Information Age. It's a great day out with children, with mobile phones, calculators, game players and old-fashioned computers all on show. The museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.