When I was a kid, I always used to wonder how in the world my father worked outside in the winter without a coat. It could be minus 20 degrees centigrade and there'd be Dad, removing snow, or perhaps chopping(砍) some wood — his coat thrown aside — wearing a shirt, a cap, and a pair of gloves.

    “Aren't you cold, Dad?” I'd ask. “No,” Dad would reply. “I'm not cold—working too hard to be cold.”

    Many times I wondered whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was foolish.

    One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad. It was a bright, clear day—and bitterly cold.

    After we'd been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold.

    “Daddy, my feet are cold.” I said.

    “Yeah, it's cold out here today,” he replied.

    “Tell you what,” he said. “Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm.”

    I was just a little girl at the time but I remember thinking, “How in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of mind.”

    But he was my father, after all. I made circles in the snow. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow. I forgot about my feet being cold.

    Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. “Aren't you cold?” my husband asked one winter day. “No,” I replied. “I'm not cold—working too hard to be cold.”

    I hope my husband has decided I'm both tough and smart. But I guess quite a bit of the time he thinks I'm foolish.

    Wherever Dad is on that great big farm in the sky—I'm sure he can't help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I'm working outside in the winter.

    Most heroes are not super. They don't appear in comic books, on television, or in movies. They just do what they believe needs to be done to make their world a better place. Bike Batman is one of them.

    Bike Batman is a 30-year-old married engineer who lives in Seattle, Washington. He's a cyclist who also buys and sells bikes as a hobby.

    About three years ago, he was looking for a bike for his wife. He found one on Craigslist, a website where people list things they want to sell. As he often does, he also looked at Bike Index, a popular website that allows users to register their bikes and post reports when they're taken. The bike, which he was considering purchasing, clearly matched one reported stolen on Bike Index. Then he called the person who claimed to be the bike's owner and arranged to meet him— supposedly to complete the sale. When the two men met, Bike Batman told the thief, “You've got two options. You can wait until a police officer gets here, or you can just get out of here.” You can imagine what the thief did.

    After that first success, Bike Batman developed a safer routine. When he sees questionable bike ads on Craigslist, he cross references the image with bikes reported on Bike Index. Once he has confirmed it with the owner, he arranges a meet-up with the thief and will call the Seattle police department so that officers can participate in the action. In more than half of the 22 cases in which he has got back and returned bikes, the thieves have been arrested. In one case, Bike Batman even helped a family recover a wide range of prized possessions that suspects had stolen during a home burglary.

    His nickname came from a discussion with a police officer who suggested he be called “Robin Hood”. Since he wasn't exactly stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, “Batman” seemed a better fit. The idea of a superhero punishing criminals feels pretty silly to him, but the main reason he continues his work is to keep up Seattle's reputation as a friendly city.

    The vast majority of us spend our entire lives pulled down by gravity. Then there are astronauts.

This small population of space travelers has given researchers a rare look at what happens to the human body when it's able to spend large amounts of time outside the downward pull of the Earth. This week, a study on one of the largest groups of astronauts yet —34 participants—was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

    In the new study, a team of international radiologists supported by NASA looked at MRIs of the brains of astronauts before and after their trips to space. The scientists found that upon returning to Earth, many of the astronauts' brains had become repositioned inside their skulls, floating higher than before. In addition, the space between certain brain areas appeared to have shrunk. The changes were more common in astronauts who took longer trips into space.

    The team characterized astronaut trips as short (an average of less than 14 days) or long (an average of about 165 days). Radiologists who didn't know each astronaut's duration（持续时间）in space compared MRIs from before and after their trips.

    Of the 34 total astronauts involved in the study, 18 took long trips to space—spending most of that time on the International Space Station —and of those, 17 returned to Earth with smaller areas between the frontal lobe（脑前额叶）and parietal lobe（顶叶）. The same area of the brain also shrank for three of the 16 astronauts who took shorter trips with the US Space Shuttle Program. The researchers also found that 12 of the ISS astronauts and six of the space-shuttle astronauts returned home with their brains sitting slightly higher in their skulls than before.

