The conference call is one of the most familiar rituals of office life -- and one of the most hated. ritual:典礼,宗教仪式 Abuses are rife. People on the line interrupt others, zone out or multitask, forgetting to hit 'mute' while talking to kids or slurpin…

Billions of dollars are flowing into online advertising. But marketers also are confronting an uncomfortable reality: rampant fraud. rampant:猖獗的,狂暴的 About 36% of all Web traffic is considered fake, the product of computers hijacked by viruses and pro…

Entrepreneur and author ShaoLan Hsueh thinks that English-speakers can start learning to read Chinese in less than 10 minutes. The language, she says, has more than 20,000 written characters, which most students in China learn by rote memorization. M…

With startup-themed conferences, hackathons, meet-ups and cocktail hours regularly taking place, entrepreneurs are in no short supply of opportunities to meet people who could be helpful to their startups. cocktail:鸡尾酒 But there's a lot more to devel…

The hottest showcase for new technology at this year's Mobile World Congress wasn't in the event's cavernous exhibition halls. It was actually about two miles away, at an affiliated show for startups and venture capitalists. showcase:展示,作品欣赏        …

BEIJING—Chinese government officials destroyed more than six tons of ivory that had been illegally smuggled into the country, signaling that Beijing is willing to play a greater role in protecting dwindling elephant populations. smuggle:走私       dwin…

Nelson Mandela, who rose from militant antiapartheid activist to become the unifying president of a democratic South Africa and a global symbol of racial reconciliation, died at his Johannesburg home following a lengthy stay at a Pretoria hospital, t…

The trophy case in the tiny conference room outside Isaac Larian’s corner office spans an entire wall. It overflows with the dolls that have made him a fortune, from his first hit, the miniskirt-clad Bratz toys, to the latest, the Lalaloopsy dolls wi…

Why are some obese people healthy, apparently protected from the damaging effects of excess fat on the liver and other organs? interfere with:干涉,妨碍,打扰 metabolism:新陈代谢 obese:肥胖的,过胖的 liver:肝脏 Scientists are investigating this question as they look to u…

In a forest on the outskirts of this former Chinese capital, 58-year-old real-estate developer Lu Jun and his 30-year-old son, Lu Xun. are set to unveil their pride and joy: a $164-million development with 11 buildings designed by leading internation…