On December 24, kids around the world waited for Santa Claus(圣诞老人). They thought that the fat, white­bearded man would bring them gifts. But do you know that some people would rather keep Santa out of the door?

Last month, 10 doctoral(博士的) students from Tsinghua, Peking and Renmin Universities said Santa Claus wasn't welcome in China.

“Foreign holidays like Christmas are now very popular in China, while fewer and fewer people celebrate traditional Chinese festivals like the Dragon Boat Festival,” said the students in a public letter.

They asked people to stop sending Christmas cards and giving gifts to their children. Instead, they said, Chinese should spend more time on traditional festivals.

They have lots of support. In Hunan, several people went out on the street on Christmas Day. They made poems and wrote Chinese calligraphy(书法) .

“Rather than spending money on Christmas, we should care more about our own culture,” said one of them.

But others have different ideas. “Celebrations of foreign holidays help us know more about foreign cultures. It is good for us to make friends,” said Liu Yang, a 14-­year-­old boy from Shanghai.

Sun Long, 13, from Beijing, sees the celebration as a way to make people happier and closer. “My school held a big party on Christmas Day. We played games and shared gifts with each other. I think we have got closer,” he said.

Following the success of bike sharing business in China, sleep-sharing has arrived. You can now sleep in the capsules (胶囊) at a hotel in Zhongguancun, Beijing. When you feel tired, you can simply scan QR code (二维码) on the outside of each capsule and pay 6 yuan per 30 minutes during off-peak times or 10 yuan per half-hour for peak times.

There may be no better way to see the best of our country than by watching Amazing China. It's a documentary about China's achievements over the last five years.

The movie earned about 300 million yuan at the box office earlier in March, Guangming Daily reported.

The International Marathon Race was held in Chongqing on Mar. 25th, 2018. Thousands of runners around the world came to Nanbin Road to take part in this race. It started from Nanbin Road, through Chaotianmen Bridge to Changjiang Bridge. The winner won 4,000 dollars, and each runner had a beautiful post card with Chongqing feature for free. A blind runner, Meng Ke, finished his race with the help of the volunteers. He was named “the most beautiful runner” in this race. He said, “I'm very proud of myself. This race gives me a chance to show myself. Thanks for the volunteers.”

【推荐3】Hu Yaohui is a school girl in Zhejiang Province. Now she didn’t want to speak to anyone or eat for a week.     1     She couldn’t stop thinking about her place in the class. She sometimes felt so stressed out. Hu is not the only one that faces stress.     2     In fact, stress is a normal physical response (反应) and it isn’t always bad. Sometimes, people’s stress is important during emergency (急救) situations such as when a driver has to stop his car to avoid (避免) an accident. However, too much or long-term stress will cause problems. People with too much pressure may have problems remembering. They may find it difficult to focus (专注于) on things.     3     They may even have other problems like sleeping problems, headaches and often getting colds.     4     The most helpful way is to learn how to do with the stress. For example, you might do with it by getting a good night’s sleep, or by exercising every day.     5     It’s common that everyone has stress. Don’t be too shy to tell others that you are having a hard time. They may help you and give you some useful advice.

【推荐2】People living in big cities are often busy and tired. Many of them would like to spend some relaxing time in small villages. There are lots of great villages in the world. Read and learn about some of the world’s most beautiful villages.

Reine

Reine is a fishing village in Norway. There are only 300 people living in the village. The village is small, but it sees visitors from all over the world every year. The village is very beautiful. It is near the sea and has mountains around it. There, one can go fishing, biking, or hiking during the day, and spend the night at a Rorbu, a traditional kind of fisherman’s house, or camping out under the stars.

Hani Village

Hani Village is in Yunnan Province. There are more than 800 people. This village lies on a mountain. Around people’s houses are not busy roads but green trees, and there are no noises but birds’ singing. Walking around the village for just a few hours, visitors can see the traditional Hani mushroom houses and learn about the life of the Hani people. Also, when visiting, a person cannot miss the village’s famous rice terraces (梯田). They are very beautiful.

Bibury

One of the most beautiful small villages in England is Bibury. The village only has a population of about 600. It sits on the River Coin. Along the river, there are many stone buildings. These buildings have a long history and show visitors the rich past of this village.

