繽紛前沿

Brazil Prisoners Reading Books to Shorten Their Sentences

巴西囚犯可通過讀書減刑

Prisoners in four federal prisons holding some of Brazil's most notorious criminals will be able to read up to 12 works of literature， philosophy， science or classics to trim (削減) a maximum 48 days off their sentence each year， the Brazilian government announced. Prisoners will have up to four weeks to read each book and write an essay which must \"make correct use of paragraphs， be free of corrections， use margins (頁邊的空白) and legible (字跡清晰的) joined-up (字母連寫的) writing，\" said the notice published in the official newspaper. \"A person can leave prison more enlightened and with an enlarged vision of the world，\" said Sao Paulo lawyer Andre Kehdi， who heads a book donation project for prisons.

待在幽閉的空間，享受閱讀的樂趣，順便縮短自己的刑期。不得不說，這樣的心靈改造很有創意！

Digital Artist Creates Realistic-Looking Version of van Gogh's Starry Night

數碼藝術家制作梵高《星夜》真實版

Ever wondered what the sky must have looked like when Vincent van Gogh painted his famous Starry Night? Well， Alex Cruz has， and he even created his own realistic-looking version of this masterpiece using Photoshop.

\"I've often wondered about how the night sky looked to van Gogh when he painted Starry Night，\" Ruiz said. \"I wanted this piece to be somewhat magical and fantastic， not just a normal night painting. Hence the large moon， large stars， transparent clouds， etc.， yet keeping a mostly realistic feel to it. This is homage (致敬) to him， and to his painting. We see him standing here， looking up at the night sky ... probably in awe， as he wondered how he would capture the beauty he saw.\"

兩相對照，我們可以更直觀地感受到藝術的神秘與神奇。

Why Mosquitoes Love Some and Leave Others

為什么蚊子咬的總是你

The insects' tastes may seem arbitrary (隨意的). However， research reveals that when mosquitoes make their choice between potential victims， it all comes down to scent (氣味). \"Mosquitoes are attracted by carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) and heat， which everyone gives off. But mosquitoes are also attracted by certain scents，\" says Karl-Martin Vagn Jensen， the head of research at the Department of Agricultural Science at Aarhus University. According to Jensen， it has not yet been established exactly what the scents in question are. But research does indicate that some scents are more attractive to mosquitoes than others.

身上的味道被蚊子愛上，還真是件讓人無奈的事。希望科學家能早日發現蚊子的“口味”，想出驅蚊高招吧。