餐馆认证

　　Dishing up a Quality Seal for Authentic Eateries

　　So long soggy spaghetti, tasteless tagliatelle and papery pizza--at least if the Italian government's taste police get their way. Ministers said they wanted to clean up the red-white-and-green credentials of the estimated 60,000 restaurants around the world passing themselves off as Italian. So the government is creating a certificate that will be awarded to deserving establishments abroad from the 300 or so in the Middle East and 25,000 in Europe. The dual aim is to promote Italy abroad and ensure tastebuds are being tickled by authentic Mediterranean fare. "There are people out there who don't realize pizza is an Italian word and ask us what we call it," lamented Adolfo Urso, deputy industry minister, at a news conference. And Agriculture Minister Gianni Alemanno said even if eateries did flaunt Italian roots, it was often a false claim. "Most have nothing more Italian about them than the name above the door or a tricolor flag draped outside," he said. The certificate, still without a name, would ensure restaurants offered genuine Italian menus and used authentic produce, instead of ingredients such as a German cheese marketed with the Italian-sounding name of cambonzola. Some argue that Italy's taste police will be toothless because restaurants will have the final say on whether or not they want to be tested under the voluntary scheme.

　　可以跟味道平平的意式细面、没滋没味的意式干面以及味同嚼蜡的比萨饼说再见了--至少，在意大利政府的"风味警察"开始行动以后情况会是如此。意大利政府表示，他们打算对世界各地6万家左右打着意大利招牌的餐馆进行彻底清理。政府为此正在制作一种证书，用来颁给合格的海外意式餐馆，甄选范围包括中东的约300家以及欧洲的2万5千家意式餐馆。此举有两个目的，一是在海外推广意大利的国家形象，再就是保证人们的味蕾能体验到正宗地中海食物的美妙滋味。工业部副部长阿道弗-乌尔索在记者招待会上哀叹道："外面有些人连'比萨'是个意文单词都不知道，还问我们管比萨饼叫什么。"而农业部长吉亚尼-阿莱曼诺说，即便有些餐馆吹嘘自己源自意大利，那也通常是靠不住的。"大多数这样的餐馆里没有什么比门上的名字和挂在门外的三色旗更意大利的东西。"这种还没有名字的证书可以保护那些正宗意式餐馆的利益。它们供应地道意大利菜肴，所用材料也是地道意大利产品，而不是像"卡朋佐拉"干酪那样的货色。后者在出售时被冠上了意大利名字，实际却是德国货。也有人认为意大利的"风味警察"起不了什么作用，因为这一计划建立在自愿基础上，是否接受品尝最终由餐馆自己决定。

　　Remarks：没有盗版的唱片多半不好听；没有遍地开花的"正宗XX餐馆"，如何能体现XX烹饪文化的博大精深、源远流长？

　　金发女郎成历史？

　　Blondes Headed for Extinction?

　　In the end, it seems it was just another dumb blond joke ? The World Health Organisation, the Geneva-based health arm of the United Nations, has insisted that despite the many media reports to the contrary, it had never conducted a study predicting the extinction of the natural blond hair gene. Before this, there were many stories around the world citing WHO research stating that natural blondes would become extinct by 2202. Reports to that effect had appeared in recent days on CNN and ABC News and in the Daily Mail, among others. But WHO said it has never conducted research on the topic. WHO "has no knowledge of how these news reports originated but would like to stress that we have no opinion on the future existence of blondes," it said in a statement released at United Nations headquarters in New York. According to the published reports, the supposed WHO study had predicted that the last blond on earth would be in Finland, which today has the world's highest concentration of true blondes. The reports said blond hair was caused by a recessive gene, so both sides of the family have to have it to extend the shade into the next generation. But too few people carry the gene to assure its long-term survival.

　　最后，看来这只不过是又一个关于金发女郎的无聊笑话--联合国的卫生分部，总部位于日内瓦的世界卫生组织坚称它从未进行过预言天然金发基因将要绝种的研究，尽管许多媒体的报道与此相反。在此之前，世界各地流传着许多这样的故事，其中引用世界卫生组织的研究宣称天然的金发女郎将在2202年之前绝迹。关于此事的报道近日出现在了许多媒体上，其中包括美国有线新闻网、美国广播公司新闻网以及《每日邮报》。但是，世界卫生组织说它从未对这一课题进行过研究。世界卫生组织在纽约的联合国总部发表了一份声明，宣布它"不知这样的新闻报道何以产生，只想强调我们对金发女郎的未来存在状况并无看法。"根据此前的报道，假想中的世界卫生组织研究预测地球上最后一个金发女郎将出现在芬兰，那是当今世上天然金发女郎密度最高的地方。报道中说金发是由一种隐性基因造成，因此只有在家庭中的双方都携带这种基因的情况下这种发色才能遗传给下一代。但是携带这种基因的人为数太少，这种特质因此无法长期存在。

