3 . Chinese Paper Cutting or Jianzhi is the first type of paper cutting design, since paper was invented by Cai Lun in Eastern Han Dynasty in China. This art form dates back to the sixth century. Chinese women would cut shapes from gold and silver foil(箔) to paste to their hair. Families later adopted the tradition of putting paper cuttings on gates and windows on special days. Eventually, red paper cuttings became a way to express happy feelings and well wishes. At weddings, a cutting of the "喜喜" character, which represents "double happiness", is commonly used.

Hongkong paper cutting master Li Yunxia makes the craft look easy. She learned the paper cutting from her mother and grandmother from the age of six. According to Li, "all you need are paper, scissors and a lot of skill". Li was born in Shanxi province where paper cutting is still practiced and taught. Today, she teaches the ancient craft to people of all age.

Today some artists are turning paper cutting into a new art form. They often add paint and other materials to the cuttings. They mix imagination with skill to create unique designs.

Some of the most beautiful pieces of paper art come from Nahoko Kojima of Japan. She is a leader in the field of paper-cut art as "sculptures". One of her most famous pieces, Byaku, is a life-size swimming polar bear that hangs from the ceiling. Kojima created the piece from a single sheet of paper, three meters long.

Yuken Teruya of New York is known for his modern designs using old paper bags. Bags from McDonald's and other stores are turned on their sides. People peek inside to discover tiny, delicately cut trees.

No matter how simple and complicated the design is, paper cutting remains a beloved Chinese craft. The next time you see a paper cutting, take a moment to appreciate it.

The history of Chinese Teachers⁵ Day     1     (date) back to the Han Dynasty. It is a day of respecting teachers and education. In the past, on August 27 each year, the birthday of Confucius, the emperor,     2     (follow) by court officials, would go to Confucius' temple in honor of the ancient philosopher and would also invite royal teachers to the court for a feast. And on this day, teachers around the nation enjoyed     3     day's break and     4     (give) dried meat as gifts.

Excellent teachers would be chosen from academies and     5     (institution) across the country to report     6     (they) deeds to the royal court and be presented with 500 liang silver coins as awards. In the Qing Dynasty, well-performing teachers would be promoted to     7     (high) positions than before or obtain a salary rise.

The customs to show respect to teachers varied from region to region. Today, the goal of Teachers⁵ Day is to form a social climate     8     teachers are respected and knowledge is valued. And its date is     9    （official）set at the beginning of the school year. The celebration includes congratulations     10     students, recommending outstanding teachers, the exchange of ideas among teachers, and so on.

6 . MEXICO CITY, April 1（Xinhua）——Discoveries at the legendary Sanxingdui ruins in southwest China show that the region’s ancient Shu state civilization shared similarities with the Maya, according to the director of the Chichen Itza archaeological site, Marco Antonio Santos.

The Sanxingdui ruins, located in the city of Guanghan, about 60 kilometers from Chengdu, belonged to the Shu Kingdom that existed at least 4,800 years ago and lasted more than 2,000 years. China announced on March 20 that archaeologists uncovered gold, ivory and jade objects dating back about 3,000 years in six sacrificial pits.

Santos told Xinhua that the bronze-made remains of trees buried at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom recall the Maya’s sacred ceiba tree, which symbolized the union of heaven, earth and the underworld for the civilization that flourished in Mesoamerica. “They are very important similarities.” said Santos, stressing that “the representations of trees in both cultures provide us with a symbolism that is very similar”.

“One notable feature of the recent discoveries at Sanxingdui was the interdisciplinary（跨学科的）work and technology applied by teams of Chinese archaeologists.” said Santos. “The technology allowed the unearthing of artifacts as fragile as silk remains, which other types of less careful excavation methods would not have been able to manage.” he said. “Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists could benefit projects in the Maya world, where the rainy climate and humidity are problematic for the conservation of objects.” said Santos.

“Every time our cultural knowledge increases, regardless of whether we speak one language or another, what it shows us is that we continue to be sister cultures, and, therefore, the exchange of such knowledge is fundamental.” said Santos.

7 . Although we spend one-third of our lives in bed, we hardly ever think about beds. While we may consider them little more than a mattress(床垫), pillow and blanket, they in fact have a fascinating history.

The first beds were hollows(坑洼) dug in cave floors by our African ancestors around 77,000 years ago. The basic idea of the bed and its structure have remained the same for thousands of years. Malta and Egypt were using raised frames with mattresses 5,000 years ago, according to Brian Fagan, the author of What We did in Bed. Early Egyptian beds consisted of wooden frames with legs and a leather sleeping platform. The mattress was little more than a sack(袋子) with grass, straw and hay in it. In Mongolia and China, heated stone platforms called kang were used in inns as early as 5000 BC.

The basic idea of who slept in the bed, however, has changed a lot through the years. Many family members or friends sleeping together in a single bed used to be completely normal for much of human history. Travelers would not expect privacy at inns. In fact, they had to share a bed with complete strangers. The greatest example of this was the Great Bed of Ware, a huge bed built in 1590 for an English inn. “A total of 52 people—are said to have spent a night in the Great Bed in 1689,” according to Fagan.

Throughout the 19th century, beds gradually became a private space. Rapid urbanization during the Industrial Revolution sped up this process as compact row houses were built with small rooms, each for a different purpose, including sleeping. So the next time you head to bed, be thankful you have your own.