US private rocket company SpaceX has announced that two private citizens have paid to be sent around the Moon. The mission (任务) is planned for late 2018. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, "This presents an opportunity for humans to return to deep space for the first time in 45 years."

The two unnamed people will fly aboard a spaceship which is set for its first unmanned test flight later this year. The co-operation of America's NASA space agency had made the plan possible. Mr. Musk said, "The two passengers will travel faster and further into the solar system than any before them." Like the Apollo astronauts before them, these individuals will travel into space carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration.

"We expect to conduct health and fitness tests, as well as begin initial training later this year. The first mission would be unmanned, and the next one―with crew―was expected in the second quarter of 2018," the rich businessman and inventor said, "The first passengers are entering this with their eyes open, knowing that there is some risk here. They're certainly not childish, and we'll do everything we can to reduce that risk, but it's not zero."

The space tourists would make a circle around the Moon, scanning the lunar surface and then going well beyond. However, the mission will not involve a lunar landing. "If NASA decided to take part in a lunar fly-by mission, then the agency would have privilege," Mr. Musk said. The US has not sent astronauts to the Moon since the early 1970s.

I-HOUSE 2017~2018 DINING SERVICES NOTICE

    I-House serves meals that international students can choose from. On holidays only one meal is served. Meals do not carry over from term to term. You have the option of purchasing extra meals through the Dining Service. The meals per period will be as indicated:

    Meal Cards — Dining Service operates on a computerized system. Your student ID or I-House Access Card will serve as your meal card and get coded in the computer system. NO MEALS SHALL BE PROVIDED WITHOUT PRESENTATION OF A VALID MEAL CARD OR CASH. If your card is damaged, you are responsible to replace your card and then contact Dining Service to have it coded again before entering the dining area.

    Removal of Food or Supplies — Removing food or supplies from the Dining Facility, without permission, may result in additional charges to your Room and Board to pay the costs or any related expenses.

    Special Diets — Dining Service provides a variety of meal options, including religious selections. Although not guaranteed, special diets can usually be accommodated within our ability. You may arrange a meeting with our dining staff to discuss any special diet concerns or food allergies by e-mailing to ihdining@berkeley.edu.

    Physical Disabilities — The International House Dining Facility is accessible to all disabled residents. However, residents must be accompanied by their personal nurses for meal assistance. They will receive a meal free of charge at the time assistance is given.

The US will seek to expand its own oil production in an attempt to reduce dependence on imported oil and bring down fuel prices, President Obama says. New contracts for exploration will be signed in non-protected areas of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico.

       In his weekly speech, the President insisted the US could reduce its need for imported oil and improve safety. Using his speech to tell Americans that he understood their concerns about rising prices, President Obama focused particularly on the price of fuel, which has risen in recent months.

      US consumers have historically enjoyed cheap fuel, but have seen prices rise in recent months even though US oil production in 2010 reached its highest level for seven years.

       Although the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was serious, Mr. Obama said the Gulf remained a key part of the country’s future energy supply.

       The President’s proposals (议案) come after Republicans (共和党人) introduced a series of proposals that would expand and speed up oil and gas production.

       The White House has criticized the Republican proposals for safety reasons, but Mr. Obama was clear in his speech that he felt safety and environmental standards could be maintained even though production might rise.

       “I believe that we should continue to expand oil production in America— even as we increase safety and environmental standards,” he said.

       “As a nation, we should be investing in the clean, renewable sources of energy that are the solution to high gas prices.”

       Mr. Obama has previously called for a step-change in energy policy, saying the US must move towards getting 80% of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.

 On March 28th, the New York Times will begin charging all but the most infrequent users to read articles online．

In a letter to readers, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr．, the publisher of the paper, laid out the details of the paywall, which he said will go into effect immediately in Canada and on March 28th for the rest of the world．He called the move "an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in the Times, one that will strengthen our ability to provide high-quality journalism to readers around the world and on any platform．"

Sulzberger said that readers will be able to read 20 articles per month at no charge．Once they click on the 21st piece, however, they'll be presented with three payment options: $ 15 for four weeks of online and mobile application access, $ 20 for access to the site and the iPad application, or $ 35 for access to everything．People who already receive the printed paper through home delivery will enjoy free and unlimited access to the Times on all platforms．

These details largely agree with earlier reports on how the paywall would work．The Times had made it clear that it did not want to imitate the total paywalls put into effect by papers such as The Times of London and Newsday, which block access to all contents unless the reader pays．

The paper also signaled that it wants to stay relevant in the social media world．According to Sulzberger's announcement, people who come to the Times site from Facebook, Twitter or from blogs will be able to read those articles even if they have gone over their monthly limit．

However, Sulzberger said that a limit will be placed on "some search engines", meaning that after readers have accessed a certain number of articles from search engines, any futher articles they access from there will be added to their monthly count．It was reported that the only search engine that will be affected this way is Google, where there will be a five-article limit．This marks a clear attempt by the Times to close what could be a giant loophole （漏洞）, since so much online traffic is directed through Google．But it also presents a risk for the Times for the same reason．

Sulzberger seems well aware of the risk．"The challenge now is to put a price on our work without walling ourselves off from the global network," he said, adding that the Times must "continue to engage with the widest possible audience．"

The United States Capitol Dome(圆顶) in Washington, DC, is recognized around the world as a symbol of the U.S. Government. Since last November, the dome has been surrounded by metal poles and heavy cloth as part of a repair project.

