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缤纷世界精典短篇文选八则

吃剩快餐贻鼠患？

Fast Food Scraps Threaten Rat Plague

Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave fast food scraps in the street, an environment group warned Keep Britain Tidy said the rodents were abandoning their traditional haunts underground and were roaming the streets, enticed by discarded remnants of burgers, pizzas and crisps "The rat population is on the rise and soon it'll be as common to see a rodent on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat," said group Director, Sue Nelson The practice of dumping fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the trash - with young men the worst offenders - was behind the rise According to the National Rodent Survey in 2001, Britain's rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 1998 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population On average a rat can give birth every 24-28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a colony of 2,000 a year Around 200 Britons a year contract Weil's Disease - an infection which can lead to kidney or liver failure and eventually death and which is carried in rat's urine To highlight the issue, Keep Britain Tidy launched a cinema advert entitled "How close do you want them to get" The ad culminates in a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats - echoing the nightmare scenario from James Herbert's classic horror tale The Rats, in which mutant rodents begin to prey on humans

一个环保组织发出警告：由于越来越多的人把吃剩的快餐扔在大街上，英国的老鼠数量正在急剧上升。“保持英国清洁”组织说，人们抛弃的汉堡包、比萨饼和土豆条残渣正在诱使习惯在地下活动的鼠类转而到大街上漫步。“老鼠数量正在增长，很快在街上看到老鼠就会和看到猫狗一样平常，”该组织负责人苏-尼尔森说。老鼠增多的背后是往大街上而不是垃圾箱里乱扔快餐垃圾和残渣的行为--年轻人是其中的罪魁祸首。根据2001年的国家鼠类调查，英国的老鼠数量自1998年来增长了将近1/4，目前估计为6千万只，比英国人口还多2百万。老鼠平均每24至28天就可生产一次，仅仅一对老鼠一年就能繁殖出一个2000只的鼠群。每年大约有200个英国人感染威尔氏症--一种能导致肾或肝功能衰竭直至死亡的传染病，病源在老鼠的尿液中。为引起人们对这一问题的注意，“保持英国清洁”推出了名为“你希望它们靠得多近？”的影院宣传片。宣传片的高潮是一幅令人震惊的画面：一个年轻妇女睡在一张满是老鼠的床上--这是对詹姆斯-赫伯特的经典恐怖故事《老鼠》中梦魇般的景象的模拟。在那个故事中，变异的老鼠开始捕食人类。

Remarks：冒着人人喊打的风险上街的这些老鼠显然没有继承到前辈的智慧--在《伊索寓言》中，一只乡下老鼠选择了田间粗茶淡饭的太平日子而不是城里担惊受怕的奢华生活。

百岁大奖

100-Year-Old Rewards Doctor

Israel Haimowitz made a deal with his doctor 15 years ago - get me to 100 and I'll buy you a European vacation On Sept 5, 2002, Haimowitz is celebrating his 100th birthday And Dr Robert Drimmer and his wife are looking forward to a trip to London next summer "I hate to take his money," Drimmer said, but Haimowitz "would be mad if I didn't go" Haimowitz, a retired furniture salesman, said it's the least he can do The native of Brooklyn, NY, is in good health, complaining only occasionally of fatigue He moved to Florida 16 years ago "To get a doctor down here that's considerate of his patients is difficult," Haimowitz said He credits his longevity and health to drinking two ounces of cognac daily, along with eating five Danish butter cookies Haimowitz, who just renewed his driver's license, said he plans to stick around awhile "When I don't feel good, I don't want to be here But when I feel as I do now, I want to live to 120," he said

伊斯里尔-海莫威茨与他的医生达成了一项交易--让我活到100岁，我就送你去欧洲度假。2002年9月5日，海莫威茨在庆祝他的百岁寿辰，而罗伯特-德雷默医生和他的妻子也在期待着来年夏天的伦敦之旅。“我真的不想花他的钱，”德雷默说，可是海莫威茨“会因我不去而发疯。”退休家具推销员海莫威茨说这是他所能做的最起码的事。海莫威茨是纽约布鲁克林人，他健康状况良好，只是偶尔为疲劳所苦。16年前，海莫威茨搬到了佛罗里达。他说：“在这儿找一个会悉心照料病人的医生可不容易。”海莫威茨把自己的长寿和健康归功于每天的两盎司白兰地和5块丹麦牛油曲奇。刚刚更新了驾驶执照的海莫威茨说，他打算再活上一段时间。“如果感觉不好，我就不想再逗留了。不过，在感觉如现在般良好的时候，我希望活到120岁，”他说。

