【推荐1】Two thousand years ago，beside the beautiful and rich Loulan Lake，there lay Loulan ancient city of the Silk Road．Businessmen from every country gathered here and there were lots of dancing parties    1    

However，two thousand years later，this rich land suddenly disappeared from the map of China    2    

Loulan was first “discovered” by a Swedish man，Sven Hedin，in 1900．People from other countries all began to come here    3    He visited and studied this area and found many relics (遗迹)that were beautifully and carefully made．

It is recorded that the ancient city of Loulan was the capital of Loulan Kingdom during the Han and Jin Dynasties (朝代)，and covered an area of about 100,000m²．    4    Outside the city，there are some dried rivers and much farmland．In the past century，many coins，mirrors and other things from Greek and Roman have been dug out there．    5    

The Loulan Kingdom is now a lifeless area with endless “forests” of mounds (小丘）which aren’t easily seen in other parts of the world．So people from many countries have been interested in this place．

【推荐3】In the state of Qin (秦国), there was a man called Shang Yang (商鞅). He was a statesman (政治家) and worked out many reforms (改革) for the state, like paying more attention to farming and giving rewards (报酬) to soldiers who were successful when at war.

But these reforms were not easily carried out (执行) at first. Most people didn’t trust Shang Yang. In order to solve this problem, Shang Yang came up with an idea. He put a thin wooden pole at the south gate of the Qin capital. Many people came to see him and the pole.

Then, in front of the crowd, Shang Yang said loudly, “The man who takes this pole to the north gate will get 10 gold pieces.”

It was a simple job and the reward was so large. However, some time passed and no one stepped forward. They all thought Shang Yang was making a joke.

Hearing no answer, Shang Yang stepped forward and said, “The reward now goes to 50 gold pieces.”

This reward was unbelievably large. Finally, a man from the crowd came forward. He put the pole on his shoulders and walked to the north gate. True to his word, Shang Yang gave the man 50 gold pieces.

After that, the people of Qin were all talking about what Shang Yang did about the pole. They believed he was a man of his word. So when Shang Yang began carrying out his reforms, the people followed him.

Under these great reforms, Qin grew stronger and stronger. At last, Qin made all the seven states into one empire (帝国).

The year 2022 is a big year for sports in China. That’s because it not only has held the 24th Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, but also will hold the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

On August 6, 2018, the official emblem(会徽) for the Hangzhou Asian Games came out. It will be the third Chinese city to hold the Asian Games after Beijing and Guangzhou in 1990 and 2010. Called “Surging Tides(潮涌)”, the emblem includes six parts: a Chinese fan, the Qiantang River, a tidal bore(潮汐), a running track, the Internet icon and the glowing red sun of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

The Beijing Olympics was a great success. It expresses Chinese people’s aspiration(志向) for building a community of a shared future for Asia and mankind. It also helped the world to know more about China.

For the 2022 Asian Games, Hangzhou has already started building 33 sports venues(场馆). The themes(主题) for the Hangzhou Asian Games are “green, smart, economical and civilized!”

【推荐3】Many Different Kinds of Trash

Garbage sorting is a big issue worldwide. In recent years, some Chinese cities have been working hard on it.

Shanghai has worked with Alipay to create a “green account(账户)” service for its residents(居民). Account holders get points by correctly sorting their garbage. Through the Alipay app, they can exchange the points for milk, phone cards and other products. The city is asking all of its residents to sort their garbage into four groups: wet, recyclable, harmful and dry.

※Wet waste is also known as household waste. “They are things you don’t want but pigs can eat,” Guangzhou Daily explained.

※Paper, metal, glass and other things that can be reused are recyclable waste.

※Harmful waste includes things like medicine, batteries and fluorescent bulbs(荧光灯泡).

※Any waste that is not wet, recyclable or harmful will go in the “dry waste dustbin”.

China is improving its waste sorting efforts. There is still a long way to go. But it’s never too late to learn how to sort your trash properly and protect the environment.

Also, different countries are using different methods to sort their trash.

※UK: A smart bin

A UK company has invented a “smart bin” to help with garbage sorting. People just need to drop their garbage into the bin. A camera and sensors(感应器) in the bin can tell what type of garbage it is and correctly sort it. The bin also compresses the waste so it takes up less space.

※South Korea: food aside

South Korea is using a method called “Pay For Your Trash” to encourage its people to reduce food waste. When throwing away trash, people have to separate their food waste from their other waste and put it in a dustbin. The smart dustbin then weighs the food. People have to pay for their food waste by scanning a bar code on the bin. The more they throw away, the more they will pay.

※Japan: careful sorting

Japan is leading the world in garbage sorting. They sort garbage so carefully that even plastic bottles and their caps go into different bins. Different types of paper products—newspapers, magazines and cartons—also have their own bins. There are also factories that make bags, clothes and dolls out of recycled waste.

【推荐1】Let's Explore(探究) The Nature!

Are you interested in animals and nature? Want to enjoy your summer holiday and learn something interesting and useful?

