When it comes to cultural heritage protection, the Grand Canalof China is probably the world's greatest project of its kind. The big inland waterway system in thenorth-eastern and central eastern plains passes through eight of the country'spresent-day provinces.

The Canal runs from Beijing in the north to Zhejiang Province inthe south. Constructed in sections from the 5th century BC onwards, it wasdesigned as a means of communication in the 7th century AD. The Canal is the world's greatest civilengineering project before the Industrial Revolution.

The Grand Canal reached a peak in the 13th century, providing aninland navigation(航行) networkconsisting of more than 2,000 kilometers of artificial waterways, linking fiveof the most important river basins in China, including the Yellow River and theYangtze. It entered a bid as a UNESCO(联合国教科文组织) culturalheritage site in 2008.

The Grand Canal cultural square is located in Beijing's Tongzhoudistrict. Ever since the Yuan dynasty 800 years ago, the Tongzhou section ofthe Grand Canal has been the life blood of Beijing. Grain and buildingmaterials were all transported to meet the endless demands of the big cities.Even today, the Grand Canal plays a major role in the lives of its citizens.

"I grew up near the Grand Canal. In the past the waterwaywas a lot narrower, but now it's nice and wide and bridges are built over it. Ithink if the bid for world heritage status succeeds, it will greatly makeTongzhou more famous in the world, especially with Tongzhou aiming to be asub-center of the capital Beijing," a citizen said.

The result of the bid is set to be released next week, and nodoubt it will certainly make it into the history books if the Canal is listedas a world heritage site.

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    If you want to help children develop language and speech skills, UCLA researchers say, listening to what they have to say is just as important as talking to them.

    The effect of a conversation between a child and an adult is about six times as great as the effect of adult speech input(输入)alone, the researchers found. “Adults speaking to children helps language develop, but what matters much more is the interaction, ”said the study's lead author, Frederick Zimmerman, an associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. The researchers also found that TV viewing didn't have much of an effect—positively or negatively—as long as it wasn't displacing conversations between an adult and a child.

    The UCLA study included 275 families with children between 2 months and 48 months old. They represented a variety of incomes and education. The researchers found that, in an average day, children heard about 13, 000 spoken words from adults and participated in about 400 adult-child conversations a day.

    Assessed separately, factors positively associated with language development included each additional 100 conversations a day and each 1, 000 words increase in the number of words spoken by adults and heard by children.  When looked at alone, TV was negatively associated with language development. But, when these three factors were analyzed together, the only one that stood out was conversation between adults and children.

    “The more a child speaks and interacts with an adult, the better idea a parent has about where the child is”, Zimmerman said. “Although it's mostly done unconsciously, parents will provide feedback and correct mistakes.  They'll also tailor their speech to the child.  Parents can give the children words by talking to them about what they're doing, such as, ‘I'm putting on your pajamas now'. But give your child the opportunity to talk, hopefully without the rest of the noise in the environment, ”she added. “If parents can carve out some conversation time—maybe at bath time or at dinner time—that's a wonderful thing. ”

    In the hit film The bucket List, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman meet in hospital in California after they have been diagnosed with cancer. Between them they cook up a “bucket list” — a to-do list of all they want to do before they kick the bucket. The movie makes you wonder what would be on your bucket list. So let's pack up some and see what it would cost to go out and have a little fun.

    THE PYRAMIDS, GIZA, EGYPT

    On to the pyramids, surely on anyone's bucket list. Exotik Tours can take you there on a variety of trips, including their popular Egypt Express which includes three nights in Cairo and a three-night Nile Cruise. From $1,384, including four-and five-star accommodation, 12 meals and a ton of sightseeing.

    www.exotiktours.com   416-646-3347

    TAJ MAHAL, AGRA, INDIA

    One of the world's most fascinating images, India's Taj Mahal makes even Nicholson and Freeman look calm. Toronto's Goway Travel has many suggestions for India, including a three-day independent visit to Agra. Stay at the attractive Oberoi AmarVilas overlooking the Taj. Include two breakfasts, touring and airport transfer from $1,420.

