You may know the Eiffel Tower as one of the most famous man-made monuments in the world, and you'd be absolutely right! Read on to learn about the history of the great Eiffel Tower.

    Travelers from around the world flock(蜂拥)to Paris, France, to visit the Eiffel Tower, making it the most visited paid monument in the entire world! In fact, in 2010, the Eiffel Tower welcomed its 250 millionth visitor!

The history of the Eiffel Tower

    The Eiffel Tower was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the famous monument. Construction began in January of 1887 and was completed in only two years. Their plan was to finish the tower in time to be the entrance arch for the World's Fair in 1889. This fair celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the French Revolution, which took place from 1789 to 1799.

The height competition

    Located on the Champs de Mars, the tower is the tallest structure in Paris. It was the tallest man-made structure in the world for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York surpassed(超过) it. Then the spire(塔尖) on the top of the tower was added, raising its height to 17 feet taller than the Chrysler Building. It is now 1,063 feet tall! There are two replicas(复制品) of the Eiffel Tower in the world: a half scale model at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas and a full-sized monument of a similar (but not exact) design in Tokyo, Japan.

Three shades of wonder

    Some pictures make the Eiffel Tower look like a dark iron color. But it is, in fact, bronze. Not only that, but the tower is actually painted three different shades to make it appear even taller: darkest on the bottom and lightest on the top.

    TOKYO—Lonely astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) may soon be getting a robot friend from Japan.

    Japan's space agency is considering putting a talking humanoid(有人的特点的) robot on the ISS to watch the work while astronauts are asleep, monitor their health and stress levels and communicate to Earth through the micro­blogging site Twitter.

    Japan's space agency JAXA announced this week that it is looking at a plan to send a humanoid robot to the space station in 2013 that could communicate with the ground through Twitter—primarily feeding photos, rather than original ideas —and provide astronauts with “comfort and companionship”．

    Following up on US NASA's “Robonaut” R­2 program, which is set for launch on the Discovery shuttle next week, the Japanese robot would be part of a larger effort to create and refine robots that can be used by the elderly, JAXA said in a statement.

    Japan is one of the leading countries in robotics and has a rapidly aging society with one of the world's longest life expectancies.

    Improving robot communication capabilities could help elderly people on Earth by providing a nonintrusive(无干扰的) means of monitoring the robot owner's health and vital signs and sending information to emergency responders if there is an abnormality, JAXA said.

    “We are thinking in terms of a very human­like robot that would have facial expressions and be able to talk with the astronauts，” said JAXA's Satoshi Sano.

    The robot was being developed with the advertising and communications giant Dentsu Inc and a team at Tokyo University.

    The NASA project has a human­like head, hands and arms and uses the same tools as station crew members. The “Robonaut” called R­2 is intended to carry out maintenance tasks in the station's Destiny lab.

    NASA says it hopes that humanoid robots could one day stand in for astronauts during spacewalks or perform tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans.

    For now, the $2.5 million NASA robot is limited to activities within the lab.

    The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis's Swamp (沼泽地) creeping into their bones. It was a strange place. Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack's dare. They liked camping, but not near this swamp.

    “So,” Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals. “How did this place get its name ? ”

    “Are you sure you want to hear it ? It's a scary story,” warned Jack.

    “Of course!” cried out Tom. “If there were anything to be scared of, you wouldn't have chosen this place!”

    “Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you,” said Jack, and he began this tale.

    “Way back in time, a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here. He built that cottage over there to live in . In those days, the area looked quite different — it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystal-clear river. After three hard years, Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops. He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.

    “ 'You are clearing too much land, ' warned one old man. ' The land is a living thing. It will hit back at you if you abuse it. '

    “ ' Silly fool,' said Dennis to himself. 'If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I'll become wealthier. He's just jealous!'”

    “Dennis continued to chop down trees. Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed. He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door. He did not notice salt seeping to the surface of the land. He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants.”

    “What happened? ” Martin asked. It was growing colder. He trembled, twisting his body closer to the fire.

“The land hit back —- just as the old man warned, ” Jack shrugged. “Dennis disappeared Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater. His body was never found.”

    “What a stupid story, ” laughed Tom. “Plants can't …” Before he had finished speaking, he screamed and fainted (晕倒). The other two boys jumped up with fright, staring at Tom. Suddenly, they burst out laughing. Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom's face. It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.

    Tourist Guide To The National Gallery

    Opening hours: Daily 10am -6pm Friday 10amn-9pm

    Closed.24-26 December

    Reasons to visit

    With over 2, 300 paintings in the collection, there are hundreds of reasons to visit the Gallery

    Here are some to get you started……

    Get into great art. From Leonardo da Vinci to Vincent van Gogh. See priceless works of art for free……

    Get creative, Brush up your skills, and create your own great works of art……

    Lean about art. Discover more about paintings.

    Be inspired. Life, death, passion, beauty. Every painting tells a story.

    Relax. Escape from the noisy city into a painting

Regulations

    Talk in a low voice when you use your cellphone in the gallery.

    Not touching the paintings or other exhibits. Not taking pets in or crossing the barriers.

    Consuming food and drink in designated areas only, i. e. not in rooms that contain paintings

    Following our'no-smoking' policy in any part of the building.

    Following our'no –photography' policy in exhibitions where a sign is displayed

    Access:

    The National Gallery aims to make access to the paintings enjoyable and welcoming to the widest possible public. There are a range of facilities to help you see the collection, visit exhibitions and come to events

    The Gallery offers British Sign Language -interpreted As on paintings for visitors who are deaf, and special art sessions(展期)for visitors who can't see.

    Address: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N SDN

    Getting here:

    By tube

    The nearest stations are Charing Cross( National Rail, Northern, and Bakerloo lines )and Leicester Square( Northern and Piccadilly lines)

    By bus

    Routes 3, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 24, 87, 91, 139, and 176 stop at Trafalgar Square.

    By bike

    The nearest bike stands are on Orange Street, St Martin's Street, St Martins Place, and Duncannon Street

    Click here to find more information.

Christmas in the United States is traditionally a time of gift-giving and family gatherings. But small towns across the country have their own traditions.

Middleburg, a small town in the state of Virginia, is known for its horses. For more than 50 years, Middleburg has organized a yearly Christmas parade. Men and women ride horses through the woods and fields. They follow hunting dogs as they search for a wild fox. But first, these hunters ride in the yearly parade, wearing their bright red hunting clothes and hats.

John Hale, a citizen of Middleburg says many city people visit his town." We have a lot of people from an urban area that come to visit, but it incorporates a lot of the old traditions." The night-time hayride is one such tradition. Small groups gather under the moonlight on an open wagon (四轮马车) filled with hay (干草). The passengers sing as farm horses pull the wagon slowly across the fields.

There are some newer traditions, too. Trey Matheu works at the nearby Salamander Resort. He says a visit to Middleburg is a chance to slow down for a day. He says Middleburg can be a calming, peaceful place without tension.

"Middleburg is an opportunity to take a step back, to take a deep breath, and understand that even though life is moving on at a very fast pace, there's really an opportunity where you're allowed to step off for a little bit."

Parade organizers say more than 13, 000 people attend even in below freezing weather. But if you ask, you will hear many different reasons why people come to watch the parade:

"I come here because I'm from a small town. I like how everybody comes together."

"I live right down that street, right there. And that's my dog."

Middleburg looks its best at Christmastime. That may be why so many people return each year.