   The last major repair work on the U.S. Capitol took place in 1960. Since then, the dome has become weathered and worn. The Architect of the Capitol group reports that the dome has more than 1,000 narrow breaks on its surface and other damage.

   The dome was completed around 1863. U. S. Senate Historian Don Ritchie says the dome’s cast(石膏) iron frame is at special risk of weathering. “The capitol dome, being cast iron, has been hit by lightning countless times. And so the current construction is to repair the leaks, to fill the cracks, to take off extra layers of paint.”

   Some recent visitors to the Capitol were unhappy about its current appearance. They had hoped to get a picture of the usually shining dome. Joyce said, “It was impressive, and very fantastic, and all white, but when I come here today, it is under construction so my family cannot see it clearly, it is kind of a disappointment.”

   Others were more understanding of the repairs. Rick Jones, another visitor, said, “It’s a little inconvenient for us not to see the dome but you have to think about the future and the people will be coming to this place for centuries...and you know ,there just needs to be preventive maintenance(维护). I am not upset with that at all.”

   The project is expected to take more than two years to complete. The dome should be ready for a new president in January 2017.

Telemedicine is the name for when doctors give advice to patients by telephone or the Internet, or when health care providers in rural areas connect with specialists in big cities.

Telemedicine has existed for a long time, but the rise of smart phones, tablets and webcam-equipped computers is raising telemedicine to new levels. Some health care systems in the United States now offer Virtual Urgent Care, patients see a doctor by video chat without having to leave home.

Diana Rae is a nurse educator in the western state of Washington. She recently showed how Virtual Urgent Care works. She used an iPad tablet and skype — the video chat service.

Doctor Green has the patient describe her symptoms, then the doctor performs a physical exam by demonstrating what he wants her to do. Doctor Green decides that the problem is a silence infection. For medicine, he prescribes an antibiotic. He says about 3 out of 4 patients have health problems that can be treated like this —through Virtual Urgent Care, that means a video chat could replace a visit to the doctor's office.

The Franciscan Health System is based in Tacoma, Washington. Franciscan charges $35 for this kind of virtual house call, that is much less than the cost of going to an emergency room, a doctor's office or an urgent care clinic.

After trying the video conference, Diana Rae says, “I would've paid twice that for the convenience of getting taken care of without having to sit in a waiting room, wait, and get exposed to everyone else's germs.”

Franciscan has a deal with a company called Carena to add virtual urgent care by Skype or phone. Carena is one of several companies doing this kind of work around the country. But a company official says state rules have not kept progress with developments in telemedicine. The workers who provide virtual urgent care must be separately licensed in each state where the company does business. For now, that means Carena doctors can treat patients in Washington state and California for example, but not in neighboring Oregon or Idaho.

 C

     Reading can provide lots of fun for children and teens during summer vacation. Children who read during the summer are better prepared for school when they return to classes in the fall. Public libraries throughout  Wisconsin will host summer events to encourage children and young adults to include reading in their summer fun.

     All Star Readers

     The Milwaukee Public Library will host its 2007 Summer Reading Club for kids from 3 to 18. Signing up starts on June 1 at all  Milwaukee public libraries and bookmobile sites.

      Children aged 6 to 12 are invited to become "All Star Readers" at the Milwaukee library when they sign up for the Summer Reading Club. Children can score a point by reading 10 books or 1,000 pages. When they reach the reading goal. they will win a bag full of prizes.

      Sparkey Spots the Ball

       Children up to 5 years old can join the read-to-me club, “Sparkey Spots the Ball”. They will receive their own reading folders to record the books read to them by parents, DiLiihers and sisters or relatives. Once they have listened to 20 books, they will win a baseball and a coupon（优惠卷） for McDonald’s ice cream.

       X-treme Read

       Teens between the age of 13 and 18 can join in their own reading program called “X-treme Read”. Teens can read to win movie passes, CDs and more.

      The library also plans extreme bike races by C4BMX at four libraries in June and July. Check with your local library or Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for the exact dates, times and places of the demonstrations(集会).

C

Washoe, a female chimpanzee (黑猩猩) believed to be the first non-human to acquire human language, has died of natural causes at the research institute where she was kept.The chimp died on Tuesday night, according to Roger and Deborah Fouts, co-founders of The Chimpanzee and Human Communications Institute in Washington, where she lived.
    Washoe was born in 1965 in Africa, where she was captured by the Air Force and taken to the US for research use in the space program. In 1966, she left the program and began living with two scientists, Allen and Beatrix Gardner, who led a project to teach the chimp American Sign Language (ASL) in Washoe, Nevada, for which it was named. Washoe had been living on Central Washington University’s Ellensburg Campus since 1980. She had a vocabulary of about 250 words. Also, Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimps: Tatu, 31, Loulis, 29, and Dar, 31
    Primate (灵长类) researcher Jane Goodall, in Fouts’ book Next of Kin, noted the importance of the work with Washoe. “Roger, through his ongoing conversations with Washoe and her extended family, has opened a window into a chimpanzee’s mind,” Goodall said.
    Though previous efforts to teach chimps spoken languages had failed, the researchers believed there was a better chance using signs. But Washoe’s language skills were disputed by scientists who believed that language is unique(独一无二的) to humans. Among those who doubted that chimps could use language were linguist (语言学家) Noam Chomsky and Harvard scientist Steven Pinker. They believed primates simply learn to perform certain acts in order to receive rewards, and do not acquire true language.