Golden Gate Bridge

Located in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge started in the year 1933 to connect the San Francisco Peninsula with Marin County. It was finally thrown open to public traffic in 1937. It cost $25.7 million in the construction. Till the year 1957, the Golden Gate Bridge, at a length of 2,737 meters, was the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge is located in Brooklyn. It is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, having been opened in the year 1883. The length of the bridge is 1,843 meters. The bridge has been featured in several Hollywood movies.

George Washington Bridge

Also known as the Hudson River Bridge and the Columbus Bridge, the George Washington Bridge which connects Fort Lee to Manhattan came into use in 1931 after a construction period of almost 4 years. It is a two level suspension bridge that cost about $52 million to build.

Mackinac Bridge

This is the third biggest suspension bridge in the world at a length of 8,038 meters. The architect of this bridge was Dr. David B. Steinman, who directed the construction of the bridge which started in the year 1954 and opened to the public in 1958. People using this bridge are charged a certain amount of money.

Navajo Bridge

Located in Arizona, this bridge crosses the Colorado River and is almost 250 meters long. The construction of this bridge started in the year 1927, ending two years later, costing $390,000. In the 1990s, a second bridge was built which was opened to the public in 1994. The first bridge is now used only by pedestrians.

“Heaven is where the police are English,the cooks are French the mechanics are German,the lovers are Italian and everything is organized by the Swiss.Hell is where the.police are German,the cooks are English,the mechanics are French,the lovers are Swiss,and everything is organized by the Italians.”

Obviously the national stereotypes（模式化的思想）in this,old joke are generalizations,but such stereotypes are often said to "exist for a reason".Is there actually a sliver of truth in them?Not likely,an international research team now says.

"National and cultural stereotypes do play an important role in how people see themselves and others,and being aware that these are not dependable is a useful thing,"said study author Robert McCrae of the National Institute on Aging."These are in fact unfounded stereotypes.They don't come from looking around you,"McCrae said.

If national stereotypes aren't rooted in real experiences,then where do they come from?One possibility is that they reflect national values,which may become known from historical events.For example,many historians have argued that the spirit of American individualism has its origins in the experiences of the pioneers on the Old West.

We may be "hard-wired",to some degree,to keep incorrect stereotypes,since we are less likely to notice and remember information that is different from our stereotypes.Generally,according to Robins,when we meet people who are different from our stereotypes,we see them as unique individuals rather than typical national or cultural groups.

Millions of people die of hunger in southern Africa every year, but when Zambia was offered thousands of tons of free maize by the US, the government politely paid no.

“We don’t know whether the food is safe,” said Zambia’s commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Dipak Patel.

His worries are shared by countries around the world that are in two minds about America’s genetically modified（GM，转基因的）crops. Just last week, EU（欧盟）member nations were discussing whether or not to import GM sweet corn from the US.

Ever since people started farming, they have tried to crossbreed（杂交） plants to make them stronger or better tasting. At one time, only related plants could be crossed with each other.

But when GM techniques were developed in the 1970s, scientists were able to put a single gene from a living creature into an unrelated creature.

This means they can make crops more productive and resistant to disease by adding genes from other species. They can also create food with special characteristics, such as “golden rice”, which is enriched with vitamin A. But many people believe GM foods are a health risk.

“If left to me, I would certainly not eat GM foods,” said Scottish scientist Arpad Pusztai. “We are putting new things into food which haven’t been eaten before. The effects on the immune system（免疫系统） are not easy to predict.”

At the moment, the official argument is that GM foods “are not likely to present risks for human health”. But there are still many questions to be answered as the foods are produced in different ways.

Some experts believe the genetic material added to plants can transfer to humans and give damage to our bodies. Further harm could be caused by the genes from GM plants crossbreeding with naturally produced crops.

The entire family was here recently –14 in all, including six kids under the age of 5. We had a joint birthday party for two of the grandkids.

The day after everyone cleared out I noticed that the drain stopper（排水塞）was missing from downstairs bathroom sink.

The last thing you want to do is accuse your own fresh and blood of stripping hardware from your bathroom, but a drain stopper doesn’t just wash itself down the drain.

So I sent out a carefully-worded e-mail saying what a wonderful time we had and asking if anyone had accidently tucked a drain stopper in a purse, pocket or suitcase. I even attached a picture of a drain stopper in case there was any doubt as to what the missing part looked like.

Our son responded that he thought his 10-month-old might have eaten it. He said he’d let us know if they found it in the next day of two.

Our youngest daughter responded that she thought she saw it in her husband’s lunchbox that morning, but she could be wrong.

Our oldest daughter replied that she had suspected her sister’s husband all along. He replied that he had been framed.

Our oldest daughter then checked the guilt of one of her twins with following exchange:

Mommy: “Do you know where Grandma’s drain stopper is?”

Three-year-old: “Yeah, let me show you.” (Heads to the bathroom.)

Mommy: “No, not ours, where is Grandma’s? Did you take it?”

Three-year-old: “I think she took it.” (She points at her 18-month-old baby sister). “She’s a naughty kid.”

Naturally, the 18-month-old defended herself by saying: “Bububbubnananabublalala!”

The next day, an email arrived from our daughter-in-law. “Guess what I found in my laundry this morning? I thought the dryer was louder last night.”

Our “perp” was short. He has a known history of building and disassembling, is mechanically inclined, determined and just turned 3.

It’s always good to know a child’s interests and talents. We have a valve（阀门）that occasionally drips under the kitchen sink. I may have him take a look at it the next time he’s here. But I’ll pat him down before he leaves.