3 . Whether you prefer history, art, special programming or something altogether different, the Museums in Atlanta will impress and delight you.

As one of the top art museums in the Southeast, High Museum of Art has an extensive collection of 19th and 20th-century American art and a significant amount of European artwork. There is a growing collection of African American art as well as modern and contemporary art. It is distinguished as the only major museum in North America to have a department specifically devoted to folk and self-taught art.

The Delta Flight Museum is an aviation and corporate museum located near the airline’s main hub. It is a nonprofit organization relying on volunteers, donations, special event rentals and Museum Store sales. It is considered an ongoing project and it collects various items year round.

Located along Ponce, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History is an interactive museum that will appeal to people of all ages. Permanent exhibits include dinosaur fossils and massive skeletons. Regularly scheduled educational and social events add to the appeal. The museum is also home to a five-story IMAX theater airing acclaimed nature films.

Founded in 1988 as a “Museum Without Walls,” the 16,316-square-foot museum includes exhibits designed for children under the age of nine and hosts field trips from schools and learning centers. The Imaginators invent fun hands-on activities for children, and create terrific programming, including original and lively 20-minute mini-musicals.

4 . Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5:30, and at 6:30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club. At last, the traffic was moving. She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door, she nearly tripped over Sheba.

“Hey, Sheba,” she said, “I’ve got no time for you now, but I’ll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club.” Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking. Obviously, she could hardly breathe. Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet (兽医). When she got there, the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba, Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office.

“Listen, doctor, I’m really in a rush to get to a meeting-can I leave her with you, and go and get changed? I’ll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, and then I’ll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”

“Sure,” said the doctor.

Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the hallway, the phone by the door began to ring.

“This is Dr. Sterne,” said an anxious voice. “I want you to get out of that house immediately,” said the doctor’s voice. “I’m coming round fight away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside!”

At that moment, a police car screeched to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out and ran into the house. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.

“Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?” shouted Joanne.

“She’s free, Joanne. I took out the thing which was choking her, and she’s OK now.”

Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white-faced man, who could hardly walk. There was blood all over him.

“My God,” said Joanne, “how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”

“I think he must be a burglar,” said the doctor. “I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat; it turned out to be three human fingers.”

5 . Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinese­style spelling bee (拼写大赛). In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries.

Perhaps the show’s popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy(书法) to be one of their primary contributions. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet (字母). The correct character is chosen from a list. The result? It’s possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them.

But there’s still hope for the paint brush. China’s Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write.

In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six­year­olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher’s examples before carefully trying to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. “If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?” we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin. “The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture,” she reasons. “Students must learn now so they don’t forget when they grow up.” says the teacher.