One of my first memories as a child in the 1950s was a discussion I had with my brother in our tiny bedroom in the family house in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

    We had heard in school about a planet called Pluto. It was the farthest, coldest, and darkest thing a child could imagine. We guessed how long it would take to die if we stood on the surface of such a frozen place wearing only the clothes we had on. We tried to figure out how much colder Pluto was than Antarctica, or than the coldest day we had ever experienced in Pennsylvania.

    Pluto, which famously was downgraded from a “major planet” to a “dwarf planet”（矮星） in 2006, captured our imagination because it was a mystery that could complete our picture of what it was like at the most remote corners of our solar system.

    Pluto's underdog discovery story is part of what makes it so attractive. Clyde Tombaugh was a Kansas farm boy who built telescopes out of spare auto parts, old farm equipment and self-ground lenses. As an assistant at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, Tombaugh's task was to search millions of stars for a moving point of light, a planet that the observatory's founder thought existed beyond the orbit of Neptune. On February 18，1930，Tombaugh found it. Pluto was the first planet discovered by an American, and represented a moment of light in the midst of the Great Depression's dark encroachment (入侵).

    Pluto is much more than something that is not a planet. It's a reminder that there are many worlds out there beyond our own and that the sky isn't the limit at all. We don't know what kinds of fantastic variations on a theme nature is capable of making until we get there to look.

    I returned home the other night, tired. My husband asked me how my evening was, “Great.” I told him. I had spent 90 minutes in a gym with 10 Ping-Pong tables and all kinds of players, all playing a little ball over the net. By 9 pm, I was excited, tired, satisfied. I had beaten two young men half my age and lost battles against other competitors. To an observer, the night was common. To me, it was a lucky thing that I hadn't expected.

    I had taken up Ping-Pong during college, and in my 30s took more advanced lessons. However, a serious accident hurt my leg, which made me unable to take exercise. Months later, I tried to play Ping-Pong but my leg pained for a week. I put the game out of my mind.

When I was 53, one day my bad leg was working a little bit better. Could Ping-Pong be possible for me, now—in my condition, at my age? I tried to play Ping-Pong again

    Ping-Pong is a sport which requires endurance(耐力). Players need quick foot work and upper body movements to return balls, requiring faster response time than tennis.

    Playing Ping-Pong offers benefits for the brain. A study of 164 women aged 60 and older showed that Ping-Pong improved cognitive(认知)function more than dancing, walking or gymnastics. “The great thing about our sport is that it can be played by anyone,” said Jimmy Butler, a four-time national USA Table Tennis Association winner. “I see 90-year-olds and 10-year-olds.”

    Years passed and my endurance improved. People started to praise my shots. I won a game. Then I won agin. These days, I feel wonderful, I believe this sport is the fountain (源泉)of youth.

    The following notice is posted in the bus station.

    Time Table:

    Buses leave the Railway Station, New York City, from 7:00 am and every half-hour there after, until 11:30 pm (7 days a week)

    Buses leave Brennan Station 20 minutes before and after every hour from 6:20 am to 11:40 pm (7 days a week)

    Evening rush hours (5:00 pm to 7:00 pm): Buses leave the Railway Station, New York City every minutes. (Monday- Friday)

    Holidays Buses leave every hour on the hour, each direction. (Trip time: 30 minutes each way)

    All tickets must be bought at Window 12, the Railway Station, New York City, or at the Brennan Station Window BEFORE boarding buses.

    We're Hiring Shift Workers for Our Production Plant

    Looking for a career with a company that values its employees, and promotes them from within? Then Black Cat Blades is the company for you!

    Cutting Operators

    CNC Operators

    Heat Treat Operators

    Full training provided, starting at $14.50 per hour, with the potential to move to $18.16 in one year.

    We also require a Skilled Welder(焊接工), to work 12-hour rotating shifts (轮班) in our cutting department. The successful candidate must be a registered journeyman(熟练工) within the Province of Alberta or with a Red Seal.

