A large number of women in Western European countries wish that they were born men. The number is said as high as 60% in West Germany. “Women often wish that they had the same chance as men have, and believe it is still men's world,” said Dr James Holden, one of the scientists who did the study.

    Anne Harper has a very good job for an international oil company. She also believes in “Women' s Liberation(解放)”. “I don't wish that I were a man,” she says, “and I don't think many women do. But I do wish that people would stop looking down upon us women. At work, for example, we often do the work that men do but get paid less. There are still a lot of jobs that are usually the best ones and open only to men. If you're a man, you have a much better chance of leading an exciting life. How many women pilots are there ... or engineers or scientists?”

    A little old couple walked slowly into McDonald's one cold winter evening. They were so old that they looked out of place among the young families and young couples eating there that night.

    Some of the customers looked admiringly at them. You could tell what the admirers were thinking. “Look, there is a couple who has been through a lot together, probably for 60 years or more!”

    The little old man walked right up to the cash register (收银台), placed his order with no hesitation and then paid for their meal. The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off the tray (托盘). There was one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The little old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them.

    As the man began to eat his few bites of hamburger the crowd began to get restless. Again you could tell what they were thinking, “That poor old couple. All they can afford is one meal for the two of them.”

    As the man began to eat his French fries one young man stood and came over to the old couple's table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple to eat. The old man replied that they were just fine. They were used to sharing everything.

    Then the crowd noticed that the little old lady hadn't eaten a bite. She just sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink.

    Again the young man came over and begged them to let him buy them something to eat. This time the lady explained that, no, they were used to sharing everything together.

    As the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly with a napkin the young man could stand it no longer. Again he came over to their table and offered to buy some food.

    After being politely refused again, he finally asked a question of the little old lady. “Ma'am, why aren't you eating? You said that you share everything. What is it that you are waiting for?”

    She answered, “The teeth”.

    The annual World Economic Forum (经济论坛) took place in Davos, Switzerland, in Jan. 23-26, 2018. What did Chinese entrepreneurs (企业家) speak in the forum? Are there some quotable quotes for you?

    Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group

    "I think globalization cannot be stopped — no one can stop globalization, no one can stop trade. If trade stops, the world stops. Trade is the way to dissolve (溶解，结束) the war not cause the war," said Ma in Davos, "Google, Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba — we are the luckiest companies of this century. But we have the responsibility to have a good heart, and do something good."

    Richard Liu, founder and chief executive officer of JD

    "Business is not only a way to make money but also a way to contribute yourself, to help people," Liu said in a speech in Davos. "How can we face the fractured (分化的) world? That's the topics of the Davos this year. I think a very important thing in business is cooperation. If we can unite, work together, if we work very closely, I think we can bring more hope to the people and we can build more trust between the people, countries and companies and partners," he said.

    Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip

    "Tourism is a sunrise industry. Since I entered Ctrip, every year there are new comers, which, first of all, shows that tourism is booming." Sun told Sina.com in Davos. "We invested heavily in ABC. A refers to AI, B is big data, and C is cloud computing. As we continue to expand overseas, these three will be very good weapons for us. So we think those mean opportunity," she said.

    Hu Xiaoming, president of Aliyun

    "In 2018, people will see the development in various countries more closely connected with cloud computing. More manufacturing enterprises and financial institutions will start to use 'cloud', and cloud computing will increase the efficiency of technology and finance," Hu told Xinhua in Davos.

    A mother goat is able to pick out her own baby from its voice alone by the time the kid is just five days old.

    Researchers from University of London played kids' bleats to female goats and studied their responses. They were surprised to find that the animals were able to pick out their own kids' voices.

    “A mother and the kid rely a lot on smell to recognize one another and, in the wild, during the first week of their lives, the animals hide in grass and don't call much. It's a strategy they use to avoid enemies,” Dr Elodie Briefer, who led the research, explained to BBC News. “The mother call to the kids when she want them to come and feed, so we expected that kids would recognize the mothers' voices.” In fact, this was the case for deer, which also use this hiding strategy, although they do not belong to the same family of species as goats.

    She and her team recorded and played back young kids' calls to the female goats and recorded their responses. She explained, “Even when the calls came from kids that are five to six days old, we could see the mothers responding more to the voices of their own babies.” Hearing the voice of their own kids, the females would look towards the speaker that the sound was coming from, moving around and calling in response.

    The scientists say that understanding how goats behave and communicate is very important. “This helps us understand just how smart these animals are,” said Dr. Briefer. “Farmers might be able to change their way to raise goats considering this natural behaviour.”

    In the U.S. state of Washington, a road called ^Interstate 90^ cuts through a wild, mountainous area to reach the city of Seattle. For the area's many kinds of animals, the busy highway greatly limits their movements. Crossing 1-90—as the road is called—is a risky but sometimes necessary act. But soon, animals will have a safer choice for crossing the road. They will be able to go above it.

    To help the animals, the state is finishing work on its largest-ever wildlife bridge. The 11-meter-tall, 20-meter-wide structure begins in the forest. It forms two arches above the highway, one for each direction of traffic. Workers are adding fencing and plants to help guide the animals across the bridge. Two-meter-thick walls will help block noise from vehicles below.

    The 1-90 Bridge is part of a growing number of wildlife crossings across the United States. Some are fences, some are overland bridges, and some are underpasses. They all aim to keep drivers and animals away from each other. Collisions between animals and drivers are rarely deadly to people. But they are often deadly to wildlife. In Canada's Banff National Park, studies have found that wildlife crossings reduce the area's animal-driver collisions by 80 percent.

    Most of the wildlife bridges are in western states. But experts have noted many other areas that have a need for such paths. Jen Watkins, whose organization has helped campaign for animal crossings, says finding for more crossings is "the number-one barrier."

    Patty Garvey-Darda of the U.S. Forest Service has worked on the 1-90 crossing from the start of the project. She says the $6- million bridge will one day pay for itself because the highway will not have to be fully or partly closed each time a large animal is struck. She said, ^"If you shut down Interstate 90, you shut down interstate commerce."

    Welcome to Oxford University Museums

    Ashmolean Museum

    Established in 1683, the Ashmolean Museum is the oldest museum in the UK and one of the oldest in the world. It houses the University's extensive collections of art and antiquities, ranging back over four millennia.

    Location: Beaumont Street   Tel: 01865278000

    Open: Tue. Sun. 10: 00-17: 00.

    Charge: Admission is free; special exhibitions are ticketed and a charge may apply

    Note: For group bookings   Tel: 01865278015

    Oxford University Museum of Natural History

    The University Museum of Natural History houses the University's collections of zoological, entomological, paleontological and mineral specimens. With 4. 5 million specimens it is the largest collection of its type outside of the national collections.

    Location: Parks Road   Tel: 01865 272950

    Open: 10: 00-17: 00 daily

    Charge: Admission is free

    Note: Groups must book in advance

    Museum of the History of Science

    The Museum of the History of Science is housed in the world's oldest surviving purpose-built museum building. It contains the world's finest collection of historic scientific instruments.

    Location: Broad Street   Tel: 01865277280

    Open: Tue.Sun.12: 00-17:00

    Charge: Admission is free

    Note: Booking required for groups of 15 or more

    Pitt Rivers Museum

    The Pitt Rivers Museum holds one of the world's finest collections of anthropology and archaeology, with objects from every continent and from throughout human history.

    Location: Parks Road enter via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History

    Tel: 01865270927

    Open: Tue. Sun. and Bank Holiday Mondays: 10: 00-16: 30

    Charge: Admission is free

    Note: Groups must book in advance