No one is sure how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids near Cairo. But a new study suggests they used a little rock‘n'roll. Long-ago builders could have attached wooden pole s to the stones and rolled then across the sand, the scientists say.

     “Technically, I think what they're proposing is possible,” physicist Daniel Bonn said.

    People have long puzzled over how the Egyptians moved such huge rocks. And there's no obvious answer. On average, each of the two million big stones weighed about as much as a large pickup truck. The Egyptians somehow moved the stone blocks to the pyramid site from about one kilometer away.

    The most popular view is that Egyptian workers slid the blocks along smooth paths. Many scientists suspect workers first would have put the blocks on sleds(滑板). Then they would have dragged them along paths. To make the work easier, workers may have lubricated the paths either with wet clay or with the fat from cattle. Bonn has now tested this idea by building small sleds and dragging heavy objects over sand.

    Evidence from the sand supports this idea. Researchers found small amounts of fat, as well as a large amount of stone and the remains of paths.

    However, physicist Joseph West thinks there might have been a simpler way , who led the new study . West said , “I was inspired while watching a television program showing how sleds might have helped with pyramid construction . I thought , ‘Why don't they just try rolling the things?'“A square could be turned into a rough sort of wheel by attaching wooden poles to its sides , he realized . That , he notes , should make a block of stone” a lot easier to roll than a square”.

    So he tried it.

    He and his students tied some poles to each of four sides of a 30-kilogram stone block. That action turned the block into somewhat a wheel. Then they placed the block on the ground.

    They wrapped one end of a rope around the block and pulled. The researchers found they could easily roll the block along different kinds of paths. They calculated that rolling the block required about as much force as moving it along a slippery(滑的)path.

    West hasn't tested his idea on larger blocks, but he thinks rolling has clear advantages over sliding. At least, workers wouldn't have needed to carry cattle fat or water to smooth the paths.

    Throughout the country there are festivals and special events celebrating winter at its fullest, including hockey and dog sled races, skating events and whatever season-inspired activity draws in the crowds.

    Rossland Winter Carnival late January

    Rossland, British Columbia (BC)

    Recognized as canada's longest-running winter carnival (狂欢), the Rossland Winter Carnival has been a popular event for over 116 years. Popular parts of this event include snow volleyball, a parade, and a kid's carnival.

Ice On Whyte Festival early January to early February

Edmonton, Alberta (AB)

    A popular event for more than decade,the Ice on Whyte Festival in Edmonton, is one of the top 10 events and festivals in Edmonton, Alberta. The festival features a wealth of ice carvings and creations along with 10 days of festival fun-from a giant ice slide, games, and ice carving lessons to live music, fashion, food, and culturally themed days and even a marketplace.

Fete des Neiges de Montreal mid January to early February

Montreal, Quebec (QC)

    Celebrating more than 30 years as a popular winter event, it offers all sorts of fun involving everything from snow to ice on three nonstop weekends at the beginning of the year. Highlights include 15 snow slopes for breathtaking tube sliding, dog sledding, and even addictive dancing at the disco-themed La Bouletheque.

    Winterpride end January to early Februar Whistler,

    British Columbia (BC)

    The 26th Whistler Pride will be filled with celebration of annual events with adventurous winter activities including ski and snowboard touring, snowmobile trips, and snowshoe adventures, dog-sledding through the Callahan Valley,and back-country ventures, as well as featuring nightlife highlights of drag shows, as well as wine-tastings, fine dining and even comedy shows.

Five years ago, when I taught art at a school in Seattle, I used Tinkertoys as a test at the beginning of a term to find out something about my students. I put a small set of Tinkertoys in front of each student, and said: "Make something out of the Tinkertoys. You have 45 minutes today - and 45minutes each day for the rest of the week."

    A few students hesitated to start. They waited to see the rest of the class would do. Several others checked the instructions and made something according to one of the model plans provided. Another group built something out of their own imaginations.

    Once I had a boy who worked experimentally with Tinkertoys in his free time. His constructions filled a shelf in the art classroom and a good part of his bedroom at home. I was delighted at the presence of such a student. Here was an exceptionally creative mind at work. His presence meant that I had an unexpected teaching assistant in class whose creativity would infect（感染）other students.

