Large cloisonne (Jingtailan in Chinese) vases, striking plates and other colorful pieces     1     (display) in Beijing Gongmei Group’s arts-and-crafts factory’s studio near Yonghegong in the capital attract a lot of visitors.

Gaze upon these long enough, and you will be surprised by the     2     (diverse) of distinctive Chinese patterns traced by countless thin golden wires.

“It’s said that there are 108 steps in     3     process of producing cloisonne goods,” says Zhang Yongzhen, the factory’s director,     4     has practiced the craft for four decades. “The traditional handicraft is very complicated. No one can finish the process     5     (complete) by himself or herself. It’s a delicate art that takes dedication to every small step.”

The fundamentals of making cloisonne include     6     (shape) the object’s body; bending and inlaying copper (铜) wires     7     (present) surface patterns; coloring these wires; heating and finally, polishing and gilding (镀金).

Te technique was introduced     8     China in the late 13th century. It’s believed that cloisonne reached its peak and     9     (give) its present Chinese name during Emperor Jingtai in the Ming Dynasty. Lan means blue in Chinese. The craft was     10     (far) developed in the Qing Dynasty, following innovations in copper-smelting techniques.

2 . Powerful Benefits of Journaling

When looking for a way to better manage stress and feel your best, consider adding journaling to.     1     It’s a pathway to deeper self-understanding, emotional clarity, and psychological recovery.

Practice journaling as therapy (治疗)

By making journaling a regular practice, you create a space for self-reflection that can lead to personal growth and psychological treatment.     2     Once you start, with each word you write, you’re taking a step towards a deeper understanding of yourself and moving closer to well-being.

Release and process feelings

    3     Journaling provides a private, judgment-free space to explore and express emotions without reservation. This process of externalizing what’s inside can be incredibly cathartic (宣泄的), helping to reduce stress and manage extreme emotions.

Help recognize sources of stress

Think of it as a safe space to express how you feel, leading to a significant decrease in stress levels. Sometimes the first step in building the life you want starts with simple awareness. Journaling gives you a chance to recognize what stresses you out in the first place.     4    

Promote mindfulness

Journaling brings your focus to the present. Just like in mindful meditation (冥想), journaling gives you an outlet to observe thoughts and emotions without judgment. Think of this as an act of self-love, to accept yourself in the present moment just as you are.     5    

3 . Pickleball, which combines elements of badminton, Ping-Pang, and tennis, has two characteristics that make it a good choice for older adults. It’s slower than other racket (球拍) sports, and it’s easier to learn.

With a play area about a quarter the size of a tennis court and a plastic ball that doesn’t bounce as high or as fast as a tennis ball, you don’t have to run as much or as quickly. The bats are lighter and shorter than tennis rackets, making them easier to swing and control. There are fewer rules than tennis.

Plus, pickleball is more social than many types of exercise and it’s fun. In one study, participants rated pickleball 150 percent higher for enjoyment than walking. “People are finding it’s not boring,” says Cedric Bryant, PhD, chief science officer at the American Council on Exercise, who has played pickleball for more than 20 years. “It’s not something they’re doing just because they should, but because they enjoy it and want to do it.”

Pickleball is an effective workout, and like walking, you can adjust the intensity to your preferences. A friendly doubles match can qualify as proper exercise. A competitive singles match is likely to be tighter.

And pickleball offers plenty of health pluses. After six weeks of playing an hour of pickleball three times a week, older adults improved their cardiorespiratory (心肺的) fitness and blood pressure, according to a study published in 2018 in the International Journal of Research in Exercise Physiology. Another study found that the activity may keep you mentally sharp. “You’re making a lot of quick decisions while engaged in a physical task,” says study author David Bolton, PhD, assistant professor at Utah State University in Logan. “It is effectively training cognitive (认知的) ability.”

But it is not without risks of getting injured. Don’t just hit the court and go right into having a game. A warm-up is the best defense against injury, so take at least 5 minutes to prepare your body.

4 . When Sharaine and Wilson moved their family to Rhode Island, they already had a houseful. Five kids, a busy schedule, a long list of house projects and a whole new neighborhood _______ little time for anything else. And then Paul _______.

At 82 years old, Paul had just lost his wife, but he is still handy and _______. He walked across the street carrying a ladder to meet the new neighbors and _______ a little help with fix-up projects.