    It's not clear what, if anything, these brain changes mean for the health of space travelers. In general, it appears the human body tolerates space travel fairly well: the time astronauts have spent in zero-gravity environments so far doesn't seem to have had any strong or long-lasting effects.

A

    In the summer of 1848, in Guatemala, a man called Ambrosio Tut went out into the jungle, as he did almost every day. Tut was a gum collector, looking for gum in the jungle. To do this, he had to climb the trees. One day, he got to the top of one tree and something caught his eye. He looked out across the trees and saw the tops of some old buildings.

    Tut didn't really know what he had seen but he knew it was something special. He ran to tell the local governor excitedly, and together they walked into the jungle. There they found Tikal, the city that the Mayans had built, many hundreds of years before. The two men saw pyramids, squares and houses.

    For a long time before that day, local people had known that somewhere in the jungle there was an old Mayan city. But no one had seen it for centuries. Between 200 and 900 AD, the city of Tikal had ben the centre of Mayan civilisation in the area, but then the Mayas let it—nobody knows why! After 1000 AD, the jungle began to cover it. And then people forgot that it was there.

    Seven years before Tut found Tikal, two British explorers had gone to Guatemala and had written a report about Mayan treasures in the jungle—but they hadn't mentioned Tikal. Even earlier than this, local Indians had told people about a great city hidden in the trees, but no one had listened to them. So they lost the chance to find the treasure. Now the lost city had been found again, and people went there immediately to see it.

    I was ever bullied badly when I was in high school. One kid in particular would try to make me feel worse in every way he knew. For example, he would throw stuff at me constantly, hit me on the head, punch(殴打)me, call me ugly and stupid, make fun of me and, of course tell me he would beat me up if I ever fought back. It was like his daily mission.

    And it was my daily mission to just get through the day. What could I say? It made my world very small because that was my main focus- just surviving. Everything else fell by the wayside. Unfortunately, that included any form of social life. So not only was my world tiny, but it was very lonely

    Looking back to that time, which was about 11years ago, my biggest mistake was not bringing anyone into that world of mine. I was too proud (and embarrassed) to get help. I would rather not face the fact that I needed help because in my mind, that would mean that the bully won. It would also mean that I was weak.

    Let me just say this: bullying someone is a weak choice. The only reason why they come after you is that they think you won't do anything about it. Does that make anyone strong? Absolutely not. Be stronger-ask a parent, a teacher or a friend for help. Simply admit that you are struggling and need help.

    You can put it like this, "Somebody who is weak and trying to build himself or herself up has chosen to do that by putting me down. The only reason why they are doing that is that I am nice and I haven't done anything about it yet. Well I am through putting up with this. I have basic human rights that they are trying to take away to feel better and that is just not OK. How do I handle this? I don't want the pain cycle to continue and I don't want to become someone I don't want to be.

Welcome to Reading Museum's Hands­on Learning Service

    During the past 100 years, Reading Museum has always been offering learning opportunities to schools, and we hope to continue this tradition for the next 100 years with your support.

    Victorian Schoolroom

    The session takes place in a grand reconstruction of a schoolroom in a late nineteenth century Board School. The children will experience a wide range of Victorian style lessons and use slate boards and dip pens. The session leader will play the role of a Victorian teacher but will come out of the role during the session to comfort the children. We provide costume for all children.

    Victorian Toys

    Our Victorian nanny delivers this interesting session. The nanny will help children to explore the differences between rich and poor children's toys from the past. During the session the children have the opportunity to make a toy to take home.

    Victorian Christmas

    In a specially decorated room the children will find out how the Victorians introduced many of our Christmas customs. They will make a simple card or present to take home.

    For up­to­date prices and session details, please visit our website www.. Reading museum, org. For all session bookings please phone us on 01189373400. Reservation at least 4 weeks in advance is advised. Please be ready to tell us when you wish to come, the session(s) you wish to book and the year group of pupils. Our sessions take place between 10:00 and 12: 00 or 12: 30 and 14: 30. The maximum group size is 35 pupils. We recommend that you bring 5 adults for each group.