2 . 24 Solar Terms: 5 things about Major Snow

Major Snow, the 21st solar term of the year, which falls on Dec 7 this year. During Major Snow, the snow becomes heavy and begins to accumulate on the ground. The temperature drops significantly. Here are 5 things you should know about Major Snow.

Snowy winter

The snow in North China may last a whole day, breaking tree branches and blocking the road. In the south, snowflakes fall and the world turns white. A proverb about the snow says, "A timely snow promises a good harvest".     1    

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The red plum blossoms (梅花) in contrast with the white snowy world is a feast for the eyes and have inspired many great poems. The plum blossom, which originated in China, is respected in Chinese culture for its bravery against severe winters.

Eating lamb

Lamb is a favorite food for Chinese people during Major Snow.     3     People in Chongqing like to have potted lamb soup with their families and friends. Nanjing residents like to stew lamb with some plants to make it more nutritious.

Making sausages

During Major Snow, people in southern China make sausages, an important part of preparation for the Spring Festival.    4    . The sausage should be dried in the shade, and is edible after a week.

Preventing respiratory (呼吸道的) illness

During this period, Chinese people watch for outbreaks of respiratory illness, which can be prevented by wearing a warm scarf to protect the neck and properly drinking water.    5    . At the same time, don't drink cold water after exercise.

5 . A first grade teacher from Suffolk, Virginia found a way to teach her students about black history by taking them back in time to meet celebrated black figures. For each day of Black History Month, LaToya McGriff has dressed up like a famous African-American pioneer and taught her students about their significant contributions to the U.S.

On Monday, February 3, she dressed up as Virginian native Mary Jackson and began her creative class. “She was a mathematician who worked as an aeronautical (航空的) engineer whom people referred to as a human computer,” McGriff wrote on Facebook. She shared a photo of herself in 1960s clothing, like Jackson would have worn when she worked for NASA.

Jackson was one of the three “human computers” described in the book and film Hidden Figures, which revealed the African-American female mathematicians whose efforts helped put men on the moon.

Once McGriff started dressing up, she kept going. By February 18, McGriff's Black History Month lessons were starting to gain attention online. She was interviewed by CBS News, and said she works at a majority-black school and “wanted students to see that people who look like them contribute”.

She said that the seeds for this project were planted in her years ago by a teacher who did something similar. “That’s what I remember, having a teacher come dressed as a storybook character. Well, I could dress up as a different figure, an African-American figure from the past or present so they can see themselves represented,” McGriff said.

“My students will want to know who I will be tomorrow. Today, they just said ‘Are you going to be so-and-so?’ Because they want to know and kind of prepare themselves for it so that they can tell me something they know about the person,” she said.

McGriff said bringing history alive kept her students curious and asking questions, and she’s hoping the overall project will give them the confidence to know that, like these historic figures, they can be great, too.

6 . Lost &Found

Recently, CTtransit changed the Lost &. Found policy and procedures. If you have lost an item on a CTtransit bus, you must first call Lost & Found and speak with a Customer Service Representative for your area. If CTtransit is in possession of your lost item, and you can confirm ownership, then you may schedule a time to get your item back.

If you have scheduled a time with Customer Service to get back your lost item, when you arrive at the facility gate, give your name to the security guard. You must have a photo ID available to show CTtransit Security or another form of valid ID to confirm your date of birth and address. The security guard will direct you to the pick-up location.

If you misplace something on the bus, there is a good chance that we will find it. Each day, operators pick up articles left on their buses and turn them in to the office. Lost items that are recovered are kept for 30 days. CTtransit is not responsible for items left on the buses.

CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER FOR LOST & FOUND

New Haven Area

2061State Street

Hamden, CT 06517-3834

203-624-0151

Phone number for the Hearing-Impaired (听障人士): 203-785-8960

Phone Center Hours: Monday to Saturday 6: 30 am to 6: 30 pm；Sunday/Holidays 7: 00 am to 6: 00 pm

Lost &Found: Monday to Friday 8: 30 am to 4: 30pm.

Hartford Area

100Leibert Road

Hartford, Connecticut CT 06120

860-525-9181

Phone number for the Hearing-Impaired：203-785-8960

Phone Center Hours: Monday to Saturday 6: 30 am to 9: 30 pm；Sunday/Holidays 7: 00 am to 7: 00 pm

Lost & Found: Monday to Friday 8: 30 am to 4: 30 pm.

Stamford Area

21 Elm Court

Stamford, CT06902

203-327-7433

Phone number for the Hearing-Impaired：203-327-2404

Phone Center Hours: Monday to Saturday 6: 30 am to 6: 30 pm

Lost &Found: Monday to Saturday 6: 30 am to 6: 30 pm.

7 . If you’re putting together a team for a project, you might tend to pick people with cheerful, optimistic characters and flexible thinking. But a new management study indicates your team might also benefit from people who have the opposite emotions (情感), according to experts from some universities.

The study, co-authored by Jing Zhou, investigates (研究) the effects of "team affective (情感的) diversity" on team creativity. The paper is among the first research to show how, why and under what condition teams "affective diversity" promotes team creativity

Team members with what researchers call "negative affect" exhibit critical and continuous thinking that allows them to find problems needing solutions, as well as to search out and critically evaluate relevant information. On the other hand, team members with "positive affect" engage in broad and flexible thinking that expands their range of information and helps them see unusual and creative connections, the researchers say.

"At any given point of time, some team members may experience positive affect such as joy and inspiration, while others may experience negative affect such as frustration and worry," Zhou said. "Instead of trying to homogenize (使类同) team members' affect, teams should enthusiastically accept affective diversity.”

When a team experiences a high level of this "affective diversity", what Zhou describes as "dual-tuning (双调谐)" leads to greater creativity.

"Our study suggests that teams may be aided in using their affective diversity via involvements that focus on building the team's memory system, which can be accelerated when team members spend time together, share goals, receive information about member specializations and train on the task together," Zhou said.

10 . How to Teach A Child to Ride A Bike?

You never forget how to ride a bike, but most of us forget how hard it was to learn.     1    . Here’s what to keep in mind when instructing little ones from two feet to two wheels.

Begin with the right equipment. Start with a bicycle that’s the right size. A newbie should be able to sit on the seat with both feet flat on the ground. If the child has been using a bike with training wheels, remove them.     2    . Long pants and long-sleeved shirts aren’t a bad idea, either, to prevent injury in the event of a fall.

    3    . Head to a location that has smooth, flat, open pavement and little or no traffic to distract or endanger your child. It helps if there’s no one around, too, so he won’t feel self-conscious. The ideal spot? A school parking lot on the weekend.

Emphasize the basics. The fundamentals of biking are balance, coasting, pedaling, and steering. To help a child learn these basic skills, remember to show how to do that in the flesh and dare to let him try. No doubt there will be more than a few stops and starts and maybe even a fall or two.     4    .

Now practice a lot. After a fair number of dry runs, it’s time to move to the big stage. Find a bike path or a little-travelled street in a residential neighbourhood.     5    . Bike along with him to check that he’s using proper safety techniques and feels comfortable pedaling in traffic.