There are certain foods which should never be stored (储存) in the fridge. Some of them may surprise you     1     The cold temperature will make it hard.If you have made sandwiches with the bread, then you can store them in it.

We all love to have tomatoes.     2     The cold air in the fridge stops the ripening (成熟) process. And as we all know, ripening is what gives every tomato more taste. For best results, keep them out.

    3     It needs no help from us. Putting it in your fridge will in fact increase the speed of the crystallization (结晶). This will make honey harder or nearly impossible to use.

If you haven’t opened your watermelons, then there’s no need to put them in your fridge. Research (研究) has shown that watermelons can be stored in room temperature.     4     If we cut watermelons into halves, we should put them in the fridge. What’s more, they should be covered.

Cucumber (黄瓜) enjoys room temperature.     5     Cool temperature can make cucumber’s skin (表皮) go bad faster, so find a day and cool place at room temperature for your cucumber.

2 . Why did ancient Chinese emperors call themselves zhen (朕) or guaren (寡人)? Research shows that the word zhen used to be a first-person pronoun (代词) . Before the Qin Dynasty, it meant “I” or “me” and everyone from farmers to state rulers could use it. The word can be found in books like Li Sao (The Lament) and Shi Jing (The Book of Songs).

However, when the state of Qin defeated (打败) all the other six states and unified (统一) China, Qinshihuang, the first emperor in Chinese history, changed how this word could be used. He made it a rule that zhen could only be used by the emperor himself. Since then, the word has been used only for rulers.

Chinese emperors also called themselves guaren. In ancient China, emperors took themselves as the “Sons of Heaven”, and believed they had a “Mandate of Heaven (天命)” to rule. However, if the “Son of Heaven” was found to have poor morals (德行), they would lose the mandate. So, the rulers used the term guaren or guade zhiren (寡德之人), meaning “a person who doesn’t have morality”. In this way, they could show their modesty (谦虚) . In Chinese culture, people should not talk proudly about their own abilities. Modesty is seen as a virtue (美德). Ancient rulers hoped to win people’s hearts by calling themselves guaren.

However, historical records show that guaren lost its popularity after the Tang Dynasty. The emperors of the following dynasties used zhen more often.

We talk every day. When we have good news, we like to share it with our good friends. Even when something     1     happens, we will make it known to others soon. But can you     2     that a tree can talk and share news too? Though, it may sound strange, some trees try to     3     with each other.

Willow tree sends out a special smell when nibbled (叮咬) by insects. This smell tells the other willows that harmful insects are coming near. All of them make a chemical (化学物质) in their leaves     4    . The insects do not like it and they fly away soon. In this way, the willow trees     5     themselves from the insects. So trees can talk and give messages to each other.

5 . Can you live through the hot summer without an air conditioner? Maybe your answer is “No!” But how did people in ancient China drive the heat away? Hand fans were almost the only help.

China has been making hand fans for more than 3, 000 years. Hand fans came in different shapes, such as round and square. They were also made of different kinds of materials. The earliest form of fans was the feather fans in the Shang Dynasty. Cattail leaf fans (蒲扇) were cheap and easy to make and they were the most useful kind for everyone. Sandalwood fans (檀香扇) could send out a sweet smell.

Later, hand fans became far more than just something that could cool people down. They developed into artworks, in which round fans and folding fans were the most common.

Round fans were usually made of silk. They had beautiful embroidery (刺绣) on them. Women liked to use them. In ancient China, people often compared a woman’s deserted life to round fans, for fans are no longer needed when summer is over. Nalan Xingde once wrote, “If only life were as beautiful as when we first met, why should the autumn wind bother to pity deserted painted fans?”

★ . Because folding fans were usually made of paper and they could paint and write poems (诗词) on them. It was a way for them to show off their talents.

Today, Chinese people still use these fans. So the next time you use a fan, you may think of the stories behind it.

6 . As a traditional and meaningful board game, Weiqi was invented in China more than 2,500 years ago and it is still played until today.

The playing pieces are called stones. One player uses the white stones and the other, black. The players take turns to play the stones on the game board. As we know, the board surface (板面) has 361 cross points.The stones are placed on them.

Weiqi is also called Go in the world. Learning it can not only improve people’s logical thinking ability, but it can also develop their calm character. That’s why it is more and more popular with modern people.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Weiqi traveled to Japan, and then to Europe in the 19th century. Now it has grown into an international competition event. So far, people from over 40 countries have played it. Among them, players from China, Japan and South Korea have the highest level of Weiqi.

On February 19, Chinese-English Dictionary of Weiqi Term (术语) came out in Beijing. It’s the first professional (专业的) dictionary about Weiqi in China. As a symbol of Chinese culture, Weiqi has its special language. It also has its own way of thinking and the method of communicating. The dictionary will serve as a necessary tool and bridge for spreading Weiqi culture.

7 . “Sunday driver” was a phrase that described someone who drove his car down the highway when enjoying the scenery (风景). These drivers just drove slowly, taking their own sweet time, as if they had nothing to do. However, a Sunday driver wasn’t necessarily someone who needn’t work on a Sunday. A person could be a Sunday driver any day of the week. The phrase simply meant that the person was an obstacle (障碍) to other drivers who were really busy.

The phrase probably came out because there was a time when people could go for a relaxing drive on Sunday afternoon. There were many Sunday drivers years ago and especially on nice warm sunny days. There were no stores open on Sundays because of the “blue laws”, so you needed to fill up the gas tank and do any other needed shopping before Sunday arrived. Some states in the US had strict blue laws—Some activities were not allowed on Sundays. At that time, very few people worked on Sundays but some important workers such as those in the hospitals. It was a day that people spent resting, visiting neighbors and friends, or maybe going to grandma’s house for supper.

Today there are many people who go back to work and children who go back to school feeling tired on Mondays because they don’t have a good rest on weekends. However, there would be less stress-related illnesses if we really keep Sunday as a day of rest.

They can have different colors and shapes. They can be both red or green, round or sharp, big or small, and more importantly, loved or hated by someone. What can they be? Right, the answer is chilies (辣椒).

Many of us in China enjoy adding chilies to our food, but do you know that this spicy (辣的) vegetable could also be very dangerous? A 34-year-old US man lost his life in hospital after eating a Carolina Reaper, the spiciest chili. After taking just one bite, the man began to get serious headaches in the following days, reported by BBC News.

In fact, eating spicy food causes stomachache and headache. But if chilies are harmful, why do people eat this vegetable? What makes people love chilies so much? The human body is influenced (影响) by natural chemicals (化学物质) that produce “a sense of happiness”. That means chili makes them happy.

And chilies do good to people in another way. A study shows that the death rate (率) of those who eat spicy food once or twice a week is 10 percent lower than those who eat it less than once a week. The death rate is 14 percent lower for those who eat spicy food six to seven times a week. This makes people eat more spicy food to make their health better. So don’t worry if you love spicy food. It seems that chilies are really good for us.