2 . Children’s Books

My Winter City by James Gladstone

A kid, his dad and their dog happily brave a downfall to go sledding across town. The boy notes the “windows gone all steamy” on the bus, the “wilderness of footprints, crisscrossing, disappearing” on the sidewalks, the “light powder pillows” when they make snow angels. Through the illustrations (插图) of the book, little children can find each well-observed de tail of wintertime city life.

Bear Is Awake! An Alphabet Story by Hannah E. Harrison

A “big bear” wakes up in the middle of winter, leaves her den and shows up at a “cozy cabin,” where a girl is annoyed, then inspired to take the bear into town to figure out how to help the creature get back to hibernation (冬眠). The final page has no words, just a proud look on the girl’s face: mission accomplished. The book lets even pre-readers follow the alphabetical story through the expressive illustrations.

I Am Polar Bear by J. Patrick Lewis.

The book captures the majesty of the polar bear. Lewis has the creature tell us what he’s called in different cultures, from the Inuit(“I am Nanuk”) to the Sami, who “refuse to speak my name for fear of offending me.” The ending shows the polar bear float on a shrinking bit of ice, “losing hold.”

Snowy Race by April Jones Prince.

A girl gets to ride on her dad’s giant snowplow in this delightful rhyming tale. They race through the heavy snow, but it’s not clear where they’re going until they arrive at the airport, where her mother is waiting. Prince’s (“What Do Wheels Do All Day?”) text is intriguingly spare, letting Davenier’s (“The First Thing My Mama Told Me”) soft lively wintertime scenes shine.

4 . I have begun every conversation with the usual opening line, “Entschuldigung, mein Deutsch ist noch nicht so gut” since I moved to Hermsdorf, a little village in east Germany in 2015. The purpose was to let the Germans know that they shouldn’t expect me to express more ideas or respond quickly and accurately, so I escape too much conversation with them.

Learning to speak German was not funny for meat all. Even if I could technically write academic (学术的) articles in German, the thought of calling a doctor to make an appointment (约定) would still bring me anxiety. I would stammer (口吃) during small talk with a mother I had never met before, while dressing my one-year-old at kindergarten.

This went on for almost ten years until a month ago. I was at home, telling my husband about a meeting I’d had. As usual, I started the meeting by apologizing (道歉) for my poor German. The lady behind the desk looked at me somewhat confused, “But your German is great.” “She is right, you know,” my husband said. “I don’t know why you still think you speak poor German. OK, it is not perfect, but who cares?” After living in Germany for nearly ten years, why did I still worry so much? I finally saw the light. It was because I was trying to protect my feelings.

Lately, when I sat across from a woman who could be my future boss, I felt anxious about the interview, especially the unavoidable question, “Tell me about yourself.” I really wanted to use my usual opening line, but I didn’t and thought I should trust myself and my German. That afternoon, l was called back to meet the CEO who told me that I was hired, and when we shook hands, she didn’t mention anything about my German skills.

Music in its many forms is a powerful force. For centuries, people all over the world have created or listened to music in its     1     (variety) forms. The power of music can     2     (feel) from the beating of drums to the ringing of bells, from the sound of a piano to the clapping of hands and stamping of feet.

In many cultures, music making     3     (happen) with story telling. In some cultures it has been used     4    (help) treat illnesses. Today, music therapy (疗法) is a way of helping people with disabilities. For some people who have trouble     5     (communicate) in words, music can be the bridge     6     helps them express themselves more     7     (free).

The power of music is this―it will touch all our lives in some way. It could be we a e interested in the popular music of today and the classical music of yesterday, or have a fascination with creating wonderful instruments. It could be we join     8     band or an orchestra, become a street musician or     9     (compose), or we could simply be listeners.

Although the music today may be different     10     what the next generation will listen to, it will always be part of our world.

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