　　Remarks：金色的头发没有了不要紧，因为我们有的是染发剂；我们还是关心赤红色的心何时会绝迹吧。

　　基因突变 文明曙光

　　Mutant Gene "Sparked Art and Culture"

　　A tiny mutation in a gene common to mammals may have changed the destiny of humanity. The gene, foxp2 ? identified by British researchers two years ago ? could have been the switch that lit up art, culture and social behaviour in Homo sapiens* 50,000 years ago. Richard Klein, an anthropologist at Stanford University in California, said that early modern humans 100,000 years ago were confined to Africa and seemed no different from their now-extinct cousins Homo neanderthalensis and Homo erectus in Europe and Asia. Then, 50,000 years ago, behaviour altered dramatically: "There was a biological change, a genetic mutation of some kind that promoted the fully modern ability to create and innovate." "When you look at the archaeological record before 50,000 years ago, it is remarkably homogeneous. There are no geographically delineated groups of artefacts. Suddenly, modern-looking people began to behave in a modern way, producing art and jewellery... manufacturing styles and different cultures." Anthropologists have argued for years about this. Some researchers say population increase triggered creativity.

　　* Homo sapiens：智人(现代人的拉丁学名)。后文的Homo neanderthalensis及Homo erectus都是古人类的拉丁学名。

　　哺乳动物共有的一种基因的微小突变可能改变了人类的命运。英国科学家在两年前识别出了这种名为foxp2的基因，它可能是在5万年前点亮现代人艺术、文化以及社会行为之光的电闸。加利福尼亚州斯坦福大学的人类学家理查德-克兰说，10万年前的早期现代人活动范围局限在非洲，看起来无异于他们生活在欧亚地区、现已绝灭的亲戚尼安德特人和直立人。之后，大约在5万年前，他们的行为发生了戏剧性的改变："一次生物学上的变化亦即某种类型的基因突变促使他们获得了完全现代的创造和革新能力。""5万年以前(各个地方)的考古记录非常类似，没有按地理分野的不同人工物品组。突然，长相现代的人们开始有了现代的行为方式，开始创造艺术、加工珠宝……大量生产时尚和不同的文化。"人类学家们就此问题已经争论多年，有些学者认为触发人类创造力的动因是人口增长。

　　Remarks：要是他是对的，那么达芬奇的画、米开朗基罗的雕塑、李白的诗、苏轼的词等等就都是foxp2突变的结果了，我觉得这样的结论很无趣。

　　诅咒无稽

　　Tomb Curse Pronounced a Myth

　　Researchers at Australia's Monash University have studied the curse of Tutankhamun's tomb, which was opened in 1923. The myth of the Mummy's Curse arose when some of those involved in opening the tomb in Luxor died prematurely, including the sponsor of the expedition Lord Carnarvon. Another member of the team Alb Lythgoe died in 1934 after a stroke. However, the researchers discovered that the 26 present at the excavations in the Valley of the Kings, or later coffin-openings, lived to an average age of 70. The British Medical Journal states that the research, led by Mark Nelson, shows the myth has little basis in fact. A rumour suggested that anyone opening the royal tomb would have a curse placed on them. However, the expedition leader Howard Carter, who opened the tomb, survived into old age although his canary was eaten by a cobra the same day. Dr Nelson believes that the rumours of a curse could have been generated by rival newspapers after The Times of London was given exclusive rights to the story.

　　澳大利亚莫纳什大学的学者们对图坦卡蒙王陵的诅咒进行了研究，该陵墓于1923年被发掘。这座位于卢克斯(埃及中部城市)的陵墓被发掘后不久，与此事有关的一些人--其中包括赞助发掘的卡纳冯勋爵--纷纷早逝，关于木乃伊诅咒的传说由此而生。考古队中另一成员埃尔布-利斯苟于1934年死于中风。然而，学者们发现，参与了王陵谷发掘工作或是此后的开棺行动的26个人平均活到了70岁。《英国医学杂志》称，由马克-纳尔逊主持的这项研究表明有关诅咒的传说并无事实依据。根据传闻，任何打开法老陵墓的人都将受到诅咒。但是，打开陵墓的探险行动负责人霍华德-卡特却活到了老年--尽管他的金丝雀在陵墓开启当天被一条眼镜蛇吃了。纳尔逊博士认为，关于诅咒的流言可能是与伦敦《泰晤士报》竞争的一些报纸散布出来的，因为《泰晤士报》获得了发掘行动的独家报道权。

