China is a country of many resources. Among its resources are many great rivers, which provide useful transport routes. Water transport is an efficient way to carry heavy loads, such as grain. In ancient times, a waterway was needed between China's rich farmlands and the capital city. This need inspired engineers to build a canal. According to writings by the ancient thinker Confucius, work on a canal linking the Yangtze River with the city of Huai-in began about 486 B.C. For many centuries afterward, Chinese emperors worked on extending this ancient canal.

    This canal is now known as China's Grand Canal. One thousand years after the original canal was begun, it was in extreme need of repair. This was in the year 607, during the Sui Dynasty. By 610 the emperor had had the canal extended. The Grand Canal formed a northeast-southwest link between the Yellow River in the north and the Huai River in the south. The canal remained the main waterway in this part of China for the next five hundred years.

    In the thirteenth century, the Mongols had conquered China. The Yuan Dynasty established Beijing as the capital. The city's growing population needed food, so a new canal was built to extend shipping. Building this part of the Grand Canal required enormous effort and cost. Neither the first attempt nor the second one was successful, so the builders chose another route. Finally this link in the Grand Canal was finished.

    By the time of the Ming Dynasty, the Grand Canal had six sections. These were busy with goods until the nineteenth century. Then a series of severe floods struck China. Parts of the Grand Canal were badly damaged. By 1868 it had been largely abandoned as a means of northern route.

    The Grand Canal was mostly restored in the twentieth century. It was widened and deepened, and a new section was constructed. Today the canal, which is about 1,200 miles in length, has new locks(运河的水闸). It is busy with ships and barges(驳船) carrying goods to and from cities along its banks.

    The American Heart Association (AHA) says that too many people are spending far too much time on chairs and couches. "Based on existing evidence, we found that U.S. adults are sedentary for about six to eight hours a day, "said Deborah Rohm Young, chair of AHA panel that wrote the new advisory.

    According to the AHA, growing evidence shows that, on its own, exercise isn't enough to cancel out the unhealthy effects of sitting for a long time. "Regardless of how much physical activity someone gets, long sedentary time could negatively influence the health of your heart and blood vessels," Young explained.

    The exact mechanisms behind the effect aren't yet clear. “There are many important factors we don't understand about sedentary time yet," Young said. She stressed that, "the types of studies available identify trends but don't prove cause and effect.”

    "We don't have information about how much sedentary behavior is bad for health — the best advice at this time is to 'sit less and move more,” she added.

    How much more? According to the AHA, people should try to get at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous (剧烈的）exercise a day to reach the recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week, That's healthier than trying to cram their weekly exercise into one or two days, according to the statement.

    "The real risk simply comes down to the amount we sit, without there being a true medicine or method to control the harmful effects," said Steinbaum, a preventive specialist in heart disease.

    Still, society has evolved to encourage sitting, she added.

    "Our lives have become focused around activities requiring us to be still—whether it be transportation, our computers, or the television or computer in our leisure time,” Steinbaum said. "Sociologically, instead of being active to be productive or to have enjoyment, our productivity and fun often requires minimal physical activities."

    There is a beautiful story I heard once about a child playing with a vase(花瓶) his mother had left on the table for a few moments. When the mother turned at the sound of her son crying, she saw that his hand was in the vase and was apparently stuck. She tried to help him and pulled and pulled until the child cried out in pain. But the hand was stuck fast. How would they get it out? The father suggested breaking the vase but it was quite valuable and the child's hand might be cut in the process. Yet he knew that if all else failed, there would be no other alternative. So he said to the boy, "Now, let's make one more try. Open your hand and stretch your fingers out straight, like I'm doing, and then pull!" "But Dad," said the boy, "if I do that, I'll lose my penny!"

    The boy had had a coin in his hand all the time and was holding it securely in his tight little fist. And he wasn't prepared to open his hand and lose the penny. But once he opened his hand, it came out of the vase easily.

