【推荐2】The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms(节气). It starts from the Beginning of Spring and ends with the Greater Cold moving in cycles. It is still useful today to guide people’s lives through special foods, cultural ceremonies and even healthy living tips.

Grain Buds(小满), the 8th solar term of a year, will begin on May 21 this year, and ends on June 4. It means that the seeds(种子) from the grain are becoming full. During the Grain Buds, summer harvest is about to begin. A saying about rain during this time mentions, “A heavy rainfall makes the river full.” Because of the great increase in rainfall, rivers are full of water. This is a good time to enjoy fish. It is also a harvest season for fishermen.

Frost’s Descent(霜降), the 18th solar term of the year, is the last solar term of autumn. The weather becomes much colder than before and frost begins to appear. The apple is one kind of recommended(推荐的) in China, such as “Eat an apple after meals. Even old men can be as strong as young men.”

Minor Cold(小寒) is the 23rd one. For most areas of China, it marks the start of the coldest days of the year and people always start preparing for the Lunar New Year. According to traditional Chinese medicine thoughts, people need to eat food that has more yang energy to prevent cold from harming their bodies. Another important traditional food for Minor Cold is Laba porridge(腊八粥).

【推荐3】What color of wearing do you like? Do you know “dopamine dressing (多巴胺穿搭)”? It’s one of the most talked about fashion trends (趋势) for 2023 and 2024. However, is there any science behind this?

“Dopamine dressing” came out from the book Dress Your Best Life. An American fashion psychologist (心理学家) wrote this book in 2020. In the book, dopamine dressing is about wearing colorful clothing to get more dopamine.

Dopamine is a chemical in our brain. This kind of chemical makes people feel good. Usually our brain gives it out when we eat delicious food, play with our pets, listen to our favorite songs, after we exercise or when we win a game.

According to Science Focus Magazine, there are studies that show a relationship between the colors of the clothes we wear and how we act and feel. One study found that wearing red can bring better physical performance. It also showed bright colors can make people feel active. One more study showed that wearing green can help people relax because it is the color of nature. Yellow, the color of summer and warmth, can bring people happiness. But there are some problems with these studies, as people from different cultures have different ideas about dressing and colors.

In a word, “dopamine dressing” shows that we can wear colorful clothes to get more dopamine and feel good. Dressing is more than just a trend. It’s also a way of showing ourselves. So, next time you’re getting dressed, think about which colors will bring out yourself best.

【推荐1】A teenage girl couldn’t stand her parents’ family rules, so she left home.

She wanted to be famous. But she had poor education and several years later she had to ask for food on the street for a living. Now her father has died. Her mother is an old woman. But she is still looking for her daughter. She has been to every corner of the city. Everywhere she goes, she puts up a big photo of herself on the wall. At the lower part of the photo she writes, “I still love you ... come back home!”

One day, the daughter saw one of the photos. The face was familiar( 熟悉 ). “Is that my mother?” she moved closer and read the words “I still love you ...” She cried. When she got home, it was early morning. She knocked on the door. The door opened itself. She rushed to her mother’s bedroom. Her mother was sleeping. She woke her mother up. “It's me! Your daughter is back home!” The mother and daughter held each other and cried happily. The daughter asked, “Why is the door not locked? A bad person could get in.” The mother answered softly, “The door has never been locked since you left.” The door of parents’ love for their children will never be closed.

【推荐2】Once there was an earthquake and many people lost their home and food, they had nothing to eat. A rich and kind cook sent for twenty of the poorest children in the town and said to them. “In this basket there is a piece of bread for each of you, take it and come back to me every day at this time for more. ” In a hurry, the hungry children got together around the basket, fought over the bread because each wanted to get the largest piece. At last they went away without even saying thanks to the good cook. Mary, a girl with bad clothes did not fight with the other children, but stood still far away from them.

When the badly-behaved children had left, Mary took the smallest piece, which was only left in the basket. She kissed the cook’s hand and went home. The next day the children were as badly-behaved as before. Mary got a piece of bread almost half the size of the one she got the first day. When she came home, her mother cut the bread open. Many new shining pieces of silver fell out of it.

Her mother was very worried, and said, “Take the money back to the cook at once. The silver must have fallen into the bread by accident. Hurry up, Mary. ” When the little girl gave the rich man her mother’s words, he said, “Don’t worry about that, the reason why I had the silver put into the smallest bread is that you are polite and considerate. I just hope that you can be always as satisfied and thankful as you now are. Go home now and tell your mother that the money is yours. ”

【推荐3】Harry and Annie lived a mile from town, but they walked there to school every day. It was a pleasant walk around the pond (池塘) on their way to school. In winter, when the ice was thick and hard, they went across the pond. But their mother did not like them to do this unless someone was with them.

“Don’t go across the pond today, children,” she said, as she kissed them goodbye one morning. “It is beginning to thaw.”

“All right, mother,” said Harry, not very happy, because he was very fond of running and sliding on the ice.

When they came to the pond, the ice looked hard and safe.

“There,” Harry said to his sister, “let’s slide over it.”

“But you promised mother,” said Annie.

“No, I didn’t. I only said ‘All right’, and it is all right.”

“I didn’t say anything, so I can do as I like,” said Annie.

So they stepped on the ice and started to go across the pond.

They had not gone far before the ice gave way, and suddenly they fell into the water.

A man who was at work near the pond heard the shouts of the children and rushed into the water to save them. Harry managed to get out without any help, but poor Annie nearly died before the man could reach her.

They went home almost frozen and learned a lesson they would remember for a lifetime.

【推荐1】Many people dream of traveling into outer space. However, spending too much time in space may cause health problems, according to NASA. That’s why astronauts shouldn’t spend more than six months on the International Space Station (ISS) at a time.

Muscle (肌肉) and bone loss

In a weightless environment, astronauts don’t need to use their muscles to support themselves, so their muscles start shrinking. To keep their muscles strong, astronauts need to exercise about 2 hours each day on the ISS.

Sleep disorder

In space, the sun rises every 90 minutes. It is hard for astronauts to get used to this light-dark cycle when they sleep. Also, they need to sleep in a sleeping bag that is fixed to a wall, and it is uncomfortable. Astronauts now have individual sleeping pods (分离仓) that help shut out some of the light. Still, studies have found that most astronauts only sleep about six hours each night, even though they should have eight and a half hours.

Brain changes

Scientists have found that the position of the brain changes during space flight. It can affect how the brain deal with how we see, stay balanced and move around. That’s why some astronauts can’t control their movement and balance after returning to the Earth. Scientists have also found that astronauts may get used to this change after going on more space flights. But they still need to do more research.

The spaceship and three astronauts of the Shenzhou XIII task were successfully sent to the Tiangong space station on October 16, 2021.

The members of China’s Shenzhou XIII task, Wang Yaping, Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu, gave a lecture to students around the world on December 9, 2021. The lecture meant the beginning of Tiangong Classroom. This was the first try of it. Millions of students across China watched the 60-minute televised event.

The second Tiangong Classroom was on March 23, 2022. Certainly, they were special, interesting and fantastic lectures all over the world.

Wang Yaping also took part in the Shenzhou X task that lasted nearly 15 days on June 11, 2013. During that task, she carried out the nation’s first space-based lecture to Chinese students on June 20, 2013. The activity made China, following the United States, the second country to have held a space-based class for students.

In the future, Tiangong Classroom will encourage more young people to study science and technology and learn something more about the space.