Remarks：也许这位老先生没有意识到：“感觉良好”才是他长寿的真正秘诀--如果活得没了感觉，想“逗留”也不太容易哩。

生在秋天的好处

People Born in Autumn Live Longer

People born in the autumn live longer than those born in the spring and are less likely to fall chronically ill when they are older, according to an Austrian scientist Using census data for more than one million people in Austria, Denmark and Australia, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in the northern German town of Rostock found the month of birth was related to life expectancy over the age of 50 Seasonal differences in what mothers ate during pregnancy, and infections occurring at different times of the year could both have an impact on the health of a new-born baby and could influence its life expectancy in older age "A mother giving birth in spring spends the last phase of her pregnancy in winter, when she will eat less vitamins than in summer," said Gabriele Doblhammer, one of a team of scientists who carried out the research "When she stops breast-feeding and starts giving her baby normal food, it's in the hot weeks of summer when babies are prone to infections of the digestive system" In Austria, adults born in autumn (October-December) lived about seven months longer than those born in spring (April-June), and in Denmark adults with birthdays in autumn outlived those born in spring by about four months In the southern hemisphere, the picture was similar Adults born in the Australian autumn - the European spring - lived about four months longer than those born in the Australian spring The study focused on people born at the beginning of the 20th century, using death certificates and census data Although nutrition at all times of the year has improved since then, the seasonal pattern persists, Doblhammer said

一位奥地利科学家认为，秋天出生的人比生在春天的人活得长，在上了年纪的时候也更不容易得慢性病。马克斯-普朗克人口研究学院位于德国北部城市罗斯托克，该学院的科学家们通过分析奥地利、丹麦和澳大利亚3国超过100万的人口普查数据得出结论，人们50岁以后的平均寿命与出生月份之间存在关联。母亲在怀孕期间所吃的东西因季节而有不同，一年里不同时间流行的传染病也不一样，两者都会对新生儿的健康发生影响，并进而影响他们到老年时的平均寿命。进行此项研究的科学家小组成员加布里埃尔-多布哈默说：“春天分娩的母亲孕期的最后阶段适逢冬季，因此她摄入的维生素要比夏季时少。她停止哺乳开始让婴儿正常进食的时候又正好赶上夏天最热的那几个星期，这时候婴儿容易发生消化系统感染。“在奥地利，秋天(10至11月)出生的成人大约要比春天(4至6月)出生的多活7个月，而在丹麦这一差异大约是4个月。南半球的情况也差不多。生于澳洲秋天--欧洲的春天--的成人寿命比春天出生的长大约4个月。研究者们使用死亡证明和人口普查数据作为参考资料，主要对象是20世纪初出生的人。多布哈默说，尽管人们在一年中各个时期的营养状况与那时相比都已经有所改善，这样的季节性差异却依然存在。

Remarks：换一个说法，也就是天秤座和天蝎座的人通常比金牛座和双子座的人长寿，你相信吗？

同病相怜

Love Means Sharing the Same Diseases

Married couples share more than their homes, cars and finances - they are also likely to have some of the same diseases, experts say If a spouse suffers from asthma, depression, peptic ulcers, high blood pressure or raised cholesterol levels, the chances are their partner will be afflicted with the same illness "Partners of people with specific diseases are at increased risk of the disease themselves - at least 70 percent increased risk for asthma, depression and peptic ulcer disease," Julia Hippisley Cox of the University of Nottingham in northern England said Cox and her team said the most likely reason for the shared diseases was environment Married couples usually eat the same foods, are exposed to the same allergens and often have similar exercise patterns, all of which contribute to ailments such as allergies, high blood pressure and raised cholesterol The scientists studied the medical history of 8,000 married couples, aged 30 to 74 "The findings could have implications for targeting screening or disease prevention measures at partners of participants with one of these diseases," Cox added

专家指出，已婚夫妇共同分享的不仅是房子、车子和金钱--他们还容易同时患上一些病症。如果其中一方得了哮喘、抑郁症、消化性溃疡、高血压或是胆固醇过高，那么另一方就很可能会遭受同样疾病的折磨。英格兰北部诺丁汉大学的朱丽叶-希皮斯利-科克斯说：“某些特定疾病患者的配偶罹患同样病症的机率(比别的人)要高--就哮喘、抑郁症和消化性溃疡这几种病来说，其机率要高70%。”科克斯和她的研究小组认为，“共享疾病”最可能的原因是环境。一般说来，已婚夫妇吃同样的食物、接触同样的过敏原，锻炼的模式通常也差不多，而这些都是造成过敏症、高血压以及高胆固醇等症。科学家们分析了8000对30到74岁的已婚夫妇的病历。“这一发现可能意味着我们应该对这类疾病患者的配偶实行定向隔离或采取预防措施。”

