Xi'an, as the longest-running capital in ancient China, has shaped the country's culture and history. With a history of over 3, 000 years, it has given birth to many dynasties. If planning a short tour, be sure to visit the recommended attractions that truly capture the spirit of this ancient city.
The Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army is a remarkable archaeological find and a popular tourist destinationin China. Constructed by Emperor Qinshihuang in the 3rd century BC, it features life-size terracotta soldiers, horses, and chariots arranged in battle formation. The museum houses three vaults (墓穴) and an exhibition hall, with Vault One being the largest, displaying over 6, 000 figures. These sculptures offer insights of high value into ancient China's history, military, and culture.
Ancient City Wall
Xi'an City Wall was built in the 14th century by Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) as a military defense system. Now it is one of the oldest and best-preserved Chinese city walls. The wall is now a landmark, dividing the city into inner and outer areas. When you take a stroll or cycle on the massive wall, you can enjoy a good view of the city, the moat (护城河) and the watchtowers.
Giant WildGoose Pagoda
The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in China was built during the Tang Dynasty as a study place for Buddhist texts. It stored sutras (佛经) and sculptures brought from India by monk Xuan Zang, who translated scriptures here for 19 years. Situated in Da Ci'en Temple, the pagoda's impressive brick structure reflects traditional Chinese architecture, creating a solemn and magnificent atmosphere.
Shaanxi History Museum
The Shaanxi History Museum displays 370, 000 relics found in Shaanxi, China, including bronze wares (青铜器) , pottery figures, gold and silverwares, and Tang Dynasty murals. 18 pieces are national treasures. Xi'an, the former capital, has many historical sites. The museum is divided into three sections, exhibiting artifacts from primitive eras to the late Qing Dynasty.
Mu Sa, a live stream host of the Hui ethnic group from Zhongning, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, is atypical example of how the Internet has turned many young unemployed people into useful talents contributing to society.
After graduating from the Lanzhou-based Northwest Minzu University majoring in sociology, Mu worked as an office clerk in Shanghai, a marketing assistant in Beijing and a data analyst in Hangzhou. After struggling to realize his dream in big cities, Mu at last found that what touched him most was the "feathery tenderness" of homesickness.
Mu returned home at 25 after losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic in November 2021. Depressed, Mu thought of himself a "failure" at first. However, he was not discouraged and quickly lifted himself up. Mu decided to pick up his cell phone and begin creating short videos about local people's daily lives at home and uploading them online.
A video clip showing his mother cooking local food turned out to be a surprise hit. So many viewers commented that the video brought back memories of their own moms and hometowns. Even Mu's mother was shocked that a daily routine should arouse so many people's interests.
Mu said it was the success of this video clip that inspired him to carry on. He gradually found that village-related content was popular among his followers. "The more local the content, the more universal its appeal is." he said.
Since then, his father, mother, elder sister, classmates, friends and neighbors, their small courtyards, chickens, sheep, and vast fields have all become the subjects of Mu's camera lens. Many fans know about his hometown Dazhanchang and the lives of local residents in Northwest China through Mu's work.
It all started with a simple question: "Can I paint your portrait?"
In the summer of 2015, Brian Peterson and his wife, Vanessa, had just moved to Santa Ana, California. Outside the couple's fourth-floor apartment, a messy homeless man was often shouting on the street corner, sometimes keeping them awake at night. Peterson, 28, would pass the guy on his way to his job as a car designer at Kia Motors. but they never spoke.
One day, Peterson was relaxing in his living room, reading the book Love Does, about the power of love in action, when his quiet was disturbed by the homeless man. Inspired by the book's sympathetic message. Peterson made an unexpected decision: He was going to go outside and introduce himself.
In that first conversation, Peterson learned that the man's name was Matt Faris. He'd moved to Southern California from Kentucky to pursue a career in music, but he soon fell on hard times and ended up living on the street for more than a decade.
