4 . Children’s Games in Ancient China

Unlike the children nowadays, the children during ancient times didn’t have smartphones or computers to entertain themselves.     1    . Let’s take a look.  

Kicking stone balls

During the Qing Dynasty, kicking a stone ball around was a popular sport in the northern part of China, and it was often played in the winter to keep warm. Stones were carved into small balls and kicked along with feet.

Flying kites

Kites have quite a long history. The earliest kites were made of wood, instead of paper. Nowadays, the three most famous kites are the Beijing kite, Tianjin kite and Weifang kite.     2    . For example, the swallow-shaped kite is a well-known Beijing style.  

Playing hide-and-seek

Hide-and-seek is a traditional game for children, popular around the nation. Even nowadays, many children like playing it. There are two ways to play. One way is covering a child’s eyes while other kids run around to tease him.     3    .  

    4    

The closest thing to watching a film or television for entertainment during ancient times was going to see a shadow play. Folk artists manipulate puppets behind the screen, narrating stories and accompanied by music.

Setting off firecrackers

Firecrackers have a history of more than 2, 000 years. It is said that there was a beast named “Nian” in ancient China.     5    . After gunpowder was invented, it gradually replaced the bamboo joint cracker. Crackers are still set off during the Spring Festival to symbolize auspiciousness (吉祥).

5 . Many westerners plan their schedules at the beginning of the day, or perhaps a day or two in advance. If you would like to meet with a westerner, you should generally call at least a day in advance. If you do not, the person might plan something else during that time slot (时间空档).     1    However, in western culture having a schedule is stressed as an example of good planning and organization in one’s life.

    2    Also, the person being visited has time to tidy his home, wear proper clothing, and offer drink or snacks (小吃) to the guests. Without advance notice, the westerner may not be prepared for visitors.

If you make a visit in western countries without prior (提前的) notice, the person you visit may answer the door, but not invite you in.    3    This means he is unprepared for visitors at this time. This is not generally considered rude.    4    However, sometimes you may succeed in making a visit without an appointment. Appointments are usually made over the phone, but can also be made in person.

    5     In the west, these appointments are generally made through a secretary. Appointments are also necessary for meeting professional workers, such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, barbers, hairstylists, etc.

6 . It may seem as if Mother's Day was invented by a company named Hallmark,   but   people have been taking time on the calendar to give a shout-out to Mom for a long time. The Greeks and Romans had mother goddess festivals — although their celebrations didn't involve the menfolk taking their underappreciated mothers out to dinner. A more recent tradition was   Mothering Sunday, which developed in the British Isles during the 16th century. On the fourth Sunday in April, young men and women who were living and working apart from their families were advised to return to their mothers’ houses.

Mother's Day as it is observed in the United States started in the 1850s with Ann Jarvis, a West Virginia woman who held “Mothers' Work Days” to promote health and hygiene(卫生 ) at home and in the workplace. During the Civil War, Jarvis organized women to improve sanitary conditions for soldiers on both sides, and after the war she became a peacemaker, furthering the cause by bringing together mothers of Union and Confederate                    soldiers and promoting a Mother's Day holiday.

Jarvis's work inspired another 19th-century woman, Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe published her “Mother's Day Proclamation”, which envisioned(设想) the day not as appreciation of mothers by their children but as an opportunity for women to exercise their collective power for peace. Howe started holding annual Mother's Day celebrations in Boston, her hometown, but after about a decade she stopped footing the bill and the tradition faded away.

It was Jarvis's daughter Anna who succeeded in getting Mother’s Day recognized as a national holiday. After her mother died, in May 1905, Anna started holding yearly ceremony on   the anniversary and conducting a tireless PR campaign to have the day made a holiday. In 1908   she succeeded in enlisting the support of John Wanamaker, the Philadelphia department store magnate and advertising pioneer, and by 1912 West Virginia and a few other states had adopted Mother's Day. Two years later, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution   declaring   the second Sunday in May a national holiday.

It wasn't long, though, before whatever ideals the day was supposed to celebrate were buried under an amount of greeting cards and candy. By the 1920s Anna Jarvis was campaigning against the holiday she had been instrumental in creating. “I wanted it to be a day of emotionalism, not profit,” she said.

7 . After spending a term in Spain, I have been trying to work out which common impressions on Spain have some truth in them and which don't.    1    

Spain is always warm and sunny. This is not true. The city I stayed in, which is in central Spain, often becomes colder than London in winter. However, the city receives little rain all year round and gets very hot in summer.    2    In Andalusia of southern Spain, for example, temperature can be cool but pleasant in winter, but becomes very high in summer.

The Spanish love to have fun.    3    The Spanish people I meet tend to be very warm and open. Spaniards love to celebrate life through different festivals throughout the year. As well as religious festivals, they celebrate others such as La Tomatina, a festival in Valencia where people throw tomatoes at each other.

