【推荐1】33-year-old Jin Ruirui, a deputy (人大代表), wore a traditional Yi costume (服饰) and brought Yi embroidery (彝绣) to this year’s two sessions (两会). Jin is an inheritor (传承人) of the Yi embroidery of Chuxiong, Yunnan Province. She has advised developing the local embroidery industry and helping offer women’s jobs.

Jin was among the first group of college students in her village. But instead of working in big cities, she chose to come back to her hometown to set up her own Yi embroidery company. “My mother raised me with the money she made as an embroiderer. I want to carry on her skills and help more embroiderers like my mother—they might not get much education, but they know well about our local culture.” said Jin.

With the support from the local government and hard work of people like Jin, Yi embroidery has become a growing industry. They train embroiderers and have designers make the embroidery pieces more fashionable. They hold fashion shows to promote (推广) Yi costumes in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai and do business with foreign countries. Jin just got an export (出口) order of 6,500 Yi embroidered costumes to the UK last month.

During the past 10 years, more than 60,000 Yi women in Chuxiong have taken part in the local Yi embroidery industry. Their average (平均的) monthly income (收入) has grown from about 500 yuan to around 3,000 yuan. “Now, even some men have started to work as embroiderers, taking up about 4 percent of the workforce staff (从业人员),” Jin added. “We have made our lives better with our traditional culture and skills.”

The dragon plays a very important role in Chinese culture. How much do you know about dragons? They have two horns (角) and a long moustache (胡子). In fact, they are not real animals. With great powers (本领), they can fly in the sky or swim in the sea. They can make rain, too. People think dragons are brave and strong.

In Chinese, we call excellent people “dragons”. There are a number of Chinese sayings talking about dragons, for example, “Hoping one’s child will become a dragon.” It means hoping he or she will be successful. Chinese people are “the descendants (传人) of the dragon” no matter (无论) where we are. And we can find images (形象) of dragons in traditional Chinese culture around the world.

There are also some traditional festivals about dragons in China, such as the Dragon Head-Raising Day. We have different kinds of activities on that day. People wish to have a good harvest (收获) in autumn by celebrating it. As we all know, the Year of the Dragon is coming. Wish you happiness in all the four seasons and success and good luck in the year ahead!

At 10:00 a.m. on January 1st, 2024, a group of American born Chinese are performing dragon dances in New York. At the same time, overseas Chinese (海外华人) in Sydney, London, Toronto and other places around the world are performing dragon dances to welcome the new year, too.

The Dragon Head-Raising Day It falls on March 11th this year. To celebrate it, people eat special food like dumplings and spring pancakes. Hair cutting is also a traditional activity on that day.

The hot pot(火锅) is one of the most popular meals in China. It has a long history of about 2,000 years. It used to be eaten in winter, but now it appears on tables all year round.

Apart from(除……之外) its delicious taste, there are two other important reasons for the Chinese to like the hot pot. The first one is that the hot pot is a great way to make new friends. People sit around the pot, talking, eating, drinking and having fun. The other is that the hot pot is a “healthy meal”. 吃火锅能暖身。And it can improve the blood movement in winter.

There are several kinds of hot pots in China with different soup. Two of the most popular hot pots are Sichuan hot pot and Beijing mutton hot pot.

Sichuan hot pot is famous for its numbing and spicy(又麻又辣的) taste because of Sichuan pepper. As for Beijing mutton hot pot, mutton is its main part.

When you eat a hot pot in a restaurant, there are usually two kinds of soup base(锅底): clear and spicy. A clear soup base has a quite mild(温和的) taste, which is made from seafood or meat bones. A spicy soup base usually has Sichuan pepper, which is spicy and salty.

If you have a mixed group, a double-flavor hot pot(鸳鸯锅) is a must. It has a clear soup base on one side, a spicy soup base on the other and a divider in the middle.

Five Tricks to Make Your Memory Better

Remembering things, like names, dates, and other fine details is just like playing basketball. It's also a skill that can be practiced. The five memory tricks below can help train your memory.

Imagine what you want to take before you get it

There's something about walking into another room or passing through a doorway that changes our short-term memory and makes us forget what we went there for. Think about your purpose before you leave the present room, you'll increase your chances of remembering what you want.

Learn the chunking technique(组块技术)

We can only store a limited number of things in our short-term memory-about four to seven different items. The chunking technique is helpful for us to get past this limitation: Group several items into a larger whole.

Make good use of the power of music

We forget names and numbers so easily, except our favorite songs or nursery rhymes from childhood. Music helps us memorize things well. If you want to learn a foreign language, try training with music videos with words of this language. Generally speaking, singing can help improve our brain.

Create mnemonic pegs(助记符) to remember long lists

Even without the music background, you can use rhyme and rhythm to remember things like shopping lists or lists oral the US capitals. You can build a connection between the items and the things that rhyme. For example. l is a gun(imagine the first item being fired from a gun), 2 is a shoe (imagine the second item inside a shoe) and so on.

Take care of your health and learn new skills

Sadly, our memory falls as we get older. Taking care of our basic health, though, can help your brain work in a proper way. That means reducing the stress in your life, exercising and staving and keeping your brain healthy too by learning new skills.

