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　　One of the Summer’s Best Blockbusters, 10 July, 2009

　　Author：Vince27 from Canada

　　Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth movie in the Harry Potter series, and it is the greatest one yet．The movie mixes comedy, romance, drama, and adventures into one, and makes it so marvelous and fun to watch．The acting in this film is more mature and better in quality than in the earlier ones．The trio, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Daniel Radcliffe are amazing in their roles and pull them off well．David Yates gives his best directing in his career to date, and does an amazing job of telling the storyline of J．K．Rowling’s fantastic book．The visual effects are so well done and look so real．Although the movie has cut out many things in the book, it is still a great film that most people will enjoy!

　　Key Points Missing! 12 July, 2009

　　Author：zvette929 from the United States

　　If you love the series like I do you will know that in every movie they have to cut parts of the book out．For those that have not read the book this movie will impress．I understand the need to cut the movie in order to fit it into a realistic time frame．In doing so, it seems as if they cut key parts in order to allow for more comedy．They also cut out a large action scene at the end of the movie．Another problem is, although there is not as much violence as previous movies the overall film includes adult content that in my opinion warrants the PG-13 rating．Do not misunderstand me．I recommend seeing the movie as it is enjoyable．

　　15 July, 2009

　　Author：cernan from the United States

　　Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a big challenging novel to adapt to the big screen．Initially I had low expectations for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but after seeing the movie, I think it the best in the series and the adaptation is a great success．When you’re adapting a 600-page book into a two-and-a-half-hour film, it’s inevitable that certain things will get cut．

　　The Best Book…The Worst Movie! 19 July, 2009

　　Author：infernodx from the United Kingdom

　　This film is so awful compared to the book that I can’t believe people love it．The book is a million times better and I’m hugely disappointed．They have added poor scenes and taken away integral parts of the book．Huge parts of the story have been missed．Pointless scenes have been added to make it appeal to a wider audience．I feel it totally unnecessary as Harry Potter appeals to probably the widest audience of any book．If I were J．K．Rowling I would have asked the producers some serious questions．

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Self Guided/Independent Cycle Tours

　　We supply the bike, panniers, all the support gear, easy to follow maps, cycle routes and either the accommodation or several accommodation suggestions depending on the tour．

　　All you need to do is bring your cycle gear, and book your accommodation off the detailed list, if required, and you are all set for a cheap, environmentally friendly holiday in New Zealand．

　　We do all the hard work of sorting routes and where to stay－you just relax and enjoy the riding! Too easy．

　　There are more tours to come, so if you don’t see a tour that suits your needs, let us know!

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　　Hiking and fast-paced walking are great ways to lose weight and improve cardiovascular(心血管的)fitness．Get out in the sunshine and pick up the pace．

　　Walking Musts

　　Start from 10 minutes and gradually increase your time．Make your daily goal 30 minutes of fast-paced walking．

　　Cross-trainers, walking shoes or other well-cushioned supportive shoes will do．Consider wearing cushioned socks to help protect your feet．

　　Step It Up

　　Picture yourself walking fast because you don’t want to be late for the bus．This will be a faster pace than average walking．

　　If you can’t maintain a conversation with your friend without getting out of breath, then you’re walking too fast．

　　From Start to Finish

　　Walk at your normal walking pace for five minutes before picking up the pace．This gets your breathing and heart rate up before starting an aerobic walking workout．

　　After your workout, take five minutes to gradually return to your normal walking pace．This will allow your heart rate and blood pressure to stabilize．

　　Pioneering Adventure

　　Hikes are usually longer than 30 minutes; bring water and trail mix for continued energy．Don’t drink water from a stream or river unless you have a purification system．

　　Hiking requires watching each step you take．Don’t plan on race-walking, but gradually pick up speed as you familiarize yourself with the trail．

　　The challenge of inclines and declines will cause your heart rate to increase．They also require special attention because of loose gravel or dirt．A hiking stick may help with stability．Take your time．If the uphill gets difficult and you’re breathing hard, stop and enjoy the views．

　　When crossing water, go where the stream is wide and shallow．Watch your footing and don’t slip on wet rocks．

　　Hiking alone is never a good idea．Take a friend, a trusted adult and your cell phone．

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　　Did you ever want to see Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey in 15 minutes? Then BA London Eye, is the one for you．

　　British Airways London Eye, formerly called as the Millennium Wheel, is situated on the south bank of the River Thames on the Jubilee Gardens．It is situated between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Footbridge in Lambeth and adjacent to(比邻)Old County Building．It stands opposite to Houses of Parliament．