【推荐3】Do you often go to concerts or visit museums? If not, the following is useful for you. Researchers have found that people who go to live concerts and museums can live longer than those who do not. Experts from a London university looked at over 6,700 British people for 15 years. They examined how often the people went out and where they went. They found that the over-50s who often went to concerts were around 30 percent less likely to die in the next 14 years. The over-50s could lengthen their lives by enjoying the beautiful arts. These include art centers, concerts, museums, operas and theaters. What’s more, people who often go to concerts could have more fun.

The lead researcher wrote, “Over 40 percent of people in the least healthy group reported that they never took part in cultural activities.”

The UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock believes arts and culture can improve things like mental health, ageing and loneliness. The UK’s National Health Service will use the arts to improve people’s happiness and health. The researcher said, “I hope more and more people will have more chances to go to concerts, museums, art centers and so on.”

【推荐1】Plays are an important part of British culture. The West End Theater District (区) in London is the best place to watch a professional play, but acting also takes place in every school and village hall across the country.

There are over 2,500 non-professional drama groups in the UK today, and they are an active part of community life. People take on acting roles besides their regular jobs. They do it for fun, for the love of acting and as a way to meet new people.

Not everyone in a drama club is a skilled actor or actress, but enthusiasm (热情) is considered to be more important than talent! Friends, family members and neighbors enjoy get-ting together to watch the final performance. It’s a great way of bringing communities together.

Many people get a taste for acting at school. Every school puts on a play at least once a year, usually at Christmas, and parents love coming to watch their children perform. Ask any British person and they’re sure to have happy memories of being in their school’s Christmas play, whether they played the role of Mary or Joseph or perhaps even a sheep or a donkey!

Another Christmas theater tradition is the pantomime. Pantomimes are a type of musical comedy for families. The audience (观众) is encouraged to join in the performance—singing along with the music and shouting to the actors. Pantomimes are really fun to watch, especially for children.

【推荐2】March 16 is International Sleep Day. Studies have shown that a good night's rest helps us stay healthy，both mentally（精神地）and physically（身体地）：Sleep is probably the best tool we have for memory. and learning. A good night's sleep helps to learn better.

But what about getting rest during the middle of the day？Short periods of sleep after a mid-day meal，we call it napping（午睡），may help our brains work better. Past studies have shown that napping can help babies and young children learn better. And napping can help brain performance in older adults. Taking a nap may also help this group of people fight off age-related memory loss. As we all know，the older we are，the more memory we will lose.

The study found that people who took an hour-long nap did much better on mental tests than those who did not nap. The hour-long nappers also did better on the tests than those who napped for shorter and longer periods. In this study，it seems that the. most effective（有效地）.nap lasted for about an hour，but not much longer. Keep in mind，however，that these are the findings for those over the age of 65.

And there is a little difference between the old and young people. Doctor Michael Twery notes that an hour long nap may be too long for young，healthy adults. And 30 minutes is enough to remove the pressure to sleep and will help them feel more awake（清醒的）. If they nap longer；they will get trapped into（受困于）deep sleep，which can be hard to get out of.

If you have trouble falling asleep at night，limit（限制）your daytime nap to under 45 minutes. Also nap before 3 pm in the afternoon.

【推荐3】Last week was Road Safety Week at Jason’s school. All the students had to take part in a talk on road safety, which was given by a police officer. The following is what the police officer said:

“Most traffic accidents are because of the drivers’ carelessness. A frequent cause of traffic accidents is speed. Some people drive too fast. This means that it is difficult for them to stop quickly. You need to remember this when you are crossing the street or walking along the sidewalk.”

“It’s not only drivers to cause accidents, however, people on foot-pedestrians, and bicycle riders often cause accidents, too. Pedestrians sometimes walk out into the street without looking. You should always look on both sides before stepping into the street.”

“Do any of you ride a bike? Bicycle riders can cause accidents by changing directions suddenly or without warning other road users. Before you turn left, for example, you should make sure there aren’t any cars or trucks behind you. You should not turn until the street is clear.”

“The rules of the road are very simple. If we learn them and obey them, we should not have accidents any more.”