>Statue resembles lost relic
疑似龍門石窟佛首現(xiàn)身
The head of an ancient Chinese Buddha statue listed in an auction catalogue of Sotheby's, a prominent auction house in the US, is suspected of being stolen from the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan. Sotheby's said that after a discussion with the sculpture's owner, the Junkunc family, the Buddha head was removed from a Sotheby's New York auction on Sept 12. The nearly 70-cm-high statue, dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), was expected to fetch between $2 million and $3 million. Sotheby's describes the exquisite sculpture as "magnificent". In the catalog, Sotheby's compared the statue to a number of Tang dynasty Buddha statues, including those in the Longmen Grottoes, and said, "Its lips are slightly pursed, which is the style of the early Tang dynasty."
美國(guó)著名拍賣行蘇富比一個(gè)拍賣名錄里出現(xiàn)的一件古代中國(guó)佛首被懷疑是河南洛陽龍門石窟的失竊文物。蘇富比表示，經(jīng)過與雕像擁有者、瓊肯家族協(xié)商，該佛首被撤出了9月12日蘇富比的紐約拍賣會(huì)。該佛首石雕高近70厘米，出自唐代，預(yù)估價(jià)為200萬到300萬美元。蘇富比用"恢弘巨作"來形容這件造型精美的雕像。在名錄中，蘇富比將該石雕與包括龍門石窟所藏佛像在內(nèi)的多座唐代佛像進(jìn)行了對(duì)比，表示"本像嘴唇微噘，屬初唐風(fēng)格"。

>Japan in 'tourist pollution'
'旅游污染'令日本人抓狂
Japan's traditional sense of "omotenashi", meaning to wholeheartedly look after guests, is wearing decidedly thin as residents of many of the nation's must-see tourist spots increasingly express their frustration at loud and disrespectful foreigners, crowded public transport and poor etiquette among visitors. The problem has become so bad in some towns, such as the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Kamakura, that local people are complaining to their local authorities about "tourism pollution". Locals say it is difficult to get on buses that go near the most famous sights, while demand for accommodation has encouraged unscrupulous landlords to lease out unlicensed properties. Foreign tourists also are often unaware of local customs - such as meticulously separating rubbish before it is collected - which has added to the friction with local people. More than 20 million foreign tourists arrived in Japan in the first eight months of the year and the annual total is expected to break the 30 million barrier, up from 28.7 million arrivals last year.
日本傳統(tǒng)意義上的"款待"文化——即全心全意、毫無保留地招待客人——顯然正日漸式微，因?yàn)樵搰?guó)許多必看旅游景點(diǎn)的居民對(duì)大聲喧嘩且失禮的外國(guó)人、擁擠的公共交通和游客糟糕的禮節(jié)日益感到沮喪。這個(gè)問題在一些城鎮(zhèn)——譬如在京都和鐮倉(cāng)等古都——已經(jīng)變得如此嚴(yán)重以至于當(dāng)?shù)孛癖娤虻胤疆?dāng)局抱怨游客造成了"旅游污染"。當(dāng)?shù)孛癖娬f，在最有名的景點(diǎn)附近，人們很難坐上公交車。與此同時(shí)，住宿需求促使無良房主出租未獲得許可的房產(chǎn)。外國(guó)游客往往也不了解當(dāng)?shù)氐娘L(fēng)俗——比如在垃圾被收走之前應(yīng)該一絲不茍地將其分類——這增加了他們與當(dāng)?shù)厝说哪Σ?。今?-8月，到日本旅游的外國(guó)游客超過2000萬人次，預(yù)計(jì)全年的外國(guó)游客總數(shù)將突破3000萬人次，比去年的2870萬人次有所增加。

>Murakami rejects writers prize
村上拒'替代版諾獎(jiǎng)'提名
Japanese writer Haruki Murakami has requested that his nomination for a new literature prize be withdrawn. Murakami was named in August as one of 4 finalists for the New Academy Prize in Literature, which was created after the Swedish Academy decided not to award a Nobel Prize in literature this year amid a sexual harassment scandal. Swedish journalists and writers created the prize as a single-year stopgap award. The organizer of the prize, the New Academy, says Murakami expressed his gratitude for the nomination but he added that he prefers to concentrate on his writing. The winner will be announced on Oct 12, after the Nobel Prize winners have been named. The award ceremony will be on Dec 9, the day before the Nobel Prize ceremony.
日本作家村上春樹請(qǐng)求撤銷一個(gè)新設(shè)立的文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)的提名。今年8月，村上獲"新文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)"提名，成為4名最終候選人之一。陷入性騷擾丑聞的瑞典學(xué)院決定今年不頒發(fā)諾貝爾文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)，繼而設(shè)立了"新文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)"。瑞典的記者們和作家們將其設(shè)立為"僅限于今年"的獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)。該獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)的組織者"新學(xué)院"表示，村上對(duì)獲得提名表示感謝，但稱自己更想專注于寫作。"新文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)"的獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)邔⒃谄渌Z獎(jiǎng)獲獎(jiǎng)人選揭曉后，于10月12日公布。頒獎(jiǎng)典禮將在諾獎(jiǎng)?lì)C獎(jiǎng)儀式前一天的12月9日舉行。

>GM mosquitoes fight malaria
非洲將放飛轉(zhuǎn)基因蚊子
A new front has been opened up in the battle against malaria with the release of the first ever genetically modified mosquitoes in Africa. Some 10,000 sterile male mosquitoes will be released in Burkina Faso, a country at the front line of the war against the disease. Last year there were 9.8 million cases of malaria in the country, resulting in almost 4,000 deaths. This is the first step in a program to dramatically reduce the mosquito population in the country, and hopefully beyond. The initial release of the mosquitoes will enable researchers to gather more data about the longevity and dispersal of the insects, as well as how they interact with the natural insect population. The exact timing of the release depends on how quickly scientists can bring enough modified mosquitoes to adulthood, as well as local weather conditions.
有史以來第一批轉(zhuǎn)基因蚊子將在非洲釋放，開辟了抗擊瘧疾的新戰(zhàn)線。約一萬只不育雄蚊將在處于抗擊瘧疾第一線的國(guó)家——布基納法索釋放。去年該國(guó)發(fā)生了980萬例瘧疾，致近4000人喪生。這是該國(guó)計(jì)劃大幅減少蚊子數(shù)量項(xiàng)目的第一步，并希望借此實(shí)現(xiàn)更多目標(biāo)。首批釋放的蚊子將能幫助研究人員收集到有關(guān)蚊子壽命和分布的更多數(shù)據(jù)，以及它們同天然蚊子種群相互影響的情況。釋放轉(zhuǎn)基因蚊子的準(zhǔn)確時(shí)間取決于科學(xué)家將足夠的轉(zhuǎn)基因蚊子培育成年的速度以及當(dāng)?shù)氐奶鞖鈼l件。

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