Recently, a deputy to the National People’s Congress (人大代表) advised cutting down the percentage of English classes and increasing that of traditional Chinese classes in school.     1    

The Ministry of Education (教育部) replied that they will strengthen (增强) the teaching of traditional Chinese culture.

Undoubtedly (毫无疑问), strengthening the teaching of traditional culture should be a priority (头等大事).     2     Instead, learning English can be taken as a way to help strengthen our cultural confidence.

    3     In this era of globalization (全球化时代), learning English can help us tell China’s story to a wider world and help them better understand China. Imagine how proud and helpful you can be while promoting (弘扬) traditional Chinese culture to your foreign friends in English!

Meanwhile, some of the best papers in advanced subjects of physics, biology, and math are written in English.     4    

    5     They are complementary (相辅相成的) and will help the country prosper.

2 . Were you moved by Chinese women’s football team? China ________ South Korea 3-2 in the final of theWomen’s Asian Cup On Feb. 6, 2022. It won its ninth champion. At that moment, quite a few fans ________ cried for the unbelievable achievement of the Chinese women’s football team. It was not ________ to achieve for the Chinese girls. In the 120-minute hard-fought battle with Japan, the girls ________ their best and beat the Japanese team, one of the top teams. ________ Japan has ever gotten two champions, those Chinese girls won with their strong will. And then the Chinese team entered the final against South Korea. China was 0-2 down in the first half. But the Chinese girls didn’t ________. With the encouragement of the coach Shui Qingxia, they got the confidence again. So they scored three goals in the ________ half. And even to our surprise, it only ________ them five minutes to score two goals. How brave and excellent those girls are!

From them, we learned what the Steel Roses’ (铿锵玫瑰) spirit is. The Chinese girls were ready for all kinds of difficulties in the competitions. That’s the most important reason why they could achieve the ________. Meanwhile, as the Chinese Football Association praised them, “If faith (信念) has color, it must be Chinese red!” We are ________ of the Chinese girls with faith!

The Spring Festival is one of the traditional festival in China. It is quite unique compared with the Western ones. Here are some important things to do to _____ the Spring Festival.

Spring cleaning is a must. It is usually carried out one week before the New Year. Chinese people do spring cleaning to welcome new _____ for the New year. Children don’t join in the cleaning activities but they will be busy at home, too. _____ the eve of the New Year, families will get together to have dinner. That is why the Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner is also called reunion dinner. Those who live in a different city or town will _____ home to have dinner with their parents. After reunion dinner, families usually sit together to watch the Spring Festival Gala. In some places, there are also some traditional Chinese performances like lion and dragon dance. At the same time _____ best wishes on the mobile phones. Everyone has a good time.

How are things going there? We’re all fine. And we can’t ________ to see you again on New Year’s Eve. Dad plans to buy some fireworks (烟火) and we all want to have a ________ in Mom’s favorite restaurant. Now we’re enjoying having a few days off. We need to relax and do some shopping. We also hope to visit Aunt Anne next week before we ________ to work. But it depends whether it will snow or not. It’s quite ________ to get to her house when there is snow. Usually she asks us to wait until spring. She says she will come to visit us soon. Oh, let me know ________ you arrive and I will have dad meet you at the train station. He will try to get there earlier.

Have a good day and see you on the 31st!

Steve

Why is setting goals (目标) important? Because goals can help you do and experience everything you want in life. Most of the time, you just let life happen to you.     1    

Successful and happy people have a plan of how their life should be and set the goals to help them reach their dreams. By setting goals, you are taking control of your life.     2     Think of it in this way. There are two drivers. One has a place to go clearly in mind which can be found on a map. She can drive straight there without wasting any time or taking wrong turns.     3     She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver. But she drives aimlessly (无目标地) around, never getting anywhere, just wasting time. Which driver do you want to be?

    4     They decide what they want in life and then get there by making plans and setting goals.

Unsuccessful people just let life happen by accident. Goals aren’t difficult to set, and they aren’t difficult to reach. It’s up to you to find out what your goals really are. You are the one who must decide what to achieve and in what direction to aim your life.

Research tells us that when we write a goal down, we are more likely to achieve it.     5     Also, when you write your goals in a special way, you are able to make yourself get nearer and nearer to your goals

7 . We want to know if your school has any unusual rules. Here are answers from some students in the UK.

We’re not allowed to go near any of the boys. The boys sit on one side of the classroom and the girls on the other.

Becca, 11, Surrey.

At my school, we all have to walk on the left and if we break the rule, we will lose our break time for a week.

Katie, 10, Essex

At my school, if you are in the 8th grade, you’re not allowed to write in pencil. You have to write in pen. If you make a mistake, you have to use a ruler to put a straight line through it.

Helen, 13, Isle of Wight

We’re not allowed to take hot food outside the dinning hall, even a small bag of chips.

Sarah, 14, Essex

We cannot write in any color except black.

Alison, 12, Moyle

8 . Along with firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, tea is considered one of the seven necessities for life in China. Now, it has also won global recognition (认可) as a shared cultural treasure of humans.

On Nov.29, Chinese traditional tea processing skills and their related social practices were added to the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) list. Since ancient times, Chinese people have been planting, picking, making and drinking tea.

More importantly, China's tea culture has formed Chinese customs. It is Chinese traditional custom that a host should welcome visiting guests with boiled tea. A poem by Song poet Du Lei reads, “I offer tea, not wine, to a guest on a cold night. When water boils on the stove, fire burns with flame bright (寒夜客来茶当酒，竹炉汤沸火初红).”

Boiling tea is one of the oldest Chinese tea brewing methods, dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618—907). Tea leaves were boiled for a long time and sometimes they were cooked together with other things. Later in the Ming Dynasty (1368—1644), a faster and more convenient method become more popular—steeping (冲泡).

These days, the old method is making a comeback. On the app Xiaohongshu, or Little Red Book, there are over 40,000 posts on the topic of “stove-boiled tea” (围炉煮茶). They lightly roast tea leaves before boiling them in a teapot on a stove. People sit around the stove in a natural setting and have snacks with their hot tea. Some also wear traditional hanfu as if it could take them back to those ancient times. Through “stove-boiled tea”, people can taste a slower life and find their inner peace. As is written in one Xiaohongshu post, “It is very relaxing to drink hot tea, feel the fall breeze, and chat with best friends.”