There is an old saying in China that goes, "The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days. " "Sanjiu period", which is in Minor(较小的) Cold, refers to the third nine-day period (the 19th to the 27th day) after the day of the Winter Solstice(冬至). There are many different customs related to Minor Cold in China.
Eating hotpot
During Minor Cold people should eat some hot food to benefit the body and defend against the cold weather. Winter is the best time to have hotpot and braised mutton with soy sauce. But it is important to notice that too much spicy food may cause health problems.
Eating huangyacai
In Tianjin, there is a custom to have huangyacai, a kind of Chinese cabbage, during Minor Cold. There are large amounts of vitamins A and B in huangyacai. As huangyacai is fresh and tender, it is fit for frying, roasting and braising.
Eating glutinous rice(糯米饭)
According to tradition, the Cantonese eat glutinous rice in the morning during Minor Cold. Cantonese people add some fried preserved(腌制的) pork, sausage and peanuts and mix them into the rice.
Eating vegetable rice
In ancient times, people in Nanjing took Minor Cold quite seriously, but as time went by, the celebration of Minor Cold gradually disappeared. However, the custom of eating vegetable rice is still followed today. The rice is steamed and is unspeakably delicious. Among the ingredients( 原 料 ), aijiaohuang (a kind of green vegetable), sausage and salted duck are the specialties in Nanjing.
Marian Wright Edelman, an American lawyer, educator and children's rights activist, was born on June 6, 1939 in South Carolina, one of five children. Her father Arthur Wright was a preacher (牧师) who died when she was only 14 years old. In his last words to her, he advised her not to "let anything get in the way of your education.
After high school, Edelman went on to study at Spelman College and later traveled to the Soviet Union. When she returned to Spelman in 1959, Edelman became involved in the civil rights movement. This work inspired her to drop her plans to enter the Foreign Service and study law instead. In 1973, Edelman set up the Children's Defense Fund as a voice for poor and disabled children. She served as a public speaker on behalf of these children.
During a tour, Marian met Peter Edelman, an assistant to Kennedy, and the next year she moved to Washington, D. C. to marry him and to work for social justice in the center of America's political scene. The couple had three sons: Joshua, Jonah and Ezra. Jonah is the founder of Stand for Children, a group that promotes children's education, and Ezra is a documentary (纪录片) filmmaker who won an Emmy for his film "O. J. : Made in America. "
Edelman is the author of many books for children and adults. Her titles for readers include I'm Your child, God: Prayers for Our Children, Guide My Feet: Prayers and Meditations for Our Children, Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors, and The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours, which was a surprising success.
There's no doubt that one of the greatest human achievements is the exploration of the space. Ever since astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to be sent into the orbit around the moon in 1961, scientists have been pushing the boundaries further and further. But until now the exploration into the unknown has been dominated(主导) by men.
Of course, in the past, women were also included in the space projects and played an active role on the ground and behind the scenes. For example, they worked as seamstresses(女裁缝),sewing vital space flight components. In fact, many of NASA's key works would never have been possible without them. Recently Hollywood produced a movie called Hidden Figuresto focus on a group of American female mathematicians, especially the black women, who helped NASA send the first American into space. But this was not women's only contribution. Back in 1963, Soviet astronaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to be sent into space. However, after that, space flight programmes were slow to employ women. In the USA, NASA didn't accept applications from women to become astronauts until 1978.
But attitudes have changed and leading officials at NASA say that the first person to set foot on Mars should be a woman. The space agency aims to have a sex-balanced workforce but can only achieve that if equal numbers of men and women are trained for science and technology jobs. As Alison McIntyre told the BBC, "My director is a woman. We have female astronauts. We haven't put a woman on the moon yet. And I think that perhaps the first person to step on Mars should be a woman."
Many people hate the idea of having to sleep on a plane. But Swedish entrepreneur Oscar Dios thinks they can be persuaded otherwise and he has created a new kind of hostel to prove it.
Dios says it is the world ' s first jumbo jet hostel, an actual jet-plane at Sweden ' s main airport outside
Stockholm which has been converted (改装) into a 25-room guesthouse that sleeps as many as 72 people.
"I learned about this plane that was standing abandoned at Arlanda airport and I've been trying the concept of hostels in many different houses and buildings, "he told reporters. "I thought, ‘Why not a plane? '"
Jumbo Hostels opened for business on Thursday, giving customers the chance to check in and sleep in a room that can best be described as cozy.
"The most challenging part with this project is trying to build something inside a metal hull (外壳)—it's just
really, really tight. "
The jet, which was originally produced for Singapore Airlines, was taken out of service in 2002. One thing the hostel has going for it is price—a room starts at 350 Swedish crowns (about﹩41), which is a lot less than hotel rooms outside of major airports.
Another feature: customers can get married on the wing of the plane and live in the plane's more luxurious honeymoon room situated in the cockpit (驾驶舱).
