5 .    Lots of kids like to talk about sports, but Joseph D’Avirro talks about sports like a professional host in a show called Sliders & Curveballs. The 9-year-old from Newington, Connecticut is a natural at sports talk and has been broadcasting the show—which is about baseball, basketball and other sports—with his dad, Mike D’Avirro, since September 2019.

   The D’Avirro started the broadcast after two former college roommates of Mike died, which made Mike want to spend more time with his son. Then the idea came to him. So far, they have done about 50 programs. Joseph’s favorite is when the father-and-son team interviewed Jim Calhoun, the coach leading the Connecticut Huskies to three national titles. They have also interviewed important sports authors.

   The father and son make about one 30- to 40-minute podcast each month. They prepare for the podcasts by deciding on the questions they want to ask the guest. Joseph asks half of the questions, and Mike handles the other half. Joseph reads his questions again and again to get them in his brain well. It is a lot of work, but Joseph says it is “a lot more fun than homework”. Joseph has also learned to speak up and speak clearly. He has to listen and to go with the flow of the conversation. For example, he said, “If the guest is talking about sports in the 1990s, you have to think about sports in the 1990s.”

When asked how long he and his dad will continue doing the show, he answered, “Until my dad starts growing gray hairs.” Joseph has other ambitions when he grows up—to be a sports player, a sports broadcaster or to own a basketball team. Those are big dreams, but Joseph is already living a dream: talking sports and spending time with his dad.

6 . A series of books in Chinese and English covering eight classic works of Peking Opera recently released, with the aim of revealing details about the art form in a direct way.

The bilingual (双语的) books are from the Translation Series of a Hundred Jingju Classics, a project originated from 2011, which is part of the effort by the central government to promote Chinese culture overseas.

Peking Opera, with its complex and colorful costumes and make-up, as well as the unique performance combining singing, dialogue, acting and acrobatics (杂技), has become a symbol of traditional Chinese culture. Over the last 200 years, more than 1, 000 Peking Opera shows have been produced telling the most classic historical stories in China, as well as giving glimpses of society, according to Wang. The art form was listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (非物质文化遗产) by UNESCO in 2010. Famous performers such as Mei Lanfang and Cheng Yanqiu have also taken Peking Opera abroad. And though foreign fans are impressed by it, few understand the stories told on stage.

To help foreigners understand the art form better, Sun Ping, dean, School of Art, Beijing Foreign Studies University, and her team have edited the new books. Different from previous English translations of books that mostly covered the scripts (剧本) of Peking Opera plays, the new series introduces nearly all aspects of the art form, including the script, actors and actresses, performance skills, musical instruments and costumes, according to Sun, who is herself a highly regarded Peking Opera artist.

“It fills the blank in overseas promotions of Peking Opera,” says Liu Jian, a professor at the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts. “The inheritance and promotion of Peking Opera are very important. In a sense, promotion is even more important. The project sets a good example.”

Scott Ian Rainen, an expert from the United States, who works at China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, says he was happy to read the new books. Foreigners often don’t understand the plot in a Peking Opera play, but the books introduce the cultural and historical background, its character modeling, costumes and props, artistic theories and so on.

8 . Fly like superman!

Have you ever imagined how it feels when fresh air is in your face? Or to see the beauty of nature from the top? You can do it in a hot air balloon ride.

Hot air ballooning is the activity of flying in a basket hanging over a hot air balloon. Attractive parts of ballooning include the unusual quiet, the lack of a feeling of movement, and the bird’s-eye view. Since the balloon moves with the direction of the winds, the passengers feel absolutely no wind, except for brief periods during the flight when the balloon climbs or falls into air currents of different directions or speeds. Hot air ballooning has been recognized by the World Aeronautical Federation(WAF)as the safest air sport, and accidents seldom happen. However, you must follow some rules such as:

There are many regular (定期) gatherings of balloons and balloonists in Hidalgo around the year, which provide both a place for balloonists to interact as well as a place for visitors to entertain. You must try this activity at least once in a lifetime.