2 . My favourite book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, talks about a formula called “SFF” which stands for “stopping finding fault”. I used to be a critical person and tried to find fault. I guess I somehow inherited this character from my father. Actually, many good qualities of my father are worth admiring except this.

My father is a person who constantly looks for mistakes in other people and he thinks no one is perfect in the world. His character created a negative atmosphere in my family. I was the same as my father, so I often felt angry, disappointed, depressed, and lonely in school.

After I had read my favourite book I began to seek “good things” in other people. It has completely changed my life. Now I feel happier, I have more friends, I have more trust in people, and I realize everyone has his own strength! Another important lesson I got from this book is that I should always behave myself in a positive manner. Let's admit that we sometimes complain about our situation. That's not good. Believe it or not, people don't like to listen to negative opinions.

One more valuable lesson I got from the book is that I should be a good listener. When I was younger, I only wanted people to pay whole attention to my words so that I could show them how important I was. I was very proud and would show off my achievements in school without considering others' feelings. I had very few friends and most people considered me as an arrogant person. Now, I find it much easier to make friends after making some changes!

4 . Do we have a movement signature?

As humans, we have several qualities that separate us from one another, such as our fingerprints.     1    

According to a recent study, each person has a unique movement signature (鲜明特征). Depending on the person, these differences can be subtle or pronounced.

    2     For the study, scientists attached electrodes (电极) to muscles in the legs of volunteers. The volunteer were then asked to perform activities such as walking on walking machines and riding stationary bikes (健身车), which were adjusted according to each person’s physical appearance in order to make sure everyone was judged using the same standards.

Scientists fed the information to a computer along with the volunteer’s name.     3     Next, the computer was fed information without the user’s name and it could identity the person correctly 99% of the time. The outcomes of the study showed that each of us does have something unique about our general movements.

    4     Since this is just a pilot study, scientists will do more tests to see if the signature changes with age and weight changes. But with a deeper understanding of the science of movement, doctors could possibly develop more intricate prosthetics (复杂精细的假肢).     5     Whether that’s cool or frightening is up to you to decide.

5 . Research is done all the time and most of it goes straight by us, but sometimes we come across some results that are too interesting not to share. It can be fun to find out about new facts, but sometimes you come across things you’d rather not have known. Luckily, we’ve got some fun facts for you today! It turns out that your hand can tell you a lot about your personality. It’s really quite strange. This research mostly focuses on your fingers.

The secret lies in your ring finger and index finger（食指）. It can say a lot about what kind of man you are. Yes, this test only applies to men because the length of these fingers indicates the level of testosterone（睾酮）in men. There are three types: A, B and C.

A. The ring finger is longer than the index finger

We’re talking about handsome men here. They’re charming and can get along with everyone. Yet they are a little more aggressive and are quick to take risks. This also means that these people often make more money than their colleagues with a shorter ring finger.

B. The ring finger is shorter than the index finger

Men with these hands are very confident and can even be a little self-loving. These people have no trouble being alone often and don’t like being disturbed. When it comes to love, they do not take a risk out there a lot. They’re not the ones to make the first move.

C. The ring finger and index finger are the same lengths

Maybe this says enough already. Men with these hands are good mediators（调停者）, devoted and loving. Everything is balanced with these people. They’re calm and everything seems to run smoothly, as if it’s all organised.

According to a long-history tradition, Chinese make lanterns and rice balls, representing reunion,     1     the Lantern Festival, the     2     (one) full moon of a new lunar year, which falls on Feb. 26 this year.

    3     used to take three days to accomplish all of the 30 plus steps needed     4     (finish) only one lantern, because the bamboo and paper     5     (be) the common materials. Today wire is used. The Lantern Festival marks the end of the Spring Festival celebrations.

Duan from a small village in Shanxi Province. He is one of the 400     6    (villager) who are in charge of taking a group photograph. In 2017, it was the first time the villagers     7    (come) together to have their photograph taken.

As well as lion dances, some other folk performances, and lantern exhibitors, the villagers have prepared a zigzag（Z字型的）pathway with wood sticks. All the villagers have to walk along it, in     8     hope that the road ahead is     9     (smoothly) in the new year.

