繽紛前沿

Rivers Receding Due to Climate Change 氣候變化導致河水銳減

A new research finds that rivers in some of the world's most populous regions are losing water due to changes in climatic conditions. The study examined stream flow in 925 of Earth's largest rivers， and found significant changes in about one third of them over the past 50 years. These rivers， all key sources of water for the regions they flow through， were found to be having less water through their channels.

Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR，美國國家大氣研究中心) in Colorado， suggest that the reduced flows in many cases are associated with climate change， and could potentially threaten future supplies of food and water. \"As climate change inevitably continues in coming decades， we are likely to see greater impacts on many rivers and water resources that society has come to rely on.\"

我國的黃河也在此次研究之內，看看這條有著“母親河”美譽的河流近50年入海水量銳減，真不敢想象再過50年，它將會是什么樣？“節約用水，保護環境”絕不能只是一句空話。

World Digital Library Officially Launched 世界數字圖書館正式開放

An Internet library aimed to be accessible to surfers around the world is now on line， in Paris on April 21. This is the latest in growing international efforts to digitalize our cultural heritage. Known as the World Digital Library—and accessible at www.wdl.org—the project is the fruit of contributions from UNESCO(聯合國科教文組織) and 32 other public organizations from 19 countries. It was developed by the Library of Congress in Washington， with the help of the Alexandria Library in Egypt.

What will this library offer? A treasure trove (收藏) of books， maps， manuscripts (原稿) and films from around the world， in seven different languages—with additional material in other languages. It aims to bridge a cultural divide not only by offering people in poorer countries the same access to knowledge as those in richer ones—but also by making available the cultural heritage of non-Western nations.

希望更多有利于增進文化交流、造福人類的“知識寶藏”也能通過世界數字圖書館這個平臺為全人類所共享。

Coming Soon: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 《哈利·波特6》即將上映

Did you think you couldn't possibly wait another month for the newest Harry Potter film to hit theaters? Well， you're in luck! Warner Bros. has announced that the sixth movie in the Harry Potter series will be released a whole two days earlier than planned.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is now set to open on July 15 this year. This is the second change on the calendar for Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince， which was originally scheduled for a fall release.

The dates for the final two films—the two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—are firmly in place. At least for now， part one is set to come out on Friday， November 19， 2010， with the conclusion opening Friday， July 15， 2011， exactly two years after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. That is， if Warner Bros. doesn't start shifting things around again， as we've seen， big-screen plans for the boy wizard could change at any moment.

《哈利·波特》系列電影的上映總是遠遠落后其原著的出版，引得“哈迷”們對每一部新片的上映都充滿了期待。而這部原定去年11月就要推出的大片，卻因好萊塢編劇大罷工的影響而被迫延期至今，更是吊足了“哈迷”們的胃口。希望這一次它能如期上映。