When was the last time you did something really fun with one of your parents—just the two of you?

    Parents who take their young children to music，swimming and art classes often stop arranging such activities once their kids are older and in school all day.But it doesn't have to be that way.Doing something enjoyable with your kids just might make you look at each other in a whole new way，especially if you do it through a class or an event.When parent and child become students together，it puts them on the same level，at least for a while.

“I really like parents to come to class with their kids—they start sharing things and talking about what they're doing and what they like，” said art teacher Pyper Dixon.

    However，finding something new in common is a big  choice for them，especially when kids get involved in sports and other after­school activities.But it's possible to learn a new skill or hobby together.

    That's certainly true of Lauren,11，from Silver Spring，who is in Dixon's class with her father，Dennis.“I was just going to drop her off，” Dennis said，“but Dixon persuaded me to stay.”

    Now Lauren gets to nag her father about doing his art homework.“He always leaves it to the last minute，” she said.“But then he'll turn around to do amazing drawings，”  she added.“We have different styles of drawing，so it's interesting  to talk it over with him.”

    Without the Saturday morning art class，Dennis said，he  would be reading the paper，and Lauren would be on her own in her room or on the computer.But they talk more now.“I can't think of an experience where you communicate with your kid so closely，” he said.

    Recently I started discovering one thing which amazes me so much: how perfect everything is in the world we are living in! Just look, all day long we are busy working and just when we get tired, the night comes in, so we may sleep and relax. One day we may enjoy the bright sun and another day, when we get tired of the sun, the rain pours down.

    A few months ago I was so happy with my life. Later, I got tired from the happiness. I wished I would have some trial to strengthen my character and learn something new about life. I got what I wanted. Shortly after I got severe angina (心绞痛), so I had to stay home for several weeks. During this period I had time to rethink my life and discover myself. The lessons were terrific, but I felt grateful for this time.

    Another example: I have a friend, who primarily thinks about having fun. Once I thought why we get along well with each other and what in me attracts her. A couple of days ago I found the answer. I like calmness and silence. She likes noise and agitation (热闹). We attract each other just to balance ourselves, in other words, to give some drive to me and some calmness to her!

    So remember that the universe is so wise that it will try to balance you. As for me, this is perfect because extremes create suffering: too much food – too little food, too cold – too hot, too much fun – too little fun.

    There is no doubt that to study abroad gives you an excellent opportunity to learn things which are very helpful in your career building. Today Canada has earned a good name in providing quality education and safe healthy environment for its students. That is why more than 130,000 international students enroll(登记入学) every year in famous Canadian universities. It is an ideal education destination and gives students a unique experience of education and its versatile(多样的) arts and culture. Canada spends a lot on education and is ranked the highest in G-8 countries.

    To study in Canada is very cost effective. These universities are affordable compared to other universities in the world such as in the US, New Zealand and UK where cost of education and living is very high. According to a survey in 2006, "Canada offered the lowest tuition fees(学费) for foreign students compared to UK and Australia."

    The low rate of crimes and the peaceful safe environment of the country also attracts a lot of international students to Canadian universities. Canada has 92 universities and 175 community colleges and university degrees have three levels—Bachelor's (学士), Master's (硕士) and Doctoral(博士).

    A Bachelor's degree in Canada is for three or four years' full-time study depending on the nature of the program you are doing. On the other hand, a Master's degree consists of two years of study. For a Doctoral program in Canadian universities, you require a minimum (最低/小的) of three to four or sometimes five years of research and study.

    You can also find many diploma and certification (认证) program in Canadian universities where the time is generally one year. Some of the Canadian universities are well-regarded worldwide and the degree and diploma obtained from these Canadian universities are recognized globally and promise bright future. After the completion of studies, a person could also find great job offers in Canada itself. International students require a work permit to work on campus.

    From the health point of view we are living in a wonderful age. A large number of once fatal illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and surgery. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the unbelievable killing of people on the roads. Man is opposite to the motor-car! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people are killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.