　　It started with a vision of Architect couple David Marks and Julia Barfields, who had competed for millennium ideas contest conducted by Sunday Times, a British newspaper in 1993 to welcome year 2000 splendidly．Regrettably, the contest was scrapped, but the couple persisted with their dream project by forming a company for this undertaking, eventually grabbing the attention of Evening Standard, another British newspaper．British Airways, after noticing this widely publicized article, agreed to fund, foreseeing the vital contribution of this project to London’s skyline and its tourism, giving a spectacular view of this fascinating city that was otherwise not visible to the Londoners．

　　The entire construction resembles a giant cycle wheel, with a diameter of 135m(443 ft)and weighing 1,700 tons of steel and 2,000 tons at the foundation reaching almost 30m deep! It is the largest observation wheel built so far, making even Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, St．Paul’s Cathedral, look up to it．It is the 4th highest structure in London．Canary Wharf Towers, BT Tower and Tower 42 are the higher three．

　　The whole structure was designed in parts in various countries, later fully assembled on Thames bank．With the dedication of 1,700 workers, this structure was realized in 16 months, just in time to welcome the millennium．Tony Blair inaugurated(为……举行开幕式)it on December 31st, 1999 and a minor safety concern regarding clutching delayed its opening to public, which finally happened 3 months behind the schedule in March 2000．

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　　Birds that are half-asleep－with one brain hemisphere(半球)alert and the other sleeping－control which side of the brain remains awake, according to a new study of sleeping ducks．

　　Earlier studies have documented half-brain sleep in a wide range of birds．The brain hemispheres take turns sinking into the sleep stage characterized by slow brain waves．The eye controlled by the sleeping hemisphere keeps shut, while the wakeful hemisphere’s eye stays open and alert．Birds also can sleep with both hemispheres resting at once．

　　Decades of studies of bird groups led researchers to predict extra alertness in the end-of-the-row sleepers which tend to be attacked more easily．Sure enough, the end birds tended to watch carefully on the side away from their companions．Ducks in the inner spots showed no preference for gaze direction．

　　Also, birds napping at the end of the line depend on single-hemisphere sleep, rather than total relaxation, more often than inner ducks did．Turning 16 birds through the positions in a four-duck row, the researchers found that compared with 12 percent for birds in internal spots, outer birds half-asleep during some 32 percent of napping time．

　　“We believe this is the first evidence for an animal behaviorally controlling sleep and wakefulness at the same time in different regions of the brain,” the researchers say．

　　The results provide the best evidence for a long-standing assumption that single-hemisphere sleep evolved as creatures scanned for enemies．The preference for opening an eye on the lookout side could be widespread, he predicts．He’s seen it in a pair of birds napping side-by-side in the zoo and in a single pet bird sleeping by a mirror．The mirror-side eye closed as if the reflection were a companion and the other eye stayed open．

　　Useful as half-sleeping might be, it’s only been found in birds and such water animals as dolphins, whales, and seals．Perhaps keeping one side of the brain awake allows a sleeping animal to surface occasionally to avoid drowning．

　　Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep．Jerome M．Siegel of the UCLA says he wonders if birds’ half-brain sleep “is just the tip of the iceberg．” He supposes that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species．

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　　Being considered a leader in our society is indeed of high praise．Leadership means power, commands, respect and, most important, encourages achievement．Unlike vitamin C, leadership skills can’t be easily swallowed down．They must be carefully cultivated．

　　Different from popular belief, most good leaders are made, not born．They learn their skills in their everyday lives．But which do they develop? How do they(and how can you)get others to follow?

　　Always give credit．Many leaders note that the most efficient way to get a good performance from others is to treat them like heroes．Giving public credit to someone who has earned it is the best leadership technique in the world．It is also an act of generosity(慷慨)that’s never forgotten．

　　Giving credit is more effective than even the most constructive criticism(批评), which often hurts rather than helps．Kenneth Blanchard, the author of The One-Minute Manager, agrees．“Catch people doing something right!” he says．Then tell everyone about it．

　　Take informed risk．(冒险)．“The best leaders know that taking a risk is not a thoughtless exercise,” says management adviser Marilyn Machlowitz．“Sky divers don’t go up in an airplane without checking the parachutes beforehand．”

　　Because the idea of risk also carries with it the possibility of failure, many of us usually wait for others to take charge．But if you want to be a leader, you must learn to fail－and not die a thousand deaths．Pick yourself up and start all over again．

　　Encourage enthusiasm．(热情)“When people understand the importance of work, they lend their mental strengths,” says Lee Ducat．But when they get excited about the work, all their energy gets poured into the job．That’s a great force! Is this the best way to create excitement? Be enthusiastic yourself - You will be followed by everyone．

