The kids in this village wear dirty, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They have no school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can make words.

    The key to their success: 20 tablet computers(平板电脑) dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a U.S. group called One Laptop Per Child.

    The goal is to find out whether kids using today's new technology can teach themselves to read in places where no schools or teachers exist. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they're already amazed. “What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten,” said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program.

    The fastest learner—and the first to turn on one of the tablets—is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse. The device's camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out its workings and made the camera work. He called himself a lion, a marker of accomplishment in Ethiopia.

    With his tablet, Kelbasa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own. “Seven months ago he didn't know any English. That's unbelievable,” said Keller.

    The project aims to get kids to a stage called “deep reading,” where they can read to learn. It won't be in Amharic, Ethiopia's first language, but in English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs.

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    In some countries，open campus (校园) is widely accepted. For example, French students have a two-hour lunch break from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. During their lunch break, they can eat at home or at a restaurant. But students in the Philippines have a tougher schedule. They have only two 15-minute breaks and an hour for lunch.

    What Schedule would be best for American schools?

    Having breaks between classes is great, but having breaks off campus is even better. There are several advantages to open campus, including simple conveniences such as being able to eat different meals during lunchtime, rather than having the cafeteria (自助食堂) dishes, as well as having the chance to take a break at home.

    However, there are more reasons I disagree with allowing high school students the right to have an open campus. Sure, it's great being able to escape school during the day for a while, but soon enough that may easily become the rest of the day.

    If open campus is allowed, it is very possible that such freedom will make it all too easy for students to skip their afternoon classes. Of course, there will be students responsible enough to come back to school.

    But unexpected problems such as heavy traffic, city bus delays (延迟) or cars breaking down may prevent them from returning to school. It benefits the students to stay in school during lunch hours to avoid transportation issues.

    Depending on how close the school is to restaurants and students' homes, open campus could be a great idea. Unfortunately, though, most public schools in America are not located close enough to restaurants or students' homes, thus causing the negative results to outweigh (超过) the positives in the end.

                                                                             Bread Garrett's Comedy Club

    Category: Comedy

    Best known for his role on the Emmy award -winning sitcom（情景喜剧）Everybody Loves Raymond, Brad Garrett returns to his Vegas roots with his comedy club at the MGM Grand. It is a good place to check out when you need a break from work.

    Prices from: $56.40 and up

    Age restriction: Must be 21 years of age or older

    Show Length: 115 minutes

    Mac King Comedy Magic Show

    Category: Comedy, Magic

    The Mac King Comedy Magic Show is different every afternoon, with lots of audience participation. He is willing to make fun of himself instead of his guests in order to make everyone feel welcome and entertained. The afternoon is kid-friendly from start to finish. Still, whether you're eight or 80, you won't be able to figure out King's secrets.

    Prices from: $40.90 and up

    Age restriction: No age restriction

    Show Length: 90 minutes

    The Mentalist, Gerry McCambridge

    Category: Comedy, Magic

    Using his skills as a “mentalist”, Gerry McCambridge shocks the crowds as he uses his abilities to predict just what audience members will do next. Anyone who has seen the show has walked away in disbelief, amazed by his unusual power.

    Prices from: $34.99 and up

    Age restriction: Under 13 will not be admitted into the theater

    Show Length: 75 minutes

    Rock of Ages

    Category: Plays & Musicals

    The cheerful Rock of Ages brings audiences back to the times of big hair and even bigger bands with 28 popular rock songs from the 80s including Every Rose Has Its Thom, I Wanna Know What Love Is, Here I Go Again, and more.

    Rock of Ages has been nominated（提名）for five Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical. It also received a Drama League nomination for Distinguished Production for a Musical.

    Prices from: $74.00 and up

    Age restriction: Must be 15 years of age or older

    Show Length: 125 minutes

    Running is often tiring and a lot of hard work, but nothing beats the feeling you get after finishing a long workout around the track.

    But while it's long been believed that endorphins (脑内啡）—chemicals in the body that cause happiness — are behind the so-called “runner's high”，a study suggested that there may be more to this phenomenon than we previously knew.

    According to a recent study published by a group of scientists from several German universities, a group of chemicals called endocannabinoids (内源性大麻素）may actually be responsible for this familiar great feeling.

    To test this theory, the scientists turned to mice.

    Both mice and humans release high levels of endorphins and endocannabinoids after exercise, along with many other chemicals. After exercising on running wheels, the mice seemed happy and relaxed and displayed no signs of anxiety.

    But after being given a drug to block their endorphins the change. However, when their endocannabinoids were block with a different drug, their runner's high symptoms seemed to fade.

    “The long-held notion of endorphins being responsible for the runner's high is false. Endorphins are effective pain relievers, but only when it comes to the pain in your body and muscles you feel after working out,”Patrick Lucas Austin wrote on science blog Lifchacker.

    Similar studies are yet to be carried out on humans, but it's already well known that exercise is a highly effective way to get rid of stress or anxiety.

    The UK's National Health Service even prescribes (开药方)exercise to patients who are suffering from depression.

    “Being depressed can leave you feeling low in energy, which might put you off being more active. Regular exercise can boost your mood if you have depression, and it's especially useful for people with mild to moderate (中等的）depression,” it wrote on its website.

    It seems like nothing can beat that feeling we get after a good workout, even if we don t fully understand where it comes from. At least if we're feeling down, we know that all we have to do is put on our running shoes.

    The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th of the first month of the lunar calendar. This day is always the first full moon in the new year. Ancient people also called it Shangyuan Festival. Celebrations and traditions on this day began from the Han Dynasty and became popular in the Tang Dynasty.

    Watching the red lanterns is one of the main traditions. Lanterns of different shapes and sizes are usually put on trees, or along river banks on show. It is said that sky lanterns were first used by Zhuge Kongming to ask for help when he was in trouble. Today, when the lanterns slowly rise into the air, people make wishes. Another tradition is guessing lantern riddles. The riddles are usually short, wise, and sometimes humorous. The answer to a riddle can be a Chinese character, a famous person's name, or a place name.

    The most important thing is to eat sweet dumplings with different tastes. In northern China, they are called yuanxiao while in southern part they're named tangyuan. Because making sweet dumplings is like a game or an activity, they are usually done happily by a group of friends or family members.

    In old times, the Lantern Festival was also a good time for young people to find love. Watching lanterns gave young people a chance to meet each other. And there were many romantic stories about this festival. A line from Xin Qiji, a poet during the Song Dynasty, shows this, "Hundreds and thousands of times I searched for her in the crowd. Suddenly I turned, and there she stood in the dim light. "

    In a word, the Lantern Festival has brought us Chinese so much fun and joy over the years. We hope the young people can carry on these traditions and take pride in Chinese culture.