1. Fewer taking entrance exams
The number of potential candidates who will attend the 2009 College Entrance Examination dropped by in Beijing, hitting a 5-year low, Xinhua reported Monday. Universities in Beijing may have to enroll fewer students in Beijing and more from other provinces and cities, said the report.

2. Power outage darkens Sydney
A severe power blackout virtually (almost, nearly) paralyzed Sydney after cables(电缆) supplying power to Australia’s largest city went down (stop working) at around the 5 pm rush hour Monday. The power outage affected up to homes and businesses, leaving many workers caught in lifts and causing traffic jams as street signals failed.

3. Secret to relaxing? Reading
Reading works better and faster than other methods to relax such as listening to music, going for a walk or having a cup of tea, UK research has shown. Just 6 minutes can reduce stress levels by 2/3. Psychologists believe it’s because the mind has to concentrate on reading and the distraction of being taken into a literary world eases tensions in muscles and the heart.

4. Dwight gets 5000 rebounds
Orlando center Dwight Howard became the youngest player in NBA history to get 5000 career rebounds Monday night, when he grabbed his 11th of the game against the Miami Heat. Howard reached the mark at the age of 23 years, 112 days—smashing the previous record held by Wilt Chamberlain, who was 25 years old.

5. The first moon flower
A US firm that has designed habitats for plants and animals living in microgravity now hopes to grow the first flowers on the moon, the company’s founders announced. Engineering firm Paragon Space Development plans to build a greenhouse to fly to the moon. The greenhouse will be used to incubate fast-growing custard seeds(芥菜籽) on the lunar surface, in the hopes of producing flowering plants over the lunar surface.