　　Remarks：诅咒的说法不会被平均寿命的统计推翻，也不能为短命夭亡的事实所证明--因为我们不知道每个人原本"应该"活多久。

　　朝中奖，夕死可矣

　　Magazine Offers a Prize to Die For

　　A leading science magazine is offering readers a prize to die for ? cryonics treatment. The lucky winner of the prize promoting the revamp of New Scientist magazine won't be able to collect the award until death when he or she will be cooled to a temperature at which decay of the body stops and then suspended in liquid nitrogen in a state known as cryonic preservation. "We think that the cryonics promotion is a way of making science interesting to everyone, not just scientists, which is exactly the same message we are trying to communicate about the magazine itself," editor Alun Anderson said in a statement. If and when the medical technology allows, the winner, preserved at The Cryonics Institute of Michigan in the United States, will be revived to continue their life. If the winner is not eager to be preserved, the magazine is offering an alternative prize--a week in Hawaii and a visit to the Mauna Kea* observatory.

　　*Mauna Kea：莫纳基亚山，是夏威夷岛上的一座海拔4205米的休眠火山。山顶上有美国、英国、加拿大和智利等国家的多座天文台和大型天文望远镜。

　　一本权威科学杂志为读者提供了一份值得为之去死的奖品--人体冷冻处理。《新科学家》杂志设立的这一奖项旨在为杂志的改版作宣传，幸运的获奖者要到死时才能领奖。届时获奖者的身体将被冷却到足以停止身体腐坏过程的低温，然后被悬浮在液氮中，进入冷冻保存状态。《新科学家》编辑埃伦-安德森在声明中说："我们认为，宣传人体冷冻法能让所有人而不仅仅是科学家对科学产生兴趣。这也正是我们想传达给人们的关于杂志自身的讯息。"到医疗技术条件允许的时候，被保存在美国密歇根人体冷冻学院的获奖者将被复苏过来继续生活。如果获奖者对被冷藏兴趣不大，杂志也准备了替代奖品--到夏威夷旅游1周并访问莫纳基亚天文台。

　　Remarks：人是社会性很强的生物，隔世再生的滋味并不一定好受，还是去夏威夷吧。

　　对"投掷矮人"的禁令

　　U.N. Upholds Ban on "Dwarf Throwing"

　　A tiny stuntman who protested against a French ban on the bizarre practice of "dwarf throwing" lost his case before a U.N. human rights body, which said the need to protect human dignity was paramount. Manuel Wackenheim had argued the 1995 ban by France's highest administrative court was discriminatory and deprived him of a job being hurled around discotheques by burly men. In a statement the U.N. Human Rights Committee said it was satisfied "the ban on dwarf-tossing was not abusive but necessary insgroupsto protect public order, including considerations of human dignity." The committee also said the ban "did not amount to prohibited discrimination." The pastime, imported from the United States and Australia in the 1980s, consists of people throwing tiny stuntmen as far as possible, usually in a bar or discotheque. The stuntman wears a crash helmet and padded clothing which has handles on the back to facilitate throwing the human projectile. The Frenchman, who measures 1.14 meter (3 ft 10 inches), filed his case in 1999 with the U.N. committee made up of 18 independent experts who examine states' compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

　　法国禁止了"投掷矮人"的怪异把戏，一位矮小的特技演员因此到联合国的一个人权机构进行抗议，而后者以保护人性尊严至关重要为由判他败诉。曼纽尔-瓦肯汉姆认为，法国最高行政法庭1995年的禁令是歧视性的，而且剥夺了他的工作机会--他的工作就是在迪斯科舞厅里被壮汉们抛来掷去。联合国人权委员会在声明中说，他们确信"对投掷矮人的禁令是维护公共秩序的必要措施，从人性尊严角度看来也顺理成章，不是对法规的滥用。"委员会还说这"不算是禁止性歧视。"这种娱乐在20世纪80年代从美国和澳大利亚传入法国，其内容是人们在酒吧或是迪斯科舞厅一类的地方把矮小的特技演员尽可能地往远处扔。特技演员戴着防撞头盔，穿着有衬垫的衣服，衣服背后有把手以便人们"发射人体炮弹"。这位身高1.14米(3英尺10英寸)的法国人于1999年向联合国人权委员会提出了诉讼，该委员会由18位独立专家组成，其职责是监督各国对《公民权利及政治权利国际公约》的履行情况。

　　Remarks：人们不都是安贫乐道的颜回，各人对尊严的看法想必也大相径庭，为保护"有尊严的生存"而危及生存本身是否有点舍本逐末呢？

　　为鸵鸟的权利呐喊

　　Parliament Speaks out for Ostrich Rights

　　German parliamentarians stood up for the rights of ostriches, calling on the government to lay down minimum standards under which the birds should be kept before being killed for their meat. The Bundesrat upper house asked for existing animal protection legislation to be fleshed out to include the ostrich. The bird has become a popular dish for Germans seeking alternatives to traditional meat and poultry after a number of Europe-wide health scares. The regional government of Schleswig-Holstein, which is home to 20 ostrich farms, said studies had shown the birds, which can grow up to six feet tall and weigh up to 330 pounds, each need 2,150 square feet of space. It said safeguards were also needed to ensure the animals, usually found in Africa, do not freeze in cold German winters.

