When the Normans built their first simple wooden castles in England，they built them on the top of small hills.The first permanent castles were made of stone and built with thick walls.The main building was usually surrounded by walls which overlooked the moat (护城河)．

     The entrance to the castle was usually over a drawbridge (吊桥) leading to the main gatehouse.The drawbridge could be raised or lowered and an iron grille (栅栏) could be lowered to shut off the entrance to the gatehouse.

     As time went on，the castle builders became more advanced in their techniques.Instead of building a strong central building and surrounding it with walls of lesser strength，they thought out the idea of surrounding a central area with huge walls which could contain all the main rooms of the castle.These walls usually had many towers and these towers were really a series of main buildings along the castle walls.In building these castles they used hill sites whenever possible in order to give the castle a better position.Because the outside world was shut off by a barrier or curtain of defences，they are called “curtain wall” castles.

     With the passing of time there was less need to build strong castles and nobles built manor (庄园) houses.These manor houses often had battlements and iron grilles，but they were built more for comfort and included many of the conveniences and luxuries of the large houses which were being built in the towns.

     Unfortunately，many English castles were damaged or destroyed completely during the Civil Wars of the 1600s.

    A company in San Francisco, California, has found a way to turn used plastic bottles into women's shoes.

    Every day, millions of Americans drink water and other liquids from plastic bottles. More than 60 million of them are thrown away each day. Many of the plastic bottles end up in landfills or are burned with other waste products.

    A San Francisco start-up company called Rothy's, however, turns this plastic waste into environmentally friendly shoes. Roth Martin is the company's co-founder. He explains how they turn plastic into soft material for women's feet. They take the plastic, clean it, and break it down into small pieces. Then they press them through a device that makes soft fibers. Those fibers are then combined together. This is done by a 3D machine. It is designed to reduce waste while making the shoes. The knitted stuff and the inner part of the shoe are then attached to the shoe's outer part, called the sole (鞋底). This outer sole is also made from environmentally friendly material: responsibly sourced no-carbon rubber.

    Rothy's shoes are sold online. They are flat shoes, with either a rounded or pointed toe. They come in different colors and designs. They cost either $ 125 or $ 145 per pair, depending on the design. After American actress Gwyneth Paltrow discovered them last year, the demand for the shoes grew. Martin says there is no shortage of material to fill that demand. “We're not going to run out of water bottles any time soon. So we have a limitless supply of material, and I think that is a good sign for our future.” When the environmentally friendly shoes wear out, customers can return them at no cost to a company that uses the recycled materials to make other products.

    For now, the shoes are only available to be shipped in the United States. However, the company says it will add international shipping in the near future.

    Julian Beever is a well-known British artist. His drawings have appeared on the streets of London, Paris, Tokyo, New York and many other cities around the world. Beever creates what looks like a three-dimensional design (三维设计). From animals to heroes to buildings, the paintings are wonders for our eyes to see.

    In his book Pavement Chalk Artist, Beever shares some of his most attractive and humorous pieces. Here are the examples you will find in the book.

    Philadelphia Eagle, created in the USA, is a huge drawing with an eagle (鹰) landing on an American national flag. Meeting Mr. Frog was created in Spain and is about a realistic- looking (样子逼真的) frog sitting on a lily pad (睡莲叶子). Swimming Pool in the High Street is about a woman relaxing in a swimming pool sinking into the middle of the street.

    Along with an introduction about his background, Beever shares information about his time at home in the UK and abroad. With a fun story coming after each piece of art, this 112- page book is really worth another look.

    Mariah, 35, was a single mother. She had four kids under the age 9, and was hardly keeping up payments on her small two-bedroom home by working extra weekend hours as a waitress. There were times when she lay in bed and cried. She didn't know how she could pay that bill. But she knew she must find a way to change her life.

    She knew how hard it was to mop(拖)the floor. “I was tired of bending down, putting my hands in dirty water and wringing (拧)out a mop,” Mariah says. “So, I got a better way.” How about a “self-wringing” mop? She designed a special tool. You could twist in two directions and still keep your hands clean and dry.

