This summer, when I walked into my grandparents' house with my little brother Frank, I tried not to look at Grandpa's chair anyway. It still looked the same. His blue 1 was there, as if Grandpa was going to pull it over his legs. My cousin Jack was playing in the yard as if2 had happened. "Let's go to catch fish!" Jack 3 the fish net from the corner, Grandpa's net.
Last summer, I was holding the net when Grandpa asked me 4 I could help him teach Frank how to play chess. I said no because I wanted to catch fish. Grandpa had been the one who'd taught us how to catch fish, but then the 5 made him stay behind.
I 6 saying no to Grandpa, and now I wouldn't have chance to play chess with him.
When we reached the stream, we began to catch fish. Suddenly, Jack shouted, "Frank is shaking." We hadn't brought anything to keep 7 so I had to send him home.
Grandma was worried to see a wet Frank and 8 put Grandpa's blue blanket around him. As I went to the stream again to meet Jack, I looked back at Frank with that old blanket. Something seemed to 9 me at that moment. Everything was just like before, but Grandpa was gone.
I walked to Frank. "Did Grandpa teach you to play chess last summer?" I asked. "No, Grandpa was too sick then." he said, "I miss him."
"Me, too." When I said it, I knew Grandpa was never gone. What 10 us was still there. It could be the fish net. It could be the chess. It could be the blue blanket.
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Project in Singapore The fantastic man-made "forest" is a Singapore landmark. It is made from steel and concrete(水泥) covered in local flowers and plants. At night, 18 solar-powered tree-like towers which get their energy from the sun often light up the city. The project was awarded "the World Building of the Year" and its designer said the idea was to create "a city in a garden". Clearly, the special way of building up the forest makes a difference to lifting the public's awareness about environment. |
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Project in Milan By decorating the buildings from top to bottom with more than 20,000 trees and plants, Italian architect Stefano Boeri said he'd wanted to make trees part of the buildings and create something that could help to reduce pollution. These buildings lie in the center of the city, Milan. Which types of trees are planted and where the trees are planted depend on the trees' likes for sunlight. There is no doubt that this award-winning project is a great work. |
Project in Medellin Medellin has won high praise for its green corridors(长廊)". This project helps the city which used to be poor and dirty get a new look. Now the30 corridors full of trees and flowers connect green spaces such as parks and gardens in Medellin. The green corridors have reduced the temperature by two degrees and helped make the air clean Bees and birds have returned. To make the beauty of the city remain, more gardening jobs have been created. Because of this, people there live more actively. Its one of the best examples driven by government which improves the environment. |
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Characters: Peter; Wendy, Slightly, Nibs, the twins |
When everyone was ready, Peter knocked on the door gently. The door opened slowly, and a lady came out. It was Wendy. The boys all took off their hats "Where am I?" Wendy asked.
Of course, Slightly was the first to get a word in.
"Wendy lady,'' he said quickly, "we built this house for you.''
"Oh, please say you like it!" cried Nibs.
"What a lovely, lovely house," Wendy said. The boys were delighted. "We are your children." said the twins.
They all lowered their knees and held out their arms.
"Oh, Wendy lady, please be our mother!" they cried in union.
"I would love to," said Wendy, "but you see I am only a little girl. I have no experience of being a mother."
"_______" said Peter. "We just need a nice motherly person."
"Oh, really?" Wendy said. "I think that is exactly what I am.''
"It is. It is!" they all cried.
"Very well," she said, "I will do my best. Come inside now you naughty children. I think there's just enough time for me to finish the story of Cinderella before I put you to bed."
They went in, and that was the first of the many joyful evenings they had with Wendy. By and by she made them comfortable in the big bed in their home under the trees. But she herself slept that night in the little house. Peter kept watching outside with a sword(剑), because the pirates(海盗) could be heard drinking far away, and the wolves were going about for food. The little house looked very warm and safe in the darkness. After some time, Peter fell asleep, and all was still and quiet in the Neverland.
(adapted from Peter Pan)
Over 5 million shared bikes in China are using services offered by Beidou Navigation Satellite System(北斗卫星导航系统). These shared bikes all use Beidou based positioning chips(芯片).
The chips have high qualities. They can deal with information accurately and quickly. They feature low power consumption. They provide a better user experience and easier management for the local companies. Now, several new models of shared electric bikes with Beidou-based chips have also started to be produced and put into market. Besides positioning and navigation, the chips will help users and bike companies record user speed and battery condition of an electric bike. The possible crimes during the bike using will also be recorded.
In fact, years ago, shared bike companies began to use positioning chips which worked well with both GPS and Beidou services. After the Beidou system became fully in use in the summer of 2020, shared bike companies started installing Beidou-based chips on more bikes in more areas. The latest chips which are popular with bike companies are smaller and have more advantages over the old types.
Since 2000, a total of 59 Beidou satellites have been lifted from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province. After the final satellite was lifted in 2020, the system was completed and started providing global services. Beidou Satellite System is designed and developed by China and it is one of four global navigation networks, along with the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo.
