1 . Every woman dreams of receiving a huge, sparkling and priceless diamond. Now scientists have discovered the largest diamond in the universe.

But it’s well beyond the reach of the most lovestruck men — 50 light years to be precise. Space scientists revealed that they had discovered a ten billion trillion trillion carat gem. Measuring 2,500 miles across and weighing five million trillion trillion pounds, the rock was found on Valentine's Day buried in the core of a white dwarf star in the constellation Centaurus.

“It’s the mother of all diamonds,” said Travis Metcalfe, who led the team of researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in America.

“You would need a jeweller’s loupe the size of the Sun to grade this diamond.” Named Lucy, after the Beatles' song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, the rock has sent a ripple of excitement through the scientific world.

The largest diamond found on earth was the 3,106-carat Cullinan. It was cut into nine major stones, including the 530-carat Star of Africa, now a part of the Crown Jewels. Diamonds were first discovered in India more than 2,800 years ago. The Ancient Romans believed that the stones were splinters of stars that had tumbled to earth.

In Ancient Egypt, diamonds were symbols of eternity and were used in funeral rites. In the Middle Ages, men wore them to symbolize their courage and virility. The tradition of giving them as love tokens dates from 1477, when Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy.

5 . In 1849, travelers going from the East Coast to the West Coast of the U.S. had three choices. They could go by wagon(马车) across the dangerous land. They could travel by sea to Panama, cross Panama by foot, and then sail to the West Coast. The third choice was to board a sailing ship in New York bound for California. The journey took long. Severe weather could add as much as five extra months to the trip.

Could there be any other way to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific? The answer was a canal. A canal is a human-made waterway.

In the1850s,the U.S. and Britain negotiated treaty(条约) for the rights to build canal. However, this canal was never built.

Panama was another logical option for a canal. With a canal in Panama, travel time could be three months instead of eight months.

In 1879, France began to build a canal across Panama. This project was led by Ferdinand, the experienced builder of the Suez Canal in Egypt. The French government felt that he could get the job done.

Unfortunately, problems began as soon as construction started. It rained every day and temperatures climbed as high as 130 degrees. Tropical diseases caused illness or death to the majority of workers. These factors put a great deal of stress on the project. The money assigned to build the canal quickly ran out. In 1899, France abandoned the project.

The U.S. Congress decided to finish the canal. The U.S . government paid $40 million to France for the completed work and abandoned equipment. In 1903, a treaty between the U.S. and Panama was signed paying Panama $10 million for the land for the canal. This treaty also guaranteed $250,000 to Panama each year for the use of its land and ensured its independence. This deal was viewed as a major foreign policy achievement at the time.

By early1913, the canal was nearly complete. On September 26,1931, an old tugboat was the first ship through the canal. Thousands of people watched and cheered.

Time, money, and possibly even lives have been saved as ships use the shorter route from ocean to ocean provided by the canal. The Panama Canal, a highway of water, is a phenomenon.

6 . These days, football is one of the most popular sports in the world.    1     It was then known as cuju, a game using a ball of animal skins with hair inside. Football as we know it today started in Great Britain, where the game was given new rules.

The basis of the popularity of football may be that it is such a simple game to play.     2     You don’t need expensive equipment; even the ball doesn’t have to cost much money. All over the world you can see kids playing to their hearts’ content with a ball made of plastic bags; just like Pele did when he was a boy.

    3     It is fun enough to attract millions of people. You do not have to be a fan to recognize the skill of professional players or to feel the excitement of a game ending with a surprising twist.

What’ more, football has become one of the best ways for people to communicate: it does not require words, but everyone understands it.    4     Take, for example, the famous football game on Christmas Day 1914. World War I had broken out months before, but British and German soldiers put down their guns and played football together—one moment of peace to remember during years of conflict.

    5     However, in the eyes of Bill Shankly, the famous footballer and manager, it is   much more important than that. This might sound funny, but one only has to think about the Earth to realise that our planet is shaped like a football.

