What would it be like to walk on Mars? If you could build the highest building in the world，what would it look like? Do you dream of being the next J. K. Rowling? This summer, you can experience all of these things, and more. All you need is an Internet connection and your imagination.

    A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that kids spend an average of 1 hour and 29 minutes online each day. Many kids like to use that time to chat with friends, play games or check e­mails. But the next time you get on the Web, try exploring the world instead. “With the Internet，you can go back 11,000 years in time，or go 11,000 kilometers across the planet.” said Russell, Web search expert of Google. “The whole scope of history and the world is open to you.”

    There is a wealth of information to be found online. For example, if your family is going on vacation somewhere, do a quick online search on the area before you even get in the car. “What's the background of the place; what's the history？” says Russell. “I like to tell my kids, ‘Whenever you have a question, whenever you have a doubt, search it out.'”

    Ready to launch a virtual journey of your own? Here are a few starting points to get you thinking and to help you on your way. You can invite your parents along for the ride, too. Always ask for permission before downloading programs and software onto your computer. And check with a parent or an adult before visiting any new Web site.

    Navigate the world in 3­D with Google Earth. Begin in outer space and zoom (快速移动) into the streets of any city, from Hong Kong to San Francisco. Or visit ancient monuments, watch the changing rainforests over time, and dive underwater to explore tropical reef.

    With the Moon in Google Earth tool, you can walk in Neil Armstrong's famous footsteps. Take a guided tour of the moon's surface with Armstrong's fellow shuttle mate astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

    When you're exploring that part of the solar system, hop on over to the Red Planet with Google Mars. There, you can move very quickly around the surface and see images from the Mars Rovers.

New Zealand Education

Compulsory Education

Compulsory education starts at age 5 and ends at age 16.

Class Size

The number of students in a class is 30 students.

Classrooms

    Students from Years 5-8 stay in the same classroom for most subjects and move to other classrooms only for specific subjects. In Year 9, students take some courses With their homeroom class and some optional classes with students from different classes. Starting from Year 10, students no longer stay in the same classroom most of the time. They go to different classes according to their own choices and abilities.

Term Dates

    A school year starts in January and ends in December. There are four terms in a year. Each term is about 10 weeks.

Class Schedule

    School starts at around 8:30 and ends at 15:15. There are only five periods a day and a period is about an hour long. In the morning, around 10:30, there will be a 20-minute break when students usually have some snacks during this time. There is a lunch period at around 12:40 for about an hour.

Teachers

    Teachers have to teach students of different year level at the same time. Most teachers teach students from at least three to four different year levels. Besides, quite a number of teachers teach more than one subject. This is because the fact that many courses are optional.

Climbing Without Ropes

    The popular image of the mountain climber is of a person carefully climbing a steep cliff with a network of safety ropes, but it is not the only kind. Many climbers now enjoy bouldering. It's more accessible and better for the environment.

    Here is an example of a climber addressing a bouldering problem.

    Figure 1: The climber has two routes she could take, one to the left and one to the right. The left one appears easier because it has a jug within easy reach, but look what happens if she chooses that direction. She gets stuck on the rock and has to go back down. Sometimes that is even difficult than going up.

    Figure 2: The climber takes the one to the right this time. using a foothold and placing her right hand in a crimp, she is able to life herself up and locate other handholds. After only a few moves, she is able to throw her leg over the top of the boulder and pull herself up.

    Let's have fun!

    Big Hugs Elmo

    Sesame Street Big Hugs Elmo. There are so many ways to play with Sesame Street Big Hugs Elmo! When preschoolers give Elmo a great big hug, he'll hug back, say fun phrases or sing a sweet song about hugs! Press Elmo's left foot and he will invite children to join in 1 of 4 imagination activities. There are 50 plus lively sounds and phrases. Elmo loves getting hugs from you. Let's play.