Remarks：为什么要隔离或预防呢--这样不是离“同年同月同日死”的目标更近了吗？

情书公告牌

Paris Invents New Love Messages

Declarations of undying devotion will flash across Paris's municipal bulletin boards every 20 seconds next month as the French capital invents a new way to say "I love you" on Valentine's Day Bertrand Delanoe, the left-wing mayor known for his innovative city festivals, said the electronic boards would carry the best short love letters on February 14 - Valentine's Day - and throughout that weekend, adding that they would "help Parisians tell each other 'I love you'" He urged Parisians to send in their messages with a note indicating which neighbourhood they wanted them to be posted in A special committee would pick out the best ones to display The illuminated boards, which normally announce everything from city festivals to traffic warnings, stand at key squares and intersections all around the French capital

法国首都巴黎发明了一种在情人节这天说“我爱你”的新方法，下个月中巴黎市各处的市政公告牌上每20秒就会有表达不渝热爱的宣言闪过。以喜欢组织新奇的城市节庆活动著称的左翼巴黎市长伯特兰-迪拉诺说，这些电子公告牌将会在2月14日情人节这天以及此后的周末刊载最动人的简短情书，并宣称它们会“鼓励巴黎人对彼此说‘我爱你’”。他敦促巴黎人交来他们的爱情讯息，同时注明他们希望在哪个地段公布讯息。一个特别委员会将选出最好的一些情书进行展示。这些发光的公告牌分布在巴黎各个主要广场和十字路口，通常被用于公告从城市节庆活动到交通警示的各类事项。

Remarks：市政当局活跃气氛的动机无可非议，只是我以为，就个人来说，这种“爱要让全世界知道”的做法不过是一种轻浮的炫耀或着内心虚弱者的壮胆行为--如果他/她不是真的失踪了的话。

影院的浪漫角落

Romance Blooms in Cozy Corners of Cinemas

Lovers have it tough in India's teeming financial capital, but some of the city's cinemas are playing Cupid to couples longing for time away from prying eyes For the first time in Bombay, three upmarket cinemas have each set aside a dozen seats, called "Close-Up Corners," for couples wishing to watch a film together The seats - priced the same as other cinema seats - are bigger and designed for two people with no arm rests between them In conservative India, where public displays of affection are frowned upon, young men and women rarely dare to even hold hands for fear of censure or getting a "bad name" "This is the ideal place for couples to spend time together," said Hameed Shaikh, general manager of a suburban cinema, adding the "corners" were proving popular with college students "This is a progressive step We can't have culture cops dictating how we should behave," said 21-year-old college student P Vijay outside a movie hall "It's stupid to be prudish This should be extended to more theaters in Bombay" Kamal Sharma, manager of another movie hall, said the romantic corners were a big hit even with married couples who often live in cramped, one-room homes that offer little privacy

印度的金融中心孟买人多眼杂，情侣们的日子不太好过，不过这个城市里的一些**院为渴望远离窥探眼光的爱侣们充当起了丘比特的角色。孟买的3家**院各自为希望一起看**的情侣们留出了12个被称为“亲密角落”的座位，这在孟买是破天荒的事情。这些座位--价钱和普通座位一样--比较大，设计得适合两个人坐，中间也没有扶手阻隔。在保守的印度，当众亲昵会引人非议。由于担心受责难或是得到“坏名声”，年轻男女很少敢在公共场合哪怕是牵一下手。“这是爱侣们共度好时光的理想场所，”郊区一家影院的总经理哈米德-沙哈说。他还补充道，事实证明这样的“角落”很受大学生欢迎。“这是一种进步。我们不能让文化警察来专断我们的举止，”在一间影院外面，21岁的大学生P-维贾说。“蠢人才会假正经。这种做法应该在孟买更多的影院中推广。”另一间影院的经理卡马尔-沙马说，浪漫角落甚至对已婚夫妇也很有吸引力，因为他们的住所往往非常狭窄，只有一个房间，几乎没有隐私可言。

