1 . The traditional Chinese lunar calendar(阴历) divides the year into 24 solar terms(节气). Lichun, the first of the 24 solar terms, lifts the curtain(窗帘) of spring. After that everything turns green and is filled with energy. People clearly see that the daytime is becoming longer and the weather is becoming warmer. Here are some things you might not know about Lichun.

As a solar term, Lichun entered people’s lives in the Spring and Autumn period. At that time, there were eight solar terms. According to some experts, the 24 solar terms were used for the first time in books during the Western Han Dynasty, when people set Lichun as the Spring Festival.

Wearing fabric swallows(织成的燕子) is a custom in some areas in Shaanxi. Every Lichun, people like to wear a swallow made of colorful silk on their chests(胸部). The swallow is a sign of spring and a symbol of success, wealth and happiness.

In China, it is said that the egg can be set upright on the first day of Lichun. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand on the first day of Lichun, he will have good luck in the future.

In many parts of China, people follow the custom of “biting the spring” on the first day of Lichun. They eat spring pancakes, spring rolls(春卷) and so on.

Our government is doing its best to prevent the rapid spread of the Novel Coronavirus across China. Here are some simple precautions (预防措施) that you can do personally to keep safe from the virus.

When you leave your home, wear masks and gloves and keep them on in subways, buses or in a supermarket. If you are in a social situation where you should take off your gloves, do not touch your face or eyes, no matter what itches (发痒). Keep your hands away from contact with your face. And before you put your gloves back on, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water. Change gloves daily, washing them thoroughly, and don’t wear wet gloves. Stay away from crowds and keep your distance from individual people—a half meter is a good standard. If someone is coughing, you can ask them to put on a mask to protect you from their potentially contaminated (污染的) fluids. If they don’t agree, you step a meter away from them or leave. Don’t shake hands or hug people—politely leave, saying its better for both of you not to come in close contact during an epidemic (流行病).

If you share meals, do not use your personal chopsticks to get food from a serving bowl or plate and. Of course don’t drink out of anybody else’s cups. Place serving spoons in each dish and instruct everybody at the table to get what they want from the serving dishes onto their personal plates or bowls, return the serving spoon to the main dish, and then use their personal chopsticks only to pick food from their personal plate or bowl into their mouth.

With these simple precautions, if they were taken by everybody in your household, building, office, and school, you will dramatically reduce the spread of the virus.

Music is a big part of our lives. But some US schools have cut music classes in recent years. For example, Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired（解雇）over 1, 000 teachers. Among them, 10 percent of the teachers taught art or music, according to The Washington Times.

In fact, this is not just a problem in the US. In other countries, such as China and the UK, music classes are not thought to be as important as other subjects like science, math and history. That’s because music is not seen as a very important life skill, and it isn’t tested. Many students are busy with schoolwork, so parents and students choose to focus on（专注于）subjects that are tested more often.

However, music education is very important for all students. Music helps with math and science. Students learn to count and how to divide. Students also use science to help them discover what sounds good together and what doesn’t. Students can learn a lot about languages through music. Many songs are written in other languages. Students must learn to translate these works to understand what they are singing about. Students can also learn about art. Some famous pieces are written about important pieces of art, and students learn about the artists as they’re playing the music.

Music education brings higher thinking to our children. It allows them to think about complex（复杂的）patterns. Students have to sense what every other musician does at every time.

Students also learn plenty of cooperation（协作）of body parts through music. It is not as simple as it looks. For example, when playing the piano, people see music notes and decode（解码）them in their brains. They also use their fingers to make sounds.

What can help us when we fail?

Don’t make yourself stop trying

A baby learns to walk not by walking. but by falling. He doesn’t give up until he learns to walk. You can do something new successfully if you keep trying. Sometimes, you may feel sad because you don’t make much progress.. But if you give up, your progress will come to an end.

Understand the power of optimism(乐观)

Optimism can open you up to more possibilities than usual. To be optimistic(乐观的) means to believe something good will always happen. Kids don’t ask whether they can do something or not because they know they can.

Learn to depend on yourself first, then others

Those who are independent can deal with problems and stress more easily than those who aren’t. And you should be more confident to be independent.

Don’t look back

Adults spend too much of their lives looking back. There’s nothing back there to see. A baby wouldn’t learn to walk if he kept looking behind himself while trying to move forward. Spend just 10 percent more of your time looking forward and you’ll find yourself in a better situation.

Failure(失败) is a part of life since the earliest moment of life. It’s a normal and natural part of life that is neither bad nor good-- it’s just how we learn. So the question isn’t whether you want to fail or not, but how quickly you can accept your failure. Just learn something from it and try again.