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A researcher at Ben-Gurion University conducted the first study of hand-clapping songs, uncovering a direct link between those activities and the development of important skills in children and young adults, including university students.

"We found that children in the first, second and third grades who sing these songs prove skills absent in children who don't take part in similar activities," explains Dr. Idit Sulkin. "We also found that children who naturally perform hand-clapping songs in the yard during break have neater handwriting, write better and make fewer spelling errors." As part of the study, Sulkin went to several elementary school classrooms and engaged the children in either a board of education conducting music appreciation program or hand-clapping songs training — each lasting a period of 10 weeks.

"Within a very short period of time, the children who until then hadn't taken part in such activities caught up in their cognitive abilities to those who did," she said. But this finding only surfaced for the group of children undergoing hand-clapping songs training. The result led Sulkin to conclude that hand-clapping songs should be made a necessary part of education for children aged 6 to 10, for the purpose of motor and cognitive training.

During the study, Dr. Sulkin interviewed school and kindergarten teachers, visited their classrooms and joined the children in singing. Her goal was to figure out why children are fascinated by singing and clapping up until the end of third grade, when these entertainments are abruptly abandoned and replaced with sports. "This fact explains a developmental process the children are going through," Dr. Sulkin observes. "The hand-clapping songs appear naturally in children's lives at the age of 7, and disappear at the age of 10."

Sulkin says that no in-depth, long-term study has been conducted on the effects that hand-clapping songs have on children's motor and cognitive skills. However, the relationship between music and intellectual development in children has been studied extensively, causing countless parents to obtain a "Baby Mozart" CD for their children.

The Chinese Spring Festival symbolizes a farewell to the old year and a warm welcome to the brand new year. More importantly, it is a special occasion to return home and( grateful) reunite with family members. This deeply rooted tradition (be) an integral part of Chinese culture for a very long time, and will continue to live forever in the hearts of the Chinese people.

When the New Year (come), there are many interesting festival activities. Adults give children "Lucky money" in red envelopes. People greet family and friends "Xinnian Hao" or "Gongxi Facai" whenever they may meet. Another part of this custom of sharing good wishes is to pay visits relatives and bring them gifts. Commonly (exchange) gifts include food such as fruit, sticky rice cakes, and homemade desserts. In addition, friends and family go out to enjoy loud and (colour) fireworks, spend time at temple fairs, and watch exciting dragon and lion dances.

Before the Chinese Spring Festival, people usually do a number of things, one of is cleaning the house. Dust reminds people old or outdated things. Therefore, sweeping dust out of the house is a way of saying goodbye to old things welcoming new things. Another important custom for families is to decorate their doors red couplets. The phrases on the couplets express hopes for a prosperous new year. The most important custom is the big family dinner the eve of the Lunar New Year. This is usually a big reunion of grandparents, parents, and children. It reflects important family is to Chinese people around the world. That is millions of Chinese people travel long distances to get home before the eve of the Lunar New Year. Also, families typically eat certain types of lucky food at the family reunion dinner. Eating fish, for example, (suppose) to bring more wealth and prosperity than one needs, as the (pronounce) of "fish" in Chinese (yu) is also used for "surplus".

The Chinese Spring Festival

(refer) to as the most significant festival of the year among the Chinese, the Chinese Spring Festival lasts for 15 days,(include) the days of preparation beforehand. 

I'm finally back home now, (feel) really tired, but (celebrate) Naadam was (total) worth it. He invited me back for the winter to stay in a traditional Mongolian tent . I can't wait(eat) hot pot.

I (absolute) enjoyed the archery, too, but the horse races were my favourite part. However, surprised me was that the riders were boys and girls! That is children are lighter and the horses can run faster and (far). At first, I was a little worried about the children's (safe), but Burin said, "Don't worry. They've been riding horses all their lives. They'll be just fine." That was the moment I started to understand why people say "Horses are at the heart of Mongolian culture". …

After the (open) ceremony and some amazing performances, the wrestling  (compete) began. Mongolian wrestling is different from  in the Olympic Games. There are no rounds and wrestlers are not separated by (weigh). The wrestler loses if any part of his body above his knee  (touch) the ground. After singing some songs, the (compete) danced onto the green field, (wave) their arms in the air as if they were eagles. I was quite moved by their show of (strong) and grace.

On the first day, I set off to the games early with my friend Burin. I saw a lot of people (dress) in fancy Mongolian robes. Some were feeding their horses, some were practising archery, and others were (chat) or taking photographs. Mongolians travel every year from near and far to attend the festival, just as their ancestors had done for (century).

