ShangHaiDaily.com learning

'Famous Five' creator tops Harry Potter
"五人帮"打败哈利波特

Bestselling writer J.K. Rowling suffered a rare literary defeat yesterday when Enid Blyton was voted top of a poll to find Britain's best-loved author.

In second place was "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" author Roald Dahl, with Rowling third. Blyton has sold more than 500 million books worldwide and is best known for her "Famous Five" books of the 1940s and 50s in which Julian, Dick, Anne and George and Timmy the dog foil kidnappers and smugglers aided by "lashings" of ginger beer and cream buns.

China heartbroken as Liu quits Games over injury
刘翔退赛世界遗憾

Thunderous roars were silenced and millions of sports fans glued to television screens were left stunned when Liu Xiang, China's biggest hope for an athletics gold medal, limped out of the National Stadium this morning.

His withdrawal from the 110 meters hurdles, which left millions of fans heartbroken and in tears, was the last thing the 25-year-old reigning Olympic gold medalist would have done if his pain was not "intolerable," Feng Shuyong, head of the Chinese athletics team, told a news conference in Beijing.

Liu will not compete again this year so that he can get proper treatment for his injury but he will "definitely come back to the track," according to Feng.


	Q：Once I read a post on a BBS and found someone asked the origin of the 26 letters in English? Could you give us a brief introduction? A：Most letters in the English alphabet have their origins in the Greek alphabet, which came to English via the Romans as Latin spread throughout Europe. More		Q：A friend of mine is soon getting married. And I know that in western countries, the brides usually are supposed to have "something new and something old." So what are these things? Is there any story behind the tradition? A：The tradition in Western countries is for the bride to wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. More