Yun Siqi from Beijing is a 19-year-old young pianist (钢琴家). He started to learn the piano at age 4 and it has been his favourite hobby since then. Before that, he often heard his elder sister playing the violin and he loved the classical music she played. "I wanted to beat her in something and I chose the piano," Yun said.

    At 4, several minutes of practice a day was enough. As Yum grew up, at ages 7 and 8, he had to practise for four hours a day. The time kept going up after Yun was 12. Now, he needs to practise at least seven hours every day. He sleeps for only five to six hours a day, but he is still full of energy(活力).

    Yun never got tired of the piano. In fact, he had great fun playing it. "Music is my special luck, and it is a real enjoyment to be with it every day," he said.

    Yun worked hard and soon he stood out. From 2013 to now, Yun shone at different music festivals, concerts and competitions. Yun said successes or failures（失败）were not important and they would not affect his understanding of music or his plan for the future. "If you lose, think carefully about it, and if you win, just work harder," the young pianist said "I still need to practise more to become better, to bring out the real beauty of classical music through the piano. It may take a lifetime."

    Me: Hello, Television Viewers! I am Aziza Bellamy, and thanks for watching. I want to especially thank you, Ms. Bertha, for agreeing to this interview on live television. It's a pleasure to meet you, the first-known trans-galactic visitor to Earth. Now, I understand that you are from a planet called Zadernol?

    Bertha: Just call me Miss Bertha or Bertha, please, but not "Ms."

    Me: Okay, sorry about that. So, you've been on Earth for about a week now. What have been your biggest disappointments or challenges so far?

    Bertha: It's not the worst planet I've ever been to. Mercury was much worse. The aliens— oops, I mean humans, have been unkind, overall. The family I'm staying with, for example, were nice at first. But now they roll their eyes whenever I open my mouth to say anything. They're not interested in any of my stories. And I think they may be trying to avoid me. Worst of all, they make me wash my own dishes and bathe myself. They're so rude.

    Me: Oh, um. . . wow. That's just.…

    Bertha: I am used to having high standards when I choose where to stay, by the way. I have stayed with royalty and presidents on other planets. And they all adored (崇拜) me and begged me not to leave. But I gave this human family a chance to host me. I mean, really, they should be grateful that I selected them, of all the people on Earth, to wash my clothes and cook my meals and entertain (款待) me.

    Me: Well, what you're saying is surprising, Bertha. Do you think it's possible that this family just wants you to pitch in a little, to be a good guest?

    Bertha: It's odd to me that you're not agreeing with me. If you were smarter, you'd agree with me. That's another thing. Everyone on Zadernol is smarter than the smartest person on Earth. Earth is below me.

    Me: You know what. Bertha? I'm starting to see why you're so unhappy here on Earth. You're just a boastful (自夸的), spoiled alien.

    Tea is tasty and good for you. It is also one of the most popular drinks around the world. But what is tea? And why is it so popular?

    All tea comes from tea leaves but tea is not always the same. There are many kinds of tea. You can drink black tea, green tea, white tea or fruit tea. Each type of tea has a different taste and a different colour.

    The history of tea begins in Asia. In China, Korea and Japan, tea is still very important today. In Japan, it can take many hours to prepare and drink tea with your guests. In Malaysia, a popular drink at breakfast is teh tarik ('pulled tea'). Malaysians say it is good for you and tastes good with canai bread.

    Tourists in Kuala Lumpur like watching the tea sellers make ‘pulled tea'. The tea sellers pour hot water on black tea. After five minutes, they add sugar and milk. Then they 'pull' the tea—they pour the tea from one cup to another many times.

In many countries, you must have a special kettle to make tea. People in different countries also like to add different things to their tea. For example, Russians use a special kettle called a samovar. They like drinking tea with lemon. Sometimes, they also drink tea with some sugar or jam.

