The sun was shining brightly over our heads and sweat (汗水) was pouring down our backs and faces. We stood still without making any noise, all hot and tired. But everyone kept standing as straight as trees.

It was something most junior high schools give to new Junior One students-military (军事的) training. We spent four days in a closed environment. Although we couldn’t go home at night and the training was strict and difficult, our humorous young sergeant (教官) was a real pleasure of our days. We laughed at his jokes, sat in rows singing different songs and listened to him telling true stories about his life. He gave us the feeling that sunlight and sweat were not the only things that military training offered.

After this journey, we were stronger than we had imagined and we were much braver than we had expected. Students who looked pale rested for a little while, then right away came back to the team. Students who were late rushed to the playground at once and began to run. Sweat poured down our faces, but we didn’t care about it at all.

Military training taught us to be brave and strong and never to give up. On the last day of our training, the confidence could be seen on our faces. We shouted so loud that our voices could be heard across the sky. With eyes like burning fire, we walked into the future. Now the sun is smiling at all of us.

There were actors performing Qinqiang Opera at the Tang Paradise on February 5th, 2023. Tang Paradise, located in the south of Xi’an, is a large cultural theme park showing the lifestyle of the Tang Dynasty. Qinqiang Opera, which came from the ancient folk songs and dances of the people in Shaanxi and Gansu province, is one of the longest-live forms of opera in China. According to historical records, the local opera dates all the way back to the Qin Dynasty (221BC-207BC). Qinqiang Opera is a reflection of ancient Chinese people’s daily life and feelings.

However, the development of pop and Western music influenced Qinqiang Opera deep in the 1990s. During this difficult time, many Qinqiang Opera actors had no choice but to leave the opera stage where they performed. They then took on several jobs to make a living, including working as businessmen, running clothing shops and acting in small film roles.

Qinqiang Opera was listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage in 2006. It has a great influence on the development of Qinqiang Opera. About ten years ago, the audiences were mostly old people. Now lots of young audiences pour in and Qinqiang Opera performances are warmly welcomed. The member of young performers has increased as well.

The revival of Qinqiang Opera was not only attracted more young actors and audiences but also reflected the country’s cultural development.

Take care of your plants! They may “shout” if you treat them badly.

Plants can make sounds when they are stressed, according to a recent study. “Plants use sound to communicate with animals all the time, so it would be very inconvenient for plants not to use sound at all.” Lilach Hadany, co-author (合著者) of the study, told Science Focus.

With this in mind, the research team started by recording plants’ sounds. They put sweet-pepper and tomato plants in soundproof boxes to shut off the noise in the environment. Several ultrasonic microphones (超声波麦克风) were then put near the plants, which can record between 20 and 250 kilohertz (千赫兹). A human adult’s ear can hear about 16 kilohertz. There were three groups of plants: One group wasn’t watered for five days, another group had some parts cut off and the last group was untouched. The microphones caught sounds from 40 to 80 kilohertz from the first two groups. The sound, which was similar to the noise of popcorn popping grew louder and louder during the five days of water stress. They then began to become weaker and weaker as the plants dried out. A stressed plan produced the popping sound around 30 to 50 times per hour, while the untouched group only produced around once per hour, according to the study.

Can you imagine how people on a more than 1200-meter-high mountain in Hunan get their letters and parcels? Over the past 16 years, YangZhengui, a 60-year-old man, has always been able to help people there to get them in time.

Yang is the only postman there. In order to get to the office from his home on time, which is over 30 kilometers away, he has to get up at around 5 a. m. on workdays. Before leaving, Yang sorts the parcels in his post office. As an experienced postman, Yang can complete his sorting in just about 30 minutes. He has to ride more than 70 kilometers along the mountain road for nearly three hours to complete his work.

When the parcels need to be delivered right away, he will always find a way to deliver them to the villagers, even if he goes there on foot, regardless of the bad weather. In 2007, when Yang was new, the road was not completed, so he had to deliver the parcels on foot for nearly one year. “The bags weighed about 35 to 40 kg and I had to carry them, walking over 30 km a day.” said Yang.

Before Yang started his job, his elder brother and father had also been postmen working there since the late 1990s. Together with Yang, his father and brother have provided delivery services there for over 20 years.

So far, Yang has traveled more than 40,000 kilometers and worn out four motorcycles. Although the trips were hard. Yang said he got such a strong feeling of satisfaction when he saw the smiling faces of the villagers after they received their parcels.