Remarks：亲密关系是否需要展览是个人选择问题，而尊重个人选择的自由空气是应当鼓励的。

世界上最好的工作

World's Greatest Job, Up for Grabs

Calling all chocoholics One of Britain's most exclusive grocery stores needs a new chocolate taster - and will pay 35,000 pounds ($54,400) a year for the successful candidate Fortnum & Mason in London's Piccadilly - one of the capital's most prestigious addresses - is looking for a chocolate buyer to travel the world, taste as much chocolate as possible and select the best for its discerning customers Daily Telegraph newspaper said the Fortnum's personnel director Cathy O'Neill has already been bombarded with applications after she advertised the post as the "best job in the world" But not all of those interested have the right qualifications "We only advertised it a couple of days ago," O'Neill told Daily Telegraph "But already we have had loads of people writing in saying they have absolutely no experience, or they work in the metal industry or something, but they love chocolate"

up for grabs：俚语，意为可得的，易得的，任何人都可能取得的。

所有巧克力爱好者请注意！英国最高档的食品杂货店之一需要一名新的巧克力试吃员--成功的应聘者将得到3万5千英镑(54,400美元)的年薪。位于伦敦皮卡迪利大街--这个都城最负盛名的地点之一--的福特纳姆及梅森商店正在寻找一名巧克力采购员，其职责是环游世界，品尝尽可能多的巧克力并为该店品味不凡的顾客们选出其中最好的品种。《每日电讯报》说，福特纳姆的人事经理凯茜-奥尼尔在广告中称这个职位为“世界上最好的工作”，随之而来的大量求职申请令她应接不暇。“我们几天前才登出广告，”奥尼尔对《每日电讯报》说。“但是我们已经收到了许多人的书面申请。他们说自己毫无经验，或是就职于金属行业，如此等等，但他们喜欢巧克力。”

Remarks：品尝可解馋，旅游可减肥，果然是好工作！

过期美味

Firm Sold Out-of-Date Food as It Was 'Tasty'

Fine wines and cheese may improve with age, but Japanese consumers were probably shocked to find that one company executive thought Chinese spring rolls did too That, at least, is what Reiko Yoshida, head of a small food firm in western Japan, told a news conference when asked to explain why her company sold frozen spring rolls and other products that were well past their sell-by date1 "I was told that the products were past their expiry date, but I gave the order to sell them after I tried them and found them tasty," a spokesman for the company, Shinsho, quoted Yoshida as telling a news conference The company sold about 2,600 frozen spring rolls to stores even though some were nearly six months past their expiry date, the spokesman said Yoshida accepted now that the company should have thrown the food away after the sell-by date passed and that it would take care from now on The firm has voluntarily halted business in 21 of its 23 shops around the country for an indefinite period of time Japanese consumer confidence in food products has been shaken by several recent scandals, include cases of mislabeling

美酒和干酪也许是越陈越好，不过日本的消费者可能会震惊于这样的事实：一位公司主管认为这一规律也适用于中国春卷。至少，日本西部一个小食品公司的主管吉田玲子(音)在记者招待会上是这么说的，当时人们要求她解释为何她的公司要出售已过期很久的冻春卷和其他产品。公司发言人新胜(音)引用吉田在记者招待会上的话说：“别人告诉我这些产品已经过了保质期，但我还是下令出售，因为我尝过了，味道很好。”这位发言人说，公司卖了大约2600个冻春卷给各家商店，尽管其中一些已经过期将近半年。吉田现在承认公司应该扔掉过期食品，表示以后会对此多加注意。公司并主动无限期关闭了全国23个连锁店中的21个。日本近日发生了几起这样的丑闻，包括乱贴标签的事情，日本消费者对食品的信心因此大受影响。

Remarks：臭猪头自然有烂鼻子的菩萨爱吃，对过期食品的个人爱好无可非议，但不管别人是否有此同好而强行推己及人的做法就有点过分了。

稻草人与笼中鸟

Scarecrow Guards Jail Birds

A judge on an inspection visit to a Brazilian jail discovered a straw scarecrow dressed in police uniform on the watchtower "guarding" some 735 jail birds, police said The judge removed the scarecrow, which had apparently been manning the watchtower for days, and took it to the court as evidence Police opened an investigation "It is considered a grave breach of security rules," a police spokesman said, adding that a prison guard or a police officer should have been on the tower at all times The Taubate Provisional Detention Center for prisoners awaiting trial near Brazil's biggest city of Sao Paulo was opened at the end of 2001 and has already had one publicized escape via an underground tunnel Brazil's prison system is plagued with break-outs and violent riots due to extreme overcrowding, lack of funds and poor pay for prison officers

