Russians urged to increase population

　　人口下降国堪忧 巧设假日促生育

　　RECENTLY, Sergey Morozov, the governor of a Russian province, Ulyanovsk, launched a campaign "Give birth to a patriot". From September 10 to 16, workers were given an afternoon off and told to go home and multiply. It was the most direct attempt yet by officials seeking to tackle the country's growing depopulation crisis.

　　Besides, the campaign also offers parents who give birth next year on June 12, Russia's Independence Day, a range of incentives from a fridge or washing machine to a four-wheel-drive vehicle, depending on how many children the couple already has.

　　The Kremlin is offering even more substantial inducements. In a state of the nation address in May, Mr. Putin encouraged Russians to make more babies and promised to give ￡5,000 (about US $8,064) to every mother who gives birth to a second child.

　　为扭转人口数量下降的趋势，俄罗斯政府采取各种措施鼓励生育，其中以乌里扬诺夫斯克州的方法最有创意。

　　乌里扬诺夫斯克州的州长谢尔盖莫罗佐夫近日发起了“生一个爱国者”运动。州政府不但给人们在9月10日至16日这一星期里放假一个下午，让他们回家“造”孩子，同时还宣布，凡是在明年全国独立日——6月12日生孩子的家庭都将得到由政府提供的奖品,包括冰箱、洗衣机和汽车等，具体奖品依该家庭所拥有的孩子数量而定。

　　不仅如此，俄罗斯政府还提出更实惠的奖励。总统普京今年5月在发表国情咨文演讲时鼓励国民多生孩子，承诺给每位生第二胎的母亲5000英镑（约合8064美元）的奖金。

　　Georgian singer sets underwater concert record

　　海底放歌 创吉尼斯纪录

　　THE 22-year-old Georgian singer， Katie Melua， has entered the Ginness record books by performing the world's deepest underwater concert.

　　On October 2nd, Melua and her five-member band performed two concerts of one hour each at a verified depth of 303 metres underwater. The audience were made up of staff from the Statoil Troll A platform. The concert took place at the bottom of one of the four shafts of the Statoil Troll A Platform rig in the North Sea. The Troll platform is 472 metres high, of which 369 metres lie below the sea surface.

　　"It took nine minutes to go from the main part of the gas platform down to the bottom of the shaft in a lift. To ensure our safety, the band and I were all put through rigorous training," she said afterwards.

　　本月2日，格鲁吉亚一名女歌手凯蒂麦鲁尔在海平面下303米处举办音乐会，她因此荣登《吉尼斯世界纪录大全》。

　　现年22岁的凯蒂麦鲁尔及其5人乐队共同创造了这项世界纪录。她们在北海一处属于挪威国家石油公司的近海天然气钻台上举办了两场各1小时的演唱会。这座钻台高472米，其中369米位于海平面以下，包括四个竖井。演唱会会场设在其中一个竖井的底部平台，在海平面下303米处，现场观众为钻台的工作人员。

　　麦鲁尔在演出结束时说:“我乘电梯从钻台顶端经竖井到演出现场足足用了九分钟。为了确保演出期间的安全，乐队和我还都接受了严格的逃生训练。”

　　Couple find 6.35-carat diamond in park

　　夫妻逛公园 喜获大钻石

　　A COUPLE from Texas found a 6.35-carat diamond at the Arkansas Crater of Diamonds State Park late last month.

　　The park Superintendent said the diamond was about the same size and colour as a large coffee bean. It has a somewhat distorted octahedral shape and a metallic-looking shine that is characteristic of diamonds from the crater.

　　The park is the world's only publicly-operated diamond site where the public is allowed to search and keep any gems they find. The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed here in 1924. Named the Uncle Sam, the white diamond weighed 40.23 carats. So far, 25,714 diamonds have been discovered. Each day, one or two diamonds are found at the park.

　　上个月月末，来自美国得克萨斯州的一对夫妇在阿肯色州的“钻石坑”州立公园幸运地拣到一颗6.35克拉重的钻石。

　　据公园管理人员介绍，这颗钻石不论从颜色还是大小上看，都好像一粒大咖啡豆。虽然八面体的棱角不是很清晰，但却闪烁着“钻石坑”宝石所特有的金属光泽。

　　“钻石坑”州立公园是世界上唯一可以任游客采掘的钻石矿。游客在公园内找到的宝石无论价值多少都可将其据为己有。1924年在美国境内发现的最大钻石、重达40.23克拉的“山姆大叔”便采掘于此。至今，总共已有25714颗钻石被采掘，游客每天都会在此找到一至两颗钻石。