My amazing Naadam experience

It is the first time that I (experience) the Naadam Festival in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region . The festival (fall) on the fourth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, usually(last) for three days. Naadam means "games" in Mongolian, and it (represent) by three events: horse racing, wrestling, and archery, all of are all so exciting to watch!

Festivals are an important part of society, (reflect) people's wishes, (belief), faiths, and attitudes to life. They are occasions we are allowed to relax and enjoy life, and forget about our work a little while. They help us understand where we came from, who we are, and to appreciate. And you study festivals carefully, you may be surprised to find that different cultures actually have a lot in common after all.

Customs play a significant role in festivals,  sometimes they can change over time. With the (develop) of modern society and the spread of new ideas, some traditions may fade away and others may  (establish). One example is the typical Chinese Spring Festival custom of lighting firecrackers  (drive) away the evil spirits and celebrate the new year. Nowadays, many big cites have given  this custom in order to avoid air pollution.  example is Halloween,  slowly became an exciting festival for children, in spite of its (religion) origins. Festivals are becoming more and more commercial, with businesses (take) advantage of the celebrations. Online shopping websites and social media apps have made it much (easy) for the public to spend more  gifts for their loved ones. Although some believe festivals should not be commercialized, others believe the increase  spending is good for the economy and public happiness.

Why do we celebrate festivals?

(celebrate) all around the world, festivals have a wide range of origins, such as the seasons of the year, religions, famous figures, and important events. Every festival has (it) different customs and unique charms.  different they may seem, the spirit of sharing joy, (grateful), love, or peace is common in all festivals.

all the traditional festivals, the harvest festival can be found in almost every culture. This important agricultural festival (take) place after all the crops have been gathered in. People celebrate to show that they are grateful the year's supply of food. In ancient Egypt, the harvest festival (celebrate) during the springtime, (feature) a parade and a great feast music, dancing, and sports. Today, in some European countries, people decorate churches and town halls flowers and fruit, and get together to celebrate over a meal. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, families gather to admire the (shine) moon and enjoy delicious mooncakes.

In her 40s, Dierdre Wolownick taught herself to swim. In her 50s, she took up running. At 66, Wolownick made a record-breaking ascent (攀登) of El Capitan, Yosemite National Park's granite monolith that has some of the longest, most challenging rock climbing routes in the world.

Wolownick had one of the most skilled rock climbers in the world guiding her: her famous son Alex Honnold, the star of the 2018 Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo. The film tells her son's breathtaking journey to becoming the first person to climb El Capitan.

Reaching the top of El Capitan in 2017, Wolownick became the oldest woman to make that ascent.  In late September, Wolownick climbed El Capitan again to celebrate her 70th birthday. On that adventure, she climbed up along an easier route that climbers typically use to descend. It took her six hours to reach the top, and after camping there overnight, she came down in 6.5 hours the next day.

Growing up in New York, Wolownick painted and played the piano in Jackson Heights, Queens. As an adult, she taught five languages and wrote books, including a 2019 memoir The Sharp End of Life: A Mother's Story, which is in part about her first El Capitan ascent. In 1990, she founded an orchestra in West Sacramento and conducted it.

"There certainly was no danger in those things.   But none of them was really physical," she said. "I never in a million years thought that I could climb El Capitan."

Confucius, a famous teacher, was a politician and philosopher who lived in the Spring and Autumn Period in China. During his lifetime, he planted the seeds for China's transformation by teaching thousands of people. Therefore, he is thought to be one of the world's greatest teachers today.

Confucius grew up in a poor family. As he grew up, Confucius worked to help his mother earn money. When he wasn't working, he would read. His favorite thing to do was to learn. His mother saw this and did her best to help him learn. One day, rich families noticed how smart he was and offered him jobs of counting their money and tending to their crops.

Confucius did this until he was 30 years old, but he always wanted to do more. He didn't like the way rulers treated their subjects. He wanted to find a way to help people who were less fortunate than he was. Later, he founded the philosophy "Confucianism". Confucianism states that by educating yourself, loving your family, and respecting tradition you could become a better person. Confucius believed a person could achieve these things by practicing self-discipline. In the majority of his life, Confucius traveled and taught the people of China about self-discipline and the importance of education. He even opened China's first school to teach both the poor and the wealthy as equals. Today, Confucius is celebrated all over the world for his philosophy of education, equality, and peace over war, money, and injustice.