Free energy is everywhere around us. There are many ways to make and collect energy from various sources like sun, wind and water. People also realize that everyday stuff can be a source of energy too. For example, riding a bike, running or just walking, etc. We simply have to change our way of thinking if we want to change the world.

    So comes the idea of solar roadways. Are they the road of future? Why use roads just for driving and collecting tolls (过路费)? Why don't we use them for collecting energy?

    The US Department of Transportation recently awarded $100,000 to Solar Roadways to build the first ever Solar Road Panel. So how do these future roads work?

    The Solar Road Panels will contain embedded (嵌入的) LEDs which “paint” the road lines from beneath to provide safer nighttime driving as well as to give drivers instant instructions such as detour (绕行) ahead. The road will be able to sense wildlife on the road and can warn drivers to “slow down”. There will also be embedded heating elements in the surface to prevent snow and ice buildup, providing safer winter driving.

    Replacing asphalt (沥青) roads and parking lots with Solar Roadway Panels will be a major step toward stopping climate change. Fully electric vehicles will be able to recharge along the roadway and in parking lots, finally making electric cars practical for long trips.

    We just can't wait to see more of these roads all over the world in the near future.

    What's your favorite online magazine for kids? Here are four that are worth a look and a read.

    National Geographic Kids

    Parents, students, and teachers can take the help of this quality resource to learn about people, places, science, space, history, nature, and various fun activities. The magazine aims for the age group of 8-14. Interactive content includes videos, games, photos, blogs, etc. This is one online magazine that parents and teachers will always choose without hesitation (犹豫).

    TIME For Kids

    TIME magazine for adults might be too serious. The version for kids isn't but it does go deep with a lot of educational content and teaching resources that are helpfully arranged around grades. The weekly classroom news magazine covers world news and aims to develop the reading and analyzing (分析) habit in kids.

    Weekly Reader

    An offline and online magazine for elementary school students features a lot of educational tools for teachers and students alike. All of its magazines are arranged around grades from pre-kindergarten to grade 12. Lots of the tools are interactive and based around nicely designed stories that make learning fun. Some sections are open to only subscribers (注册人) though.

Highlights

    Highlights, com brings out magazines for kids of ages 2-12. The publication group's purpose is to help children become their best selves. The homepage also gives you further websites to explore like Puzzlemaniakids.com and Highlightskids.com. Play free online puzzles, solve riddles, go creative with fun activities, and even learn a little about nature and science at these two sites. For instance, you can go into a story adventure or create your own stories at The Timbertoes.

    Have you ever trained your brain? Now there are some new suggestions, such as eating dark chocolate and having cold meat for breakfast. You should also avoid watching soap operas, spending time with people who complain or follow fat-free diets, according to a new book on getting “brain-fit”.

    Many of the suggestions in Teach Yourself Training Your Brain are surprising. The book says to read out loud while holding a baby. Writers Terry Horne and Simon Wotton say their advice is from the latest research by experts around the world.

    “For years we have thought our brain capability is decided by our genes. But it's now clear that it depends on our lifestyle. What we eat and drink, how we learn at school and what type of feelings we have are all important,” said Horne.

    The book talks about the most up-to -date thinking in science about how diet, the environment, stress and other sides of modern life affect our brain capacity. It also offers advice and exercises. The book comes as more and more people are spending money on books, DVDs and computer games, which can improve their brain's capability.

    Horne believes that people need to make changes to their lifestyles to increase their brain capacity. Happiness, confidence and an optimistic nature help the brain, he added.

    “So mix with people who make you laugh, or share the same interests as you. And avoid people who complain,” said Horne. “People who are negative will make you sad, which means you won't achieve things.”

    The Boy Made It!

    One Sunday, Nicholas, a teenager, went skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. In the early afternoon, when he was planning to go home, a fierce snowstorm swept into the area. Unable to see far, he accidentally turned off the path. Before he knew it, Nicholas was lost, all alone! He didn't have food, water, a phone, or other supplies. He was getting colder by the minute.

    Nicholas had no idea where he was. He tried not to panic. He thought about all the survival shows he had watched on TV. It was time to put the tips he had learned to use.

    He decided to stop skiing. There was a better chance of someone finding him if he stayed put. The first thing he did was to find shelter form the freezing wind and snow. If he didn't, his body temperature would get very low, which could quickly kill him.

