Joining charity (慈善) event to make Christmas trees sparkle

In the West, Christmas trees are the    1    of Christmas seasons. But without decorations, what is a Christmas tree? Students from US held a decoration charity event, so the trees could have the    2    .

When Eleventh grader Caroline    3    in the charity event, she was carefully placing the fifty sets of decorations. Like many people where she's from, Christmas is her favorite holiday.

It all started with Caroline's teacher, Kellye Deane. Last year, Deane and her students    4    helped put tree kits together. This year she wanted to try something new.They hope to make trees shining just in time for Christmas and help hundreds of families that have financial    5    across US.

Deane is now working with Angie Slaughter, who    6    the Holly Jolly Christmas Project, which gives away Christmas trees to families in need every year. “What I plan to do is to look at the elementary schools that have the most free or low priced lunches because there’s    7    a greater financial need there. I work with the social workers and school teachers there, hoping to achieve more    8    results,” said Slaughter.

The students are    9    at the fact that there’s going to be a tree in someone’s home where there wasn’t one before. For the first time ever, the families are going to be able to have a Christmas tree just like the ones they’ve seen in commercials and movies. Slaughter will start to hand out Christmas tree kits to local elementary schools in early December. “The    10    is the person, not the decorations. That’s what makes this special” said Deane.

4 . Students’ Journey to Empower Rural Heritage

From Aug. 18 to 22 a team of 15 Tsinghua University students, representing diverse backgrounds from China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia, set foot on an overseas research exploration focusing on rural revitalization(振兴) in Indonesian villages, particularly within Nusa Tenggara Barat(NTB).

With the diverse cultural heritage, Indonesia is home to over 83,000 villages, each radiating its own charm and character.     1    

The research mission took the students to Sukarara and Sade villages, two of NTB’s tourist destinations.     2    Sukarara and Sade are a world apart from the busy cities to which most of us are accustomed. The villages are a living test to Indonesia’s rich culture and its devotion to preserving traditions. The Revitalizing these villages goes beyond mere economic development.     3    The weaving skills and architectural techniques of Sukarara and Sade villages are not only beautiful, but they are also an inseparable part to the identity of these communities. It’s essential that they strike a balance between progress and preservation.

As the journey came to an end, the students carry with them not only the memories of their experiences there, but also the responsibility to make a positive impact on these remarkable places.     4    They are optimistic that Indonesian villages can experience meaningful development, ultimately leading to increased opportunities for employment and an improved quality of life.

5 . Day of the Dead

Here’s one thing we know: Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is not a Mexican version of Halloween.

    1     Whereas Halloween embraces terror and mischief on the last night of October, Day of the Dead festivities unfold over the first two days of November in an explosion of color and life-affirming joy. Sure, the theme is death, but the point is to demonstrate love and respect for deceased family members. In towns and cities throughout Mexico, revelers(狂欢者) don(穿上) funky makeup and costumes, hold parades and parties, sing and dance, and make offerings to lost loved ones.

Day of the Dead originated several thousand years ago with the Aztec, Toltec, and other Nahua people, who considered mourning the dead disrespectful.     2     The dead were still members of the community, kept alive in memory and spirit—and during Día de los Muertos, they temporarily returned to Earth.

Today’s Día de los Muertos celebration is a mash-up(混聚) of pre-Hispanic religious rites and Christian feasts. It takes place on November 1 and 2—All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on the Catholic calendar—around the time of the fall maize harvest.

Cultural heritage is not just monuments and collections of objects. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says that cultural heritage also includes living expressions of culture—traditions—passed down from generation to generation.     3     Today Mexicans from all religious and ethnic backgrounds celebrate Día de los Muertos, but at its core, the holiday is a reaffirmation of Indigenous(本土的) life.

Day of the Dead is an extremely social holiday that spills into streets and public squares at all hours of the day and night. Dressing up as skeletons is part of the fun. People of all ages have their faces artfully painted to resemble skulls, and, mimicking the Calavera Catrina, they don suits and fancy dresses.     4    

8 . This Halloween, scare off evil spirits while protecting the earth!

1. Create home-made costumes

Apart from the fact that they’re expensive, flammable and mostly unoriginal, shop bought Halloween outfits are a terrific burden on the environment. From the much-too-high amount of water that is used to create them to the seven million costumes that will be thrown straight into the bin, and the microfibres released into the water from the ones that do get washed there are PLENTY of reasons against shop buying.

