繽紛前沿

Chimps May Understand Language Too

黑猩猩或許也懂人言

Scientists have always thought that one of the basic differences between us and our closest evolutionary cousins， chimpanzees， has been the ability to perceive (理解) and process speech. But that might not be the case. Scientists now suspect that what separates us from the apes might just be practice. A 25-year-old chimp at Georgia University called Panzee can interpret symbols and understand more than 100 spoken and digitised (數字化的) words. New research has shown that Panzee can \"interpret\" highly distorted speech sounds—in a way similar to humans.

原來《猩球崛起》(Rise of the Planet of the Apes)中的黑猩猩首領凱撒開口說話并非純屬虛構，只要有足夠的訓練，黑猩猩也能掌握人類語言。真是Practice makes possible。

65-storey Earth-Scraper 300 Metres

Below Ground

深入地下300米的65層摩“地”大樓

Architects have designed an incredible 65-storey \"Earth-scraper\" which plunges 300 metres below ground. The stunning upside down pyramid in the middle of Mexico City is designed to get around height limits on new buildings in the capital. The building will have 10 storeys each for homes， shops and a museum， as well as 35 storeys for offices. The Earth-scraper preserves the iconic presence of the city square and the existing hierarchy of the buildings that surround it. It is an inverted (顛倒的) pyramid with a central void (空隙) to allow all habitable spaces to enjoy natural lighting and ventilation (通風).

上天入地，人類真是無所不能。繼高聳入云的摩天大樓之后，直入地底的倒金字塔狀摩“地”大樓也呼之欲出。這里一應俱全，或許將成為人類的另一個美麗新世界。

Canadian Man Completes 11-year Round-the-World Walk

加拿大六旬翁徒步環游世界

A 56-year-old Canadian man， Jean Beliveau， completed an 11-year walk around the world， and told a crowd of well-wishers his new goal was to lobby (游說) Canada and other governments to create \"ministries of peace\"， which he said could lead to the creation of a team that would lecture students on peace issues， as well as a Canadian peace corps.

Beliveau left Montreal on the day of his 45th birthday—August 18th， 2000—after his business went bankrupt. He ran all the way to Atlanta， Georgia before slowing his stride (大踏步走) for what would become the longest uninterrupted walk around the world: 75，000 kilometers across 64 countries.

這位六旬老人就像是現代版的阿甘，懷揣“世界和平”的夢想不斷前進。我們也和他有同樣的夢想，共同祈愿這一夢想早日實現。