Encouraging this kind of thinking has a downside. I ran the risk of losing those students who had a different style of thinking. Without fail one would declare, "But I'm just not creative."

"Do you dream at night when you're asleep?"

"Oh, sure."

"So tell me one of your most interesting dreams." The student would tell something wildly imaginative. Flying in the sky or in a time machine or growing three heads. "That's pretty creative. Who does that for you? "

"Nobody. I do it."

"Really-at night, when you're asleep?"

"Sure."

"Try doing it in the daytime, in class, okay?"

    Modern festival-goers who worry about ending up with a dead mobile phone battery after days stuck in a muddy field with no electric plug power points may now have a solution—power boots.

    Mobile phone company European Telco Orange has introduced a phone charging prototype(原型)— a set of thermoelectric gumboots or Wellington boots with a “power generating sole” that changes heat from the wearer's feet into electrical power to charge battery-powered hand-helds.

    The boot was designed by Dave Pain, managing director at GotWind, a renewable energy company. Pain said the boot uses the Seebeck effect, in which a circuit made of two dissimilar metals conducts electricity if the two places where they connect are held at different temperatures. “In the sole（鞋底）of the Wellington boot there's a thermocouple and if you apply heat to one side of the thermocouple and cold to the other side it produces an electrical charge,” Pain said. “That electrical charge we then pass through to a battery which you'll find in the heel of the boot for storage of the electrical power for later use to charge your mobile phone.” These thermocouples are connected electrically, forming an array of multiple thermocouples (thermopile). They are then sandwiched between two thin ceramic wafers(薄片). When the heat from the foot is applied on the top side of the ceramic wafer and cold is applied on the opposite side, from the cold of the ground, electricity is made.

    But the prototype boot does have one shortcoming. You have to walk for 12 hours in the boots to make one hour's worth of charge.

    I ran into quite a few language problems while travelling with my family last summer. The most embarrassing(尴尬的) was when my Mom apologized(道歉) to the people we were staying with because her “pants were dirty”. They looked at her in amazement, not knowing how to react. You see, Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans. But in Britain, “pants” means underpants or knickers, not trousers as it does back home.

    Katie-From America

    I went to stay with a friend on the west coast last summer. Her flat was on the first floor of a high-rise building so I got the lift up. Then I wandered round for ages looking for her flat but couldn't find it. Fed up and tired, I finally had to go out to find a phone box. She explained that her flat was on the first floor, which for me meant the ground floor.

    David-From Britain

    When I asked for the “restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing me to a room with seats where I could sit and “rest”. It took me years to get through to someone that I only wanted the toilet!

    Tom-From America

    Last summer we went on a two-week family touring holiday, so Dad hired a car over the Internet. This was an old vehicle (汽车) and there turned out to be lots of things wrong with it. When he phoned the hire company and tried to explain that the lock on the boot was broken, they thought he was talking about footwear! He had no idea their word for “boot” was “trunk”. In the end we went to a garage and just solved the problem.

    Mary-From Britain

    Living abroad to study can certainly be an interesting experience but is that alone a good enough reason for spending years far away from home? To make the experience truly worthwhile, there has to be a goal behind the decision to study abroad. This may be a wish to perfect language skills in a foreign language environment, or a clever move in your career development. You must also consider the costs, not just of living and studying abroad, but of applying. Most universities now charge application fees for international students.

    If after considering these points you are sure that you want to apply to study abroad, your next step is to choose the right programme of studies. Research your choices and select carefully. You must do your homework well. Most universities have information online but you can also email and ask them to send you more details. You can find a lot of information on school ranking from education websites. But read carefully. Different universities emphasize different strengths. Don't just think about the university's reputation; look for the most suitable for your goals.

    Next, you must deal with a large pile of paperwork. This involves filling in application forms, preparing your school records, and getting reference letters. Reading the instructions and requirements of the universities carefully is of great importance. Sadly, many fine applicants get kicked out in the first round, simply because they don't follow the application procedure properly.

    Money is another important consideration. Some scholarships are provided by governments, others by schools and colleges. This information, again, can be found on the Internet. If you find a scholarship that is suitable for you, follow the application procedure carefully; the earlier you apply, the better your chance of getting it.