One of Hong Kong's few remaining border crossings with mainland China was desolate, after the mandatory quarantine scheme took effect.
One of his beliefs, of course, is unbelief. He regards God as a superstition employed by religions for the purpose of control and repression. His hostility to religion has been fortified by the rise of Islamic extremism, which he tends to take personally, in part because of the fatwa against his good friend Salman Rushdie.
On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review
'Just Kids'
By PATTI SMITH
Reviewed by TOM CARSON
The downtown rocker Patti Smith's memoir of her early career and her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe is a spellbinding, diverting portrait of funky-but-chic New York in the late '60s and early '70s.
Football is proving to be a valuable barometer of the serious impact of racism and xenophobia in society, the UN’s expert on racism said after a rash of incidents at stadiums. 在各地足球場發生連串事件後，聯合國種族主義專家表示，足球正被證明是種族主義與排外恐懼對社會造成嚴重衝擊的有效指標。◎俞智敏
With the increase, the foundation was now
offering $3.3 million for the death of Rushdie, who since 1989 has been
the target of a Iranian fatwa calling for his murder for allegedly
blaspheming Islam and its Prophet Mohammed in his book "The Satanic
Verses."
加上這筆錢後，該基金會現在懸賞追殺魯西迪的獎金已達330萬美元。魯西迪自1989年就成為伊朗所頒布格殺令的目標，理由是據稱魯西迪在他的小說「魔鬼詩篇」中褻瀆了伊斯蘭及其先知穆罕默德。
Job Losses Hint at Vast Remaking of U.S. Economy
By PETER S. GOODMAN and JACK HEALY
With unemployment at 8.1 percent, some economists believe that a wrenching restructuring is under way.
Do you know anyone who would be willing to sell everything they own and live in their car just so they could save every dollar for someone else? Greg Mortenson, a great American hero, did just that when he followed through on his promise to an impoverished Pakistani village to build a school for its children, and in the process has found himself playing a major role in one of the most historically and culturally pivotal areas in the world today.
In THREE CUPS OF TEA: One Man’s Mission to Promote . . . One School at a Time (Viking/On-sale date: March 6, 2006) Greg Mortenson, and acclaimed journalist David Oliver Relin, recount the unlikely journey that led Mortenson from a failed attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain, to successfully building schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. By replacing guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading, Mortenson combines his unique background with his intimate knowledge of the third-world to fight terrorism with books, not bombs, and successfully bring education and hope to remote villages in central Asia . THREE CUPS OF TEA is at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at a time.
In 1993 Mortenson was descending from his failed attempt to reach the peak of K2 Pakistan
While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school.
From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time: Greg Mortenson’s one-man mission to counteract extremism and terrorism by building schools—especially for girls—throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.
Mortenson had no reason to believe he could fulfill his promise. In an early effort to raise money he wrote letters to 580 celebrities, businessmen, and other prominent Americans. His only reply was a $100 check from NBC’s Tom Brokaw. Selling everything he owned, he still only raised $2,000. But his luck began to change when a group of elementary school children in River Falls , Wisconsin
Mortenson and award-winning journalist David Oliver Relin have written a spellbinding account of his incredible accomplishments in a region where Americans are feared and hated. In pursuit of his goal, Mortenson has survived an armed kidnapping, fatwas issued by enraged mullahs, repeated death threats, and wrenching separations from his wife and children. Yet his success speaks for itself. This year the schools will educate 24,000 children.
About the Author:
Greg Mortenson, is the director of the Central Asia Institute. A resident of Montana Pakistan Afghanistan
David Oliver Relin is a contributing editor for Parade Magazine and Skiing Magazine. He has won more than forty national awards for his work as a writer and editor.
verb
1 [T + adverb or preposition] to pull and twist something suddenly or violently away from a fixed position:
The photographer tripped over a lead, wrenching a microphone from its stand.
The phone had been wrenched from/off the wall.
The ball was wrenched out of his grasp by another player.
His hands were tied but he managed to wrench himself free.
2 [T] to twist part of your body badly, such as your arm or leg, and injure it:
He wrenched his right shoulder during a game of hockey.
3 [T usually passive] to suddenly take someone from people whom they love, causing them great unhappiness:
At the age of eight, she was wrenched from her foster parents and sent to live with another family.
wrench
noun
1 [C usually singular] a sudden, violent twist or pull
2 [S] a feeling of unhappiness when you have to leave a person or place that you love:
She found leaving home a real wrench.
desolate (EMPTY) adjective
describes a place that is unattractive and empty, with no people or nothing pleasant in it:
The house stood in a bleak and desolate landscape.
desolation noun [U]
a scene of desolation
reaches
plural noun1 a part of a river or part of an area of land:
The expedition set out for the upper reaches of the Amazon.
There was little snow on the lower reaches of the ski run.
We know very little about the farthest/outermost reaches of the universe.
2 the highest or lowest levels of an organization:
The news has shocked the upper reaches of the government.
careless or unwise, without thought for what might happen or result:
That was a rash decision - you didn't think about the costs involved.
[+ to infinitive] I think it was a bit rash of them to get married when they'd only known each other for a few weeks.
rashness noun [U]
In a moment of rashness, I agreed to do a parachute jump for charity.
noun
a rash of sth a large number of unpleasant events of the same type:
There has been a rash of robberies/accidents/complaints in the last two months.
used when you are annoyed with something:
I can't get the bleeding car to start!bleed verb bled, bled
1 [I] to lose blood:
Your arm is bleeding.
He was bleeding heavily.
2 [T] OLD USE to make someone lose blood, as a cure for an illness
3 [T] If you bleed a closed system such as a radiator or a brake, you remove air or liquid from it to make it work correctly.
spellbind
tr.v., -bound (-bound'), -bind·ing, -binds.
To hold under or as if under a spell; enchant or fascinate.
[Back-formation from SPELLBOUND.]
spellbindingly spell'bind'ing·ly adv.That same year she performed as a soloist in England with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Mozart was her calling card, but she proved an adept interpreter of other composers as well, as she did in 1956 when she played a program of Mozart, Haydn and Schubert at Wigmore Hall in London. She “captured and held spellbound her audience,” The Daily Telegraph of Britain wrote.
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