In Britain, it's bottoms up from the week before Christmas till the last firework explodes in the sky announcing the new year. The last Friday before Christmas, popularly known as ‘Mad Friday', is one of the busiest periods for the country's pubs and clubs.

    But it's not just the bars that get busy. Ambulances and A&E departments around Britain get packed out too. Head injuries, cuts, falls…it's easy to end up hurting yourself or others when self-control disappear and your head is spinning due to alcohol revelers have been warned by the health authorities about the dangers of deadly drinking but drinking crazily seems to be part of the festivities for some.

    The charity Alcohol Concern is running a campaign of restriction by encouraging people to have a dry January.

    Jackie Ballard, the charity's Chief Executive, believes the campaign has been successful in recent years. She says, “More than two-thirds of people even six months later are drinking at reduced levels having had amonth off drink. But also a study has shown the impact it has on people's health reducing their blood pressure and blood sugar levels.”

    The study by the University of Sussex followed up nearly 900 participants in Alcohol Concern's Dry January campaign and found out that 72％ of them hadkept harmful drinking sessions down and 4％ were still not drinking.

    Moderation (适度) seems to bethe key to everything. The official recommendation for women is not to regularly drink more than 2 to 3 units of alcohol a day. The limit for men is 3to 4 units of alcohol — no more than a pint of 5.2％ ABV lager, beer or cider.

    The kids in this village wear dirty, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They have no school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can make words.

    The key to their success : 20 tablet computers(平板电脑) dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a U.S. group called One Laptop Per Child.

    The goal is to find out whether kids using today's new technology can teach themselves to read in places where no schools or teachers exist. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they're already amazed. “What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten,” said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program.

    The fastest learner—and the first to turn on one of the tablets—is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse. The device's camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out its workings and made the camera work. He called himself a lion, a marker of accomplishment in Ethiopia.

    With his tablet, Kelbasa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own. “Seven months ago he didn't know any English. That's unbelievable,” said Keller.

    The project aims to get kids to a stage called “deep reading,” where they can read to learn. It won't be in Amharic, Ethiopia's first language, but in English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs.

    The American believe that anybody can become President of the United States. In a recent Hollyhood comedy(喜剧), that is exactly what happens.

    Dave Kovic, played by Kevin Kline, is a kind-hearted man who runs a business that finds people jobs. He leads a typical(典型的) American way of life, except for one thing— he looks exactly like the President, Bill Mitchell. In fact, the only thing that makes him different from the nation's leader is that he is very nice!

    The president has started using look-alikes during some public appearance. Dave is offered a chance to “serve his country” by becoming one. However, things go wrong. The President becomes very ill and Dave ends up acting as the President forever.

    Director Ivan Reitman, who made the popular and successful comedies like Twins, Ghostbusters and Legal Eagles, could have gone for easy laughs by making fun of the American government. Instead, Dave is an attractive comedy about an ordinary man in extraordinary situations. Kevin Kline gives a double performance as Dave and the President, and Sigourney Weaver is at her best as his First Lady. The love story that develops between her role and Dave is a real classic(经典).

    The film is 100% American. However, if you've ever felt that anybody could do a better job running the country than the people in power, then you'll enjoy Dave!

    The values of artistic works, according to cultural relativism（相对主义）, are simply reflections of local social and economic conditions. Such a view, however, fails to explain the ability of some works of art to excite the human mind across cultures and through centuries.

    History has witnessed the endless productions of Shakespearean plays in every major language of the world. It is never rare to find that Mozart packs Japanese concert halls, as Japanese painter Hiroshige does Paris galleries. Unique works of this kinds are different from today's popular art, even if they began as works of popular art. They have set themselves apart in their timeless appeal and will probably be enjoyed for centuries into the future.

    In a 1757 essay, the philosopher David Hume argued that because “the general principles of taste are uniform（不变的）in human nature,” the value of some works of art might be essentially permanent. He observed that Homer was still admired after two thousand years. Works of this type, he believed, spoke to deep and unvarying features of human nature and could continue to exist over centuries.

    Now researchers are applying scientific methods to the study of the universality of art. For example, evolutionary psychology is being used by literary scholars to explain the long-lasting themes and plot devices in fiction. The structures of musical pieces are now open to experimental analysis as never before. Research findings seem to indicate that the creation by a great artist is as permanent an achievement as the discovery by a great scientist.

    International Airport Sheremetyevo Moscow

    If You've Lost Personal possessions

    On Board

    Contact the airline's representatives

    At the Airport

    Contact:

    -- Sheremetyevo Police Department

    +7(495)578-22-55

    --Unclaimed luggage storage room in Terminal C

    +7(495)578-23-26

    --Umclaimed luggage storage room in Terminal D

    +7(499)500-65-52

    (domestic flights)

    +7(495)753-86-41

    (international flights)

    When collecting Lost and Found items, you shall have an identification document, a boarding pass or a ticket, and also to indicate a place where the items were lost and prove they are yours.

    If Your Luggage Is Lost or Damaged

    Before leaving the arrival area, please turn to the Lost and Found counter to file a report. The written claim shall be submitted to the airline company not later than seven days from the time when the luggage was to be collected.

    If your luggage is not found within twenty-one days of the time when the claim was filed, you have the right to claim damages in the amount of not more than 600 rubles per kilogram. Amount refunded (退款) for a hand luggage lost through the fault of an airline is not more than 11,000 rubles regardless of its weight. Amount refunded for damaged luggage is calculated based on the tariffs (关税).

    Keep your flight documents (a ticket, boarding pass, luggage tag, and delayed luggage report filed at the airport) until the end of the procedure for searching for your luggage.

    Current information on luggage-tracing results

    +7(495)578-76-65

    Lost and Found service of Aeroflot Airlines

    +7(495)544-33-25

    (from 9:00 to 20:00)

    +7(495)753-86-41

    (24 hours)

    For further information please contact the airline.

    Singapore's public transport system is one of the best in the world, so you should have no problem finding your way around like a local. There are three main forms of public transport that you would find in any other major city－trains, buses and taxis.

    TRAINS

    Trains run from 6:00 am to midnight. Single trip tickets start at 80 cents. If you buy an EZ-Link card for $15, you can ride the trains and buses as you like. If you need more information, just call Transit Link on 1800 767 4333.

    BUSES

    There are several bus services in Singapore and fares start at 80 cents. Be sure to always ask the driver the cost of your ticket as he cannot give change. If you need help, just call Transit Link on 1800 767 4333.

    TAXIS

    There are three main taxi companies－City Cab (6552 2222), Comfort (6552 1111) and Tibs (6552 8888). Booking can also be easy by calling the numbers listed above.

    RENTAL CARS

    Driving in Singapore is a pleasure and if you like to travel at your own pace, renting a car is a good choice. Renting takes away the hassle of getting to places around Singapore. Just sit back and enjoy the city. It also means you'll get to see a lot more that a train or a bus won't let you see.

    For car rental, call Avis on +65 6737 1668.