A long time ago people thought that the sun went round the earth. In some countries people even said that the sun was a god(神). They thought the god drove across the sky each day on a golden horse. Now we know the earth goes round the sun. It takes the earth a year to go a circle(圈) round the sun. Today men even know how far it is for the earth to go round the sun. They tell us that the earth travels over a thousand miles a minute on its journey round the sun.

    The sun is really a star. It is much bigger than the earth and it is very hot. Some people have been to the moon but we know that no one can ever go to the sun. It is far too hot for people to live anywhere near it. The sun is three hundred thousand times heavier than the earth and more than million times larger.

    “There's a mother in PICU(儿童重症监护病房)who wants to talk about a kit she received,” the nurse told me. “Something about it made her cry.”

    I've been a child-1ife specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital since 2000. I help families understand diagnoses and treatment plans and manage the ups and downs that come with caring for a sick child. Tough talks with parents are part of the job, which still makes me feel nervous.

    The kits the nurse was talking about were something I had recently introduced to the hospital: Comfort Kits from Guideposts. They were supposed to make a child's experience here easier, not upsetting.

    When I came across the kits at a conference. I fell in love with them. A treasure box of items designed not only to entertain kids, but to comfort and inspire them. There's a coloring book, a stress ball, a CD of relaxing music, a hairy star named Sparkle, a journal and much more. I really believed these kits would help kids. I wished I hadn't been mistaken.

    At the patient's room in PICU I saw a little girl, sleeping soundly, surrounded by tubes and machines. My eyes met her mother's. The kit was open on her lap and tears were running down her cheeks.

    “I'm Shannon. I manage the Child Life Department.” I said. “I'm sorry if the kit upset you .It's a new item…”

    The mother shook her head. “This has been one of the worst days of my life .I felt so scared and alone. Then I was handed this box. I know it's for my daughter, but it's just the comfort I needed. I wanted to say thank you.”

    With that I knew Comfort Kits belonged here. We've been using them for almost three years now. Each child who's admitted to the hospital receives one. Every day I see kids coloring, journaling, playing with Sparkle.

    But as this mom showed me Comfort Kits aren't just for kids. The hope they bring, which can be in short supply in hospitals sometimes, is felt by the whole family.

    People have been acting like people-in other words, they've been making tools, creating ceremonies, and sharing food—for a long time. That's the conclusion of a recent study from South Africa's southern coast.

    There, in a cave lying above the sea, researchers from Arizona State University have found evidence that humans were behaving in surprisingly complex ways as early as 164,000 years ago. Our species. Homo sapiens, appeared an estimated 200,000 years ago.

    The cave held three important evidences about the behavior of these Stone Age people.

    First, the researchers found the remains of all kinds of shellfish. The people who lived in the cave probably collected these creatures from rocky shores and tide pools and brought them to the cave to eat.

    The researchers consider the early Africans move to the South African coast between 195,000 and 130,000 years ago. Around that time, the climate inland turned relatively cold and dry. Therefore, there were fewer plants and animals to eat away from the coast.

    When these ancient people moved to the coast, they probably experienced a major cultural shift, the researchers suspect. That's because observations of modem hunter-gatherer societies suggest that men are more likely to hunt for big animals when people live inland. On the coast, women play a more important role in providing food by gathering plants and shellfish.

    As for the second clue, the researchers unearthed 57 pieces of reddish pigment (颜料). The researchers think that the cave habitants used the paint for coloring their bodies or for other ceremonies. Symbolic behavior is a clearly human feature.

    Finally, the search discovered over 1,800 stone tools, including well crafted blades (刀片). These blades came in various sizes. The smallest were just less than a half inch wide. Ancient people may have attached these blades to the end of a stick to make spears or other tools.

Amsterdam Destination Guide

    Amsterdam is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, famous for its beautiful canals, top art museums, cycling culture and so on. It is the capital and most populous city in the Netherlands and often referred to as the “Venice of the North” because of its expansive system of bridges and canals. Here are some of the key points to remember as you plan your trip to Amsterdam.

