Across Britain, burnt toast will be served to mothers in bed  this morning as older sons and daughters to deliver their supermarket bunches of flowers, But, according to a new study, we should be placing a higher value on motherhood all year.

    Mothers have long known that their home worked was just heavy as paid work. Now, the new study has shown that if they were paid for their parental labors, they would earn as much as￡172,000 a year.

    The study looked at the range of jobs mothers do, as well as the hours they are working, to determine the figure. This would make their yearly income ￡30, 000 more than the Prime Minister earns.

    By analyzing the numbers, it found the average mother works 119 hours a week,40 of which would usually be paid at a standard rate 79 hours as overtime. After questioning 1,000 mothers with children under 18,it found that ,on most days, mums started their routine work at 7am and finished at around 11pm.

    To calculate just how much mothers would earn from that labor, it suggested some of the roles that mums could take on, including housekeeper, part-time lawyer, personal trainer and entertainer. Being a part-time lawyer, at ￡48.98 an hour, would prove to be the most profitable of the “mum jibs”, with psychologist（心理学家）a close second.

    It also asked mothers about the challenges they face, with 80 percent making emotional（情感的）emand as the hardest thing about motherhood.

Over a third of mums felt they needed more training and around half said they missed going out with friends.

    The study shoes mothers matter all year long and not just on, Mother's Day. The emotional, physical and mental energy mothers devote to their children can be never-ending, but children are also sources of great joy and happiness. Investing（投入）in time for parenting and raising relationships is money well spent.

    A layover（临时滞留）or flight delay can be extremely fun in these international airports.

Munich Airport, Germany

    Aviation（航空）lovers passing through Munich can take a behind-the-scenes tour to learn how the airport operates. Visitors can also tour three historic aircraft and a retired rescue helicopter, climb up to a 28-metre high observation platform for an up-close view of take-offs and landings, and watch films on aviation in the airport's 60-seat cinema. Travelers can also kill layover time at an 18-hole mini-golf course, or even stop in for a teeth cleaning at the airport dental office.

    Changi Airport, Singapore

    After a long flight to Singapore, travelers can relax in a Balinese-style swimming pool, work out at the airport gym, or enjoy a drink and live musical performances at the airport's Music Bar. The airport also boasts a tranquil butterfly garden, and a “fragrant garden” which is home to 15 species of plants and trees. Free movies at one of two airport cinemas also keep passengers entertained.

    Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, the Netherlands

    Schiphol is Europe's fifth-largest airport. Here passengers can view the works of Dutch masters free of charge, and try their luck at airport's casino（赌场）. You can even have your wedding ceremony at Schiphol—couples can choose from four different wedding packages, including a 1930-style ceremony held on a Dakota military aircraft.

    San Francisco International Airport, California

    The airport's 24–hour AirTrain not only moves passengers between terminal, but also provides a fun view of the runways. There are three aquariums（水族馆）to explore, along with interactive play area, an aviation museum, and a library. If that's not enough to keep the little ones busy, travelers can rent portable DVD players and movies for use in the airport.

    Field Trip Day

    On Friday, May 16, our class will take a field trip to North Park Zoo. The zoo has lions, elephants, and other interesting animals. Many of the animals we have been studying will be there for us to closely examine.

    Our class will be divided into six teams. Each team will have five students and one leader. The leaders are listed in the table.

    What You Need to Know

    The cost is $1.00 for students to enter the zoo. We will leave the school at 9:00 a.m. and return at 2:30 p.m.

    On the morning of the trip, the students will be divided into teams. One student from each team will receive a camera. The cameraman will take pictures of the team, the animals, and other fun sights at the zoo.

    All members should wear blue shirts. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes because we will be walking all day. Please bring a bag lunch and a drink. We will have a picnic at the park inside the zoo. Bring a healthy snack, such as a piece of fruit and a drink, for later in the day.

    When we are at the zoo, always remain with your team. Do not leave the team without asking permission from the team leader.

    Feeding the Animals

    The ONLY animals that students are allowed to feed are those in the children's Zoo. Special food can be bought at the zoo for 25 cents and given to these animals. Do not feed your lunch to them. It is not food for the animals.