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　　Compared to the other parts of the body, our ears don’t ask for much．They don't need to be brushed once a day like your teeth．But they need some special care, especially if you like listening to music with earphones．

　　Maybe your mum or dad has told you, "Turn that down before you go deaf!" Well, they are quite right．Loud noise might cause hearing loss for a short time or even forever．Think that earphones are a good way to escape from your parents’ eyes? Well．It may not be as good a way as you expect．American doctors have studied a group of 44,000 people who used earphones more than 15 hours per week．The doctors found that 37,000 of them were getting hearing problems．

　　If you use earphones for too long a time, your ears might feel painful．You could also lose your hearing for the rest of your life．

　　So don’t wear your earphones too long．Use them less than one hour a day．

　　Want sharp hearing? Don’t forget to do the following：

　　Try to stay away from places where there is too much noise, like a disco．If you have to go, wear earplugs．

　　When swimming, remember to put earplugs into your ears to stop water from getting in．

　　Never put anything sharp into your ears．If you think you have too much earwax, ask your mum or dad to help you clean it out．

　　Keep these things in mind! Then you won't be saying "WHAT???" when you are older．

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　　Reuters, February 2, 2010－The stars have joined Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in calling for people to help those left homeless after the disaster, which hit the poor island nation Haiti on Tuesday．

　　Shakira has posted a message on her personal website asking everyone to donate money to Jean’s Yele charity organization, while other stars including Mark Hoppus, Yoko Ono, singer Joey Mcintyre, and Kim Kardashian have all taken to their Twitter．com pages to raise awareness of the disaster．

　　Jean’s campaign was so popular that the website suddenly stopped working because of the money being donated every minute．A spokesperson proved the organization is working on improving the website to allow for more money donated．

　　Meanwhile, Hollywood super couple Pitt and Jolie have also made an effort by donating ￡625,000 to help Doctors Without Borders in the earthquake-hit area．

　　In the statement, Jolie says, “It is extremely horrible to see a disaster of this size hit a people who have been suffering from poverty, violence and unrest for so many years．”

　　Pitt adds, “We understand the first response is important to meet the needs of countless people who are now homeless and most require urgent care．”

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　　In the late 1500s, a large powerful gun was placed on top of the Signal Hill, in Newfoundland, to prevent attacks from the outside．Flags were also flown there to warn sailors of bad weather．It's fitting, then, the Italian Gulielmo Marconi should have chosen this site to receive the world's first radio signal－in Morse code－from England on December 12,1901．

　　Marconi, combining earlier ideas with his own, led us to a new communications age．For the next 50 years, until the appearance of television, radio ruled the air waves．

　　Today, it's the TV that rules．No single person can say to have invented television．

　　In 1884, the German Paul Nipkow invented a device that sent pictures mechanically, and in 1906, Boris Rosing, a Russian, used a ray and a disc to create the world's first TV system．Then in the early 1920s, another Russian, Vladimir Zworykin, invented a picture display tube．He took out a patent for color TV, even though it wouldn't be developed for another 25 years．

　　In 1924, a Scot entered the scene－John Logic Baird．He first succeeded in sending a moving picture and a year later got the first actual TV picture．In 1926,Baird showed TV in a London laboratory．Two years later in New York, Felix the Cat became the first TV star．

　　TV excited everyone's imagination, but hardly anyone had a set, with just two thousand in use worldwide in the mid-1930s．

　　Since the late 1940s,TV technology has developed very quickly．Computers may finally be combined with all televisions to give people a total all-in-one communications network．

　　Today, it's possible to sit and watch TV in the middle of a forest or in the Arctic．It's surprising when one considers that Marconi was on Signal Hill in the same century．

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The United States：Fliers may want to have their tickets in hand before catching their planes, but the airline companies are doing everything they can to bring forward cost-saving ticketless flight－no paper needed, just a ticket number and a photo ID(带照片的身份证)．Anyone who buys a Northwest E-ticket through the airline's computer service by June 16 will get an award(奖励)．Next time you fly, you can buy another ticket for a friend for ＄ 99, good anywhere in the US or Canada through Feb．12,2000, along with the lowest ticket prices．Some airlines offer extra frequent-flier miles for the ticketless crowd．And there are rising punishments for paper lovers, American, Northwest, United, and last week, US Airways have raised the cost for lost ticket replacement(替换)to ＄ 70 from either ＄ 60 or ＄ 50．The airlines insist that the increase in price is not meant to push travelers toward E-tickets but only covers the increasing cost of replacing and tracking a missing ticket．