In Fujian Province where the weather is much       10     (warm), people are preparing to plough（犁）the fields. In some villages, young men parade（游行庆祝）the fields praying for a harvest.

As one of the most important traditional festival in China, the Mid-Autumn Festival dated back to over 1,000 years ago. General speaking, people regard it a celebration of their hard work and harvest.

On Mid-Autumn Day, all family member spare no effort to go back home to have a dinner together wherever they are. After dinner, they appreciate the beautiful full moon while eat moon cakes, the traditional food for the festival, that is round in shape and means family reunion. Both of the moon, the moon cakes and the relaxed atmosphere combine to create a feeling of happiness in everyone’s heart.

8 . Next-generation fitness equipment and robots help you cook dinner. Those are a few of the countless new products expected to be shown next week at CES, the annual tech conference that typically sets the tone for the biggest trends of the year. Home automation, health and 5G will once again be hot topics, but many companies will also introduce pandemic-specific features to reflect our increased time at home.

Each year, reporters, exhibitors and investors typically explore Las Vegas showrooms filled with giant TVs, smart cars and robots, but CES will be online only for the first time in its 54-year history due to Covid-19.

The Consumer Technology Association, the nonprofit behind the four-day event starting Monday, said 1,800 exhibitors from around the world will fill its "digital venue" this year—a number that's down significantly from 4,000 in-person exhibitors last year. The move will allow tech companies from countries which have never attended before to take part in the online exhibition, but could also make it harder for smaller companies to get noticed without a physical showroom.

Registered attendees will be able to stream and re-watch keynotes from companies such as Verizon (VZ) and General Motors (GM), tune in to breakout sessions — about how, for example, technology is playing a role in vaccine deployment—and search through a registry of exhibitors to watch new product presentations.

It'll lack some of the signature ingredients of the trade show, such as hands-on time with the latest small machines and networking. But the technology that makes our lives more connected and convenient will still gain popularity.

9 . On October 3, 1945, a ten-year-old boy stood on stage at a contest. One of his teachers had encouraged him to enter the contest after hearing him sing one morning. He placed fifth.

A few months later, he received a guitar for his 11th birthday. What he really wanted was a bicycle. Two of his uncles gave him basic guitar lessons. But he didn’t like singing in public. He was too shy.

Yet something inside kept pulling him back to music. In 1948, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. The boy would spend every moment of his free time on Beale Street, the heart of the Memphis Blues Scene. He’d often bring his guitar to school. Yet his eighth grade teacher gave him a C in music. She told him that he had “no gift for singing”.

In 1953, the young man walked into the offices of Sun Records. But the record went nowhere. He tried out for a local singing group, but failed in the audition. He told his father, “They told me I couldn’t sing.”

Then Sam Philips, the owner of Sun Records heard this young man’s record. Sam invited him back to the studio and asked him to sing as many songs as he knew. Yet even then, it was not going well. The young man was about to go home when he suddenly picked up his guitar and started singing a 1946 Blues song, That’s All Right. Philips immediately began taping; he knew this was the sound he’d been looking for. Sun Records released the album. No one had ever heard anything like it before.

Within three years Elvis Presley（猫王）was an international superstar.

10 . Santo Domingo City—Full Day Tour

Santo Domingo is a magical city, full of history, culture and amazing buildings. It is the first city founded in America. At the beginning of the day we will pick you up at your hotel. On the way to Santo Domingo you will have a tour guide who will explain incredible details about the history of the Dominican Republic. Upon arrival in Santo Domingo you will make a beautiful tour of the most important monuments. You will also be on a romantic street, the first in America, “The Ladies”.

Duration: 6 hours

Hotel Pickup

Hotel pick-up is offered for this tour. Note: if you are booking within 24 hours of the tour/activity departure time, we cannot guarantee hotel pick-up. Once your purchase is complete, we will send you complete contact information (phone number, email address, etc.) for our local operator to organize pick-up arrangements.

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking

Not wheelchair accessible

Baby carriage accessible

Service animals allowed

Near public transportation

Babies must sit on laps

Baby seats available

Most travelers can participate

This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund（退款）

This tour/activity will have a maximum of 150 travelers

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.