Instead of walking down the aisle (走廊), lovebirds can take what Jumbo Hostels calls the"wing walk", where they can be joined in great joy at the wing tip. The hostel has someone ready to perform the ceremony.
But in some respects, this hostel remains a plane—most customers have to share the jet's nine bathrooms and staff only wear air steward and stewardess clothes. The only room that has its own bathroom is the honeymoon suite.
How to Live a Happy Life
Happiness is what we need most with the increase of pressure in modern life. Fortunately, this is not the case. Everyone has the ability to hang on to happiness with his own efforts. The following methods may lead you to long-lasting happiness.
•Take exercise. Other than health benefits that are too numerous to mention, exercise makes you smarter, happier, improves sleep, and makes you feel better about your body. Keeping in touch with nature can help you reduce stress, make you more creative, improve your memory and may even make you a better person.
• Relationships are worth more than you think. Not feeling socially connected can make you stupider and kill you. Loneliness can lead to heart attack, stroke (中风) and diabetes (肥胖症). On the other hand, studies have shown that the longest lived people on the planet all place a strong emphasis on social engagement.
•Challenge yourself. Music lessons increase intelligence. Challenging your beliefs strengthens your mind. Increasing willpower just takes a little effort each day and it's more responsible for your success than IQ. Not getting an education or taking advantage of opportunities are two of the things people look back on their lives and regret the most.
•Laugh. Laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, the heart rate and the rate of breathing; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and the feet. It can even reduce the effect of pain on the body. Humor is a good way to cause laughter. .
A.Life is always full of hope.
B.Spend time with friends and family.
C.However, sometimes it seems far away from us.
D.It would be better if you take exercise in nature.
E.Do something kind for the people you care about.
F.Learning another language can keep your mind sharp.
G.Just thinking about funny moments or things can help a lot.
An old man lived in a nice house with a large garden. He took care of his1 all the time, watering and
fertilizing them.
One day a young man went by the2 .He looked at the beautiful flowers, imagining how happy he could be3 he lived in such a beautiful place. Then, suddenly he found the old gardener was4 . He was very surprised about this and asked, "You can't see these flowers.5 are you busy taking care of them every day？"
The old man smiled and said, "I can tell you four6 . First, I was a gardener when I was young, and I really like this job. Second, 7 I can't see these flowers, I can touch them. 8 ， I can smell the sweetness of them. As to the last one, that's9 ."
"Me? But you don't know me，" said the young man.
"Yeah, it's10 that I don't know you. But I know that flowers are angels that everybody 11 . We enjoy the happiness these flowers have brought us."
The blind man's work opened our eyes, and12 our hearts, which also made his life13 . It was just like Beethoven, who became deaf in his later life and wrote many great musical works. Beethoven himself couldn't 14 his wonderful music, but his music has15 millions of people to face their difficulties bravely. Isn't it one kind of happiness?
People have always wanted to learn more about space. Before the mid-20th century, most people felt (travel) into space was an impossible dream. However, the help of scientists, people succeeded in realizing their dream (explore) space. On 4 October 1957, the Sputnik 1 satellite 59
(launch) by the USSR. scientists try to make sure nothing goes wrong, accidents can still happen.These disasters made everyone (disappoint), but people still believe in the importance of (carry) on space exploration. In 2003, China became the third country to (independent) send humans into space. Then Shenzhou 6 and 7 completed second manned orbit and the first Chinese spacewalk. In spite of the difficulties, scientists hope future (discovery) will not only enable us to understand the universe but also help us survive well into the future.
A couple，whom we shall call John and Mary, had a nice home and two lovely children. One day, John and Mary decided to go on a trip to another city, so they found a kind woman to look after the children and left.
Several days later, they returned home a little earlier than they had planned. As they drove back to their hometown, John and Mary noticed smoke and went to see what it was. They found a house was on fire. "Oh, well, it isn't our house. Let's go home," Mary said.
But John drove closer and screamed in surprise，"That's Jordan's home. He works in a factory. He wouldn't be off work yet. Maybe there is something we can do to help."
"It has nothing to do with us," cried Mary. "You have your good clothes on, so let's not get any closer."
John didn't listen to Mary. He drove up and stopped. They were both shocked to see the whole house was on fire. A woman was crying in the yard, "The children! Get the children!"
John seized her by the shoulder and shouted to her, "Don't cry! Tell me where the children are!" "In the basement(地下室)，"cried the woman, "down the hall and to the left."
John used water to get his clothes wet and put a wet towel on his head before rushing to the basement. The house was full of smoke and fire, and it was very difficult for him to find the children. But he made it. He held one under each arm. As he left，he could hear some more crying. He took the two kids out of the house and into the fresh air，and then asked the women how many more children were still down there.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为 150 词左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1:
The woman told him there were two more.
Paragraph 2:
As he took them out, he felt something strangely familiar about the little bodies.
