To son, Cecil,

When I wrote this, you were 8, still a little boy. In 2002, I was called to active duty in the Marine Corps in the war on Terrorism (恐怖主义). On the 11th of September 2001 when America was attacked, I knew that I would eventually have to go and I was filled with a deep sense of sadness. That night as you and Keiko were asleep, I looked at your little faces and couldn't help but fight the tears.

I knew it would be hard for you because I had a similar experience. When I was a little boy aged 6, my dad, your Grandpa, was sent to Vietnam during the war there. I remember how much I missed him, too. But now unfortunately I have come to realize just how rough it must have been for Grandpa to be away from his children for a year. Thinking about this, I wanted to put my thoughts and feelings down for you and your sister. I am so sorry that I had to leave for such a long time. There is no place I would rather be than with you and Keiko. You two are the lights of my life. I have known no greater joy than in the few years since you two were born. I hope to have many more years with you. If this doesn't happen, then know that I love you more than words can express.

If for some reason I don't make it home, I will need you to take care of your little sister and your Mom. You will be the man of the Cawley family. Be good my son and God will watch over you as he has me. I will be waiting impatiently for the time when we can all be together again.

All my love, Dad

Researchers in Japan have developed chopsticks that artificially create the taste of salt, as part of efforts to reduce sodium(钴) levels in some of the country's most popular dishes.

The chopsticks work by using electrical stimulation and a mini-computer worn on the eater's wristband. The device conveys sodium ions(离子) from food, through the chopsticks, to the mouth where they create a sense of saltiness, according to Homei Miyashita, a professor at Meiji University in Tokyo, whose laboratory collaborated with the food and drink manufacturer Kirin to develop the device.

"The chopsticks use very weak electricity—not enough to affect the human body-to adjust the function of ions to change the perception of taste by making food seem to taste stronger or weaker," said Kirin.

The chopsticks could find a receptive audience in Japan, where the traditional diet tends to be high in salt due to the use of ingredients such as miso and soy sauce. The average Japanese adult consumes about 10 grams of salt a day, double the amount recommended by the World Health Organization

Miyashita and Kirin said clinical tests on people who followed a low-sodium diet had confirmed that the device enhanced the salty taste of low-sodium food by about 1. 5 times. They said participants given reduced-salt miso soup had commented on the improved "richness, sweetness and overall tastiness" of the dish.

High salt intake can contribute to high blood pressure, which is the single biggest cause of heart attacks and strokes. "To prevent these diseases, we need to reduce the amount of salt we take," said Kirin researcher Ai Sato. "If we try to avoid taking less salt in a conventional way, we would need to bear the pain of cutting our favorite food from our diet."

The team said they would continue to improve the electric chopsticks and hoped to make them available to consumers next year. Miyashita's lab also is exploring other ways in which technology can be used to engage the senses-it has also invented a lockable(可以锁定的) TV screen that imitates the flavor of various foods.

Cimabue, the greatest painter in medieval(中世纪的) Italy, was surprised one day when he came back from his lunch break and discovered a fly was under the nose of a character he had been working on. So he reached out to touch the insect. To his surprise, he found only wet paint. Turning around, he saw that his apprentice(学徒), Giotto di Bondone, was doing everything he could to keep from laughing. Giotto had painted the fly when Cimabue was away, and it looked so real that Cimabue had been completely fooled.

Giotto was born into a poor farming family. Legend has it that one day when Cimabue was walking around the countryside, he spotted a young shepherd(牧羊人) boy. The boy was not tending his sheep. Instead, he was drawing pictures of them, and the sheep he drew were so lifelike that Cimabue stopped to ask the boy his name. The boy replied that it was Giotto, and Cimabue immediately asked him to come to Florence so that the young shepherd could learn how to paint.

In the Middle Ages, an artist not only had to concern himself with things like design and technique, but he also had to learn how to make paints. Almost all artists were men, and they began their apprenticeships at an early age. An apprentice's job was to copy his master as exactly as he could. The unfortunate result of this imitation was a lack of new ideas.

In fact, art in the Middle Ages remained the same for hundreds of years. The people in paintings didn't look like real people, and the symbolism of art was often so remote that it must have been difficult for viewers to connect with it on a personal level. Giotto used many techniques that were uncommon at the time to bring the paintings to life for viewers. He painted people the way he saw them, instead of the overly tall people that other artists painted. He created three-dimensional space by using perspective, something that had not been done since Roman times. Finally, he threw out parts of the symbolism associated with medieval painting.