    Furby Boom Figure—Peacock

    A whole new generation of Furby creatures is about to be born! Dust off your Furbish dictionary and get ready to party with your Furby Boon creature! Your Furby has a mind of its own, and the way you treat your Furby will shape its personality—so the more fun you have with it, the better! It speaks more English the more you play with it. Tickle（挠痒）your Furby, talk to it, and feed it.

    FurReal Friends Cuddles My Giggly Monkey

    Cuddles My Giggly Monkey responds in lifelike ways to being loved and cared for. Feed her with the banana-shaped bottle and she will move her mouth like a real baby monkey, make slurping sounds, and even say “mm” when she's full! Snuggle（偎依）her close and she will turn to snuggle right back while making sweet, lovable monkey sounds. When it's time for bed, rock Cuddles, and she will also sleepy sounds.

    The First Flower Girl Doll—Disney Sofia

    Your little Sofia then first fan will love this target-exclusive 10 flower girl doll; she is inspired by the hit animated series from Disney Junior, Sofia the First. This beautiful Sofia doll is beautifully dressed in a never-before0seen gown inspired by the flower girl fashion she wore at her mom's royal wedding.

    A bright yellow “M” tells you that it's a McDonald's restaurant; we also associate the cheerful theme tune “I'm Lovin' It” with the famous US fast food.

A brand's music has a similar effect on its customers as its logo. “It appeals directly to the heart, where consumers' decisions are really made,” wrote Marketing Week.

This is probably why companies from around the world have recently focused more on building a “sonic (声音的) identity”.

    An example is the software company Tencent QQ. Since 2014, this Chinese company has been trying to trademark (申请商标权) its “Di-Di-Di-Di-Di-Di” notification sound. The trademark was finally approved on Nov 15, which means that Tencent's “Di-Di-Di-Di-Di-Di” notification sound is now protected by law and can only be used by QQ.

    Sound and music can also help tell stories. In Game of Thrones (《权力的游戏》) there are so many characters that it is difficult to memorize them all. So, they wrote melodies (旋律) specific to each family. The result is that characters do not only look familiar, but sound familiar too.

    “I think a huge reason why sound inspires action is that, on an unconscious level, we are always listening,” Lauren Nagel, executive creative director at Pandora Media, told GeoMarketing. “You can close your eyes, but you can't shut your ears.”

The summer reading season is here. Some people will opt for paperbacks because they' re easy to borrow and share. Others will go for e- readers. But which is the more environmentally sustainable option?

According to 2023 data from the literary industry research group Words Rated, when it comes to pulp(纸浆) and paper, print book publishing is the world's third- largest industrial greenhouse gas producer, and32 million trees are cut down each year in the United States to make paper for books. 

So many publishers are switching to on- demand printing. For example, Chronicle Books, are reducing their initial print runs to see how well the titles sell before they print more. " We felt that it was better to have a higher cost and have less waste, " said Chronic le Books president, Tyrrell Mahoney. 

Publishers are also rethinking book design. It might be a surprise, but certain fonts(字体) can be more climate- friendly by using less ink and less paper. 

Digital reading seems to have a considerable eco- advantage over print because it is paperless, so it saves trees, pulping and shipping. Moreover, tech companies that make e- readers such as Amazon, which sells the market- leading Kindle e- reader, offer recycling programs for old devices. 

" By choosing e- books as an alternative to print, Kindle readers helped save an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of carbon emissions over a two- year period, " said Corey Badcock, head of Kindle product and marketing. 

But digital devices also come with a substantial carbon footprint, mainly at the producing stage. Their cases are made with fossil- fuel- derived plastics and the minerals in their batteries require resource- heavy mining. 

Berners- Lee, the author of The Carbon Footprint of Everything , said the average e- reader has a carbon footprint of around 80 pounds. " This means that I've got to read about 36 small paperback books- worth on it before you break even, " he said. 

" If you buy an e- reader and you read loads and loads of books on it, then it's the lowest carbon thing to do, " Berners- Lee said. " But if I buy it, read a couple of books, and decide that I prefer paperback books, then it's the worst of all worlds. "