2 . 24 Solar Terms: 5 things about Major Snow

Major Snow, the 21st solar term of the year, which falls on Dec 7 this year. During Major Snow, the snow becomes heavy and begins to accumulate on the ground. The temperature drops significantly. Here are 5 things you should know about Major Snow.

Snowy winter

The snow in North China may last a whole day, breaking tree branches and blocking the road. In the south, snowflakes fall and the world turns white. A proverb about the snow says, "A timely snow promises a good harvest".     1    

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The red plum blossoms (梅花) in contrast with the white snowy world is a feast for the eyes and have inspired many great poems. The plum blossom, which originated in China, is respected in Chinese culture for its bravery against severe winters.

Eating lamb

Lamb is a favorite food for Chinese people during Major Snow.     3     People in Chongqing like to have potted lamb soup with their families and friends. Nanjing residents like to stew lamb with some plants to make it more nutritious.

Making sausages

During Major Snow, people in southern China make sausages, an important part of preparation for the Spring Festival.    4    . The sausage should be dried in the shade, and is edible after a week.

Preventing respiratory (呼吸道的) illness

During this period, Chinese people watch for outbreaks of respiratory illness, which can be prevented by wearing a warm scarf to protect the neck and properly drinking water.    5    . At the same time, don't drink cold water after exercise.

Sometimes, we all need that one person to believe in us if we ever want to change our lives. Thankfully, one homeless man’s note was about to get found by someone willing to help turn his life around.

Anthony Johnson is a 36-year-old who had been living without a home in England. Sadly, his time on the streets meant that Anthony struggled to find work. He soon decided to leave a note at a bus shelter asking anyone to give him a chance so he could make his life worth living.

It turned out that Anthony had once got caught up with the wrong crowd. Although he has turned his life around, Anthony had no way of making money and couldn’t afford a home. To top it off, Anthony had also been battling his mental health in the last few years and just needed a chance to make it for himself.

It wasn’t until 16-year-old Charlotte Howard saw the note that everything started to change. Charlotte wanted to help Anthony in his quest to turn things around and decided to start a GoFundMe page. Here, the teen hoped to raise almost $400-$130 to buy a trailer and the rest to cover the cost of the repairs.

It didn’t take long for Charlotte’s post to take the nation by storm, and the page soon had more donations than the teen ever imagined. In just six days, Charlotte had blown her initial goal out of the water as the page had received more than $2,300 in donations. It was way more than either of the pair ever expected.

4 . On a Sunday morning, Tim Abernathy walked off the dance floor at the Barn Dance and sat down in a chair to rest with his wife, Rachel. Then something felt wrong. His _________ got tight, then tighter. He grabbed Rachel’s hand, then _________ to the floor.

“His eyes had _________ back,” said Rachel. “His lips were getting darker.” The band stopped playing. People started yelling, but nobody _________ to act.

Someone _________ did. It was Johnny “Digger” Tucker. He swiped (挥动) his fingers through Tim’s mouth, thinking he could be choking. He started beating on Tim’s chest and began mouth-to-mouth. More _________ . More mouth-to-mouth. Then finally, Tim _________ a breath. The paramedics (护理人员) came, and Johnny quietly left.

“If Johnny hadn’t been there, I would be _________ my husband now, “said Rachel. Folks say Johnny Tucker is the type of man you’d call at 2 a. m. Maybe it’s because he knows more than most how _________ life is. Every day, he faces __________ .

Johnny is a gravedigger. He has dug the final resting places for about 20, 000people, each grave __________ a half feet deep in __________, frozen ground. “I treat everybody as if it were my family I’m burying,” he said. He is so respected that funeral directors arrange their schedules around his __________ .

So maybe it’s not __________ that Johnny often finds himself in a position to lend a hand. That night Johnny and his wife were __________ when the band played an old song. They turned around for one more slow dance. Minutes later, the gravedigger saved a life.

Economic development is necessary if we want to improve society. There comes a time     1     the old must give way to the new.     2     (keep) the right balance between progress and the protection of cultural sites can be a big challenge. Big challenges, however, can sometimes lead to great     3     (solve). In order to benefit the area, the Egyptian government wanted to build a new dam     4     the Nile. But the     5     (propose) led to protests. Later, a committee       6     (establish) to limit damage to the Egyptian buildings and prevent the     7     (lose) of cultural relics. Temples and other cultural sites were taken down piece by piece, and then moved and put back together again in a place     8     they were safe from the water. When the project     9     (end) in 1980, it was considered     10     great success.

7 . The Biggest Stadiums in the World

People have been pouring into stadiums since the days of ancient Greece. In around 80 A.D., the Romans built the Colosseum, which remains the world’s best known stadium and continues to inform contemporary design. Rome’s Colosseum was 157 feet tall and had 80 entrances, seating 50,000 people. However, that was small fry compared with the city’s Circus Maximus, which accommodated around 250,000 people.

These days, safety regulations-not to mention the modern sports fan’s desire for a good view and comfortable seat — tend to keep stadium capacities (容量) slightly lower. Even soccer fans tend to have a seat each; gone are the days of thousands standing to watch the match.

For the biggest stadiums in the world, we have used data supplied by the World Atlas list so far, which ranks them by their stated permanent capacity, as well as updated information from official stadium websites.

All these stadiums are still functional, still open and still hosting the biggest events in world sport.

·Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang D.P.R. Korea. Capacity: 150,000. Opened: May 1,1989.

·Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U. S. Capacity: 107,601. Opened: October 1, 1927.

·Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania, U. S. Capacity: 106,572. Opened: September 17, 1960.

·Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, U. S. Capacity: 104,944. Opened: October 7,1922.

·Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, U. S. Capacity: 102,512. Opened: September 24, 1927.

8 . Give with Love

Choosing a charity to support isn't as easy as picking one out of a hat.    1     . Here are a few things to consider to help you choose.

What cause do you want to support?

Typically, the first thing that people think about when choosing a charity to support is the cause. There are children’s charities, animal charities and charities that raise money and awareness for a wide range of illnesses, disabilities and issues.     2    .

Do you want to support a large or small charity?

There are big name charities such as the Red Cross, SPCA and Barnardos.    3    , some of which work at a local level. Decide whether you want to contribute to a large and potentially powerful charily that will be making big waves but will have high running costs, or whether you want to support and contribute to a smaller charily that might only help a few people al a lime but will be fighting to get noticed and raise funds.

Find your reason

Once you have decided that you would like to give some of your time or money to help others, you need to make some decisions. For instance, volunteering.    4    , while others want to meet new people, Perhaps you have been affected by a particular charity supports, such as cancer or child abuse. Or perhaps you want to add your support to your local school which relies on parents and other members of the community to help children with their reading and maths.

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Think about your existing skills: do you prefer hands-on work, are you good with people, do you have a background in administration or secretarial work? Charities need a wide variety of skills, such as working in shops, organising fundraising events, driving vehicles or. in the case of animal charities, walking dogs or checking out foster homes.