"It was the weirdest thing to me," Peterson recalled later on the podcast (播客) Top Artist. "I saw beauty on the face of a man who hadn't shaved in probably a year, had overgrown fingernails, and probably hadn't had a shower in close to a year. But his story, the life inside of him, inspired me." And even though Peterson, a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, hadn't picked up a paintbrush in about eight years, be found himself asking if he could paint Faris's portrait. Faris said yes.
Peterson's connection with Faris led to the creation of Faces of Santa Ana, a nonprofit organization that befriends and paints portraits of unhoused community members. Using a black-and-white photo taken with his phone, Peterson selects colors based on the subject's personality and story, resulting in powerful portraits. He sells the large paintings, signed by both the subject and artist, for a few thousand dollars. Half of the profits go into a "love account" for the models. helping them start again. Faris used his portrait funds to fulfill his musical dreams by recording an album.
Biodegradable (可生物降解的) food packaging could remind people of spoiling (腐烂的) food by its changing color.
Bst-before labels (保质期标签) are often poor predictors of when food becomes dangerous to eat, which can lead to waste and food poisoning, says Benedetto Marelli at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. So, he and his colleagues tried to create wrap that can react to changes in food.
They made four films (膜) similar to plastic wrap, each consisting of two layers (层) . One layer was made from a protein obtained from silkworm silk, while the other was made of one of four so-called covalent (共价的) organic frameworks (COFs) . These materials contain carbon and hydrogen, as well as atoms like oxygen or nitrogen, all arranged in a grid (网格状) that makes the material porous (透气的) .
After checking the films were strong, the researchers tried to compost (堆肥) them. For the best-performing film, 50% of it degraded after being placed in soil for 30 days, which is comparable to existing biodegradable plastics.
The material also changed color when put in liquid with different pH values, due to the COF layer's interaction with the liquid. Because the pH of food increases as it spoils, the researchers tried to use a piece of the film as a color-changing label attached to a packet of raw chicken. The label started off orange but turned yellow and got 17% lighter after 20 hours at 30℃, indicating that the meat had begun to spoil.
The researchers also loaded the COF layer with an antimicrobial (杀菌的) chemical. After 15 days, soya beans packaged in the film and left in high heat had about a third as much mould (霉菌) as beans wrapped in traditional plastic.
To make a real impact, the material will need to be affordable and easy to produce. "The bar for competing with plastic products is very high," says Marelli.
How to keep your house cool in the heat?
As staying cool in the summer can be expensive, here are some energy efficiency tips to help keep your house comfortable without breaking the bank.
Plant for shade. You can place climbing plants or tall-growing bushes on outside walls. . Besides, although south-facing windows can absorb heat, strategically-placed plants or trees can also regulate the sun's rays.
. Double-glazed window is known for its ability to keep homes comfortable in winter, but it can also be beneficial during warmer months. Such energy-efficient windows combine insulated vinyl frames (隔热乙烯泡膜) with low-emissivity coatings. This not only reduces heat loss in winter but also deflects the heat from the sun, preventing your home from becoming too hot and creating a comfortable indoor environment.
Go with the airflow. . When installing new windows, consider window design and layout for natural ventilation (通风) . Awning windows, positioned high on a building, can provide ventilation even during rain and force warm air out.
. Using an ordinary fan can enhance airflow at a low cost by forcing out warmth and drawing in cooler air. Identify cool pockets in your home, like a basement, and use fans to distribute the cool air evenly. To live comfortably in winter and summer, install an air-source heat pump.
A. Close the windows
B. Invest in quality windows
C. Go back to basics and use a fan
D. This increase heat and make you warm
E. This can create shading and reduce heat
F. It's helpful to be mindful of how your home interacts with the environment
G. It provides heating in winter and functions as an air-conditioning unit in summer
When I went away to university, my mom used to cook food and send it back with me with strict instructions to wash the lunch-boxes and bring them home. She was proud of it, but I was 1 by my lunch-boxes-why did we need to save these things? I 2 the options: if I didn't recycle the lunch-boxes, would she still send me 3 ? I knew the answer was yes, 4 it was not a risk I was prepared to take. So, I washed the 5 lunch-boxes very carefully.
