1 . Four Things About the Spring Equinox (春分)

The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. The Spring Equinox is the fourth term of the year. This term signals the equal length of the day and the night time. Many people hold various activities to celebrate the festival. Here are several things you may not know about it.

In ancient times, people did not have good medical resources. So they wrote their health problems on paper kites. When a paper kite was in the air, people would cut off the string to let it fly away, meaning the disease would go away. Later flying kites developed into a popular game in spring.

The ancient Chinese people divided the fifteen days of the Spring Equinox into three hous or five day parts. As the old saying goes, “Swallows fly back to the North in the first hou; thunder cracks the sky in the second hou; lightning occurs frequently in the third hou, which shows the climate feature during the term.”

It is a commonly practised custom to eat spring vegetables in many regions of China Spring vegetables refer to the seasonal vegetables that differ from place to place. The ancient teachings in a Chinese classic suggest people eat the seasonal food, especially vegetables, to help preserve health and bring good luck.

Standing an egg upright (直立的) is a popular game across the country during the Spring Equinox. It is an old custom that can date back to thousands of years ago. People practise this tradition to celebrate the coming of spring. It is said that if someone can make the egg stand he will have good luck in the future.

2 . Best Outdoor Activities in Orlando

This national monument in Arizona is located within the Sonoran Desert, which spans more than 330,000 acres and is one of the few places in the US where you can see the country’s largest cacti. This “green desert” gets its name from the organ pipe cactus, whose branches mimic the musical instrument. Visitors can explore 31 cactus species and wildflowers through the monument’s many hikes, including the Nature Trail, a short and accessible paved trail. Take your camera, because the area is also home to the Sonoyta mud turtle, desert bighorn, and birds such as the Gila woodpecker and cactus wren.

Located in the center of the state, Red Rock State Park is a popular road trip destination and a must-see attraction during a multi-day trip to the Sedona area. The nature preserve features a visitor center and picnic areas that invite visitors to enjoy the scenic beauty of the Arizona red rocks that surround them. With environmental education and conservation top of mind, Red Rock State Park is a primary place that asks visitors to hike lightly, pack out what they pack in and stick to the trails.

Sedona is regularly described as one of America’s most beautiful places. Nowhere else will you find a landscape as dramatically colorful. The towering red rocks and jagged sandstone hills matched against an almost always blue sky have attracted professional and young artists for years. Plus, filmmakers have chosen these burning rock formations in north-central Arizona as the backdrop for such box-office hits as “3:10 to Yuma,” “Broken Arrow” and “Midnight Run.”

On top of all that exciting lake-borne action, those looking for something exciting can take part in OWC’s Aquapark, a group of LEGO-inspired ships with climbing barriers, slides and more that will wear you and more importantly, your kids out! No special skills are required, life jackets keep things super safe, and hours of fun are virtually guaranteed. The minimum age for the Aqua park is six and reservations are definitely recommended.

3 . What do you do during the Spring Festival? Here is something about two students.

He Jian is thirteen years old. He lives with his parents in the city. He likes traditional Chinese festivals and the Spring Festival is his favorite. During the Spring Festival, he often visits his grandparents by bus. They live in a small village and they love He Jian very much. Every time He Jian gets to the village, his grandparents always get many traditional food ready, such as jiaozi and Niangao. He Jian likes niangao very much. This year he also met his cousin Ma Bin in his grandparents’ home. They were happy to play winter games.

Zheng Min is in Grade 7 and she’s twelve years old. She lives in Shanghai with her parents and grandparents. Her grandparents were teachers and collected many stories about the city. They often tell them to Zheng Min when she is free. During the Spring Festival this year, Zheng Min heard some stories about food in Shanghai when she ate out with her parents and grandparents. She wrote them on the computer and sent an email to her friend in New York.

5 . Countries around the world celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8. The United Nations says the theme of this year is DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender (性别) Equality.

The UN says that from the earliest days of computing, women have contributed to information technology. But it says those contributions have been little recognized or valued. The international organization says 37 percentage of women do not use the internet. It also says 259 million fewer women than men have access to the internet. Yet, women make up very close to half the world’s population. The UN says women are largely underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematic careers. “Bringing women into technology results in more creative solutions and has greater potential for innovations that meet women’s needs and promote gender equality,” says the UN’s website.

For this year’s International Women’s Day, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement, “Let us work together to build a more inclusive, just, and prosperous world for women, girls, men, and boys everywhere.” The IWD has its roots in the social and labor movement in the United States. It began in New York City on March 8, 1857, when female workers marched in protest (抗议) of unfair working conditions and unequal rights in clothing factories. The workers called for a shorter workday and better pay, the National Archives says. On March of 1908, women workers again marched through New York City to protest child labor and poor working conditions, and demand women’s right to vote.

The first recorded celebration internationally was on March 19,1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. At that time, over a million people came out to support women’s rights. After World War II, several countries started to celebrate women’s day on March 8. Two years later, the UN officially announced that date as International Women’s Day in 1977. Some countries, including China, Russia and Uganda, also recognize it as a public holiday. Past UN celebrations have included the issues of climate change, rural women and HIV/AIDS.

7 . Sometimes the stress of work can get to be so high, so it’s nice to get away for a while. However, even on vacation, it can be hard to leave all your worries at the office-especially when you think about the mountain of emails.

Iceland now offers a solution with a service called OutHorse Your Email. The service encourages visitors to disconnect and enjoy the country’s beauty while one of several highly trained Icelandic horses replies to any email. “When visitors travel to Iceland we want them to fully experience everything our nation has to offer,” one official said. “Our OutHorse Your Email service lets them do just that.”

To use the service, you should fill in a form on its website and your personalized out-of- office email will be written by one horse and sent automatically (自动地). The email explains the sender is away on vacation and that they’ve given their email jobs to one of Iceland’s four- legged animals. It then includes the message created by the animal. But how do horses type an email? They’ve got their own specially designed horse-sized keyboards in the fields and are able to walk across the keys. However, that still doesn’t mean coherency (条理性). They’re horses, after all. The result is just meaningless collections of letters.

This might seem like a joke, but is actually meant seriously. Nowadays the line between private life and work has become unclear. The service draws attention to the fact that people have the right to be away from work during their holiday. It also sends a message that Iceland is a unique destination by helping tourists go on a real holiday. It’ll surely put a smile on their face and make them want to vacation in Iceland.

10 . How Can You Plan a Birthday Party on a Budget?

You want to plan a birthday party on a budget, but you don’t want to be cheap. Don’t worry. There is nothing wrong with setting a budget and then spending only the amount you decided on.     1     Using less expensive items and ideas doesn’t mean it will be less of a party.

    2     When it becomes a competition, you will end up spending more than you should. You can plan a birthday party on a budget and still give a great party.

If someone you know can do magic tricks, perhaps he or she will be willing to perform. Since the plan is to keep the birthday party within a limited budget, try bartering (以物换物) with your friends.     3    

Limit the amount you will have to spend on food.     4     Not only can you take advantage of sale items, but you can also choose to have your party at a time of day when people have already eaten. Shortly after lunchtime is usually a good choice, since you can simply provide snacks instead of heartier foods.

Whenever you plan a birthday party on a budget, it can become difficult to incorporate (包含) themed items. You can spend a lot of money in purchasing all of them.     5     Rather than choosing all themed items, choose a few items that are less expensive.