And let’s be frank, home-made costumes are far more unique and fun to create. For the scariest costume we could possibly imagine, why not dress up as the earth on fire?

2. Be considerate with your pumpkins

Pumpkins are a wonderful Halloween tradition but can be more damaging to the environment than you’d originally think. Harmful pesticides and fertilizers are used during farming and the nature of their large-scale production means they can be transported over vast distances Similarly, how you dispose of them once you’re done determines how big an impact they have.

Don’t let their delicious innards go to waste and instead make a yummy pumpkin treat, even go so far as to save the pumpkin seeds either for you or the birds. Then, once your carved pumpkin is past it’s best, make sure to compost (制成堆肥) it rather than throwing it in the bin-this will prevent the release of methane as it breaks down.

3. Scare yourself silly at home

Rather than travelling to far-flung places, keep the frights closer to home.

Halloween party to get everyone together and encourage car-pooling or the use of public transport.

Read scary stories and create a Halloween hunt in your garden for children to run around and find treats.

4. Make your own trick-or-treating goodies

If you’ve taken on the American tradition of trick-or- treating, why not whip up a few Halloween treats of your own? Apart from being tastier and more fun to look at, they’ll also reduce your consumption of packaging and likely will have a lower carbon footprint. Suggest to any neighbours that they might do the same, and if you go trick-or-treating yourself, be sure to use a reusable carrier.

Message on the International Day of Charity

Do you know when the International Day of Charity is? Every year, it     1    (serve) as a call to every person to act with unity and sympathy in the face of human suffering.

For this year’s observance,the world has a new focus for volunteering and givimg: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This new universal framework, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals at its core, is     2    (comprehensive) anti-poverty action plan ever    3    (adopt) worldwide. For it to work, we     4         release the full force of the human spirit.

Global philanthropy(慈善)keeps generating innovative approaches and    5    (provide)much-needed resources. The important new dimension is the dramatic rise of philanthropy in the Global South,     6    is leading new actors to become involved in addressing local and global challenges.

Charity is one of the best investments we can make in our common future. On this day of International Charity, I call on people everywhere to be part of our 15-year partnership for humanity, and to help make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for all.

Charity plays a significant role in the work of the United Nations and its agencies. Charity may come in many forms,       7    the volunteering of time and expertise to straightforward financial or in-kind donations by individuals, corporations or philanthropic foundations.     8    the case is, such generosity and kindness, with no expectation of financial gain, can make profound differences in human well-being.

Let us recognize charity for    9    it is at heart: a noble enterprise aimed at bettering the human condition. On this International Day, I appeal to people everywhere    10    (act) on the charitable impulse that resides in every human being --to start giving and to keep on giving.

10 . The Rio Carnival(狂欢节)

The Rio de Janeiro carnival, held annually in the month of February, is a spectacular celebration of life that attracts millions of people onto the streets of the Brazilian city. The whole country stops to watch, either in the city itself or on the television. It is estimated that each year 700,000 visitors come to watch from all over the world.

The music played throughout the carnival procession is called the “samba”. Many participants belong to “samba” schools where they learn to dance and play the music which is so popular throughout Brazil. There are about 30 “samba” schools with thousands of members. They perform for four entire nights in a huge area called the “Sambadrome”. The schools take part in an official competition and the best of them is awarded a prize. Each school is assessed on its costumes, the theme of its performance and the quality of the music. Some “samba” schools hold street parties and perform in their local areas because many people cannot afford to buy a ticket for the official competition.

Each school is led by a queen followed by hundreds of drummers and brightly decorated carnival vehicles. The Carnival Queens are the biggest stars and they are chosen from amongst the most beautiful women in each community. As well as beauty, the queen has to be very fit to lead her group of drummers on the slow procession through the streets of Rio.

“Blocos” parades have become an important feature of Rio’s carnival in addition to the “samba” schools. These parades are less formal and include groups of musicians from the same neighborhood who just want to sing, dance and have a good time. Today, they number more than 100 and the groups increase each year. They all dress in costumes or T-shirts with special themes or logos. Before the show they gather in a square, then parade through sections of the city, before performing near to the beach. Some of them have a particular place such as a cafe where they play and dance to attract spectators.