According to a research in 2022, by the end of 2021the total value connected with satellite navigation and positioning services in China was 469 billion yuan, a 16.3-percent increase year-on-year. More than 500,000 Chinese people now work at around 14.000 China's companies and organizations doing business connected with Beidou and other satellite navigation and positioning services.
To many young Chinese people, Premier Zhou Enlai is known as a key founder of the New China. But f people know he once wrote a martial arts novel called Jin Guo Ying Xiong.
Recently, a Sina Weibo user m this novel written by Zhou more than a century ago. Many young people showed a strong i in it and their admiration for the early pioneers of China. Another user posted the first page of the novel which Zhou wrote at the a of 16. It was published under Zhou's pseudonym(笔名) "Fei Fei" in a magazine beginning in October, 1914. However, the novel was never completed, but it can be found a. The Early Works of Zhou Enlai were published by the Central Party Literature Press in 1998.
A many young people expressed the regret that Zhou did not go on with the novel, they said he played a more important role in China's history. One wrote "The novel was stopped but Premier Zhou went on to s the Chinese nation out of danger!" Another added, "He gave up a novel, but he wrote a history of m China." A 29-year-old computer engineer said, "The pioneers of China are spiritual leaders for me. Remembering them helped me build up the r values. When I face problems in life, I am always reminded not to f the lives of those pioneers. The difficulties I face now are nothing compared with what they experienced."
People use colour expressions to show their feelings and describe the world. Many colour-related phrases are common in our speech. Let's see where they came from.
•The Blues
The phrase is a short form of "the blue devils", which also stands for sad feelings. This expression is also used to describe a type of jazz music that became popular in the south of America in the 1940s.
•Black Sheep of the Family
The phrase refers to a member of a family or a group who is unacceptable. In the old days, the black sheep were sold at a lower price than the white ones at the market, because their fleece(羊毛) could not be coloured. This made the black sheep an unwelcome member of the group.
•A Red-letter Day
A Red-letter Day is a day when something really exciting and memorable(难忘的) happens. It came from the practice of marking special western days, holidays, or other festivals in red on the calendar. Today, some calendars still use red numbers for special holidays, even weekends.
•Green with Envy
Writers such as Shakespeare in the 16th century used the colour green to stand for envy, but it was the Greeks who connected it with sickness caused by envy. When a person was full of envy, his or her body produced too much bile(胆汁), giving his or her skin a greenish colour. That is green with envy.
People use colours to express their feelings and describe the world. Many colour-related phrases are often in our speech. For example, the Blues not only represents but also refers to a type of popular jazz music. The expression Black Sheep of the Family means an unwelcome member of a family or a group. In the past, it was impossible to colour the fleece of the black sheep, so the black sheep were less money than the white ones at the market. A Red-letter Day came from the practice of marking a special day in red on the calendar when that day remembering. Green with Envy appeared because the Greeks believed that the colour green had to do with sickness caused by envy. Later writers began to use green for envy.
The folk art form, kuaiban, which has a long history, can be performed by a group or a single person. With one or two pairs of bamboo clappers—a kind of traditional Chinese musical instrument in their hands, the performers tell stories in the local dialect(方言). These stories are usually folk tales or about social life.
Recently, Liu Jiming and Wan Yifu made and shared three short videos by using kuaiban which were viewed about 4 million times. As a result, Liu and Wan have gained more than 1million followers on the Internet. They've created many new works to raise people's awareness. Some of their works are about the danger of drunken driving and food safety. They also write stories to show respect to people who make contributions, such as traffic policemen.
According to Liu and Wan, people can understand kuaiban pieces without difficulty. The stories told in kuaiban pieces are close to people's daily lives. Thus, they consider that it is a fun way to introduce the Chinese folk culture through kuaiban. And what matters to them is that both young people and old people begin to know the charm of the art form, kuaiban, which may not be paid much attention to, compared to other traditional art forms.
Folk art forms, like xiangsheng, pingshu and kuaiban, share something in common. These traditional art forms show the beauty and value of traditional Chinese culture so they should be known by more people and get to more areas. Luckily, through the Internet, new performers who go on sharing kuaiban pieces, like Liu and Wan are playing an active role. Hopefully these Chinese folk art forms will be alive with the times.
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Chinese folk art forms never |
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The introduction to kuaiban |
·It has a long history and is performed by a group or a single person. ·It is performed in the local dialect by using a special musical instrument made of bamboo. ·The content is about folk tales or what's happening in . |
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The stories of Liu and Wan with kuanban |
·More than 1 million viewers were attracted by Liu and Wan's kuaiban videos. ·They believe that kuaiban pieces can be understood. ·They use kuaiban pieces to attract people's attention to Chinese folk culture. |
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Reasons for the wide of the Chinese folk art |
·The beauty and value of traditional Chinese culture will be learned through Chinese folk art forms. ·The new performers sharing kuaiban pieces actively. |