巴西警方说，一位法官到巴西一座监狱视察，结果发现在了望塔中“看守”着735名囚犯的竟然是一个穿着警服的稻草人。法官拿走了稻草人--显然它已经在这个岗位上呆了不少日子了--并将它呈上法庭作为证物。警方已经展开调查。“我们认为这严重违反了安全条例，”警方发言人说，并指出任何时候了望塔上都应该有一名监狱警卫或是警官。等候审判的陶贝特临时拘留中心位于巴西最大城市圣保罗附近，2001年底才启用，但这里已经发生过了一起广为人知的犯人通过地道逃走的事件。巴西的监狱系统存在着严重的越狱和暴力骚乱问题，原因是监狱极度拥挤、缺乏资金以及监狱管理人员收入过低。

Remarks：挖地道逃走的犯人一定感到了莫大的耻辱--居然被稻草人吓到了，没敢堂而皇之地从地面上出去。

是同一个人

《虎胆龙威》上一集是1995年上映，距离现在已经11年，威利斯今年51岁，还要在大银幕上再度演绎孤胆英雄。是否能够重振当年雄风，还是一个未知数。11年后再拍续集，剧情上也要跟上时代步伐。**讲一个犯罪组织破坏互联网，导致国家陷于危亡，威利斯饰演的警察约翰·麦克连也变成一个已经退休的老警察，但是危急时刻，重出江湖，铲除邪恶。香港名模MaggieQ也会在片中惊艳亮相，化身为世界一流的电脑骇客，与男主角布鲁斯·威利斯对戏，这也是她首次在好莱坞**中担任反面角色。

故事讲述恐怖分子计划通过黑客技术在7月4日(美国国庆日)令全美国电脑系统瘫痪，威利斯饰演的警官约翰·麦克兰要阻止这一切的发生。

　　中文名：李美琪

　　英文名：MaggieQ

　　原英文名：Maggie Quigley

　　国籍：美国

　　生日：1979年5月22日

　　星座：双子座

　　身高：170cm

　　体重：47kg

　　三围：B34/W24/H34

　　[编辑本段]出道之初

　　MaggieQ是有越南血统的混血儿，其胜人之处不仅是因为其身形娇小玲珑，她还拥有混血儿的独特面孔，其青春性感的气质亦是动人之处。难怪被香港的《Him》杂志评为“男人最想抱的女人”之首。她还被《时代》杂志形容为“Model界其中一大发现”。

　　[编辑本段]星路历程

　　·1998年，为德国化妆品牌Nivea拍摄电视广告。

　　·2000年，被法国皮革名牌Lancel看中，邀请她担任秋冬季的代言人。

　　·2001年，和陈小春、徐静蕾等两岸三地演员合作出演电视剧《龙堂》。

　　·2001年4月，作为香港最年轻的女艺人登上《时代》杂志亚洲版封面。

　　·2001年，和陈冠希、颜颖思合作出演《特警新人类2》，该片的监制评价其：“她成功是因为她的样子可以感染任何人”。

　　·2001年10月，前往纽约拍摄张坚庭执导的西片《午夜曼哈顿》（Manhattan Midnight）。

　　[编辑本段]影视作品

　　特警新人类2

　　尖峰时刻2

　　环游地球80天

　　猛龙

　　一屋两火

　　赤裸特工

　　海南鸡饭

　　龙堂

　　魔幻厨房

　　MTV非常梦想

　　午夜曼哈顿

　　融之堂

　　谍中谍3

　　乒乓特种兵

　　虎胆龙威4

　　三国之见龙卸甲

　　玩叛游戏

　　狼灾记

　　[编辑本段]极致混血

　　她自己选择各种场合的时装，从不会错。

　　她就是能在万花丛中，既惊艳满场，又使人久久难忘。

　　她自己选择发型，从来不留刘海（应该说大多时候），总是露出高傲而光洁的额头。

　　她说：“我不会让任何东西挡住我前视的目光，哪怕是我的头发。” 她选择自己的职业，也选择自己的道路和命运。 特立独行，敢作敢当。

　　她知道美丽有多辉煌，就有多短暂，她不断的学习，虽然这很难相信：她读书成习，闺房像书房，手边随时都有喜欢的书。“从纽约博物馆年鉴到人物传记到古典诗歌到连环杀人案，她什么书都爱看！小时候母亲常常叫不动她，因为她埋头在书堆里，只会恩，恩，恩得搪塞她。”

