Celine Dion
pop singer (1968--)

Moving to Belgium to Rehearse

Canadian superstar Celine Dion is moving to Belgium, not for the waffles or the beer, but to rehearse for her return to the stage set for next year.

In an interview with Belgian television on Wednesday, Dion said she would be moving to La Louviere, a town of 76,000 located 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Brussels for three months.

"We found a small house there, that will be our home for three months," Dion said. "I can't wait." Dion is to move into her new house sometime this autumn she said.
The 33-year-old Dion, who has just released her new album entitled "A New Day Has Come," said she was returning to live performances after two years off to have her first child.

Dion is to appear at Caesars Palace's new 4,000-seat Colosseum theater in Las Vegas to headline an exclusive show co-produced by Franco Dragone, who directed both of Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas productions - "O" and "Mystere."

Dion moved to Belgium so she can work with Dragone, who is putting the show together at his home, also in La Louviere. The show is to premiere March 2003.

"Every morning I will go with Franco to rehearse and will return home evenings," said Dion, adding she was eager to return to the stage.

Dion has signed on to perform at the dlrs 65 million amphitheater for 200 nights per year. The show is scheduled to run at least three years.

It was not sure whether her family would join her full-time at her home in Belgium.

ANNOTATION
waffles: n. 奶蛋格子饼，威化饼                
premiere: n.  初次演出
amphitheater: n. 圆形露天剧场                  
headline: vt. 主演


Dog


Can dogs see colors


Man's best friend is colorblind, but, fortunately, his survival does not depend upon the ability to see colors. His keen sense of smell compensates for his inability to see colors, and enables him to differentiate between things.

Extensive scientific testing on dogs supports the conclusion that they live in a colorless world. The testing done primarily focused on the dogs' responses to colors for food. Dogs could not tell the difference between one color, a signal for food, and other colors, that were not for food. Similar tests conducted on cats produced similar results, which led scientists to conclude that they, too, are colorblind and live in a gray world.
The inability of most animals to see colors, from an evolutionary standpoint, is quite simple to understand. Many colorblind animals have dull-colored coats, hunt for food in the dark of night, or graze in the dim twilight hours. Their other senses have developed to the point where the lack of color vision in no way impairs them. For them, life in a colorless world is neither a handicap, nor a threat to their survival.

The only animals, other than man, scientists can conclusively say have color vision are monkeys and apes. Both can be trained to open a colored door, behind which is food, and man can be trained to open a refrigerator door of any color!

Annotation:

colorblind: adj. 色盲的                                    differentiate: vt. 区别， 识别
graze v.  吃草， 放牧                                    impair: vt. 伤害，有损于
handicap: n.  阻碍

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