    In Turkey, tea comes in a Caydanlik. A Caydanlik has two kettles: one for the water and one for the tea. Drink Turkish tea with some sugar.

    Arab tea, called karak, has cardamom, ginger, milk and sugar. In the United Kingdom, they add some milk and sugar.

    The British usually eat biscuits with their tea. In Japan, they like…

    Happy, Happy Chinese New Year by Demi Hitz

    In a book that is itself a celebration, Demi explains the ideas behind the Chinese New Year festival. The last 15 days of the old year are spent cleaning and preparing （Wash your hair and get a new haircut. Pay the debts that you owe and collect what is owed to you!）.On the eve of the new moon, a special feast is prepared…The first 15 days of the New Year are spent celebrating with lion dances, firecrackers, and other activities.

    Demi has long been interested in Eastern art and philosophy, which inspired her to create this book about the Chinese New Year celebration. She has written and illustrated more than 20 books for children, including The Empty Pot, Gandhi, and Kites：Magic Wishes that Fly Up to the Sky.

    Chinese New Year for Kids by Cindy Roberts

    Chinese New Year for Kids is a full color book with beautiful, Chinese illustrations. This is a hands-on workbook for parents and teachers, written for children from ages 3 to 12 years old, for use in the classroom or at home. Children will enjoy the Chinese New Year party ideas, dragon dances, lion dances, art projects, and Chinese games.

    The art projects for Chinese New Year are designed to be easy, as well as inexpensive to reproduce for large groups. All the activities in this book have been tested in the classroom, with very successful results, and have caused lots of enthusiasm from children and teachers alike. Music, physical movement, art, and food all add to the ambiance of taking an imaginary trip to China during the Chinese New Year.

    Robert likes to take a walk in the park after work. One day when he was walking in the park, he heard a woman calling his name. He stopped to look around, but didn't see anything except a little snake. Shortly after Robert saw it, it was gone.

    Though Robert felt a little strange, he did not think about it too much and sat down for a rest on a bench in the park. Then he noticed the snake he had just seen climbing up the bench. Robert was too afraid to move away from the bench. Right at this moment, a woman behind him shouted, "Come here, Robert. You can't stay on the bench like that. People will be scared by you."

    In surprise, Robert turned around and said to the woman." Excuse me, but that's not a very nice thing to say, and in fact some people say I'm handsome."

    "I'm not talking to you, "said the woman." I'm telling Robert, my pet snake, to get down from the bench, not you."

    You must be told many times about the four historical stories. However, have you learned anything different about them in history classes?

    George Washington lost his first adult tooth at the age of 22. When he became the first American president, he only had one real tooth left. All his other teeth were made of wood.

    Everyone knows that in 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain to prove (证明) that the Earth was round. However, the truth was that Columbus didn't think the world was round at first.

    Many of us believe that Isaac Newton was hit on the head by an apple and he had the idea about gravity (引力). In fact, he was never hit on the head by an apple. The story by Voltaire didn't appear until the year Newton died. Newton's story is interesting, but it isn't true.

    Besides being one of the greatest people in history, Napoleon Bonaparte is remembered as a tiny man. And thanks to a famous painting by Louis David, people think he always had his hands hidden in his coat. But in fact, his height was about l.7 meters. It is very normal even at present.

    Of course, sometimes it's difficult to tell whether some historical stories are true or not. However, most of them can bring us much fun and teach us a lot.

    An English traveller found himself in Norway with only enough money to buy the ticket for his journey back home. As he knew that it would take him only two days to get to England, he decided that he could easily spend the time without food. So he bought a ticket and got on the ship. The man closed his ears to the sound of the lunch bell. When dinner time came, he didn't go to the dining room, saying that he was not feeling very well.

    The next morning, he still didn't have breakfast and at lunch time he again stayed in his room. But at dinner time he was so hungry that he went to the dining room and ate everything the waiter put in front of him. He got ready for the quarrel(争吵).