　　德国的议员们为鸵鸟的权利挺身而出，呼吁政府制定鸵鸟在被杀而食之以前所应享有的最低生活标准。德国联邦上院要求扩充现有的动物保护立法，将鸵鸟纳入保护范围。数次蔓延全欧的(畜禽卫生问题带来的)健康恐慌使德国人急于寻找传统家禽家畜的替代品，鸵鸟由此成为流行美食。石勒苏益格-荷尔斯泰因州(简称石荷州)有20家鸵鸟场，该地政府称研究显示高可达6英尺、体重可达330磅的鸵鸟每只需要2150平方英尺的空间。此外，为了确保这种通常生活在非洲的动物不在寒冷的德国冬天挨冻，还应该采取一些安全措施。

　　Remarks：这样的眷顾真的让动物们消受不起了，因为你得在成为popular dish之后才有可能得到这样的"权利"。

　　安全气囊拯救世界？

　　Can Airbags Save the World?

　　Giant airbags could one day save the world from the disaster of a cosmic collision with a giant comet, according to a scientist in the United States. Forget nuclear warheads to stop a crash with a comet that could have cataclysmic effects such as the one that is believed to have triggered the demise of the dinosaurs, Hermann Burchard of Oklahoma State University told New Scientist magazine. Far better to send up a space ship equipped with a massive airbag that could be inflated to several kilometres (miles) wide and used to gently buffet the invading solar body away from a collision course with earth. "It seems a safe, simple and realistic idea," Burchard told the magazine's latest edition. However, he admitted there were still numerous details to be worked out including the material for the airbag which had to be light enough to cart into space yet strong enough to bounce the comet off its course to earth.

　　按照一位美国科学家的说法，有一天巨型安全气囊会拯救世界，使我们免于同一颗巨大的彗星发生宇宙大碰撞的灾难。俄克拉荷马州立大学的赫尔曼-伯恰德对《新科学家》杂志说，别想用核弹头去阻止同彗星的碰撞，那样做的后果会跟据信使恐龙绝灭的那次灾难差不多。明智得多的办法是发射一艘配备有巨型安全气囊的宇宙飞船。气囊可以膨胀到数公里(英里)宽，用以驱使入侵的太阳系天体逐步偏离撞向地球的航向。伯恰德对最新一期《新科学家》杂志说："这似乎是一个安全、简单并且切实可行的主意。"不过，他承认还有许多细节问题需要解决，比如气囊的材质问题。气囊要非常轻以便发射到宇宙中，同时又要足够坚韧以便把彗星弹离冲向地球的路线。

　　Remarks：听起来像童话？很多伟大的科学构想开始时都给人这样的感觉，所以爱因斯坦说："想像力比知识更重要。"

　　茅厕书香

　　Reading on a Roll

　　Germans who like to read on the toilet no longer need to take newspapers in with them, but can instead turn to novels and poems printed onto toilet paper, a German publisher said. "We want our books to be used. That's our philosophy," said Georges Hemmerstoffer, head of the Klo-Verlag which publishes the toilet paper literature. About half of all people liked to read on the toilet, he added. Poems by German literary giants Heinrich Heine and Christian Morgenstern*, as well as tales and detective stories could be found on the toilet rolls, Hemmerstoffer told reporters at the Frankfurt book fair. Each text was printed several times on one roll, so that readers could actually use the paper and still leave behind some entertainment for the next toilet visitor.

　　* Christian Morgenstern：克里斯廷-摩根施泰恩(1871-1914)，德国诗人。

　　德国一位出版商宣布，喜欢厕上阅读的德国人不用再拿着报纸进卫生间了，他们可以阅读印在厕纸上的小说和诗歌。厕纸文学出版商克罗-维拉格公司老板乔吉斯-黑默斯托弗说："我们希望自己出版的书籍被人使用，这是我们的哲学。"他补充说，大约半数的人喜欢在如厕时阅读。黑默斯托弗在法兰克福书展上对记者说，人们在厕纸上可以读到德国文学巨擘海因里希-海涅和克里斯廷-摩根施泰恩的诗歌，还有故事和侦探小说。每段文字都会在同一卷厕纸中反复出现，这样厕所读者们就可以实际使用它，不会妨碍下一位如厕者的阅读。

　　Remarks：这样的发明使肠胃不好的人们都有了成为饱学之士的希望，只不知那些在厕纸文学中占有一席之地的作家们会作何感想。