    We offer a great benefit package, including health and RRSPs. Desirable welfare: Profit Sharing, Pay for Years of Service, Fitness Program Allowance, and fun social events for you and your family.

    Apply in person, and we'll take you on a tour of our production equipment or forward your personal information by fax or e-mail.

    Black Cat Blades Ltd

    HR@ blackcatblades. com

    5604-59 St., Edmonton, AB T6B 3C3

    Fax: (780)465-9595

    Hungary's capital sparkles(闪耀)in winter and it's a great place to see in the New Year. There's festive cheer on tap, with concerts, folk dancing and stalls selling wine or fruit brandy and traditional chimney cake outsides. New Year's Eve is celebrated with fireworks over the Danube(多瑙河), and it's worth booking one of the many river cruises(巡游)with dinner and DJs (free and open 24/7, but likely to be crowded).

    A four-night trip with Travel Republic costs £449 for a family (2 adults with 1 child under 6), departing Stansted on 28 December with Ryanair, with B&B accommodation at the central Atrium Budapest Hotel.

    For a slightly more cerebral(理智的)New Year's Eve, Stockholm is a smart choice. The main celebration is at Skansen, Sweden's oldest open-air museum. Enterainment starts at 8 p.m. with singing and dancing, and peaks with a recitation of the poem Ring Out. Evening tickets are £14 for adults (children under 6 go free), or there are new day and evening combination tickets (£16 adult/£5 child). On New Year's Day, early birds can try an introduction to ice skating (8 a.m. daily, £139).

    Book it Ryanair, Norwegian and SAS fly to Stockholm from several UK airports.

    The land of fire and ice lives up to its name on New Year's Eve, when about 90 bonfires(篝火)are lit across the country. Some bonfires are accompanied by Icelandic singing; most start about 8 p.m. and finish by 10 p.m., which can be a good time to see the northern lights. After the fires, everyone goes home to watch Áramótaskaup, a TV show that has been running on 31 December since 1966. But that doesn't mean the party is over just before midnight, they all come back out to let off an astonishing amount of fireworks, with profits going to Icelandic Search and Rescue Association, which does life-saving work, and is run by volunteers and is a cause close to most Icelanders' hearts.

    Book it Wow Air and Wizz Air, easyJet and Icelandair fly to Reykjavik from several UK cities.

    Banff National Park is Canada's first national park. In 1883, on the Canadian Rocky Mountains, three railway workers discovered a natural hot spring, and from there the park was born. Nowadays, it is one of the world's popular tourist spots with great mountain scenery. Every year, millions of people visit it for its wonderful views.

Banff National Park is part of UNESCO's Canadian Rocky Mountain World Heritage site. Located in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, the park has perfect mountains like those on postcards. They are from 45 to 120 million years old, with the highest in the park, Mount Forbes, coming in at 11,850 feet.

    Banff National Park is 80 miles west of Calgary. Calgary's international airport is serviced by major national and international carriers with many flights arriving daily. Open year­round, it offers amazing wildlife viewing and sightseeing, plus many shopping and dining choices, any time of the year. Summer is popular for hiking, mountain biking and cycling, photography, and climbing. The best time for viewing the seasonal color is fall, when the trees turn yellow.

    In winter, the mountain makes exciting downhill (速降) and cross­country skiing. In fact, three major downhill ski resorts (度假胜地) operate within the park. Lake Louise Ski Resort, Sunshine Village, and Mount Norquay combine to offer a large area for skiing, not to mention the backcountry trails available throughout the park. The ski season, which runs from November to May, is one of the longest in North America. Visitors can also enjoy wildlife tours, ice walks, and dogsleds (雪橇).

    Weather in the Canadian Rockies can change quickly. A single day can have a mix of sunshine, snow, wind, and rain, so you should change your clothes. In summer, temperatures average a high of 70 (21 ℃), and daylight lasts until 11 p. m. Autumn brings cool nights and fresh air. Winters can be very cold. In January, the average temperature is 7 ℃ below zero, but by April it is 9 ℃.