【推荐1】Who is the best teacher in Chinese history? Many would say Confucius (孔夫子). Confucius is a great teacher. He has about 3,000 students, and many of them are great thinkers.

Now people still love him after so many years because his ideas help them a lot. His most important (重要的) ideas are to be kind to others and be honest (诚实的). Confucius said that young people should look after the old. Brothers and sisters should love each other. Everyone should be strict (严格的) with themselves, and be kind to others.

People think Confucian ideas will make the world a better (更好的) place.

【推荐2】The popular talent show “Riding Wind 2024” began on April 19. It invites 36 stars to give amazing shows. Chen Lijun, a young Yueju Opera actress, is one of them. During her performance, Chen mixed opera singing with dancing to show the bravery of Chinese women.

Chen is a member of Zhejiang Xiaobaihua, one of Chinese most famous Yueju Opera groups. Chen began studying the art form at 13. With her tall height and bright character, Chen’s teachers encouraged her to play xiaosheng roles.

Chen is known for her xiaosheng role in “New Dragon Gate Inn,” a Yueju Opera show. In the show, Chen plays the role of a handsome man called Jia Ting. In her acting, Chen brings out the chemistry with her costars (合作演员). And her role is a mix of both man and woman while having a strange sense of beauty.

Her performance is helping bring new life and more audience to this ancient art form. “At first, most of the audience were common opera fans. But later, new audience, many of them were young people, began showing up,” Chen told China Daily. “Traditional Chinese opera must be passed on, but more importantly, it needs to be brought to a wider audience,” Chen wrote online on April 12.

A picture of 17-year-old Zhang Guimei has won great popularity on China’s social media. The young girl with black-rimmed glasses and two short braids is smiling brightly into the camera. Netizens are deeply touched by the fresh-faced girl in the picture, which is a far cry from Zhang’s now aged and weathered face people are familiar with, as it tells a story of a woman who has devoted her life to promoting education and fighting poverty in rural areas.

Born in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province in 1957, Zhang traveled to Yunnan at the age of 17 and has been helping girls from poor areas pursue education for over 40 years. Zhang helped establish the country’s first senior high school to offer free education for girls from poor families. The school provides free education to girls who would otherwise have had no chance to study after completing their nine years of compulsory education.

Despite having serious health problems, Zhang Guimei took morning classes with students for 12 years. She has also racked up 110,000 kilometers visiting her students’ families over the years. Most of her salary and bonuses were spent on students. Since the school opened in 2008, it has seen more than 1,800 students progress to universities and colleges.

On Feb 25, 2021 President Xi Jinping presented an award to Zhang Guimei to mark the nation’s poverty alleviation accomplishments and honor exceptional poverty fighters at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

【推荐1】Maggie is a lovely girl. She is only ten years old but she likes reading and thinking. One evening, while Maggie’s mom was preparing dinner, Maggie came into the kitchen. She stood beside her mom for a few minutes and then suddenly asked, “Mom, what is puberty (青春期)?”

When Mom heard the question, she stopped cooking and looked at her daughter with her mouth wide open. She wasn’t sure how to answer the question. Mom thought for a few seconds and then she said to Maggie kindly, “Maggie, why not look the word up in the dictionary? After that, we can talk about it. OK?”

Maggie agreed and left the kitchen happily. Half an hour later, she returned with a thick dictionary in her hand. Her mom asked her what the dictionary said.

“Puberty means,” answered Maggie, “the earliest age at which a girl is able to bear children.” “What do you think of that?” her mom asked with a smile.

“I’m not sure really,” Maggie replied seriously. “I have always been able to bear children but I can’t bear the old sometimes.”

In English, the word “bear” can have several meanings. In the dictionary, “bear” means “to give birth to a child”, but clearly, Maggie was thinking about its another meaning—to stand something.

Dave is from London. His uncle works in Qingdao. Last summer, Dave came to China to visit his uncle and spent 5 days in Qingdao. Clark, his uncle’s son, took him to many interesting places.

They went to May Fourth Square (五四广场). They went shopping in the shopping mall there. Dave bought some clothes, books, CDs and some gifts for his friends. Then they climbed Laoshan Mountain. Jenny liked the beautiful flowers and enjoyed the warm weather there very much. Dave was tired but happy. They also went to the night market on the last day. There Dave ate lots of nice food. It was really delicious and Dave liked it very much.

Dave really enjoyed his stay in Qingdao!

【推荐3】Once, there was a large stone on the vegetable farm of the Smiths. Anyone who went to the vegetable farm said the stone was in their way. The son Alan asked, “Dad, why don’t we move that stone away?” Dad Mike answered, “From your grandfather’s time, the stone has been there. It is too big to move.” Many years later, Alan got married and became a father. And the big stone was still there.

One day, Alan’s wife Gina said to Mike, “Dad, I want to move away the stone. This morning, I planned to water the vegetables on the vegetable farm. But unluckily, I fell over the big stone.” Mike answered, “The big stone is too heavy to move. If you could take it away, I would do it when I was a child.” Hearing what Mike said, Gina left.

The next morning, Gina decided to try moving the stone away. To her surprise, it didn’t take her much strength (力气) to move it. When Gina told the good news to Mike and Alan, both of them couldn’t believe it.

In our life, there are so many things that are like the big stone. They seem too heavy, but it is easy for us to take them away. We should be brave to try and practice.

【推荐2】Chess is called the game of kings. It has been around for a long time. People have been playing it for over 500 years. The chess we play today is from Europe.

Chess is a two-player game. One player uses the white pieces. The other uses the black pieces. Each pieces moves in a special way. One piece is called the king. Each player has one. The players take turns moving their pieces. If a player hands on a piece, he or she takes it. The game ends when a player loses his or her king. There are a few more rules, but those are the basics.

Some people think that chess is more than a game. They think that it makes the mind stronger. Good chess players use their brains. They take their time. They think about what will happen next. These skills are useful in life and in chess. Chess is kind of like a workout(锻炼) for the mind.

You don’t always have lots of time to think when playing chess. There is a type of chess with short time limits. It’s called blitz(闪电战) chess. In blitz chess, each player gets ten minutes to use for the whole game. Your clock runs during your turn. You hit the time clock after you move. This stops your clock. It also starts the other player’s clock. If you run out of time, you lose. Games of blitz chess are fast-paced(快节奏的).

The summer is coming, and storms (暴风雨) often happen. Though they often happen, some people don't take them seriously (认真地). In fact, it's very dangerous for people and it can even make people die at once.

So how do we keep safe during a lightning storm (雷暴)?

If you are indoors, stay away from windows and doors during a lightning storm. Don't take a shower or do any dishes, because lightning can travel through water. Turn off the TV and computer. I learnt that in a hard way, and my computer was broken. Never use the phone. Lightning can travel through the phone line and hit you.

If you are outdoors during a lightning storm, never take shelter (避雨) under a tree, because the lightning can hit the tree and travel through the tree to hit you. Stay away from anything that is metal (金属). Try to get into your car and close all the windows or go into a nearby building right away. If there's no building around, try to find a low place to stay in.Squatdown near the ground and put your hands over your ears. Never use a cell phone.