What are the most popular shoes in the world? Sneakers, of course! Almost everybody o at least one pair of sneakers. However, how many people know the history of the sneaker?

Sneakers were first introduced around the b of the 20th century. The sneaker was invented when a shoe company glued a piece of rubber to the shoe shop. They called it an athletic shoe.

In 1917, U. S. Rubber sold athletic shoes called Keds. The shoes became known as "sneakers", because they were so q that you could sneak up on people while wearing them. For many years, sneakers only came in one color c and it wasn't white. They were brown with black bottoms.

The way sneakers looked changed in the early 1960s. A runner named Phil Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman, decided to make them b. They made some experiments to find a light, comfortable athletic shoe, and went into the sneaker business.

One day, Bowerman stuck a piece of rubber into a waffle maker. When he heated it up, the iron made a pattern of criss-crosses (构成十字形图案的) in the rubber. Bowerman was inspired to use this on the bottom of a shoe to give the shoe traction (摩擦力) and a lighter weight. He knew that this rubber wouldn't slip on the gym floor.

The two men named their shoes Nike, after a Greek goddess. Nike was a s of victory. From then on, Nike shoes became winners, too. They were sold in many different colors and styles and have sold millions and millions all around the world.

In the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, women seldom had chances for a technical education and career. However, the history of women inventors in this period is very long.

The nineteenth-century inventor Margaret Knight was born in the USA in 1838. As a young girl, she was made to work in a cotton factory by her parents. While she was working there, there was an accident and somebody was almost killed by a machine. Margaret was only 12 at the time, but she invented a way to fix the machine so that if there was something wrong again, the machine would shut down at once.

She had more than eighty inventions, from a machine for cutting shoes to improvements for the steam engine. But her most important invention was a machine that produced paper bags with flat bottoms. In fact, the idea for the invention was stolen by the person who made the model for the machine. She had to take legal（法律的）action to be finally recognized as the owner of the idea. Once Margaret had produced an invention, she would usually sell it for not much money, and when she died in 1914, all she left was only 275 dollars.

Beulah Henry also began inventing things when she was a young girl. In 1912, at age 25, she got her first patent（专利）for an ice-cream freezer. A year later, she designed a parasol—an umbrella for the sun—with changeable covers that went well with women's clothes. Working out how to fix the covers so that they would not fly away on windy days was difficult, but she solved the problem successfully. In fact as she herself put it, "The biggest umbrella men in the country told me it could not be done." The invention earned her about 50, 000 dollars from the producers.

She earned 49 patents, but her inventions number around 110. People called her "Lady Edison". But for someone with such a long career, surprisingly little is known about Beulah Henry's personal life. She was born in the USA in 1887 and grew up in an artistic family. These two women's stories will always give future inventors lots of courage and confidence.

When you take a walk in any of the cities in the west, you often see a lot of people walking with dogs. It is still true that a dog is the most useful and faithful(忠诚的) animal in the world. But the reasons why people keep a dog have changed.

In the old days, people used to train(训练) dogs to protect themselves against a tacks by other animals. But now people keep dogs for companionship(陪伴). For a child, a dog is his best friend when he has no friend to play with. For old couples, a dog is also their child when their real child has grown up. So the main reason why people keep dogs has changed from protection to friendship.

Did you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world (after water), was invented by a? Many people believe that tea was first drunk about 5,000 years ago. It is said that a Chinese r called Shen Nong was the first to discover tea as a drink. One day Shen Nong was b drinking water over an open fire, some leaves from a tea plant d into the water and r there for some time. It produced a nice s so he tasted the brown water. It was quite delicious, and so, one of the world's favorite drinks was i.

A few thousand years later, Luyu, the saint of tea, m Shen Nong in his book Chajing. The book describes how tea plants were grown and used to make tea. It also d where the finest tea leaves were p and what kinds of water were used.

Hotpot is popular in China today. Did ancient Chinese people have hotpot?

Ancient Chinese people had hotpot as early as Shang Dynasty (16th—11th century BC). At that time, people boiled foods and soups in bronze cauldrons(青铜鼎). The cauldrons had two parts—one was the pot to cook foods in soup. The other part was a layer or a space inside the cauldron to hold fire-wood. But at that time, the cauldron was only for a single person to eat from.

During the Han Dynasty (206 BC— AD 220), people divided a pot into several parts to enjoy different flavors(口味).

During the Tang Dynasty (618—907), having hotpot was popular. When people held family feast(宴席), they would prepare hotpot. People of the Song Dynasty (960—1279) had hotpot to welcome winter.

Huoguo, the Chinese name for hotpot, was mentioned by Yuan Mei, a poet and foodie(美食家) in Qing Dynasty (1644—1911), in a book about all kinds of food. At that time, the hotpot was very popular. People put all kinds of meats and vegetables into pots made of different materials, such as copper(铜) and iron.

Hotpot also became a famous royal dish, called reguo (热锅). It's said that Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty loved hotpot so much that he had it for almost every meal. He once held a big hotpot feast, inviting more than 5,000 people to enjoy about 1,550 hotpots.

Canton Porcelain （广彩） has a history of more than 300 years, dating back to the Qing Dynasty （1636—1911）. Canton Porcelain became popular around the world1its beautiful colors.