　　“她的座右铭是HAVE FUN，WORK HARD，BE MYSELF。”这曾经是美国著名跳水运动员的格言，现在变做她的。“其实，她并不像人们想象得那般狂迷金钱，信奉时尚。

　　有时，她选择一个工作，只是因为我喜欢，比如，上一次为日本一个护肤品做广告，就只因为场景是在海滩上。你知道，她喜欢海滩，那使她想起夏威夷，和那些年少时光。”MaggieQ很少提到夏威夷，那是她成长的地方。

　　她有越南的轮廓，更有着夏威夷的热情和自由。MaggieQ总是在心里怀念这些时光，那时候她浑然不知道自己将成为明星，甚至模特。家教甚严，从来没有自己挑选衣服的权利，别的女孩子抹着口红，被男孩子围着转的时候，她晒得黑黝黝的，在海边肆意的玩耍。

　　她永远都记得，在海边，有个叫MANNY的伙伴，那是个英俊的男孩子，他在沙滩上，热烈的望着她，对她说，你那么美，应该站在聚光灯下被所有人注视。此后，这句话，就和夏威夷沙沙的海浪声一起，永远冲刷着MaggieQ的梦境。

　　18岁，从夏威夷飞过半个地球的海洋落地香港，用一张中国味浓郁的面孔讨好了香港模特界，引发混血热；28岁，她又从香港飞了半个地球的海洋回到洛杉矶，担任《碟中谍3》和《虎胆龙威4》的女主角，因为这张中国面孔会讲一口流利英语。

　　这算不算命中注定？从东到西又从西到东地漂泊，渐渐水涨船高。Maggie Q最常挂在嘴上的口头禅是“我对未来没有计划，做到哪一步就是哪一步”。

　　拍完《愤怒的乒乓》和《虎胆龙威》后，Maggie Q回到内地加入刘德华的《三国志之见龙卸甲》中，饰演曹操的孙女。

　　“一年前，我就答应了《三国》的编剧去拍。并不仅仅因为我从没演过古装戏，而且看完那个剧本我哭了，它完全打动了我，所以我毅然前往。为了照顾我的角色，编剧特地把曹操孙子的这个角色改成了孙女。”Maggie Q兴奋地说，这是华语影坛第一次正视她，“不同于之前的花瓶角色，这次我的形象有了巨大突破，没人相信Maggie Q可以这样，穿着战甲与人在沙场决斗。外面都在传我和刘德华有爱情戏，完全没有，我们在戏里是死对头。”

　　Better known as Maggie Q, Margaret Denise Quigley (born on May 22, 1979) is an American actress and former fashion model and television personality She initially gained fame in Hong Kong

　　She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to an American father of

　　Polish, Irish, and French descent (originally based in New York) and a Vietnamese mother Her parents met while her father was stationed in Vietnam Maggie is the youngest of five children

　　She has two sisters and two half-

　　siblings from her mother's previous marriage in Vietnam The family moved to Hawaii and settled in Mililani She dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, but after graduating from Mililani High School she traveled to Japan and Hong Kong to earn money as a fashion model and burst onto the Hong Kong movie scene In 1998 she got her first role in a Chinese TV series, and she has been acting ever since

　　She changed her name to the easily pronounceable "Maggie Q" (for the Chinese audience) and eventually became a full-fledged superstar in Asia

　　While still relatively unfamiliar to audiences in the United States, she has achieved celebrity status in Hong Kong and elsewhere in East Asia Because of her non-Chinese heritage, many of her Asian film appearances are in English or dubbed in Chinese

　　Her big breakthroughs into the film world came when she bagged the lead roles in the Hong Kong action thrillers Gen-Y Cops and Naked Weapon, in which she played the sexy but vulnerable martial artist assassin Charlene Ching

　　She pursued modeling careers first in Japan, then Taiwan and Hong Kong Her transition into acting was almost coincidental and since then she has become both a top model and actress in Hong Kong, along with garnering a certain amount of fame across Asia She is a successful model and rising actress, featuring in magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Elle, FHM and Marie Claire amongst many others Her film credits include Gen-Y Cops, Manhattan Midnight, Rush Hour 2 and Naked Weapon

　　She was dancing pretty dirtily in Naked Weapon and she looks gorgeous in her role as a Chinese lady-killer from the Black Scorpion gang in "Around the world in 80 days"