7 . Clowns (丑角) have been around for a long time. They not only make us laugh at the circus (马戏团) but they used to make the king and his followers laugh in court. The earliest of these fun-makers are called “fools”. In Greek and Roman times these fools dressed up like clowns do today with painted faces and funny costumes (戏服). They danced around the stage and did things to make people laugh as clowns do in circuses today. By medieval times (中世纪) every court had its fools. Fools wore bright colours and had bells (大肚子) on their shoes and their hats.

They were not really meant to be foolish and often they would say wise and sensible things to the king which nobody else was brave enough to say. The king never got cross with the fool as this was his job. He was meant to be both wise and foolish and try to make the situation in court less serious.

Of course people wanted to have their own kind of fool and shows developed in the 1500s in which fools (or Zanies) performed to make the crowd laugh. This kind of entertainment became so popular that it started a special kind of drama in Italy called Commedia dell´arte, which gradually turned into our comedy programmes today. When you watch the antics (滑稽剧) of Charlie Chaplin or Rowan Atkinson, you are watching a kind of comedy that is directly originated from the fools of ancient Rome and Greece.

8 . America’s first transcontinental railroad, completed 150 years ago today at Promontory Summit in Utah, connected the vast United States and brought America into the modern age. Chinese immigrants contributed greatly to this notable achievement, but the historical accounts that followed often ignored their role.

Between 1863 and 1869, as many as 20,000 Chinese workers helped build the dangerous western part of the railroad, a winding ribbon of track known as the Central Pacific. At first, the Central Pacific Railroad’s directors wanted a whites-only workforce. When not enough white men signed up, the railroad began hiring Chinese men for the backbreaking labor. Company leaders were skeptical of the new recruits’ ability to do the work, but they proved themselves not only capable but even superior to the other workers.

Chinese workers cut through dense forests, filled deep narrow steep-sided valley, constructed long trestles(高架桥) and built enormous retaining walls(防护墙) -- some of which remain complete and undamaged today. All work was done by hand using carts, shovels and picks but no machinery. However, progress came at great cost: an estimated 1,200 Chinese laborers died along the Central Pacific route.

Despite these facts, Chinese workers were often left out of the official story because of their identity of foreigners. On the transcontinental railroad's 100th birthday, the Chinese workers were still not honored. It was another fifty years later that their role was gradually highlighted. To celebrate the railroad’s 150th anniversary in 2019, the California assembly passed a resolution in 2017 to recognize and honor the Chinese railroad workers by designating May 10, 2017, and every May 10 thereafter, as California Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial Day.

9 . You may have heard of the word “pub” . It is short for public house. There are around 60,000 pubs in the U.K. One of the oldest pubs，Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St. Albans，Hertfordshire，is located in a building that dates back to the eleventh century.

    1     People talk，eat，drink，meet their friends and relax there. Pubs often have two bars，one usually quieter than the other，and many have a garden where people can sit in summer. Children can go into pub gardens with their parents.

Groups of friends normally buy “rounds” of drinks.    2     It is sometimes difficult to get served when pubs are busy：The bar staff will usually serve those who have been waiting the longest at the bar first.

Most pubs offer a complete range of beers，local and imported，with German，Belgian and French beers being in demand.    3     As a matter of fact，pubs sell soft drinks，too.

The legal age to purchase alcohol is 18 in the UK. People aged 16 and 17，with the license's permission，may have only one glass of wine during a meal.    4     It is illegal to sell alcohol to someone who already appears drunk. A fourteen-year-old may enter a pub unaccompanied by an adult if he orders a meal. Children may enter a pub with their parents until 9 p．m.，which lets families enjoy reasonably priced pub meals together.     5    Customs in British pubs differ from those in American bars. In most pubs in the U.K.，you must go to the bar to order drinks and food and pay for your purchases immediately.