American people like to say "Thank you" when others help them or say something kind to them. People in many countries do so, too. It is a very good habit.

    You should say "Thank you" when someone passes you the salt on the table,  when someone walking ahead of you keeps the door open for you, when someone says you have done your work well, or you have bought a nice thing, or your city is very beautiful. "Thank you" is used not only between friends, but also between parents and children, brothers and sisters.

    "Excuse me" is another short sentence they use. When you hear someone say so behind you, you know that someone wants to walk past you without touching you. It's not polite to break others when they are talking. If you want to speak to one of them, say "Excuse me" first, and then begin talking. You should also do so when you begin to cough or make any noise before others.

    Let's learn to say "Thank you" and "Excuse me".

    It has more than 845 million users around the world. If it were a country, it would have the third largest population (人口) in the world，behind China and India. This is Facebook, a popular website from the USA. It is similar to Renren in China.

    Mark Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984. As a little kid, he loved creating little fun computer programs. He set up the network in February of 2004. He was then a second—year student at Harvard University. One day, he had the idea of building a website for Harvard students to get to know each other. He set up the Facebook website. Harvard students could share photos and their personal information there. Soon, the website became very famous. Zuckerberg decided to leave Harvard to run Facebook full time. It was the biggest adventure (冒险) in his life and later brought him great success. Now, the service is popular around the world.

    Greetings such as "Have you checked your Facebook page today?" became a part of young people's everyday language in the USA. People can exchange messages and get the latest information about their friends on Facebook. Zuckerberg's dream is to connect people through the Internet. "Facebook is to make the world more open and connected," he said.

    What's the young man's secret to success? Zuckerberg believes it's important to have an open mind and be ready to try new things. "The riskiest thing is to take no risks," he once said in an open letter. Sometimes the simplest ideas go furthest. We hope Mark can go much further, maybe even further than Bill Gates.

    Can you write the Chinese characters(汉字) "ganga" (embarrassment) correctly? Do you know how to write characters like "tiaozhou"(broom)?

    If you can't, you're not alone. Nowadays, most people are typing into computers instead of writing on paper, We type Chinese characters largely according to their pronunciation. The result is to recognize (认出) characters without remembering how to write them.

    In 2013, China Youth Daily did a survey of 2, 517 people, in which 98.9 percent said they had once forgotten how to write a common Chinese character.

    Compared to adults (成年人), teenagers are better at writing Chinese characters because they spend more time learning and practicing at school. However, the effect of digital technology cannot be ignored, according to He Yu, head of a research team for Chinese teaching at a Beijing high school. " Many students are obsessed (沉迷于) with digital devices such as electronic dictionaries and computers to help with their studies. Too much use of these tools will make students too lazy to think and write." He said.

    Such worries have brought about a popular TV show titled Chinese Spelling Hero, which pays attention to Chinese character writing among teenagers. In April, the Ministry of Education called for better calligraphy (书法) education in schools. Organizations like the China Calligraphers Association are also working to train more teachers in calligraphy.

    Interestingly, calligraphy teachers can't always avoid (避免) the effects of modern technology. Shen Bin is a calligraphy teacher at a primary school in Beijing. She admitted that it's common for teachers like her to forget certain words.

    "The calligraphy class is also a good chance for me to remember how to write." She said.

    When HarmonyOS, the Chinese self-developed operating system (操作系统) for Huawei mobile phones, appeared on Aug 9, it quickly became a hot topic on social media. Many believe it not only means the rising power of our country's technology, but also shows respect to classical Chinese culture by naming the system "Hongmeng" in Chinese. 

    "Hongmeng" is a word from the ancient book Zhuangzi. It was used to describe the original state (原始状态) of the universe (宇宙) before the material came into shape. For HarmonyOS, "Hongmeng" shows that the developers want to make a new operating system, different from any other. Besides "Hongmeng", Huawei has also owned many of its products (产品) under the names of legendary creatures from traditional Chinese folk stories, such as "Qilin", a lucky monster and "Kunpeng", an animal that changed from a fish into a large bird. Many Chinese Internet users and media have spoken highly of Huawei's use of these names because they carry Chinese wisdom and ancient people's imagination.

    In fact, Huawei is not alone in using traditional culture or modern business. Ne Zha, the new film, also connects traditional culture with modern elements (元素) successfully. It became the biggest surprise this summer. It tells a different story of Ne Zha-he is a devil (恶魔) born into a loving family and becomes a hero in the end.

    Although Ne Zha's appearance in this film is strange and kind of ugly with scary teeth and heavy dark circles around his eyes, his spirit of trying to control his own life greatly encourages young people to fight for their bright future.

    Indeed, the long history and a large number of classic works have given China a colorful culture. Myths and legends like Nv Wa Repairs the Sky and Hou Yi shoots the Suns are the creative works of imagination. After all, imagination is the beginning of creation.

    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.

    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.

    Bath, 97 miles west of London, is the largest city in Somerset, England.  It became a World Heritage Site in 1987.

    The city got its name from the Roman Baths, which was a place for public bathing in Roman Britain. The water there is naturally heated under the ground. Today visitors are no longer allowed to enter the water. However, the exhibitions there will tell you the history of the Roman Baths. You can see many ancient Roman objects, including the coins that were thrown into the water to show respect to the goddess.

    Looking over the city, you will see many old buildings in the colour of honey. Among them, the Royal Crescent and the Circus are the most famous. The Royal Crescent is a row of 30 houses in the shape of crescent. The Circus is about 200 metres to the east of the Royal Crescent. It is a huge circle formed with large townhouses. It is divided into three parts of the same length by three entrances with a lawn in the centre. When visiting Bath, you can't miss these two sites.

    The museums in the city are also popular. You can go and appreciate western paintings. If you are interested in the English writer Jane Austen, you can go to Jane Austen Centre to know more about her life with her father in Bath, if you come in October, you can even take part in the bath film Festival.