【推荐1】I’m Sharon! One of my favorite countries to go on vacation is China. After falling in love with the country on a business trip two years ago, I took my children to China last summer.

We visited three cities, but Xi’an was the most interesting one. This old city is amazing and our children loved to ride bicycles on the famous city wall. The wall is about 14 kilometers long and it has a very long history. Visitors can rent bicycles there and it is very cheap. And on each corner (街角) you can take a rest and enjoy a bottle of cold   water, because it was very hot when we visited it in July. Trust (相信) me, your children will love the trip!

-------------------------Comments(评论)------------------------------

                                                                                                      Tina

                                                                                            Feb 23 ,2020

Hi, Sharon! I also think China is a great country to visit. We just came back from Beijing and we had great fun. Next time, we will go to Xi’an on vacation. Can you tell me some other interesting activities in Xi’an?

                                                                                                  Reply

                                                                                                  Sharon

                                                                                            Feb. 24, 2020

Hi, Tina! I’m glad that you love China too. I think you can try some Chinese food in Xi’an. They’re also a lot of places of interest in Xi’an. I’m sure you’ll love them!

【推荐2】Fairy tales may not be real, but you can visit a real village that looks like a fairy-tale setting.

Welcome to Giethoorn(羊角村) in the north of the Netherlands. The view of this water village is amazing. Some people even think it’s too beautiful to be real.

The village is called the “Venice(威尼斯) of Netherlands.” There’re no roads and people get around by boat. If they have a car, they have to park it outside the village. Wooden bridges connect homes and stores, but some houses can only be reached by water. That’s why the postmen there have to send letters by boat.

Giethoorn is a quiet village. Only about 2,600 people live there. There’re no noisy cars or buses. The loudest sound you can hear is the quacking of ducks or the singing of other birds.

The quietness of the village doesn’t mean it’s not popular with tourists. Many come to enjoy delicious meals at the waterside restaurants and to take boat rides. What do you think of this village? Will you visit it if you can?

【推荐3】Have you ever been to Holland(荷兰)? If you live in Japan, and you have never been to Holland, you should go to Huis Ten Bosch(豪斯登堡).     1    

All the houses there look like the houses in Holland. All the restaurants have famous food from Holland, such as cheese.

Huis Ten Bosch is really big.     2     The park has an old-fashioned train, many buses and taxis, and several boats for people to travel around.     3     For people who like shopping, there are many stores where you can buy the souvenirs(纪念品) from Holland. For people who like movies, there are many movie theaters.     4     Athletic visitors can enjoy ice skating, tennis and swimming. For people who are interested in animals, there's a wonderful zoo.     5     If you want to visit the amusement park, you have to take a boat. There are many boat rides for visitors to Huis Ten Bosch.

【推荐1】Nowadays, many children spend hours a day looking at computer screens or other digital (数码的) products. Some eye doctors say all the screen time has caused more children to have what they call computer vision syndrome (视力综合症). Nathan Warford is an optometrist (验光师) in the US. He says he has seen more children having eye problems.

“More children come into my office because their parents have noticed that they have headaches or red eyes,or because their degree of short-shortsightedness appears to be increasing (增加) very fast and they’re worried,” he said.

Dr.Warford says part of the problem is that even if their eyes start to feel uncomfortable or they start to get a headache, some children don’t tell their parents, because they don’t want their games or the computer to be taken away.

Another part of the problem is that people blink (眨眼睛) less often when they look at the screen. A person who uses a computer or a digital product blinks about one third as much as we normally do in everyday life. If eyes can’t stay wet or are too tired, they will not be protected like normal.

Panda “Bing Dwen Dwen” looks like an astronaut. It wears an ice shell(壳) and looks fat. White is the color of ice and snow. “Bing Dwen Dwen” likes ice sports very much and is good at them. That’s why it is the mascot(吉祥物) of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The red heart shape in its left hand means welcoming the friends from other countries.

Do you think this red mascot looks like a lantern? Its name is “Shuey Rhon Rhon”. When the Chinese New Year comes, people always make or buy red lanterns. Red is the color of hope and good luck, so people think their dreams will come true in the new year. “Shuey Rhon Rhon” can give players hope and help them do well in the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games(残奥会) .

Many people in different countries like the two mascots very much, and they show their love for them on the Internet.

How are you? Right now I'm watching the weather report on TV. It says it will snow in Beijing. But it's summer in Australia now! Our summer is in December, January and February. It's really hot now. I like summer because my favorite sports are swimming, beach volleyball and surfing.