After I formed a 6 of my own, like my mother before me, I'm also the 7 owner of a large number of lunch-box collections, which I guard 8 . No matter how many glass microwave and oven-safe containers I have, no matter how beautiful and functional they may be, I cannot help 9 yogourt containers. They truly are the most 10 objects, with uses ranging from food storage to toys for my 11 : at the beach, in the bath, for endless Lego (乐高) creations.
I still remember when I married my husband, an American from Boston, my mother was 12 , "You know, you come from very 13 backgrounds," she said. Managing cultural differences is undoubtedly an 14 .
The other night, I heard my husband yelling in the kitchen, and the next morning, I found my 15 in the recycling bin. I narrowed my eyes a little as I fished them out, washed them up and replaced them in their drawer with my death stare at my husband.
Smooth yet tensile. Versatile (用途广泛的) and durable. With these qualities, Xuan paper (know) as the "Paper of Ages".
The term Xuan paper first appeared in On Famous Paintings through the Ages, a book (write) by Tang Dynasty (618-907) scholar Zhang Yanyuan, in he described Xuan paper as an ideal carrier for calligraphy and painting. Handmade Xuan paper from Jingxian county, East China's Anhui province, was listed as gift served to the imperial court for its supreme quality during the period.
The traditional craft of making Xuan paper is (extreme) demanding. Sandalwood bark, a plant native to southern China, goes through 108 procedures together with rice straw over the course of three years before it can transform a bunch of fine Xuan paper. The entire procedure is so complex that even the most skilled craftsman can only master limited number of (step) .
The flow of ink, both guided and resisted by water, determines the output of Chinese art, and Xuan paper outshines others with its excellent (able) to give full play to ink.
Xuan paper (accompany) the passionate brushstrokes of the Chinese literati for thousands of years. Unlike other forms of paper, it is very resistant to damage brought by time. It is this durability that has made the preservations of many (value) works from ancient China possible.
Paper-making is a crystallization of wisdom of the ancient Chinese, and Xuan paper is the top of paper-making.
At a neighbor's pool the summer after sixth grade, Charley shouted out those famous last words, "Hey, watch this!" As he dove into the pool, Tad froze. It wasn't the deep end!
Charley was hurt bad when he hit the bottom of the swimming pool. The doctor said he might have broken his back and could lose the use of his legs. His life would change forever. Tad didn't see Charley for over a month after he was carried away in the screaming ambulance.
When Tad went to visit Charley in the hospital, his "Hey, dude, how's it going?" was greeted by an annoyed grunt (嘟哝声) . Looking small and pale, Charley cried, "I can't walk-how do you think I feel? I wish I was dead! '
"Bro, you'll get well! You're tough."
"No, the doctor said I won't."
"Aw, man. That's horrible!" And the conversation died right there.
Tad didn't go back after that. He just didn't know what to say. When Charley got out of the hospital, Tad went over to his house a few times and played video games, but it just wasn't the same. Not only was his friend's body damaged, so was his spirit. Tad had made friends with other boys who enjoyed all the things he and Charley used to do. Even if he felt sad and guilty, he wasn't spending more time at Charley's. Tad wanted to help and be a good friend but didn't know how now.
Charley just became sadder and sadder, and Tad spent less and less time with him as the school year passed.
When summer break started again, Tad didn't see much of Charley. He had made the baseball team and didn't have time for video games. At least he told himself that was the reason. He was shocked right before eighth grade started when he saw Charley sailing down the sidewalk with a big black dog by his wheelchair. "Wow, what's this?" Said Tad, running over to his friend.
"This is Rowdy! He helps me."
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式作答。
"Wow, what does he do?" Tad was interested.
……
After that, Tad could sense something had changed.
