This winter Bing Dwen Dwen became one of the most _______ toys in the world. It’s a panda in an ice shell.

Two years ago, Bing Dwen Dwen was _______ as the mascot（吉祥物）for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The design was chosen from 5,816 works from 38 areas and _______ around the world. Cao Xue is the chief designer of Bing Dwen Dwen. He said the idea _______ came from the traditional Chinese snack bingtanghulu. But a simple snack couldn’t stand _______ a country by itself. Cao’s team tried many animals and plants and finally decided on a _______. “We don’t need to explain _______ to have it understood across different cultures,” said Cao.

However, there were already too many cartoon characters of pandas. The mascot needed to be original and _______. Cao first decided that it should be a baby panda instead of an adult _______. This decided the body shape of Bing Dwen Dwen—its body has the same length as its head.

Cao’s team looked all around the world to collect all the pandas they could find. They wanted to make sure their panda looked different. Through their hard work, they __________ in winning people’s hearts.

The year of the tiger has come. Let’s take a look at some big events in 2022 at home and abroad.

It was Mother’s Day, but the young mother was a little unhappy. Because she was 800 miles away from her parents. In the morning she phoned her mother to wish her a happy mother’s Day. And her mother told her about the beautiful lilacs（丁香）in the garden.

Later that day, when she told her husband about the lilacs, he said. “I know where we can find all that you want. Get the children and come on.” So they went, driving down the country roads. There on a small hill, they saw a lot of beautiful purple lilacs. The young woman ran quickly to enjoy the flowers. Carefully, she picked a few here and a few there. On their way home there was a smile on her face. When they were passing a nursing home（养老院）, the young woman saw an old granny sitting in a chair. She had no children with her. They stopped the car and the young woman walked to the old woman, put the flowers in her hands, and smiled at her. The old granny thanked her again and again. She smiled happily, too.

When the young mother came back to her car, her children asked her, “Who is that old granny? Why did you give flowers to her?” “I don’t know her.” Their mother said, “But it’s Mother’s Day, and she has no children. I have all of you, and I still have my mother. Just think how much those flowers meant to her.”

In July, China introduced the “double reduction (双减)” policy. It hopes to reduce schoolwork burden(负担)on primary and junior high school students. The policy calls for reducing homework and after-school classes. According to the policy, children below the third grade will not have homework anymore. It should take no more than 90 minutes for junior high school students to finish their homework. After-school training institutions(校外培训机构)are not allowed to offer extra education courses or advanced(超前的)teaching on weekends, holidays or during winter and summer vacations. One month has passed since the new semester began. How do students feel about this new policy?

“Our homework is clearly less than before,” said 13-year-old Shen Yuzhe from Beijing. “We are not encouraged to buy workbooks anymore. The exercises are mainly from the textbook.”

According to Shen, students have enough time to process new knowledge now. “Our teachers are also giving us more chances to do experiments and learn from real life,” said Shen. “For example, we went to research earthworms(蚯蚓)in a field during a biology class. This is a much better way to learn things than just hitting the books.”

For 13-year-old Zhang Hangming from Tianjin, the best thing about “double reduction” is the increased time in after-school activities. “We can now spend more time taking part in clubs and activities, such as dancing, volleyball and drama. I have joined a group called “leadership development” where I can learn all kinds of skills beyond schoolwork,” said Zhang.

Both Shen and Zhang find there are fewer exams now. But they think it’s not necessarily a good thing. “Exams push me to study harder. Each exam shows my progress as well as my weak points,” Zhang said.

Shen also pointed out that when burden is lightened, self-discipline(自律) becomes the key. “Some students now spend more time having fun when homework is finished early. But if you use all the free time to relax, you might fall behind other students,” he said. “

Welcome to Manor Farm U-pick Activities

We are known for our delicious strawberries. We invite you to visit the farm and enjoy our fresh products and great farming experiences. We’ll try our best to create a safe open-air environment for our customers under the circumstances (情况) of COVID-19 this year. Please read the instructions below.

To pick the strawberries, you need to make a reservation (预约) on our website. Reservations are open from 13:00 to 20:00 the day before the picking day.

Please don’t come to the farm if you are sick.

On the farm, you need to stay at least two meters away from anyone you don’t live with.

For safety, you must use our new baskets only. A basket alone costs 5 yuan. It holds about 2kg of strawberries and a basket of strawberries is priced at 50 yuan in total.

If children come, they MUST stay close to their parents. Running up and down the strawberry rows will NOT be allowed. Our workers will tell them where to start picking and the children should listen. We hope children will follow our safety rules in our fields.

No pets are allowed on the farm.

Any questions, please call us at 906-256-523.