Can you imagine a "xiao sheng" (young man role）is played by an 80-year-old woman? That's what Qu Juanru does. She is a (an)1 and the official inheritor (继承人) of Jiaxing City's Tongxiang flower-drum opera (花鼓戏). This kind of art 2 the daily life in the ancient water town and the traditional cultures of southern China.
Qu Juanru's life with opera was not 3. "My family was poor. My mother died when I was 14. I've lived with my father since. In the past, women were not allowed to play the opera, 4 my father never stopped me when I tried to sing," Qu said. And it gave her the 5 to start a journey with the opera.
At the age of 18, Qu joined a local troupe (戏班). Later, the troupe was broken up, and she went back to farming. After that, she 6 to bring the opera troupe back to life. 7, the troupe closed down again. Then she worked in a factory.
All of that changed in 2001. An officer from Wuzhen Tourism Center invited her back to the show. Knowing that, she was very 8 and agreed. Whether it is burning hot or freezing cold, she plays the opera for 3 hours every day. Even though Qu got a serious illness in 2017, she didn't 9. She gives her everything to the art. "I can still sing and act. I'd love to be here, as long as the people and the troupe 10 me," Qu said.
Perhaps Qu sees her opera life as a wonderful dream.
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May 15th, Sunday It's Mother's Day today. In the morning, my brother and I woke up early and cooked breakfast for mum. This doesn't happen often. I only knew how to cook eggs. That was enough for breakfast! I cut up some bananas and apples, then my brother put them together with eggs and bread in a dish. After that we made tea. Finally, we got the meal ready! The tea was too sweet and the eggs were a little burned. The meal wasn't perfect, but mum ate all of it with a smile. My brother and I also made a card together. Mum read it and said, "It's beautiful. Thank you so much. I love you two!" "I love you, mum," we said. I felt warm and happy. |
Winter sports in China
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◆346 million people across the country take part in winter sports ◆46 million of them are under18
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A survey China Youth Daily surveyed 1,212 people: ①Cheering for players at the Beijing Winter Games ②Trying out skiing (滑雪) or skating ③Buying winter sports clothes and tools ④Taking winter sports trips around China ⑤Taking part in winter sports training
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Some Important years 1953: China's first National Ice Sports Games took place in Harbin. 1957: China's first National Ski Games were held in Tonghua, Jilin. 2002: China won its first gold medal (奖牌) in the Winter Olympics.3 2022: China held the Winter Olympics in Beijing and Zhangjiakou for the first time and won 9gold medals. |
SOURCES: GENERAL ADMNSTRATION OF SPORT OF CHINA, GUANGDONG DALY, CHINA YOUTH DAILY
When I was in Grade 8, I had a heated argument (争吵) with my classmate, Tony. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson I learned that day.
I believed that I was right and he was wrong, and Tony believed that I was wrong and he was right. Our teacher, a kind and smart lady, decided to teach us a lesson. She brought us to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large and round object. I could clearly see that it was black. The teacher asked us what color the object was. "White," Tony answered. I couldn't believe he said the object was white! "Clearly, it was black!" Another argument started between Tony and me, this time about the color of the object.
The teacher told me to go and stand where Tony was standing and told him to go and stand where I was standing. We changed places, and now she asked me what color the object was. I had to answer, "White." It was an object with two differently colored sides-from his side it was white, while from my side it was black. "Boys, now, what do you say?" The teacher smiled at us. Tony has been my best friend ever since.
My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: When you disagree with others, you'd better be in their shoes. That will help you look at the situation through their eyes, and truly understand their ideas and ways of thinking.
①Walk or drive to work? Which way is lower in carbon (碳)? To be friendly to the environment, you may choose to walk. Have you ever tried to live a low-carbon life through your diet (日常饮食)?
②A new study from the University of Oxford has looked into the health and environmental influences of 15 foods common in western diets. Among these, plant-based（基于植物的）foods included fruits, vegetables, nuts and potatoes. It also studied animal-based foods, including red meat, chicken, milk products, eggs and fish.
③According to the study's lead researcher, Michael Clark, "Choosing better and greener diets is one of the main ways people can improve their health and protect the environment." That is to say, plant-based diets are much healthier for us and kinder to the environment.
④To get this result, researchers compared the influence of eating another portion (一份) of each food with the increased risk of a few illnesses. They also find out the environmental harm for each animal-based food and each plant-based food.
⑤By using this method, the study found that red meats were the most unfriendly foods to the environment. Keeping farm animals produces a large number of methane (甲烷) that keeps 30 times more heat than CO2. As well as making the earth warmer, eating too much red meat is known to increase the risk of a few illnesses, such as heart trouble.
⑥Plant-based diets can give us the same health benefits in a much greener way. According to the study, without eating or using meat and milk products, global farmland use could be cut down by more than 75% and still feed the world.
⑦Speaking to the Guardian, Tim Benton of Chatham House said, "If we can give people reasonable official advice of what a healthy and green diet is, the world and its people would be in a much better place."
Steven: Hi, Linda. Welcome back.
Linda: Hello, Steven.
Steven: How long have you been away from our hometown?
Linda: I miss home so much.
Steven: There are great changes here. Do you remember the cinema we used to go to?
Linda: Yes.
Steven: It is a shopping centre now.
Linda: Oh, we can go there later.
Steven: That's the plan. Then we can have lunch near the school.
Linda: Excellent!
Steven: OK. Let's go.
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A. Shall we go now? B. Long time no see. C. For about 5 years. D. How is it today? E. Well, I want to visit our primary school first. |
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World Animal Day falls on October 4th. It is to make the world a better place for all animals.
Protecting animals has got attention all over the world. Every year IUCN (国际自然保护联盟) reports some important information about the plants and animals in . The giraffe is one of them. Over the last 30 years, the of giraffes has dropped by 40%. There are now fewer than 100,000 giraffes in the world today! Things are getting worse. Many animals are their lives because of human activities. Animals are often killed for their meat, teeth or even just for .
Animals will get more help, if starts to do something. Here are the things you can do.
◆ Love animals. You could them a hand when it is necessary.
◆ Go to see wildlife. If you take a walk in nature, you can enjoy seeing all the plants and animals around you.
◆ Speak up for wildlife. Animals can't speak for themselves. You can be a for your animal friends.
◆ Learn more about animals' situations. By learning about their problems and pains, you can find new ways to help them.
