When mentioning China, what comes to mind? As a country with a history of more than 5000 years, China is rich in civilization and culture. What best represents China?
Confucius (551BC-479 BC)
Confucius was a teacher and philosopher from the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. The philosophy of Confucius stresses individual morality including kindness, fairness, politeness, and sincerity. Confucius' principles have a broad basis in common Chinese tradition and belief.
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with winding or crawling characters. The dragon symbol is frequently used on ancient Chinese emperor's items including chairs or costumes. It is considered a representation of power.
Peking Opera
Peking Opera is considered the essence of China. As the larger form of Chinese opera, it has many "firsts" in Chinese dramas: the abundance of talents, the number of artists, opera groups and audience.
The Great Wall
There is an old saying that goes. "He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man." The Great Wall, one of the greatest wonders of the world, is a destination one must see when visiting China.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Developed in China, TCM has a tradition dating back to more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, cupping, massage, exercise (Qigong), and dietary therapy.
It's not common that a grandmother aged 89 is crowned Queen of Icebergs in north America, but when it does happen it's quite the sight.
On a recent trip to Iceland, Judith Streng became that grandma after her son attempted to take a photograph of her sitting on an ice structure that looks like a throne (宝座) at Diamond Beach in Jokul. Shortly after Streng sat down to pose, the piece of ice broke off and floated into the water.
"I thought it was safe. One girl had been on it and then two girls at the same time, and it was very secure with them. When I got on it, it started to shake and a wave was coming in. A very large wave came in and made the throne kind of shake, and I could tell that I was slipping off," Streng told ABC News.
Streng's story went hot after her 24-year-old granddaughter Catherine tweeted a text message exchange she had with her father about the incident. "My grandmother almost got lost at sea in Iceland today!"
Catherine, who teaches English in Seoul, South Korea, explained via Twitter that her father described the scene vividly. He has a PhD in English, and described the event in the following words, "She climbed to the throne after a wave had pulled back and left it briefly exposed on the beach. Then a wave washed in and removed the ice throne, rocking it from side to side. When the wave left, it lifted the throne and carried her out into the sea with the tide."
Luckily for the Streng family, Randy, a licensed boat captain from Florida with knowledge of water rescue strategies witnessed the whole thing, and was able to save the day (转危为安).
Hundreds of years ago, a Roman army came north from England to make war on Scotland. The Scots, a brave people, love their country. They fought hard to drive the enemy out of Scotland. But there were too many of the Romans. It looked as if the Romans would win.
One night, the leader of the Scots marched his soldiers to the top of a hill." We will rest here tonight, my men." he said, "Tomorrow we will fight one more battle. We must win, or we will die."
They were all very tired. So they ate their supper quickly and fell asleep. There were four guards on duty, but they were very tired, too, and one by one, they fell asleep.
The Romans were not asleep. Quickly they gathered at the foot of the hill. Slowly they went up the hill. Closer they came to the sleeping Scots. They were almost at the top. A few minutes more the war would be over. Suddenly, one of them put his foot on a thistle (蓟). He cried out and his sudden cry woke the Scots. In a minute they were on their feet and ready for a battle. The fighting was hard, but it did not last long. The Scots wiped out the Romans and saved Scotland.
The thistle is not a beautiful plant. It has sharp needles all over it. Few people liked it. But the people of Scotland liked it so much that they made it their national flower.
In all the world's cultures, people sing, play instruments, and celebrate with music. It plays such an important role in our lives that all fields focus on its study, including one looking at the biology of music. Experts find that because of the way our brains process music, learning to play an instrument or just listening to music can have a wide range of benefits.
Music education has received a lot of attention. Learning to play an instrument can help children improve math, science, and language skills. One study in Canada tracked children's IQ scores for nine months, discovering that children who studied music had the biggest test score improvements. The secret may lie in the way reading music and playing notes use several areas of the brain, increasing our ability to learn school subjects. For example, reading notes improves spatial (空间的) reasoning skills, which are helpful in solving math problems like fractions (分数).
Music is also used for medical purposes, such as the treatment of diseases which affect memories. The secret lies in the way the brain processes music. One area near the forehead, the medial prefrontal cortex(脑前额叶外皮), connects music with memories stored in two other areas: the amygdale(杏仁核) and hippocampus(海马体). That's why an old song can remind you of something that happened years ago. For patients suffering from diseases like Alzheimer's, listening to music can help unlock buried memories by strengthening musical pathways to memories.
With the evidence of music's benefits, it's no wonder some countries make music study a part of their education systems. People are recognizing that more than just a form of entertainment, music is also great for the brain.
New rules and behaviour standards for middle school students came out in March. Middle school is going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. They will also be kids who don't dye their hair, smoke or drink. The following are some of the new rules.
Tell the truth. Have you ever copied someone else's work on an exam? That's not something an honest student should do.
Do more at school. Good students love animal and care for other people. April is Bird-Loving Month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate it? You should join!
Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Perhaps you'll discover Earth II someday. Don't look down on new ideas. You should welcome them.
Protect yourself. Has someone ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don't let it happen to you. If you have to go home late, you should let your parents know.
Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your studies. But some things on the Internet aren't for kids, so try to look at web pages that are good for you.
A. In that way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them.
B. Students must only work and play alone.
C. The best students won't only have high marks.
D. You can use the web for fun or homework.
E. Students should not disagree with the teacher.
F. Everyone's ideas are important.
G. Don't do it again!
Have you ever been in a rush to get to school? Have you ever not had time to eat breakfast? You are not1. Many students have this problem. So should students be allowed to eat in class?
Some schools and teachers are 2 about food and drink in classrooms. Students aren't allowed to eat 3 class. And the 4 drink that they're allowed to have in class is water. A student's water bottle has to be 5so that teachers can see that it is water that they're drinking.
Mrs. Hammond, an eighth grade English teacher says, "I don't6my students eating in class, because they leave crumbs (碎屑). But I do let my 3rd hour class eat. If they make a 7then the privilege (特权) is 8."
However, some teachers and students don't think 9is a big deal. Mrs. Deltenre, a Spanish teacher at Greenfield Junior High says, "I don't have a 10if my students eat in class. Students usually get very 11around 3rd and 4th hour, being so close to lunch. Eating in class can cause a mess, so they really just have to12after themselves. Students usually do better in school when they are 13."
Harlee Scott, a seventh grader at Greenfield,14 with Mrs. Deltenre, "I 15to eat during class. If I couldn't eat in class I would starve (饿死)."This is exaggerated (夸张的), but not eating might lead her not to16her best in class.
Teachers expect students to do well in school. Students' performance (表现) in school is 17by their level of hunger. Students can't 18their studies when they are hungry. They often 19looking at the clock. This is why we students need to eat to 20 our brain power.
It is a fact that family spending on education in China (increase) in the past decade. A large number of (factor) contribute to the ever-increasing education spending, "letting children win at the starting line" being one of them. Many parents spend a lot of money on pre-school education, (send) kids to the best kindergartens, the tuition fees of which are much higher than of universities. Choosing better primary schools also takes money. Normally, students (expect) to attend schools within the district they live. , many parents prefer to send their children to better-known school in other districts regardless of the large sum of "donation". Apart from formal education, parents also pay for various after-school programs, common painting or dancing classes to expensive overseas summer camps.
There is nothing wrong with parents' passion for education, but parents should keep in mind that spending money doesn't (necessary) guarantee a better education for children. Money should be put where it matters most.
