1 . In America, if you see a group of students wearing crazy hats or summer T-shirts in the middle of winter, don’t be surprised. They may be celebrating their School Spirit Week (校园精神周).

The School Spirit Week is a time for students to show their pride in their school. This is not a break, but the festival. It can be held during any week of the year. The celebration works with students of all ages, from elementary to high School, as long as you keep the themes (主题) simple for the younger kids.

Spirit weeks often have a central theme that is followed throughout the week. During the week, students wear school colors and decorate the classrooms. Every day, there is a different theme. This is also students’ favorite part. They take part in different competitions and have fun together.

Spirit weeks often encourage students to wear fun and fashion clothes, with different outfits for each day of the week. Monday might be funny hat day, followed by Tuesday’s Hawaiian shirt day and Wednesday’s silly T-shirt day. Thursday could be pajama (睡衣) day, followed by Friday’s school color day.

There are also lots of other activities which the students can take part in on School Spirit Weeks. Do you like to have School Spirit Weeks?

3 . You may have wondered why there are fish tanks (鱼缸) at many doctor’s and dentist’s offices. Actually these medical professionals are trying to keep their working areas less stressful (有压力的) with the help of fish tanks. Because of the soft bubbling (冒泡声) from the fish tanks, their patients are expected to feel less nervous or worried when staying there.

The sound of running water can make people feel relaxed. For this reason, places where water keeps running are often considered good choices for people to have deep thoughts and stay relaxed in mind. Even a small tabletop fountain (喷泉) can make a workspace more relaxing. Unlike loud noises, repeated natural sounds remind that everything is OK. “These slow but soft sounds are just the ones that bring us no harm,” said Orfeu Buxton, a professor at Pennsylvania State University. “It seems like they are saying, ‘Don’t worry; don’t worry; don’t worry.’”

Besides bringing a sense of peace to your indoor space, a fountain can also prevent noises from coming inside. I recently had a small indoor fountain for my workspace. I enjoy the fountain even when I’m not working at home.

If you want to have an indoor fountain too, there are plenty of wonderful ones on sale, which may cost you a lot. You can try making one yourself, using some inexpensive materials, like I did. And you will always keep it around — 1,000 doctor’s offices can’t be wrong about the relaxing effects of running water.

4 . Colors can affect (影响) our feelings. Blue is a calm (冷静的) color. If you are feeling nervous (紧张), you can wear blue clothes or stay in a blue room. Blue is also the color of sadness. When someone says he’s feeling blue, he means he is sad.

White can also make you feel calm. So you can wear white too if you are nervous. And white often means a new beginning.

Green is the color of nature. It can give us more energy when we are feeling tired.

Some colors can make you feel warm. In cold areas, people usually use warm colors in their homes, like orange and yellow. Yellow is also the color of wisdom. Some people prefer this color when they study for exams. For example, they may use yellow school things.

Red is one of the strong colors. It often makes us feel active. But this color can also mean danger. So it is often used in stop signs (停车标志) and lights.