Undersea restaurant Ithaa

    Ithaa is the very first undersea restaurant in the world located 5 meters below sea level in the Republic of Maldives. The 5-by-9-metre restaurant can hold 14 people at a time and has a transparent(透明的) roof offering a 270 panoramic (全景的) underwater view. The restaurant was designed and constructed by M. J. Murphy Ltd., a design consultancy based in New Zealand. It was opened on April 15, 2005. Food served in the restaurant can be described as contemporary （当代的） European with Asian influence.

    Tip: Work on technical designs and drawings for Ithaa started in March 2004. Once constructed, Ithaa would be put into the water. Because of technical challenges, limited resources, and quality control problems in building something underwater, the restaurant can only exist for about 20 years.

Skyline Queenstown Restaurant

    The famous New Zealand restaurant offers delightful fresh seafood, salads, roast meats and delicious desserts, while the panoramic view from the windows will attract you day or night. It' s the ideal place for that special night out and the best place in Queenstown to watch the sun go down! With live music creating a relaxing atmosphere and never ending scenery to admire, you will be entertained as you eat in the restaurant.

    Tip: Unlike other restaurants, the Skyline Queenstown Restaurant has tiered (分层的) seating to guarantee（确保） beautiful lake and mountain views from every table.

Revolving(旋转的) Restaurant Allalin

    Located in the Allalinhom mountain, Saas-Fee, Switzerland, Revolving Allalin is the highest revolving restaurant in the world at about 3,500 m. The restaurant offers a rich selection. Valaisian platter, pasta and pizza ... all this and much more is on the menu of the world-famous restaurant. Enjoy the eating delights offered in the world's highest revolving restaurant, while some mountain tops slowly pass by.

    Tip: Known as the ‘Pearl of the Alps', Saas-Fee offers many sports and activities: The popular holiday village features the Metro Alpine, the highest underground railway in the world up to the skiing area and the highest revolving restaurant at 3,500 m.

    Can exercise during childhood protect you against memory loss many decades later? Exercise early in life seems to have lifelong benefits for the brain, in rats at least.

    “This is an animal study, but it shows that physical activity at a young age is very important—not just for physical development, but for the whole lifelong track of cognitive (认知的) development during ageing,” says Martin Wojtowicz of the University of Toronto, Canada. “In humans, it may delay the appearance of Alzheimer's symptoms (阿兹海默氏症), possibly to the point of preventing them.”

    Wojtowicz's team divided 80 young male rats into two equal groups, and placed running wheels in the cages of one group for a period of six weeks. Around four months later-when the rats had reached middle age-the team taught all the rats to connect an electric shock with being in a specific box. When placed in the box, they froze with fear.

    Two weeks later, the team tested the rats in three situations: exactly the same box in the same room, the same box with the room arranged differently, and a completely different box in a different room.

    The rats without access to a running wheel when they were young now froze the same percentage of times in each of these situations, suggesting they couldn't remember which one was dangerous. But those that had been able to run in their youth froze 40 to 50 percent less in both changed box settings.

    “The results suggest the amount of physical activity when we're young, at least for rats, has influence on brain and cognitive health-in the form of better memories-when we're older,” says Arthur Kramer of Northeastern University in Boston, who has found that, in humans, exercise promotes the growth of new brain cells.

    Few of us haven't read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams. Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone's heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity or neglect.

    Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too. Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school.

    Mary is shy but loves to dance. Compared with other girls, she is invisible. However, her world changes completely when a famous teenager pop singer, Joey Parker, appears.

    Joey is everything that the rest of the boys in her class are not — kind, handsome and desirable. Mary and Joey's paths cross at a ball. They meet and fall in love with each other. But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams. Of course, there is a wicked(邪恶的) stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies. Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn't get into the top dance school. Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her.

    The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale. Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful. There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies.

    “The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point,” writes the movie critic Amber Wilkinson. “The focus is firmly on following your dream.”

Dear God,

    Now that I am no longer young. I have friends whose mothers have passed away. I have heard these sons and daughters say they never fully thanked their mothers until it was too late to tell them.

    I am blessed with the dear mother who is still alive. I appreciate her devotion more each day. My mother does not change, but I do. As I grow older and wiser, I realize what an extraordinary person she is. It's sad that I am unable to say these words in her presence, but they flow easily from my pen.

    How does a daughter begin to thank her mother for life itself? For the love, patience and just plain hard work that go into raising a child? For running after a toddler（学步儿童）, for understanding a moody teenager, and for tolerating a college student who knows everything? For wailing for the day when the daughter realizes what her mother really is?

    How does a grown woman thank a mother for continuing to be a mother? For being ready with advice when asked or remaining silent when it is needed? For not saying “I told you so.” when she could have voiced these words dozens of times? For being essentially herself－loving, thoughtful, patient and forgiving?

    I don't know how to thank her, dear God, except to bless her and live up to the example she has set. I pray that I will look as good in the eyes of my children as my mother looks in mine.

    If you do not use your arm or your legs for some time, they become weak; when you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows that. Yet many people do not seem to know that memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by using it. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong.

    If a friend says that his arms and legs are weak, we know that it is his own fault. But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame (受责备), and few of us know that it is just his own fault.

    Have you ever found that some people can't read or write but usually they have better memories? This is because they cannot read or write and they have to remember things; they cannot write down in a little notebook. They have to remember days, names, songs and stories, so their memory is the whole time being exercised. Therefore, if you want to have a good memory, learn from the people: practice remembering.

    Generally speaking, waiting rooms are always filled with a lot of impatient people. However, a project carried out by The Observer suggests that people regard these spaces as a place of refuge (避难), a window in their tightly scheduled lives.

    Ella Doroudy, Margate Station

    We were at the beach for the day, and now are on our way home. We don't have to wait very long, because we checked the timetable so we got here in time for the train. I just chat with my mates, really, and listen to music until the train comes. Waiting with other people is easier because you can kill time when you're talking about stuff.

    Caroline Lacey, Streatham Dental Center

    I don't really get nervous about seeing the dentist, but since these two fillings (补牙的材料) came out I've been in sharp pain. It's very bright and airy here, so it's quite calming. Usually I kill time by reading magazines. I've been coming to the dentist as and when I need to, but now it's got to be regular.

    Katie Hawkins, Model Casting

    I was a bit late today, which I'm quite pleased about because some of these girls have been waiting ages. I can't help but look at everyone else a bit — I look at the other girls and think: "I wonder if they'll like her better than they like me." While I'm waiting, I'm thinking: "Oh come on. I do have a life!"

    Paul Thomas, Royal London Hospital

    I feel pretty indifferent (满不在乎的)  while I'm waiting here, to be honest. It's something I've got very used to since my motorbike accident seven years ago. I've had about 32 operations so far. It's no good rushing in thinking you're going to escape in five minutes, so I just sit back and people-watch, really.