    You may hear about some people who have walked on the moon. Of the outstanding astronauts listed below, who do you think was the most influential in human's history?

Pete Conrad (Apollo 12)

    Because of his dyslexia（阅读障碍）, Pete always failed in his study and had to leave school. Then his father sent him to Darrow School, where he performed so well that he won a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship. He took the NASA's test, but his dyslexia ruined the opportunity.

    It was because of Alan Shepard's persuasion that Pete decided to apply again for NASA. He was chosen as the commander of Apollo 12. He landed on the moon on Nov 19, 1969 and spent 31 hours there.

Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11)

    Armstrong's biggest moment came in 1969, when he was chosen for NASA's first manned lunar mission (登月任务), along with Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins. On July 21, 1969, he set foot on the surface of the moon. which made him the first human to do so. He stayed on the moon for 21 hours. After returning, Armstrong became an international star and was honored worldwide.

John Young (Apollo 16)

    Young was made the commander of Apollo 16, which landed on the moon on April 16, 1972. He spent two days and 23 hours on the moon. Young retired from NASA after serving for around 42 years, which made him the man ever to work for NASA for the longest time.

Edgar Mitchell(Apollo 14)

    Edgar was selected by NASA in 1966, and was later made the lunar pilot of Apollo 14. He followed his commander Alan Shepard onto the moon, staying there for 1 day and 9 hours. Edgar has expressed his firm belief that UFOS belong to other planets. He also firmly believes that American government is in possession of some “recovered alien bodies.”

    Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been dull. E-books, however, are causing heartache. Libraries know they need digital wares, but many publishers are too cautious about piracy (盗版）and lost sales to co-operate. Among the big six, only Random House and Harper Collins license e-books with most libraries.

    Publishers are wise to be nervous. Owners of e-readers (电子阅读器）are exactly the customers they need: book-lovers with money. If these people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then? Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient. Unlike printed books, which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live, book files can be downloaded at home. The files disappear from the device when they are due.

    E-lending is not simple, however. There are lots of different and often incompatible (不兼容的)e-book formats, devices and licenses. Most libraries use a company called OverDrive，which secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format. Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive's global market dominance, as the company can control fees and conditions. Publishers were annoyed when OverDrive cooperated with Amazon, the world's biggest online bookseller，last year. Owners of Amazon's Kindle e-reader who want to borrow e-books from libraries are now redirected to Amazon's website, where they must use their Amazon account to secure a loan.

    According to Pew, an opinion researcher, library users are a perfect for market for Amazon. Late last year Amazon introduced its Kindle Owners' Lending Library, which lets its best customers borrow free one of thousands of popular books each month.

    Library supporters argue that book borrowers arc also book buyers and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work. Many were cheered by a recent Pew survey, which found that more than half of Americans with library cards say they prefer to buy their e-books.

    So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in search of the right balance.

    Random House raised its licensing prices earlier this year, and Harper Collins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times.

    It was a cold winter. The wind blew all night and the snow was blinding. When morning came, my three children and I got up and made our way to the windows. As we looked out of the window, we saw that the henhouse was gone. Our three hens had been blown away by the cold wind.

    I looked at the emptiness outside. Then I saw all three chickens sitting around the edge of a white bucket. I couldn't believe my eyes! How was this violent wind not blowing them into the field beyond？I quickly pulled on long snow pants and heavy winter coat, wrapped a scarf around my neck and stuck my feet into large boots.

    I shouted at the wind as it blew. I was alone, struggling in the snow. They stared out the window into the vast white sea of snow, peering at any sign of movement. Outside I heard the sound of my boots as I walked against the wind.

    As the snow circled around me, I steadily made my way to the soft cluck-cluck-cluck sound my hens always made. When I reached them, I saw that their little feet were holding on to the edge of the bucket, heads bent forward and away from the wind. I gently lifted each hen and put it carefully into the warm inside. Then I began the freezing walk back to the small shed directly behind our house. One by one I laid my chickens on the cold floor, and they began to cluck softly.

    As I shut the shed doors, my eyes went directly to the window where my children were watching. They jumped up and down cheering, and so did I! I wasn't some dragon slayer(屠龙者) from a fairy tale. I was simply a mom, but the look on my children's faces told me that they thought I was a hero mom.