    4    This is true. Both locals and tourists enjoy watching Flamenco shows just as much, especially in Andalusia. It is also possible to see them in Madrid and Barcelona, but they tend to be more for tourists. I recommend seeing a Flamenco show in Cadiz or Jerez de la Frontera. The flamenco in Cadiz takes on a more cheerful style. Maybe this is because the people of Cadiz live by the sea and have access to beautiful sandy beaches.

Spain is a fascinating country, in which you are sure to have lots of fun. I find that a lot of the common impressions on Spain hold some truth.    5    Spanish culture is very complex and the traditions and culture, as well as food and weather, can vary between regions.

8 . When you go on a trip to America, you will see the word Motel on signs and notice boards. It is made up of “motor” and “hotel” and it is really a hotel for people who arrive by car (however, you don’t need a car to stay at one). You have to pay when you arrive for your room, which usually has a bath. Meals are not provided but there will certainly be a cafeteria. Americans eat a lot of salads and sandwiches. Along the main roads there are a lot of motels. Each tries to offer more than the others. Some provide television in every bedroom; others have swimming pools and so on. Motels are especially useful when you are in the country, far from a town or city. You will also find them in big national parks.

In these great national parks, you may meet guests you don't expect to see. An American friend told me a short story. In the middle of a moonless night，she heard strange noises outside her motel window in the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Thinking it might be a thief, she jumped out of bed, opened the door and crept towards a dark shadow. As she got close, she saw the thief. She was dreadfully frightened: it wasn’t a human thief-it was a big black bear. The bear was turning over some empty tins with its paws, looking for tasty bits of food. My friend decided to leave that particular thief alone!

There are also, of course, places called “rooming houses”, where they provide lodges（客房).You will see such signs as Tourists or Rooms Rent, and you could try one of these. A word of warning-looking for a room in New York during the tourist season is like looking for gold on the moon!

9 . Chinese Culture Shown to the World with Love Li Ziqi, a short video blogger specializing in traditional Chinese cooking and handicrafts has gained worldwide popularity.

Li has about 20 million followers on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter，plus 7 million followers on overseas social media networks. Many foreigners say they have got to know traditional Chinese food culture via her channel.

It is the spirit of craftsmanship（技艺） behind her works that makes Li's video clips attractive. She strictly follows the authentic traditional steps and procedures in making traditional Chinese food and handicrafts, such as peach flower wine and silk, and goes to great lengths to ensure her videos are accurate. Sometimes she spends several months producing one of her videos.

Li has been inheriting（继承） traditional Chinese culture in a rather creative way. A closer look at her videos will show that they are never with any "analysis" that makes people feel bored. They just show the audience each and every detail of traditional Chinese culture so that the latter knows how Chinese live their beautiful and elegant lives. It is that universal appeal that makes her works so attractive. Thanks to Li's efforts, many intangible cultural heritages that only existed in memories and written records now appear before our eyes. Via her short videos, Li presents the image of a beautiful and friendly China.

With the growth of the Chinese economy, people overseas are showing more interest in traditional Chinese culture. Li has shown how to satisfy that interest in a good way, namely showing the best parts of traditional Chinese culture with her heart.

To effectively present the beauty of Chinese culture to the world, we need more Li Zigi.

10 . Using Google's unique digital(数字的)technology, the stories of some English Heritage(遗产)sites around the country-from Tintagel Castle in Cornwall to Chesters Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall-are brought to life and shared by way of the Google Arts & Culture platform.

Stonehenge Skyscape	English Heritage's Stonehenge Skyscape enables people around the world to experience the skies above the stone circle, to learn about movements of the sun, moon and planets. Experience a live and special sunrise over Stonehenge, see the journey of the stars and the moon from within the stone circle and learn more about the design of Stonehenge and how its builders may have understood their place in the universe.
Osborne, Isle of Wight	Take a 360 video tour of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's palatial(豪华的)holiday home on the Isle of Wight in the company of English Heritage director Michael Hunter, including the Italian terraces(露台)with views over the Solent, which reminded Prince Albert of the Bay of Naples, and the Indian-inspired Durbar Room, designed to show Queen Victoria's position as Empress of India.
Audley End House and Gardens, Essex	Explore the story of one of the greatest houses of early 17th-century England, deep in the heart of the Essex countryside, and fly over the great formal gardens designed by Capability Brown.
Tintagel Castle, Cornwall	Explore this medieval(中世纪的)castle set high on Cornwall's north coast. Linked with the legend of King Arthur, for centuries this impressive castle and coastline has inspired the imaginations of writers, artists and even the brother of a king. Discover the Early Medieval history of a distant outpost(哨站)trading objects from Spain, North Africa and Turkey.