Here comes your CHANCE! Youth Explore will prepare you with a THREE-DAY SUMMER PROGRAM! You can take part in many hands-on activities and meet with live animals—giraffes, pandas, tigers, and so on! More information about the program is as follows:

Age: Students aged 8-16

Groups: There are programs for you to choose from. Each program needs at most 15 students

Program cost: $230 for members; $250 for non-member

How to do: Simply come to our centre to get an application form.

Send your completed form on or before 11th July, 2019(Friday)

Notes:

1. NO FREE LUNCHES ARE PROVIDED because of personal food differences. You may either bring a lunch-box or pay for lunch at our restaurants.

2. Both programs will start 1 DAY later if there is a warning of rainstorms.

COME AND JOIN US NOW!! DON’T MISS THE CHANCE!!

【推荐2】There were two men who lived next to each other. One of them was a retired teacher and the other was a businessman. Both of them had planted many plants in their gardens. The retired teacher seldom watered his plants and didn’t pay a lot of attention to them. But his neighbor was very careful with his plants and watered them often.

The retired teacher’s plants were small, but still looked okay, while the businessman’s plants were much bigger and greener. One night, there came a storm with a heavy rain and strong wind. The next morning, both of the neighbors came out to check in their gardens. The businessman saw that his plants had come out from the earth and were totally out of life. But the retired teacher’s plants nicely stood where they were.

The businessman was surprised. He went to consult (咨询) the retired teacher. “We both grew the same plants and I cared for my plants better than you did. How could your plants still be okay?”

The retired teacher smiled and said, “Because you gave your plants too much attention. You made it too easy for them to grow. I gave my plants just a little bit of water, so they had to grow deeper to absorb (吸收) more water. That is why my plants survived.”

【推荐3】Welcome to our restaurant! We have fish, chicken, rice, eggs, fruit and vegetables for you to eat. We have apple juice, orange juice and milk for you to drink. Many people come to our restaurant for dinner every day. Do you want to try Chinese food? We have Sichuan food and Guangdong food here. They are nice to eat. And they aren’t dear. Anybody can afford (支付得起) them. On Sundays, children can have free milk. If you want to have dinner at home, you can take our food home. You will have a happy dinner with your family and friends. Would you like to have some? Please come in. You can order (订餐) the food by phone, too. Our telephone number is 627-7878.

【推荐1】AI（人工智能）can help us make phone calls, find the place we want to go and play games. And now, AI can do even more things.

Researchers have created the first translation system which makes sure you’ll have no difficulty in communicating in a foreign country.

The system, called the Pioneer, will enter the market in 2019. When set in an earbud（耳塞）, it fits comfortably in the ear. A pair of earpieces（听筒）is needed, one for each user. When the speaker talks, the Pioneer in the ear picks up the sound. And then the sound goes through the translation system that changes it into text in the listener’s language. Then, the text is translated into a spoken form, and at last the Pioneer “whispers（私语）” it back to the listener in his or her language. As a result, the listener can understand the other person even though he or she doesn’t know the speaker’s language at all.

But how can the Pioneer make sure the translation is correct? Researchers tried many ways to improve the system’s translation abilities.

In one method, the system translates every sentence from Language A to Language B, and translates the sentence back from Language B into Language A. This way, the system can improve itself and learn from its own mistakes.

Another way needs the system to repeat the process of translating the same sentence over and over again. This takes about three months and then the system can improve the ability of its translation.

Do you like the rat? It has both bad and good qualities in people's eyes.

The rat is the enemy of the cat. As a Chinese folk story goes, the rat and cat decided to attend a competition held by the Jade Emperor. It would decide the zodiac animals（生肖）. However, the smart rat did not wake the cat up and at last won by riding on the ox's back to sneak ahead. Thus the rat became the first on the 12 Chinese zodiac signs and became an enemy of the cat. So when Chinese people talk about the rat, they are likely to see it as greedy and dishonest. For example, there is the phrase "a thief's eyebrow and a rat's eves", to describe someone who looks dishonest.

In the real world, rats are known for spreading diseases. It was regarded as one of the "four pests（四害）" in 1960s China. Rats have also long been blamed for spreading the Black Death, which took the lives of about 25 million people around Europe in the 14th century.

Nevertheless, it's time to know the other side of the rat, as the Chinese Lunar New Year is around the corner. The Year of the Rat starts on Jan 25.

Chinese literature has some positive views of rats. In the novel Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, written by Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling, a brave, smart and faithful rat, smaller in size and weaker in strength, fought with a fierce snake to save its friends.

There is also a folk story treating the rat as a great hero. It is said that the rat created the world by taking a bite of heaven, bringing light to humans. It helped people live by stealing firewood and grain seeds. As a result, many people respect the rat by offering food. Since rats live together in the society and have many babies with a high survival rate, they are the animals that know how to work together and can live easily.

With all these good qualities, it is believed that people born in the Year of the Rat are smart and good at making money.