1 . 4 HOMES FROM FAMOUS TV SHOWS

Ever find yourself wondering what it might be like to live in some of TV’s most famous homes? Famous homes can become part of the reason you fall in love with a series, so here are some of our favourite houses.

Modern Family: Jay’s house

The two-story contemporary home is bursting with bold colors and animal prints. But it’s the back yard that makes the house so appealing. The huge pool that’s frequently spotted in various episodes is a strong reminder that we need to move to destination with more sunshine.

Big Little Lies: Madeline’s house

Set on the Californian coast in Monterey, Big Little Lies has made us feel jealous over the casts’ desirable wardrobes, and huge beach houses by the sea. But by far the most beautiful beach nest in the series is Madeline’s house, which is actually located in Malibu. The real house boasts seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and a balcony surrounded by walls providing some unreal ocean views.

The Sopranos: Tony’s house

The spacious New Jersey home has a huge dining area, four bedrooms, an outside pool, and that famous curved driveway featured in the opening credits. It’s no wonder that the famous house has just gone on the market for a whopping 3.4 million! Research shows that the mafia mansion may have more than doubled in value since the show.

American Horror Story: The Coven house

Although taken over by witches in the series and called “Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies”, the elegant house is actually called Buckner Mansion and is some what of a landmark in New Orleans. The famous home is complete with tall ceilings, impressive chandeliers, and stairs that go on forever.

2 . Sending a thumbs-up can be seen as passive aggressive(冒犯的), according to Gen Z (those born between 1995 and 2009) who say they feel attacked whenever it is used. Whether the chat is informal, between friends or at work the symbol appears to have a very different, ‘rude’ meaning for the younger generation.

A 24-year-old on Reddit summed up the Gen Z argument, saying it is best ‘never used in any situation’ as it is ‘hurtful’. “No one of my age in the office does it, but the Gen X (those born between 1966 and 1980) people always do it. Take me a bit to adjust and get it out of my head that it means they’re mad-at me,” he added. Other young people agreed it is bad form, especially at work where it can make the team appear unfriendly and not easygoing.

“My last workplace had a WhatsApp chat for our team to send information to each other on, and most of the people on there just replied with a thumbs up. I don’t know why but it seemed a little bit hostile to me,” one woman said. One Reddit user also said the thumbs up actually means that “I’ve read your message and have nothing to add and I hope and pray...all the people in this group chat have nothing to say on it too.”

Older workers appear confused by the reaction, saying they use the thumbs up in work-related chats to show “I agree” or “I understood and will follow.”

Part of the issue is that young people tend to use the thumbs-up in jokes. Barry Kennedy, 24, he said he only used it to communicate with older people like his parents or older colleagues. A survey of 2, 000 people conducted by Perspectus Global showed that a majority of people between the ages of 16 and 29 believe that you are “officially old” if you use thumbs-up or heart emoji.

3 . The 2023 Tibetan New Year falls on Feb 21, almost a month after the Spring Festival. The celebration usually starts on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar and ends after 15days. Just like the Spring Festival, the Tibetan New Year marks the perfect opportunity for Tibetans to reunite with their relatives and friends.

With a sweet smell coming from the pot, Tsewang, 74, stirred the soup ladle from time to time at her Singpori home. She was cooking “gutu”, a kind of soup made of flour and a traditional dish for the night of the 29th of the12th month in the Tibetan calendar.

“Gu” in Tibetan means nine, which is a lucky number. “Tu” means “pasta.” Nine different fillings like wool, charcoal and chili a replaced inside the dough drops, and each of these filings has a meaning.

“It is the Tibetan New Year’s Eve tomorrow. The family and relatives will be gathered together and welcoming a warm New Year at the new home,” Tsewang said on Sunday.

For 46-year-old Li Xijun, from northwest China’s Gansu Province, celebrating Tibetan New Year with his wife Drolma Tsering has become a part of his life after living in Tibet for 26 years.

“We celebrate both Spring Festival and Tibetan New Year at home,” he said. Li started his commercial trade business in Tibet after retiring from the army in 1997. He me this wife in 2000, and has since settled in the border county of Yadong to take care of Drolma Tsering’s parents and younger sister.

It is the third Tibetan New Year for Yuan Yubing from Shanghai. Yuan came to Tibet to learn Thangka painting in 2017 and married Losang Samkhar, her studio teacher, the following year.

“I was more of a spectator when I first celebrated the festival,” Yuan said. But after years of living here, Yuan has already known all kinds of customs of the Tibetan New Year.

Yuan and her mother-in-law have cleaned up the windows at home, and all the New Year’s goods are ready. She has even replaced her mother-in-law to cook for the family for New Year’s Eve. “Coming to Tibet makes me feel that my heart has found a home,” she said.

On the morning of Sept. 28th, 2022, grand memorial ceremonies were held around China to speak well of Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher, politician and    1    (educate) who lived during the 6th-5th centuries BC. In the great philosopher’s hometown Qufu, hundreds of    2    (participant) took part in a ceremony in the morning at the Temple of Confucius, including local senior officials, foreign envoys (使节), scholars    3    Confucius’ descendants (后裔).

Built to commemorate (纪念) and offer sacrifices to Confucius in 478 BC, the Temple of Confucius    4    (rebuild) multiple times over the centuries. The temple is the model for all the Confucius temples throughout East and Southeast Asia,    5    (particular) in terms of design and style. Since 1994, the Temple of Confucius has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site — The Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu.

Together    6    the Confucius Memorial Ceremony, the International Confucius Cultural Festival was launched with the international Nishan Forum,    7    is a space to discuss culture and civilization, as well as a Confucius Culture Week for Chinese and foreign students.

    8    (found) in 1989, the International Confucius Cultural Festival is one of the    9    (large) nationally and internationally supported tourism festivals mixing culture, tourism, scholarly and scientific research with the aim of    10    (promote) ancient Chinese culture.

10 . Household chores like cooking, cleaning, washing the dishes, and making the bed are never done; they just get repeated like a broken record. Boring!     1    . But there are science-based reasons for changing your attitude towards chores. It turns out that doing chores is great for your health.

    2    . As researchers state in a report, doing undemanding tasks allows the mind to wander. Your mind gets a break, which allows you to consider old problems with new eyes. In fact, undemanding tasks stimulate (激发) more creative ideas than demanding tasks or just resting.

Chores are linked to a lower dementia (痴呆) risk. To discover what activities might be linked to a lower rate of dementia, researchers analyzed massive amounts of healthcare data from the UK Biobank. They found that those most engaged in household chores had a 21 percent lower risk of dementia compared to those least engaged in chores.     3    .

Finishing your chores can increase motivation. BJ Fogg, author of Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, states that the most important skill is recognizing and celebrating successes. Completing even a small task, like making your bed, can give you a sense of satisfaction.     4    . Similarly, author Admiral William H. McRaven argues that if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.

Chores are good for children’s mental health. Children develop a sense of ownership when they have jobs to do around the house and it makes them feel like they are an important member of the household.     5    . In my own case, I bond with my daughter by gossiping (闲聊) and singing while we do chores together.