Our autumn is from March to May. Some trees turn yellow and orange, but many trees are green all year. The weather is warm and sunny. We often go to the Blue Mountains to enjoy the fresh air!

Winter in Sydney starts in June and ends in August. The weather is not very cold. It never snows, but it rains a lot. Helen and I like to watch football games, even in the rain. Sometimes we go to a beach and watch whales swimming in the sea.

Spring here is from September to November, I like spring best. The weather gets warmer and everything begins to grow. Trees turn green and flowers come out. My family often has a barbecue at a park or on a beach.

What about the seasons in Beijing? I know they are really different! What do you usually do in different seasons?

【推荐2】There are many stories about the start of Nian. It is said that Nian was a fierce monster. Usually it stayed deep in the mountains. But in winter, it couldn’t find enough food. So it entered villages to eat whatever it could catch. Villagers became frightened and moved away. Later the people found that Nian was afraid of three things—the red color, the bright fire and the loud noise. After learning this, they thought of how to prevent Nian from entering their villages. Thus, a tradition was established. People had couplets, lanterns and fireworks for the Spring Festival.

Now most people in the countryside still keep these traditional celebrations. However, the people in cities have used new ways to celebrate the Spring Festival. For example, they don’t send out so many greeting cards as before. Instead they usually send short text messages to greet friends on mobile phones. And for safety, fireworks were not allowed in some large cities a few years ago, making the cities much quieter than before. It seems that all Chinese traditions are facing new challenges. Maybe when the children of the next generation grow up, they can only learn about Chinese traditions from books.

【推荐3】When the six very best students from different cities in Guangdong Province all together chose universities in Hong Kong; when the very best students of Beijing picked up HK University while giving up the nearby Peking or Tsinghua University; when the highest enrollment (录取) rate of Hong Kong Science and Industry University reached 48:1, it’s the high time to ask where the real education heaven for students in China is.

Years ago, the answer certainly would be “Peking or Tsinghua University”. But now no one could give the exact answer without hesitation. The only sure thing is that HK universities have gradually showed an unusual attraction to a great many mainland students.

There’s no doubt to call this HK craze (狂热), which is even out of the expectation of those HK universities themselves.

How can HK universities shake the steady foundations of Peking and Tsinghua University and attract so many mainland students?

First, Hong Kong universities offer large-amount scholarship, especially for the top students who can receive the scholarship as much as 400,000 HK dollars. Since higher education has become a kind of heavy burden of many families, it’s easy to understand why the reaction to the generous offering of HK universities is great.

Second, most UK universities receive professors and students from all over the world and carry out bilingual (双语) education. This kind of excellent language atmosphere is another attraction for mainland students.

Furthermore, university students in Hong Kong have a better chance to study abroad as exchange students.

Can mainland top universities like Peking or Tsinghua University be calm as before when facing the unexpected competition from HK? Will they take relevant (相关的) measures to win back the top students who once help them set the worldwide reputation? Time will explain it.

The fierce competition brought by HK universities can be a good thing for an entire improvement of education in China. After the awakening and action-taking of mainland universities, they can perform better together with HK universities.

At least, it reminded the mainland universities the tuition fees (学费) are among students’ top concern when they are choosing universities. It’s time to move.

【推荐1】To realize the value of one year:

Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of one month:

Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby（早产儿）.

To realize the value of one ▲

Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one hour:

Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of one minute:

Ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize the value of one second:

Ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of one millisecond:

Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Time waits for no one Treasure every moment you have.

【推荐2】When you have good friends, the best way to get to know them better is to have a sleepover(睡衣派对). A sleepover usually includes having a party and sleeping next to your good friends all night.

In the UK, friends have sleepovers very often. Some have them once every weekend or just once every month. When you want to have a sleepover with your friends, your parents can call or text your friends’ parents to ask about a suitable date. Then, you have to arrange(安排) whose house you'll stay at — your own or your friends’ house. The last step is to finish your homework before you get together with your friends so you can enjoy your time together.

But there is one problem: What if the parents don't want so many children to be in the house all day? Well, parents can find somewhere to take the children. It could be a park, a swimming pool, a theater or just somewhere down the road.

There are many fun games you can play with your friends at a sleepover. You can have a water fight in the garden. You can play hide-and-seek in the house. While you play, you can enjoy popcorn and candy. If you don’t want to play games, you can just chat with your friends about whatever you want to share.

【推荐3】Every year, more than 26,000 children arrive in Britain. We ask some new arrivals what they like best about their new lives and what’s different from home.