    www.gowaytravel.com    416-322-1034

    THE GREAT WALL, CHINA

    If the Great Wall of China is on your bucket list, check into Tour East Holiday's four-day Amazing Beijing Tour for $580 per person, four-star accommodation, sightseeing including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, breakfasts and two lunches, transportation and guide.

    www.toureastholidays.com    416-929-0888

    THE HIMALAYAS, NEPAL

    And on to the Himalayas. Talk about “something truly majestic(壮丽的). See the top of the world on GAP Adventures' Everest Adventure tour, a 15-day exploration including Everest Base Camp, teahouse lodge stays, and walking through Sherpa villages. Incredibly affordable at just $665 plus local payment of $250. GAP Adventures warns that this is a physically demanding trip.

www.gapadventures.com     416-260-0999

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    Most Americans are worried about new technology. They are concerned that machines, including robots, will take over work now done by humans. These findings come from a new report by the Pew Research Center of Washington D. C.

    About 75 percent of Americans questioned by Pew said automation will increase income inequality between the rich and the middle class and poor. And 64 percent of people expect automation to be so common in America that people will face difficulty finding things to do with their lives.

    Some of the concerns about technology come from a distrust about whether machines will always make the right decision. Many Americans believe humans have better judgement in dealing with. complex matters. One example is selecting a person for a job. Three-quarters of Americans said they would not want to apply for a job that uses a computer program to choose the most qualified person.

    “Most Americans want the government to limit automation. For example, 87 percent support a requirement that all driverless vehicles have a human in the driver's seat who can take control when an emergency occurs. And 85 percent want to limit machines to mostly doing jobs that are dangerous or unhealthy for humans. And only 25 percent expect more jobs to come from automation,” Pew said.

    Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, spoke last May to graduating seniors from Harvard University in Massachusetts. His talk centered on the uncertain future facing young people. “Our generation will have to deal with tens of millions of jobs replaced by automation like self-driving cars and trucks.” Zuckerherg told the graduates.

    Zuckerberg said young people had better launch(发起)projects that will bring both jobs and direct benefits to the people of the world. He said in his speech that 30000 people worked to put a man on the moon, and millions of people built the Hoover Dam as well as other great projects over the last 100 years.

    A study found wireless signals are able to pass through bags and suitcases to judge the sizes of dangerous metal objects and identify them." These items could include weapons, chemicals, laptops and batteries for bombs, "the research team said on Tuesday.

    Research suggested that Wi-Fi can now be used to estimate the volume of liquids such as water, acid, alcohol and other chemicals for explosive material. The study led by researchers at the Wireless Information Network Laboratory (WINLAB) in the School. of Engineering showed a wireless device with two to three antennas(天线)that could be fitted in existing Wi-Fi networks.

    The detection system analyzes what happens when wireless signals go through and bounce off objects or materials. The approach, which the paper states, works by separating the wireless interference(干扰)caused by two factors of objects-the material and shape." Most dangerous objects such as weapons are usually metal or liquid, which have significant interference," researchers said.

    When it was tested on a backpack, the accuracy rate topped 95 percent. "But the accuracy dropped to about 90 percent when objects inside bags are wrapped. And the tech could save lives if used in museums, stadiums, theme parks or schools," the team said, noting its design can inspect bags or luggage without being an exposure to privacy.

    It uses channel state information (CSI) that is readily available in low-cost Wi-Fi devices." This could have a great impact on protecting the public from dangerous objects," said Yingying Chen, a co-author of the study," There's a growing need for that now. In large public areas, it's hard to set up expensive screening equipment like what's in airports. Manpower is always needed to check bags and we want to develop a method to try to reduce manpower.”

    The peer-reviewed study, which recently won a best paper award at the 2018 IEEE Conference on Communications and Network Security, is now published online." Future work will continue to focus on ameliorating the accuracy of identifying objects and imaging shapes and volumes," researchers said.

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 Vondelpark. The top museums to visit there are the Rijksmusuem, 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 unique point of view of the city.

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