Follow one trick that works for you and keep using it, and you can make your memory better and better!

【推荐2】In junior high schools or middle schools in America, kids study English writing, maths, science, biology, music and art.

At 12 o'clock, students eat lunch at school. They have meat, vegetables, fruit, bread and drink, but they like hot dogs and hamburgers best. American children like sugar, and after the meal they can have a small piece of cake.

Students sleep for a short time after lunch. They begin classes at 3 o'clock. They go to school on weekdays and have classes for six hours(小时)every day and then return home.

Parents let their kids play or watch TV until dinner at 6：00 p.m. After dinner, they do their homework. Sometimes children and their parents have a family activity(活动)together after dinner.

School Life in America

【推荐3】People who were born from 1995 to 2009 are called Ceneration Zers (Z世代). Have you wondered what interests Generation Zers most? There is a report about them. Let’s take a look.

According to it, they are interested in “mental health (心理健康)” and “Traditional culture” most. Reports on mental health problems of teenagers have increased (增加) in recent years. The attention they give to mental health shows that they care for their own well-being. When they don’t feel well, they will speak out and ask for help.

Although Generation Zers are young, they understand the importance of traditional culture. They believe that China is deeply rooted in traditional culture and would like to show it to the world. Zhao Yan, a junior 2 student from Liaoning Riwan Middle School said, “My school set up many clubs to help students understand the importance of traditional culture. I joined a paper-cutting club. I made a tiger-shaped paper-cutting. I also joined a hanfu club. I have learned a lot. It has not only helped me practice my handwork skills but also let me know the beauty of art. It’s our duty to pass this great art to future generations.”

Instead of only care about themselves. Generation Zers also set their eyes on social problems. Kevin Xu, a 16-year-old boy from Shenzhen, told the reporter. “I care about the prevention and control measures (防治措施) of COVID-19. I’m now studying in the UK. In February, the UK government ended quarantine (隔离) rules. It means that COVID-19 patients can go out. This would never happen in China! I think China’s “dynamic zero-case” policy (动态清零政策) sounds more responsible. A country should put people’s lives first.”

People seem to know little about Generation Zers. Thanks to this report, we are able to take a closer look at “what Generation Zers care about” and paint a picture of what they are like.

Moscow offers a mix of old and new buildings with many of the city’s buildings dating in the years between 1,400 and 1,500. The whole city looks like a wheel. Over 75 museums, many art galleries（美术馆）and theaters are located within the city. The oldest part of the city, Kremlin, is in the center. It is also the busiest area including many shops as well as cultural, and governmental buildings. Just outside the Kremlin walls is the famous Red Square, which takes its name from an old Russian word meaning beautiful and red. St. Basil’s Cathedral is also on Red Square. Built about 400 years ago to honor success, it is now a part of the State Historical Museum.

Around the world, people live in homes of many shapes and sizes. In some countryside, people live together with their family in a huge house with gardens or backyards. On the other hand, the buildings in cities are usually very close together.

A home can be any kind of building—large or small. Some people even have homes on boats, in tents or in caravans that can be moved around. Caravans are mobile homes. They are towed(拖，拉) by either a car or a huge truck. Some of them are holiday homes. We can see many families staying together in these caravans.

In the past, rich and important people built strong castles(城堡) to keep their families safe. The castles were built on hill tops with high walls and some even had moats(护城河). Moats were deep and wide ditches(壕沟) filled with water. They made it difficult for enemies to attack.

Today, we have different ways of protecting our homes. Some homes are installed(安装) with video cameras and an alarm system. These will help to alert(向……报警) home owners if someone tries to break in.

Homes are important to all the people. Everyone needs a home where they feel sheltered and safe. How are the buildings in some countryside?

I’m happy to be your friend. Today I want to tell you something about my city.

I live in New Delhi. It’s a big city in India. And it’s really beautiful and clean. There are lots of trees and flowers on the streets. We can go to places by bus and train. We can also ride bikes. There are many interesting places to visit, like the Red Fort, India Gate and Akshardham Temple. The Taj Mahal is not far from New Delhi and it is one of the most beautiful tombs（坟墓）in the world.

My school is near Connaught Place. Connaught Place is very famous in our country and around the world. Many visitors from different countries come to Connaught Place every year. I often talk to these visitors. It’s very interesting to talk with people from different countries.

New Delhi is a very nice place but the climate（气候）is not very good. We have very hot weather for 8 months and we only get 4 months to enjoy winter. I don’t like hot weather. It makes me sleepy and tired.

How about your city? Write and tell me something about it.

Yours,

Claire

In the mail, Claire tells Sue something about her city, New Delhi. It’s a big city in India. It’s beautiful and _______. People usually go to different places by bus, by train or by bike. Visitors can go to places such as the Red Fort, India Gate and Akshardham Temple. The Taj Mahal is one of the most _______ tombs in the world. Connaught Place is also very famous around the world and it attracts many visitors from different countries every year. She thinks it is interesting to _______ with these visitors.

New Delhi is a nice place but the weather is not very good. It’s very hot for 8 months and people there only enjoy _______ for 4 months.