     “Bring me the bill,” he said. “The bill, sir?” said the waiter in surprise. “There isn't any bill. On our ship meals are included(包括)in the money for the ticket,'' said the waiter.

    My grandfather was a teacher. He was the head teacher of a school for boys between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. I know that he was a kind and gentle(温柔的)man at heart, because when I was young, he gave me presents, and sat me on his knees(膝盖), and told me stories. But I believe the boys at his school were afraid of him.

    At school, when he walked into a room full of noisy (少闹的)boys, there was silence(安静)at once. When he looked at a boy with a certain look in his eyes, that boy went red in the face, and looked down at his shoes. If a boy brought him poor, careless work, the work that was not the best that boy could do, my grandfather picked up the boy's work and threw it across the room, shouting,” Do it all again, and bring it back first thing in the morning!” If the boy was late, or if he forgot to bring the work, he had to do it again, and again, and yet again. My grandfather never forgot. He was a very different man at school, from the man I saw day by day in his own home.

    Jessie felt her life so boring one summer day. She was tired of watching TV. She read all her books, and her friends were on vacation. She wanted something different to do, Suddenly, she saw the lawn mower(草机)sitting in the yard.

“Mom,” she shouted, ”I think I will mow the lawn.” Her mom ran into the yard and said,” Oh no, you don't. You're too young to mow the lawn.

“I'm fourteen years old and know how to do it,” Jessie said. ”Besides, it would help Dad out, and he won't have to worry about it over the weekend.

    Mom thought for a while and then decided to let Jessie give it a try. After all, she was home and would keep an eye on her. Jessie already knew how to start the lawn mower from watching her dad. Jessie checked the gas(汽油)to make sure it was full, and put on her gardening gloves to protect her hands. Mom watched from the kitchen window. Jessie really did know how to mow the lawn. She was very careful around the flowers and trees. When she finished, she felt so good, but she was so hot. Mom brought her some ice tea and said, “You sure did a great job. Dad will be very surprised. ”

    Later that day, Dad came home and said to Jessie's mom,” You didn't have to mow the lawn. I was going to do it on Saturday, It looks great. Thanks. ”

    “I didn't mow it. Jessie did, ''

    “Wow, our little girl is growing up!” Dad told Jessie what a great job she had done.

    “It was fun, and I will do it again next week,” said Jessie.

    The neighbour next door came by and asked Jessie if she wanted to mow his lawn and make some money. “Sure!” said Jessie. Jessie began mowing his lawn. Two other neighbours asked so, then another three. Jessie was now mowing lawns for them all and making some money. She was no longer bored! “I won't have time to spend my money,” she laughed to herself.

    Four years ago, Chinese skater Wu Dajing introduced himself to the skating world by winning a silver medal (银牌) at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games. At this year's Pyeong Chang Olympics, Wu not only returned, but also made history.

    On Feb 22th, 2018, Wu won the gold medal in the men's short-track 500-meter race. He set a new world record with a time of 39.584 seconds. He also became the first Chinese man to take home an Olympic short-track gold medal. BBC said Wu's win was "flawless" because he was much faster than all of the other skaters.

    "I didn't give them a chance and I kept my speed from the start," he told the reporter after the match.

    But China's short-track teams didn't do well in general (总体上) at the Games. Chinese skaters in the women's 500 meters, 3000-meter relay and men's 1500 meters all failed to take home the gold. Wu was China's biggest hope, which put a lot of pressure on him. But he proved (证明) himself with his great performance.

    Wu is now known as a highly talented skater. But things were not always that way. When Wu joined the national team in 2010, he was seen as almost "nothing" compared to talented skaters like Zhou Yang and Fan Kexin, as his coaches (教练) said at the time Their words made him quite upset. But Wu didn't want to give up and worked as hard as he could. He practiced skating all year round. He even didn't return to his hometown for the holidays for 10 years. "I believe in myself," he told the reporter after his match at the Olympics.