    She set out to sell her mops, but the mops didn't sell well at the market. Then Mariah met with the media. But would people buy a mop by reading an advertisement? They gave it a try, and it failed. Mariah was sure it would sell well if they let her do the on-camera show. “Get me on that stage, and I will sell this mop because it's a great thing,” said Mariah. So QVC let her have a try. “I got on the stage and the phones went crazy. We sold every mop in minutes.”

    Today Mariah is the president of Ingenious designs, a multimillion-dollar company, and one of the stars of HSN, the Home Shopping Network. Talking about her household inventions is as natural for her it is for parents to talk about their child.

    Today one of her favorite products is Huggable Hangers(衣架). The thin, space-saving tool are the most successful goods ever sold on HSN, with 100 million hanging out in closets across the country.

    In recent years, a growing body of research has shown that our appetite and food intake are influenced by a large number of factors besides our biological need for energy, including our eating environment and our perception（感知）of the food in front of us.

    Studies have shown, for instance, that eating in front of the TV (or a similar distraction) can increase both hunger and the amount of food consumed. Even simple visual clues, like plate size and lighting, have been shown to affect portion size and consumption.

    A new study suggested that our short-term memory also may play a role in appetite. Several hours after a meal, people's hunger levels were predicted not by how much they'd eaten but rather by how much food they'd seen in front of them—in other words, how much they remembered eating.

    This disparity (新旧研究的差异）suggests the memory of our previous meal may have a bigger influence on our appetite than the actual size of the meal, says Jeffrey M. Brunstrom, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Bristol.

    "Hunger isn't controlled individually by the physical characteristics of a recent meal. We have identified an independent role for memory for that meal," Brunstrom says. "This shows that the relationship between hunger and food intake is more complex than we thought."

    These findings echo earlier research that suggests our perception of food can sometimes trick our body's response to the food itself. In a 2011 study, for instance, people who drank the same 380-calorie milkshake on two separate occasions produced different levels of hunger-related hormones （荷尔蒙），depending on whether the shake's label said it contained 620 or 140 calories. Moreover, the participants reported feeling more full when they thought they'd consumed a higher-calorie shake.

    What does this mean for our eating habits? Although it hardly seems practical to trick ourselves into eating less, the new findings do highlight the benefits of focusing on our food and avoiding TV and multitasking while eating.

    The so-called mindful-eating strategies can fight distractions and help us control our appetite, Brunstrom says.

    Eight years ago, Special Olympics Georgia Forsyth County was introduced to Britt Hall. Britt Hall is a Special Olympics Georgia athlete. "The first sport I started competing in with Special Olympics Georgia was softball. I was with the Forsyth Golden Gloves, and we were a pretty good team," said Britt as he looked back upon his first state game.

Since then, the athlete has competed in much more than softball. Britt has gone on to compete in bocce, basketball, athletics, table tennis, volleyball and flag football during his Special Olympics Georgia career (职业生涯). And he performed well in these games. "Athletics has always been one of his favorite sports to compete in," said Britt's father. "He likes the different competitions within athletics, especially the races (赛跑). "

    "I like athletics, but I am excited for flag football this year. We are going to play just as well as the Falcons," Britt said. This year, Britt and his teammates will be returning to Emory University as the Special Olympics Georgia Forsyth County Mean Machine, one of the two flag football teams from Special Olympics Georgia Forsyth County. Despite the word "mean" being in their name, Britt says that their aim is not to be mean to their competitors. "We want to win the gold, but we want to be nice to the other teams and encourage them. They are our friends and have worked just as hard as we have for the state competitions," Britt explained.

    While athletes are encouraged to try their very best and go for the gold, Special Olympics Georgia centers on sportsmanship and friendship during competitions. Britt has always been a good team player, but he is also very competitive. Special Olympics Georgia has helped him gain confidence as an athlete, which shows him how to cheer on his teammates and the opposing athletes.

    "I've learned a lot from being in Special Olympics Georgia. I think there is a lesson for everyone who competes," said Britt.