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French tourist outsmarts Dutch thief
AMSTERDAM-A quick-thinking French tourist outsmarted a Dutch thief after the thief tried to seize
his bag, Amsterdam police said Wednesday.
After winning a brief tug-of-war over the sports bag, the 27-year-old tourist ran into a nearby police
station with the thief in hot pursuit.
The thief "realized too late he had run straight into 'the long arm of the law'", police spokeswoman Wilma
Verheij said of the incident, which took place Tuesday.
After it dawned on the thief, a 28-year-old man whose identity was not released, that he was in the middle
of a police station, he tried to run away again. But he was quickly caught by officers and arrested, Verheij said.
Liz Taylor remains hospitalized
LOS ANGELES-Heart trouble is keeping Elizabeth Taylor hospitalized in Los Angeles for some time, but
her publicist says the 78-year-old actress is OK and has been visiting with family and friends.
Taylor spokeswoman Sally Morrison said in a statement Tuesday that the two-time Oscar winner is
comfortable at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and "there has been steady improvement in her condition" since
she was admitted last week.
Taylor is being treated for symptoms of heart failure, a condition she revealed in November 2004.
"Her medical team is satisfied by her progress to date, and it is hoped and expected that this will continue
over the next few days. For now, she will remain under their care in the hospital for continued monitoring,"
Morrison said. "Friends and fans around the world should be convinced that Elizabeth Taylor is in good hands
and receiving the best possible care from her skilled and devoted doctors and nurses."
Morrison described Taylor's condition as stable but offered no other details.
Japan halts (暂停) whale hunt after chase by protesters
TOKYO-Japan has halted its annual Antarctic whale hunt following protests from a campaign group.
Activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a US-based environmental group, have been chasing
the Japanese fishing ship.
Commercial whaling was banned in 1986 but Japan uses a regulation permitting hunting for scientific
research.
Iceland and Norway have claimed official objections to the ban and continue to hunt commercially.
"Putting safety as a priority, the ship has halted scientific whaling for now. We are currently considering
what to do," Tatsuya Nakaoku, an official at the fisheries agency, told Reuters news agency.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says one of its boats has been blocking the ship loading ramp (斜
梯), preventing any hunted whales from being loaded on to the ship. "Every whale saved is a victory to us, so
we've gotten a lot of victories down here this year," Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson told Reuters news
agency by satellite phone from the Steve Irwin ship.
1. The underlined part "the long arm of the law" refers to _____ in Amsterdam.
A. a travel agency
B. a policeman
C. a police station
D. a police spokeswoman
2. What can we know about Elizabeth Taylor from the news?
A. She has been suffering from heart illness for some years.
B. She will go back home in a day or two.
C. She is feeling quite well in hospital.
D. She will receive her Oscar Award in the hospital.
3. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Japanese fishing ships go to the Antarctic for whale hunt every year.
B. Iceland and Norway will not stop hunting whales.
C. Commercial whale hunt has been banned for about twenty-five years.
D. Japan will not hunt whales any more.