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读美国报纸, 学地道美语 大嘴读美报: 50元一课时. 每课时45分钟,先练习后收费, 两天一付. 不是看懂而已,而是要流利地读出声来 A Boost to Big Advertisers, Maybe Not to Smaller Ones By Frank Ahrens Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, February 2, 2008; Page D01 Microsoft's bid for Yahoo could provide more choice for big online advertisers living in a Google-centric universe but could hurt small- and mid-sized Internet publishers by taking away one of their options for selling ads on their Web sites. If approved by Yahoo's shareholders and by regulators, Microsoft's unsolicited offer would set up a titanic corporate struggle between Microsoft and Google for the patronage of millions of Internet users around the world. Microsoft sells the operating systems and Web browser used on the vast majority of the world's computers. It was once feared as a near- monopoly with unbounded power over personal computing. But the proposed deal tacitly acknowledges that the software giant has failed to reinvent itself as computing shifts more online; instead, it is trying to buy its way into a stronger position. The proposed acquisition would give Microsoft access to Yahoo's 137 million monthly visitors and long reach into the lives of consumers in the online realm. There it would confront Google, which through its preeminent search engine now captures the biggest share of online-advertising money. It is also branching out in many directions at once, into office software, mobile phones and, through its purchase of YouTube, entertainment. "The market is increasingly dominated by one player," said Kevin R. Johnson, a Microsoft division president, referring to Google. "By combining assets of Microsoft and Yahoo, we can offer a more competitive choice for consumers, advertisers and publishers." Yahoo said it would evaluate the offer "carefully and promptly in the context of Yahoo's strategic plans." Its representatives declined further comment. A Google spokesman said it was premature to discuss the offer. The proposed deal reflects the huge changes in how people use computers. Increasingly, the machines owned by consumers -- desktops, laptops, mobile phones -- are valued less for their computing power than for... If you want to read more…please visit: www.washingtonpost.com … .............................................................................................................................................................................. BEIJING, Jan. 31 -- Trains finally started moving Thursday and the Chinese government pledged an all-out mobilization to get millions of stranded migrant workers home for the Lunar New Year holiday despite devastating snows that have blocked roads and rail lines across the center of the country. The government's show of concern reflected the growing political dimensions of the crisis, with hundreds of thousands of migrant workers stranded in railway stations and many blaming officials for their plight. Liu Jianchao, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, called the effect of the storms "historically unprecedented" and said the People's Liberation Army had been ordered to help clear the tracks, in addition to the thousands of transportation workers already deployed. Premier Wen Jiabao, in a visit to the southern factory belt around Guangzhou, where millions of young Chinese work on assembly lines, was shown on Guangdong provincial television Wednesday apologizing to those who could not get home. Tens of thousands of people were forced to wait at the Guangzhou station in an unusually chilly rain -- some for days -- while railway workers struggled to get the trains running again. The migrant workers, totaling nearly 200 million, have been a vital part of China's swift economic growth over the past three decades, working long hours for low pay far from their families. But the Lunar New Year holiday, or Spring Festival, has remained an important part of their lives, the time to return home with gifts and cash for loved ones they see only once a year. Chinese authorities estimated that more than 178 million people would be traveling for the holiday this year. The high point is Wednesday -- New Year's Eve, the time for all Chinese to sit down with their families and share a meal. But as economic well-being has spread, an increasing number of Chinese also use the vacation time for tourism and other travel, crowding buses, trains and airplanes for weeks. "After 30 years of reform and opening, we have accumulated a strong material foundation, and as long as we are vigorously organized, we will be fully able to overcome the current hardship," Wen told Guangzhou officials during his visit there. The Communist Party's propaganda organ, People's Daily, said the government's mobilization to help those stranded by the snows was a demonstration of how efficient a centralized communist system can be in moments of crisis. "When one place suffers misfortune, aid comes from all directions," it said. "That is the traditional virtue of the Chinese system, and even more it is a vivid portrait of the superiority of the socialist system." Authorities reported 38 people had been killed over the week of bad weather, according to the official New China News Agency, including 25 who perished when their bus skidded off the road. But the broadest impact was on train travel, the main means of transportation for China's 1.3 billion people. The heaviest backups occurred at Guangzhou, a major city at the center of a vast landscape of assembly factories just north of Hong Kong. Provincial authorities estimated 1.84 million people in Guangdong province were affected in one way or another by the bad weather, mainly migrant workers having trouble getting home, the official press reported. Tens of thousands of northbound travelers jammed into a square in front of the railway station, packed so tightly they had trouble moving about. As the crowd grew, police cordoned off the area and herded the waiting workers into surrounding streets, according to reports from the city. Although the weather was unseasonably cold in the Guangzhou area, the main problem lay farther north, where snow and sleet damaged rails and electricity lines needed to power the trains just as the holiday crowds reached their apex. As a result, young workers heading for home villages in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangxi and other rural provinces were unable to leave town. Some were seen shouting at police and railway workers as frustration mounted. Others wept over what seemed like a desperate situation. "I saw two brothers from Hunan sitting on the corner of the square, crying for five minutes straight," a witness wrote in an Internet posting. "I myself almost collapsed." ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Posted at 09:09 PM ET, 01/30/2008 Domestic Issues Dominate 1st Hour of GOP Debate Domestic issues dominated the first hour of tonight's GOP debate, a focus that put frontrunner John McCain on defense on issues like illegal immigration and tax cuts. On immigration, McCain was asked by Los Angeles Times reporter Janet Hook whether he would now vote for his comprehensive reform plan that included a path to citizenship. McCain dodged the direct question, insisting that such a scenario would never come to pass because the legislation was dead. He reiterated his now familiar line that "people want the border secured first" before arguing that all four Republicans generally agreed on how to handle immigration. Pressed on his vote against President Bush's tax cuts in 2001, McCain again dodged the direct question about his motives for that vote -- instead noting his credentials as a "footsoldier" in the Reagan revolution and the support he enjoys from a number of noted fiscal conservatives. Mitt Romney, McCain's main rival for the Republican nomination, sought to draw contrasts on both issues. On immigration, Romney said he is opposed to any form of "amnesty," adding: "Those who have come here illegally should not be given a better deal." On tax cuts, Romney said he supported the Bush tax cuts from the start and made sure to note that McCain was one of only two Republicans to cast a vote against the legislation. While McCain came under serious scrutiny from the moderators as well as Romney, he sustained no serious self-inflicted wounds in the first half hour of the debate. He largely repeated reliable lines from his stump speech, adopting a low-risk strategy that is a tacit acknowledgment of his belief that he is the frontrunner for his party's nomination. Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul, meanwhile, have faded into the background of this debate, struggling to break through amid the scrap between McCain and Romney. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 在线美式英语陪练 在线美式英语陪练,一对一,先练习, 满意才付款, 每周付一次, 可以语音, 视频陪练. 英语在线语音陪练10元/课时, 视频陪练15元/课时, 每课时45分钟, 愿意学者请联系. QQ670672278 零风险学英语, 没有舟车劳累, 不受时空限制, 满意后才付款, 不会上当受骗Sinastudio 远程教育 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Contact Us: MSN: silk.style@hotmail.com, Skype user ID: heypeterchow, Google Talk: silkstyle@gmail.com, QQ476357092, QQ670672278 世纪通ID135558 |
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