【推荐2】A Dream of Red Mansions is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Its writer is Cao Xueqin (1715—1763) from the city of Nanjing. It tells us a sad story between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu. Now people have made the book into an English opera. The opera was first played in the US in 2016. Now people in Beijing, Changsha and Wuhan can also watch the opera.

Stan Lai, the director (导演) of this opera, knows a lot about both Chinese and American cultures. But reading through this long novel in English is still difficult for many American people. Lai once asked his Chinese friends in America, “Is my attempt to make the opera mad(疯狂的)?” They answered,

“No, it’s an excellent idea!” His friends told him that a good way for Americans to understand China was to understand A Dream of Red Mansions.

The novel has hundreds of characters(角色). But Lai decided to cut the number of characters to just seven. And he tried to use clothes and stage settings to help Americans understand the story. The director and his team hope people from all over the world can better understand the traditional Chinese culture.

【推荐3】Chemistry is usually thought to be more difficult than other subjects, at least for the beginners. There are some reasons for this idea. For one thing, chemistry has a very specialized vocabulary（学科专用语汇）. At first, studying chemistry is like learning a new language. Also, some concepts（概念）of chemistry are hard to understand. However, with hard work and careful study, you can finish this subject successfully— and even enjoy it. Here are some suggestions to help you develop good study habits and better understand the topics in the book:

●Firstly, attend classes on time. Listen to your teacher and take careful notes in class. If possible, always review the topics you learn in class, and review your notes on the same day.

●Secondly, think carefully whether you really understand the meaning of a term or the use of an equation（方程式）. A good way to test your understanding is to explain a concept to a classmate or someone else.

●Thirdly, pay attention to things which have something to do with chemistry in life. Watch or do experiments in class carefully.

●Fourthly, question often and do not be afraid to ask your teacher or classmates for help.

You will find that chemistry is much more than numbers, formulas（分子式）and equations. It’s often used in daily life just like math and physics. Once you fall in love with it, you’ll get lots of fun.

【推荐2】May 18th is the International Museum Day. Here is some information about some special museums in the world.

Leila’s Hair Museum

These days, jewelry (首饰) made of hair seems like something that is not very popular among people, but during the Victorian Era(维多利亚时期), it was common to create and wear jewelry made of hair—especially the hair of loved ones. Leila’s Hair Museum has a lot of hair wreaths (花环) and jewelry pieces from the Victorian Era and earlier. It even has pieces containing hair from Queen Victoria, US presidents and Marilyn Monroe, a famous actress.

Giant Shoe Museum

Located in the famous Pike Place Market of Seattle, the US, the Giant Shoe Museum is a single exhibit wall located outside a store. To see the museum’s collection, a visitor must drop a 25-cent coin into coin boxes and then look through a stereoscope (立体镜) that shows different kinds of giant shoes.

Beijing Museum of Tap Water

We can’t live without water. If you want to know some interesting facts about water, maybe you should head to China to learn more about tap water, especially the history of the first water factory in Beijing. Here you can study over 300 objects on show to make yourself learn more about the history of tap water in China. The best thing about this museum is that any of its drinking fountains can provide you with an unforgettable experience of your trip.