Zhang Hanyun, A little girl who has just released her first album (唱片), "I am Just Zhang Hanyun".

With this year\'s "Super Voice Girls" ending with great success not so long ago, Zhang Hanyun, who finished the third place in last year\'s national final, has just released her first album, "I am just Zhang Hanyun".

Ever since Zhang became the advertising (广告) face for Mengniu Dairy Corporation, she has become a household (家喻户晓) name. She was given the name Baby Zhang because of her lovely looks. Little though she is, she also has great expectations and works hard so that one day she will take a stage of her own. She believes there must be some day in the future when her singing wins the recognition (认可) of the public.

Just like her song "Sour and Sweet Is What I Am" whose lyrics give a vivid depiction of a teenager\'s life and thoughts. "With earphones in my ears I read comic books under the bedcovers. I may still be in an ivory tower, but I really want to grow up. Mom and Dad, please don\'t call me stupid. Although I am well-behaved, that doesn\'t mean I don\'t have any thoughts of my own."

Adapted from "Pretty Young Thing", a tune sung by Lene Nystrom of the pop group Aqua, Zhang\'s version is pretty much like the telling of an innocent (无知的) girl who wishes to grow up soon.

Just like the diary of a well-behaved kid, this song easily arouses strong emotions in people of her own age, who account for a large part of the listeners\' market. The song reflects the real thoughts of many Chinese students today. They yearn for a long vacation, and get bored with numerous (无数的) tests and homework.

Her song "In a test" shows a totally different style of her music. With rap added, this song is more rhythmic and brighter, suggesting that students should not cheat in tests.

A girl of just 16, it\'s hard for her to be far away from her parents, striving for (奋斗) dreams on her own. Let\'s wish Baby Zhang a good luck.

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Zhou Enlai (1898-1976)

Zhou Enlai was the most popular leader (领导) in China during the 20th century. Even among the madness during the Cultural Revolution, he continued to make an effort to pursue democratic (民主的) ideas, while at the same time supporting leaders like Mao.

He exercised his diplomatic (外交的) skill to open China rather than isolate it from the rest of the world. In turn, he brought China into a period of stable economic vitality (活力), and many nations throughout the world cheered, as they could now trade their goods and services.

In 1898, Zhou was bon in Huaian, Jiangsu province. His childhood is said to have been an unhappy time of his life. Four months after his birth, he was adopted (被收养). Shortly after that his new foster father died. In 1907, when he was nine years old, his mother died, and his foster mother (养母) died.

The despair and poverty brought the family to new lows. Zhou often worked the fields to secure food for his family. In 1910, when he was ten years old, he left Huaian and went to Manchuria (满洲(我国东北的旧称)). He studied academics there, and had excellent grades most of the time. In those days, he learned politics, which had a deep impact (影响) on his life. When he was fifteen years old, he began middle school in Tianjin. During his four-year stay there he surrounded himself in books, sports, and political movements. From ages 17 to 19, he studied at Japan.

After his release, in 1920, he went to France. In 1921 knowing that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party 中国共产党) was established in Shanghai, he became a member. During his study in France in 1922, he established the Chinese Communist\'s Youth Group. After that, he studied in England for several months, and then went to Germany to study. In 1924, he returned to China, and he served an important with the CCP.

In 1926 he directed a general strike in Shanghai which was occupied by the Kuomintang (Nationalist Army), (中国国民党) but the uprising ended in ultimate failure. After this failure he returned to Shanghai with the rest of the CCP.

He held prominent (卓越的) military and political posts in the Communist party, and from 1936 to 1935, he participated in the long march. During the Communist-Kuomintang rapprochement from 1936 to 1946, he moved as the chief Communist liaison (连合).

And when the People\'s Republic of China was established in 1949, he became premier and foreign minister. He took part in the Geneva Conference of 1954 and the Bandung Conference of 1955; a place where he exercised his excellent diplomatic skills.

In 1958 he resigned as foreign minister, but retained his title as Premiere. As a practical person, Zhou maintained his position throughout all of Communist China\'s ideological (意识形态的) upheavals, including the Great Leap Forward of 1958, and subsequently the Cultural Revolution.
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He made an effort to release comrades imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution, and as a result he was criticized by Jiang Qing and Red Guards. Before he became ill, in the early 1970s he was largely responsible for China\'s reestablishing (重建) contact with the West. And on January 8, 1976, when he was seventy-eight years old, he died.

Enlai had a certain charismatic and charming (迷人的) persona about him, and he often used this to aid him in diplomatic situations.

His unhappy childhood had a great impact on his life. His sensitiveness, excessive behavior, and unbelievable contributions (贡献) to work might have stemmed from his childhood. Because he had political toughness (韧性) and understood western power, he was a sole leader in reforming China.

He always chose the positive (积极) over the negative, and called on the people to unite and cooperate. In the end, many mourned his death, as they lost not only a leader, but also a brother, and a symbolic father.