    It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering-wheel(方向盘), his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man's worst character. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They are rude, ill-mannered and aggressive. All their hidden frustrations and disappointments seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving.

    The surprising thing is that society smiles on the motorist and seems to forgive the behavior. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities and towns are made ugly by huge car parks.

    It is high time a world law were created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are not strict and even the strictest are not strict enough. A law which was universally accepted could only have a beneficial effect on the accident rate. Here are a few examples of some things that might be done. The driving test should be made to a fixed standard and far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through strict annual tests for safety. Present drinking and driving laws (where they exist) should be made much stricter. Driving speed should be limited on all roads. These measures may sound rather severe. But surely nothing should be considered difficult if it results in reducing the annual toll of human life. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars.

The surface of Venus has never seemed very hospitable. Temperatures change around 470℃(900°F), the result of a runway greenhouse effect, and the pressure of its atmosphere, thick with carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid(硫酸), is some 90 times that of Earth's. Lead(铅) would flow like water on Venus, and water cannot have existed in liquid form for perhaps a billion years.

    Now NASA'S Magellan spacecraft seems to have found one more horror in the nasty landscape: active volcanoes. Last week the space agency released the first detailed map of Venus and the most dramatic images ever made of its surface. The picture offer the best evidence to date that a planet once assumed dead is actually a lively pot of geological change.

    The most amazing image is of Venus's second tallest mountain, Maat Mons, which rises 8km(5 miles) . Most of the planet's many peaks, including 9.5-km-(6-mile-) high Maxwell Montes, look bright in the radar pictures Magellan takes from its orbit above the permanent could cover. That means they are strong reflectors of radar waves. But Maat Mons is dark; like the Stealth bomber, it absorbs much of the radar falling on it.

    This interesting fact, say project scientists, is a strong hint that the mountains has recently been covered with lava(熔岩). Rock that sits on the surface of mountaintops appears to weather quickly in the hot , chemically reactive atmosphere, creating a soil that is rich in iron sulfide(硫化铁). It is this mineral, the scientists believe, that can easily be seen on radar. If Maat Mons doesn't have any, it has probably been resurfaced, perhaps within the past few years.

    Such resurfacing has undoubtedly taken place in Venus lowlands: earlier images of the planet showed vast areas that are remarkably free of craters(火山坑). That would be easy to explain on a Planet like Earth, where cratering from meteor strikes is erased by steady erosion. But while there is some evidence of wind erosion on Venus, the best explanation for the lack of cratering is periodic lava flow. Magellan has found direct evidence of such flows, including domelike upwellings and hardened streamed of rock trailing down the sides of Venusian peaks. There are also signs of other geologic activities, including dramatic faulting and several distinct incidents of mountain building. But the evidence can't indicate whether they really occurred millions of years ago. The case for active Venusian volcanoes is not yet proved, but Magellan, which is now well into its second complete survey of the planet's surface, may eventually settle the issue.

    A British-designed electronic newspaper which is made of plastic and no larger than a table mat(垫子) is to enter the market next year. The new newspaper was conceived(想出) by Cambridge University scientists. They came up with the idea of replacing silicon chips (硅片) with plastic ones. It is being developed by Plastic Logic, a company based in Dresden, Germany.

    "It looks just like a table mat, and is as light as a magazine. But you can download hundreds of newspapers at the touch of a button, and read them quite safely," the BBC reported on its website.

    The plastic paper is produced in a safe "clean room" at the Plastic Logic factory, which opened last month as the world's first plastic-electronics factory. Every part of the product, from the screen to the electronics, is made of plastic. And it is described by engineer Dean Baker as "top quality". Baker says the plastic newspaper could help solve the problem of waste material associated with traditional newspapers.

    "There's a huge amount of waste. We have paper distributed（分发）all over the country each day and then thrown into the bin. This doesn't need to happen any more. All of the copies could be made electronically and stored on a single ereader with the appearance of paper." he says.

    People can expect to see the plastic newspaper next year, the BBC says.