    Using his skis, Nicholas built a snow cave. He gathered a huge mass of snow and dug out a hole in the middle. Then he piled branches on top of himself, like a blanket, to stay as warm as he could.

    By that evening, Nicholas was really hungry. He ate snow and drank water from a nearby stream so that his body wouldn't lose too much water. Not knowing how much longer he could last, Nicholas did the only thing he could- he huddled(蜷缩) in his cave and slept.

    The next day, Nicholas went out to look for help, but he couldn't find anyone. He followed his tracks and returned to the snow cave, because without shelter, he could die that night. On Tuesday, Nicholas went out to find help. He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him. After two days stuck in the snow, Nicholas was saved.

    Nicholas might not have survived this snowstorm had it not been for TV. He had often watched Grylls' survival show. Man vs. Wild. That's where he learned the tips that saved his life, In each episode(一期节目)of Man vs. Wild, Grylls is abandoned in a wild area and has to find his way out.

    When Grylls heard about Nicholas' amazing deeds, he was super impressed that Nicholas had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Nicholas had to work to stay alive.

Dear Dad,

    Today I was at the shopping mall and I spent a lot of time reading the Father's Day cards. They all had a special message that in some way or another reflected how I feel about you. Yet as I selected and read, it occurred to me that not a single card said what I really want to say to you.

    You'll soon be 84 years old, Dad, and you and I will have had 55 Father's Days together. I haven't always been with you on Father's Day but I've always been with you in my heart.

    You know, Dad, there was a time when we were separated by the generation gap. You stood on one side of the Great Divide and I on the other.

    The Father-Daughter Duel shifted into high gear ( 档位) when you taught me to drive the old Dodge and I decided I would drive the Chevy whether you liked it or not. The police officer who sent me home, after you reported the Chevy stolen, didn't have much tolerance for a stubborn 16 year old, while you were so tolerant about it, Dad, and I think that was probably what made it the worst night of my life.

    Our relationship greatly improved when I married a man you liked, and things really turned around when we began making babies right and left. Somewhere along the line, the generation gap disappeared. I suppose I saw us and our relationship as aging together, rather like a fine wine.

    But the strangest thing happened last week. I was at a stop sign and I watched as you turned the corner in your car. It didn't immediately occur to me that it was you because the man driving looked so elderly and fragile behind the wheel of that huge car. It was rather like a slap in the face delivered from out of nowhere. Perhaps I saw your age for the first time that day.

    I guess what I'm trying to say, Dad, is what every son and daughter wants to say to their Dad today. Honoring a father on Father's Day is about respect and sharing and acceptance and tolerance and giving and taking. It's about loving someone more than words can say, and it's wishing that never had to end.

    I love you, Dad.

Love,

Jenny

    Naturalist John Muir called the Marin County woods named for him "the best tree-lover's monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world."

    Located only 11 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge near San Francisco, California, USA. Muir Woods puts some of nature's most huge creations within reach of little feet, hands, and imaginations.

    "Muir Woods is home to a small forest of redwood trees that reach to the sky," says David Shaw of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. "Redwoods grow taller than any other tree species in the world. The average age of the redwoods here ranges from 400 to 800 years old and many ancient specimens have been around for more than a thousand years."

    William Kent, the man who donated the 295 acres to create the Muir monument, grew up in Marin and played in similar redwood forests. That childhood experience inspired him to save the redwoods as an adult.

    "Young people can learn about young William Kent when they visit here," says ranger(护林员) Timothy Jordan. "Kent's early connection with nature developed his love of the outdoors. As an adult, he witnessed the destruction of many Bay Area redwood forests. This, with the writings of John Muir, inspired Kent's conservationism."

    Walking (and playing)in, on, and around the redwoods will help kids understand why young Kent was so fascinated(深深吸引) by the trees. Ranger Jordan encourages children to lie down and look up at the treetops, hug a redwood tree, and start a nature journal like John Muir.

    "Have kids find a redwood spray(小树枝)the same age as them, count the rings in trees, and sit inside of a hollow redwood tree on Fern Creek." he advises.

    After all the interaction, the kids just may be ready to rest. Take this time to "be quiet and listen to the sounds of the forest," says Shaw. "Encourage kids to think about how these trees have stood quietly through year after year of rain, sun, and sometimes even snow."