After his death (去世), one million five hundred thousand people came to see his coffin, and memorials (纪念) for him were held everywhere. One of the memorial reports devoted to Zhou Enlai wrote: "He looks to have left nothing for us. But...he have hundreds millions of children and grandchildren (孙子), and all the land of China is grave for him".

Enlai contributed to China\'s modernization (现代化) and internationalization. In June 1953, he made five declarations for peace in the talks with Nehru. This declaration made China open, and not isolated (隔离), from the other Asian countries. He served as the diplomatic leadership for International Communism at the Geneva Conference in 1953.

At the Bandung Conference of 1955, he maintained the right to possess Taiwan and demanded the approval of China, for in those days the country called China now was called CCP. His sophisticated diplomatic skill brought a lot of profit to China. He was drawn back from the political front lines in the early half of 1960s because he contradicted the Great Leap Forward.

But during the Cultural Revolution (文化大革命) he made a great effort to save comrades being persecuted or imprisoned. In the early of 1970s, he served a prominent post in the party. He suggested policies including his "Four Modernization" (四个现代化) to reconstruct (重建) China having been destroyed (推翻) and confused by the Cultural Revolution.

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I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Economic Report.

Today, we look back on some top stories of two thousand five. In January, we heard about the retirement plans, or pensions (养老金), of several airline companies in the United States. The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation has since taken control of the pensions of U.S. Airways and United Airlines. Also, Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines requested legal protection from their creditors in September.

The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation protects the pensions of more than thirty-four million workers. The federal (联邦) agency takes control of troubled pension plans. It says the pensions of Delta and Northwest have a total deficit (赤字) of more than sixteen thousand million dollars.

But the agency has its own troubles. Its chief, Bradley Belt, said in November that the financial health of the agency was not improving. The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation reported a deficit of almost twenty-three thousand million dollars this year. Last month, the United States Senate passed rules to strengthen pension plans. But the House of Representatives (代表) is not likely to vote on new rules soon.

In September, fuel prices hit new highs. American drivers paid an average of three dollars and seven cents a gallon, or almost four liters. Damaging storms and growing demand were blamed for much of the increase. Hurricane (飓风) Katrina and Rita damaged about one-third of all oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Department of Energy says problems of supply will remain until next year. As a result, most Americans will pay more for heating during the winter. Natural gas prices could increase the most. But pressure on drivers appears to be easing. Gasoline (汽油) prices dropped to about two dollars twenty centers a gallon (加仑) by the middle of December.

This year also marked the tenth anniversary of e-commerce. To many Americans, it may seem much longer. Amazon-dot-com opened in July of nineteen ninety-five. The store has received credit for changing people’s opinions about buying over the Internet.

How much has the Internet changed the way Americans buy things? On the final Monday in November, Americans bought nearly five hundred million dollars in goods over the Internet. That represents a twenty-six percent increase from the same day last year.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. I’m Steve Ember.

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s

A number of changes had to be made to make the storyline (故事情节) acceptable to a film audience and fans of Audrey Hepburn. For example, in the novella (中篇小说), Holly is more explicitly described as being a prostitute, something only hinted at in the film.

There was also no love story between the narrator (played by George Peppard in the film) and Holly, because he was a closet homosexual (同性恋). Capote\'s novel also included language that was toned down as well as a more complex ending which became a conventional romantic happy ending for the film.

According to Hollywood rumor (谣言), Capote wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holly and may have written the original story with her in mind. Another rumor exists in regards to the difficulty in filming the film\'s opening sequence, in which Holly gazes into a Tiffany\'s shop window. Although simple in concept, crowd control, Hepburn\'s dislike for pastries (something she was required to eat for the scene), and an accident that nearly resulted in the electrocution of a crew member made capturing the scene a challenge for director (导演) Edwards.

Audrey Hepburn introduced the film\'s signature song, "Moon River" (月亮河), by Henry Mancini, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Sung by Hepburn herself, it was written to her singing range as she was not an experienced singer. However, her definitive version of the song was not released on an album until after her death. Instead, "Moon River" became a major hit for Andy Williams, who made it his theme song.

According to Mancini, a studio executive hated the song and demanded it be cut from the film; Hepburn, who was present when this proclamation (宣布) was made, responded to the suggestion with very unexpected language.

Wisp-thin Audrey Hepburn as Holly, carrying a cigarette holder almost as long as she is tall, is considered one of the iconic images of 20th century American cinema, and the film marked a major comeback for the actress after several years of unsuccessful films. The film also rejuvenated the career of 1930s movie song-and-dance man Buddy Ebsen (巴迪·埃布), who had a small but effective role in this film as Doc Golightly, Holly\'s ex-husband. His success here led directly to him being cast in his best-known role as Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies. Among the film\'s negative notes, Mickey Rooney\'s racially stereotyped performance as Holly\'s Japanese landlord remains controversial nearly 45 years after the film\'s release, because that stereotype (铅版) was absent from the novella and was added to enlarge the physical attractiveness of the leading white couple by contrast.

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