    I used to hold on to things in my life that I thought were so important to me. Early in my marriage, all I cared about was becoming the best volleyball player in the state of Wisconsin. One year, when Kristi was working shifts at General Motors, I played in 1,400 games, competing four nights a week and 40 out of 52 weekends. My team won over 1,000 games. Success on the volleyball court, but a huge loss in my relationship with my Kristi.

    When I finally let go, I looked back at what I had done and was ashamed. Not only did I show my wife she wasn't the most important thing to me, but I missed out on a lot of relationship building time. My life is so much richer now that I am not a slave to that drive to be the best player I could be.

    Dr. Nancy Roman, born in 1925, who was celebrated as a pioneer for female scientists and had advanced the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, died on Dec 25, 2018.

    When Nancy Roman asked for permission to take a second algebra (代数)course in high school,a teacher demanded to know "what lady would take mathematics instead of Latin". In college, a professor admitted that he often tried to prevent women from majoring in physics but Nancy stuck to it. And after receiving Doctor's degree in astronomy. , she found a professional home at NASA(美国宇航局)In 1959, Dr. Roman became the first chief of astronomy at NASA. headquarters, a role that made her one of the agency's first female leaders.

    Dr Roman spent much of her career helping develop, fund and promote technology that would help scientists see more clearly beyond Earths atmosphere. But her most well-known work was perhaps leading to design the Hubble Space Telescope the first major telescope to be sent into space for the purpose of gathering photographs and data from the universe. She was, therefore, named as "the mother of Hubble".

    "She made it possible to get the early telescope up into space to learn what needed to be learned," said science historian Bob Zimmerman: and her hard-nosed nature helped get the telescope built.

    The telescope did not launch until 1990, a little more than a decade after Dr Roman retired, but when it did, its photographs of the universe thrilled the world.  I am glad, "she once told Science, "I ignored the people who told me that I could not be an astronomer. "

Land of fire and ice: Iceland

    Join an unforgettable tour of Iceland's splendid landscapes, timed to arrange four days filled with volcanic and geological adventure, and evening opportunities to see the Aurora Borealis.

    Day 1: Vatnajokull Glacier (冰川)

    Today you'll take a walk on Europe's biggest ice cap-Vatnajokull-which has around 30 glaciers flowing out from it. No experience is necessary to take part in the hike. It's discouraging to think that the glacier is retreating due to rising world temperatures, and in future years the glacier may be gone. If you prefer a relaxing morning you can explore the surroundings of the farm stay and head to the Thorbergur Centre.

    Day 2: Secret lagoon (泻湖) and Reykjavik

    This morning we make our way to the Lava Centre which is an interactive, high-tech educational exhibition describing volcanic activity, earthquakes and the creation of Iceland over millions of years. After our visit, we will continue to the Secret Lagoon natural hot springs, located in the small village called Fludir, giving you the opportunity to relax in the warm waters before travelling to Reykjavik.

    Day 3: Reykjanes peninsula (半岛)

    Head out to the Reykjanes Peninsula. It is a land-born highly volcanic counterpart of the Mid-Atlantic Spreading Ridge where two tectonic plates part at an average rate of 2.0-2.5 cm/yr. Four volcanic systems and fissure (裂缝) groups line the peninsula from SW to NE. They contain open fissures, normal faults, high-temperature fields and volcanic fissures.

    Day 4: Depart Reykjavik

    Today is departure day and time to say "sjaumst". Your group departure transfer will take you to the airport for your flight home.

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at hospital.

On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was to reach for his toast, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him spread butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember bearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burnt toast."

Later that night, I went to kiss daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his toast burnt. He took me in his arms and said, "Your momma put in a hard day at work today and she's really tired. And besides, a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!"

You know, life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship. This good quality is the base of any relationship—husband­wife or parent­child or friendship! As far as I'm concerned, I'm not the best engineer as expected. However, I have made my efforts. That's enough.

So learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life. Burnt toast isn't a deal­breaker! Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket but into your own. You will appreciate the value of every soul including yourself.