Xu Enfu is known as a Canton Porcelain master. Xu Junru, his daughter,showed great love for it when she was a little girl. She enjoyed staying with her father while he2the porcelain painting. They think it's necessary for them to add modern patterns to their pieces. They mix modern technology with a traditional feel. Cartoon patterns,3Hello Kitty and Doraemon can be painted on the plates. This idea wins children's hearts. Their works are4wonderful that they attract many foreigners. They decide5this traditional skill to people around the world.

Last year, some students from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao visited a Canton Porcelain workshop held by GD Today. They were all6to experience how to make Canton Porcelain. Mansha said, "It is my first time to paint on a plate or porcelain. Although painting on a porcelain is difficult,7 it is really interesting." David spent just one hour8a house on the plate. Sarah challenged herself to paint the Canton Tower on her own to remember the time in Guangzhou. Simon succeeded in9a Chinese character on the plate. It was a good idea to make this plate for his grandma.

So far, in Guangdong, more and more people10great interest in Canton Porcelain. In some schools, students can even learn to make Canton Porcelain in art lessons. We all hope to keep the traditional skill alive.

Do you know the history of hot pot(火锅)? It's one of the most famous1in China. There are many stories about how hot pot 2. The most traditional and oldest one has to do3Genghis Khan.

Genghis Khan was the founder(建立者) of the Mongol Empire. He was also one of the greatest military leaders(军事领袖).

The place where he lived was very4in winter. He needed food to5his army warm, strong and healthy. When it was time to eat, they built stoves(炉). After finishing building these things, they put ice and6into the pot. When they turned into water, and the7of the water was high, they put meat into it.8a short time, the meat was OK, and they began to eat it. That might be the9hot pot. They ate mutton, beef and horse meat most. Later people brought hot pot to other parts of China and10 it. People began to put more kinds of ingredients(烹调的原料) into the hot pot, 11vegetables and seafood. By the Qing Dynasty, hot pot had become popular in most parts of China.

Today, we can find many12 kinds of hot pot in Beijing, Chongqing, Sichuanand13in some foreign countries. When we14the delicious hot pot, we also15the special food culture of China.

During ancient times, children didn't have a smart phone, iPad or computer to enjoy themselves. However, they came up with many interestingto play in their childhood.

Kicking stone balls is one of the best examples of such games. During the Qing Dynasty, kicking a stone ball around was very popular, especially in the northern part of China. As it was too cold there in winter, people often played stone balls to keep . Stones were made into small balls and kicked with feet.

Kites have quite a long history - it was invented in the Dongzhou Dynasty. At that time, there was no paper, so the earliest kites were all made of wood   of it. Nowadays, the three most famous kites are the Beijing kite, Tianjin kite and Weifang kite, which each has its own colors and sizes.

Hide-and-seek is another traditional game for children. There are two ways to play. One way is covering a child's eyes while other kids run around to tease (逗弄) him. If he catches a player, the player will take his place and continue to catch others. The second way is more common. Players hide first and one child must try to find.

The most similar thing to watching a film or television for fun during ancient times was to watch a shadow play. Folk artists control puppets (木偶) behind the screen, telling stories  music on.

Diabolo, often called Chinese Yo-Yo, is quite popular in Beijing. It is often made of bamboo or wood. When playing diabolo on ropes, you can hear a special but musical

 . It can be very challenging to play diabolo. But with years of efforts and practice, an excellent performer can throw and catch diabolo on a rope easily, just like a magician.

One acts as the eagle, one as the mother chicken and the rest as chicks. Chicks stand in a line behind mother chicken. Each chick holds the clothes of the one in front. the mother chicken's job is to protect the chicks with her arms, the eagle tries hard to catch the chicks. If one chick is caught, it should the role with the eagle and the game will restart.

Do you like eating wontons (馄饨)? It is not only popular in China, but also around the world. You can find it in North America, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Wontons are like dumplings, only smaller. They are a kind of traditional food from northern China. It is said that during the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu, an ancient tribe in northern China, had conflicts (冲突) with local people on the border (边界). Hunshi and Tunshi were the two leaders (领导) of the Xiongnu. So people began to call their food "huntun" and wish for the end of the conflicts.

In different parts of China, a wonton has different names. In the north, it is called "huntun". In Guangdong, it is called "yuntun". People in Sichuan call it "chaoshou", while in the southeastern province of Fujian, it is called "bianshi".

People usually eat wontons with soup. Sometimes they also fry (油炸) them. You make a wonton with a square wrapper (包装). You put some fillings in the wrapper and push the outside of the wrapper together with your fingers. The most popular fillings are pork and shrimp.

The year 2022 will be a big year for sports in China. That's because it will hold not only the 24th Winter Olympics in Beijing, but also the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

On August 6th, 2018, the official emblem（会徽）for the Hangzhou Asian Games was released(发行). The city won the hosting rights for the 2022 Asian Games in 2015. It will be the third Chinese city to host the Asian Games after Beijing and Guangzhou in 1990 and 2010.

First held in 1951, the Asian Games is the largest multi-sport event in Asia. It also means a lot to China. The Beijing Asian Games was the first large international sports event to be hosted by China, China News Service reported.

To make the Games a great success, Chinese people worked hard to prepare. Beijing built a great number of roads and gyms, including the famous Beijing Olympic Sports Center and Asian Games Village. The Games helped the world see China and its achievements. Since then, China has improved its global image (国际形象), China Youth Daily reported.

For the 2022 Asian Games, Hangzhou has already started building 33 sports venues(场馆), according to China Youth Daily. The themes of the Hangzhou Asian Games are "green, smart, economical (节俭) and civilized (文明)". All the Games'buildings will be environmentally friendly.