Topic Reading-Vol.667-2/7/2014

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

U.S. Smog: Made in Chinese Factories, Funded by American Consumers.

Electronic products you see on the store shelves that are produced somewhere else must have left some amount of carbon footprint to get there but don’t contain air or water pollution within themselves, of course.

However, they seem to have created such pollution during the manufacturing process in some other places, most likely in factories in China. And the elements from the polluted air such as acid-rain-causing sulfate concentrations were found in the air where those products are being sold in the other side of the ocean, California, where strict air quality control measures have been posed already for decades.

Enjoy reading and learning about the bi-product of cheap offshoremanuracturing..

http://news.yahoo.com/smog-made-chinese-factories-funded-american-consumers-210029388.html

Topic Reading-Vol.666-2/6/2014

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

China's 21st century challenge: Define your narrative or fall behind

The last 100 years seem to have been the century of the rise of capitalism, democracy and the United States of America, what the next century is going to be like?

For the last decade, the world has witnessed unprecedented surge of Chinese power and influence such as economy, manufacturing, buying power, consumption, technologies, innovations and military force, not to mention the greenhouse gasses emissions and pollutions.

All those significant growths started to appear after the dark stagnating decades until after 30 some years after the end of the civil war. And during that growing period, the country seems to have abandoned much of its traditions but pride of its history of glory. And it hasn’t shown any clear vision, ideology or direction it is striving for, except immediate agendas and targets such as economic growth and air pollution reduction.

Enjoy reading and learning where China is now in history and what their major challenges are.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/23/business/davos-opinion-chinas-21st-century-challenge/index.html?hpt=hp_c5

Topic Reading-Vol.665-2/5/2014

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Beloved teen Sam Berns dies at 17 after suffering from rare disease

There is a very rare but serious disease that affects one’s life. It’s called progeria that causes premature, accelerated aging.

Sam Berns weighed about 20 kilograms at the age of 17 when he passed away in January, 2014. His efforts and attitudes to live positively like an ordinary high school student touched and moved the heart of many.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/11/us/progeria-sam-berns-dies/

You definitely want to take a look at the video show Sam spoke to the public in October, 2013.

Not so many students at his age can talk about his or her physical and mental challenges like he had. So touching and moving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36m1o-tM05g

Topic Reading-Vol.664-2/4/2014

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Flying eye hospital helps blind to see.

What could make significant changes to the needy in developing countries isn’t always money. This flying eye hospital, a retired DC-10 aircraft donated by the United Airline, visits places where people with eye diseases need ophthalmological treatment by skilled ophthalmologists and proper equipment. They not only give treatment or surgeries but also provide onboard and real time training to the local ophthalmologists, doctors and medical students during the operations, so that they can ask specific questions.

This eyesight saving project is conducted by ORBIS, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that works in developing countries to prevent blindness and treat estimated 285 million visually impaired people.

Enjoy reading and learning about this eye-opening initiative.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/21/world/africa/scalpel-scissors-flying-eye-hospital/index.html?hpt=hp_c5

Topic Reading-Vol.663-2/3/2014

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Five Ways to Find Academic Help in an Online Course

As online courses become more available and popular, more students may face difficulty getting help when they need tutorial assistance, even though their peers or instructors are a click away.

Though it isn’t that embarrassing to ask simple questions, who to ask questions may not be as easy as on-site learning at campus.

But don’t be discouraged or worried. There are ways and means to solve such problems. And they aren’t that difficult or painstaking as you might think.

Enjoy reading and learning how to find in online courses.

http://news.yahoo.com/5-ways-academic-help-online-course-174422104.html

Topic Reading-Vol.662-2/2/2014

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Go figure: Lunar New Year 2014 in numbers

Add another one or two digits! When you talk about numbers about China, you may need to adjust the scale in your brain. They outnumber most of the figures of any other country, such as new car sales (20 million) and mobile phone subscribers (billion), not to mention the population of the country (1.3 billion).

As the country and people get wealthier, the number of travelers, both of those who go back to their homeland to see their loved ones during Lunar New Year holidays and of those who fly to other countries, are increasing.

Enjoy reading and learning about some stunning figures about the world most populous country, which might make you think of buying a bigger calculator with more digits!

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/30/travel/lunar-new-year-interactive/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Topic Reading-Vol.661-2/1/2014

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

End of the line for 'Lunatic Express?' Kenya begins multi-billion dollar railway.

It was over a century ago then the colonial ruler, the Great Britain, built the first railway system called “Lunatic Express” on the ground of Kenya. It was half a century ago when Kenyan people became independent from the ruler.

Today, a new emerging superpower is going to help the African country upgrade the train system, China, providing financial aid and getting contract for construction in return.

While enjoying their independent status as a country from the colonial ruler, many of the countries in Africa are still dependent on various sorts of aids from other developed countries or their former sovereign states. Does this sound similar situation to the one about a couple of centuries ago?

Enjoy reading and learning about what African countries need and how China is trying to help or take advantage of it.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/06/business/end-of-the-line-kenya-railway/index.html?hpt=hp_c5