Sharaine remembers, “Our biggest _______ of moving into a new neighborhood was what if the new neighbors don’t like us. We have a lot of _______; they make a lot of noise.” But those fears were quickly put to   _______. Paul knows a lot about tools and _______ an old house that Sharaine and Wilson moved in, and he soon became a(n) _______ visitor of the family.

Thanks to Paul’s kind help, Sharaine and Wilson had no ________ in making a new friend. And neither did the kids, Paul made sure the kids crossed the street ________ after school, helped with homework and even ________ the little ones to brush their teeth.

“The kids run up to him like that’s their own ________,” Sharaine says. And that keeps Paul ________. There are neighborhood cookouts, birthdays, home projects and so on. He is also busy ________ a grandpa.

7 . The 2017 Noble Prize for Physics was given for the confirmation of a prediction made 101 years earlier. In 1916 Albert Einstein, whose theories of special and general relativity revolutionized scientists’ understanding of the universe, predicted that, in certain circumstances, the fabric of the universe itself should swing and bend.

The cause is gravitational waves In 2015 gravitational waves were directly observed for the first time. LIGO, an American observatory based in Washington State in that country’s northwest, and Louisiana in the southeast, detected waves produced by a pair of crashing black holes, each about 30 times the mass of the sun. That produced ripples (波纹) in space-time with a frequency of about 150 Hz, or cycles per second, and a wavelength of around 2, 000km.

This detection marked the beginning of the era of gravitational wave astronomy, which uses gravity to examine the universe in the same way that conventional astronomy uses electromagnetic radiation, from visible light to radio waves and gamma rays. On June 29th four projects led by researchers in America, Australia, China and Europe claimed to have pushed forward the state of that emerging art. They announced the detection of new, extremely low frequency gravitational waves which could offer insights into some of the hardest-to-study bits of the universe.

Gravitational wave detectors are interferometers (干涉仪). They work by dividing a ray of light into two,and sending each half down one of a pair of long,straight arms. At the end of the arms,the light waves are reflected back towards the source, where they are recombined. If that journey is uninterrupted, the returning rays will cancel each other out when they are put back together. If they do not, then that suggests some disturbance has disturbed them on their journey.

8 . The British accent of Cary Gran has finally been revealed after a fellow actor tracked down a secretly tape recording of the Bristol-born big screen superstar.

Jason Isaacs, who plays Cary Grant in a coming ITV biopic (传记片), said that although setting his mind on figuring out the actor’s real accent, he had become upset by the absence of interviews with Cary Grant.

The star, whose death aged 82 in 1986 brought to an end one of the 20th century’s greatest screen careers, rarely spoke in public and would always adopt a mid-American accent for the cameras

Isaacs, 60, said this week that after some “detective work”, he found out about an interview Cary Grant gave to a student from the University of Iowa months before his death. The student’s classmate secretly recorded the interview in which Cary Grant spoke about his hatred (厌恶) of being approached by fans. The secret recording reveals Cary Grant’s true accent.

At the launch of the ITV drama Archie-after Cary Grant’s birth name Archibald Leach — Isaacs said that when he landed the role, “the first thing I did was look for interviews of Cary Grant.” Isaacs added; “He didn’t want to be seen and he didn’t want to be known. There was nothing at all. Only the films. And that’s not what he spoke like. His accent changed a lot in the films.

Isaacs said of listening to the tape: “I felt like I’d finally made a real connection with him and that’s the voice you hear on screen in Archie. It’s more English than he is in the movies. People think they remember Cary Grant’s voice but what they remember is Tony Curtis in Some Like It Hot.”

The ITV biopic focuses on Grant’s troubled family relationships. Jennifer Grant, Grant’s daughter, said her father had rarely spoken about his childhood. “Sadly I think there was so much shame wrapped up in it,” Jennifer Grant said.

9 . Vietnam Quality Tour

This tour is the perfect introduction to Vietnam, with cultural activities and plenty of opportunities to interact with the locals. Learn more about the history of Saigon, and explore Hue for a glimpse(一睹) of the grand past of this ancient country. Hoi An will impress you with its stone streets and scenic riverside setting, while the capital city Hanoi features timeless streets full of local life, wonderful colonial(殖民的) architecture and a splendid history. The tour finishes as it started, with a showstopper—Halong Bay, where you’ll take an overnight journey by sea out onto the calm waters and wind your way through the breathtaking karst(喀斯特) scenery.

When booking this tour with The Times Travel Offers, you will get a high-quality free pre-tour extension, which includes an extra hotel night with breakfast and dinner, as well as a half-day cooking class which is of great value-make sure to quote TIMES-ON when booking.