    Must-See Attractions

    Most visitors begin their Amsterdam adventure in the Old Centre, which is full of traditional architecture, shopping centers, and coffee shops. You'll also want to check out Amsterdam's Museum Quarter in the South District, which is great for shopping at the Albert Cuyp Market and having a picnic in the Vondel park. The top museums to visit there are the Rijks musuem, the Ann Frank House, and the Van Gogh Museum.

    If You Have Time

    There are several other unique districts in Amsterdam, and you should try to explore as many of them as time allows. The Canal Ring is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was originally built to attract wealthy home owners and is a center for celebrity spotting and nightlife today. The Plantage area has most of the city's museums, including the Jewish Historical Museum, the Scheepvaart Museum, and the botanical gardens.

    Money Saving Tips

    Unless you really want to see the tulips (郁金香) blooming, avoid booking between mid-March and mid-May. This is when hotel and flight prices rise.

    Look for accommodations in Amsterdam's South District, where rates are generally cheaper than in the city center.

    Buy train tickets at the machine instead of the counter to save a bit of money.

    Instead of hiring a tour guide, hop on a canal boat. They're inexpensive and will give you a special point of view of the city.

    Check out our homepage to view price comparisons for flights, hotels, and rental cars before you book.

    As an old saying in China goes, "The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days." "Sanjiu period", which is in Minor Cold, refers to the third nine-day period (the 19th to the 27th day) after the day of the Winter Solstice (冬至). There are many different customs related to Minor Cold in China.

    Eating hotpot

    During Minor Cold people should eat some hot food to benefit the body and defend against the cold weather. Winter is the best time to have hotpot and braised mutton with soy sauce. But it is important to notice that too much spicy food may cause health problems.

    Eating huangyacai

    In Tianjin, there is a custom to have huangyacai, a kind of Chinese cabbage, during Minor Cold. There are large amounts of vitamins A and B in huangyacai. As huangyacai is fresh and tender, it is fit for frying, roasting and braising.

    Eating glutinous rice (糯米饭)

    According to tradition, the Cantonese eat glutinous rice in the morning during Minor Cold. Cantonese people add some fried preserved pork, sausages and peanuts and mix them into the rice.

    Eating vegetable rice

    In ancient times, people in Nanjing took Minor Cold quite seriously, but as time went by, the celebration of Minor Cold gradually disappeared. However, the custom of eating vegetable rice is still followed today. The rice is steamed and is unspeakably delicious. Among the ingredients (原料), aijiaohuang (a kind of green vegetable), sausages and salted duck are the specialties in Nanjing.

    The San Francisco Giants added a special pitcher(投球手)for the day. It was small—yet fierce—Hailey Dawson, who has a 3D-printed hand.

    The energetic 8-year-old from Nevada was invited to throw out the first pitch at the Giants game on Sunday. Dawson was born with Poland syndrome(综合症), a disorder in which affected individuals are born with missing or underdeveloped muscles on one side of the body. It affected her hand.

    With a traditional prosthetic(假肢)potentially costing thousands of dollars, Hailey's mom, Yong Dawson turned to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for help. She emailed UNLV engineering, and they accepted the challenge. Brendan O'Toole, chairman of the mechanical engineering department, said he and his team had got a lot of requests, "but this one was different." They got to work using a 3D-printer.Several prototypes(原型)and fittings later, Dawson got her first hand about four years ago.

    Hailey's mother said the hand had given her daughter a wonderful lift. "When she puts this robotic hand on, it changes her personality and confidence level," Yong Dawson told CBS San Francisco. "I love seeing that. I just wanted her to have an even playing field."

    When she arrived at AT&T Park on Sunday, Hailey got to hang out with players in the shelter at the side of the sports field. They even let her try on their World Series rings.

    Using her 3D-printed hand, Dawson threw out the perfect first pitch. Then with a wave and a smile, she headed into the stands to cheer on her newfound friends on the Giants.