Tea is an important part of Chinese tradition. Tea has very close relationship to Chinese culture.

It is said that Chinese tea was discovered by King Shen Nong. People say that he lived 5,000 years ago. One summer day, while he was visiting a faraway part of his country, he felt very thirsty. The servants began to make water hot enough to turn into gas for him to drink. Dried leaves from a near plant fell into the water. The king drank some, and found it could make him feel less tried. Also as a scientist, Shen Nong was interested in the new dink. And so, tea was created in 2737 BC.

    Drinking tea has many advantages. It makes people feel less tired, clears heat inside the human body and helps people lose weight. As you add a cup of tea to your daily life, please check the following helpful advice.

    Drink it hot. Tea oxidizes(氧化) quickly, so it is suggested that you drink it hot.

    Do not drink too much strong tea. It will probably be harmful to your stomach and make you feel sick if you make the tea too strong.

    The best time to drink tea is between meals. It may not make you have a strong wish to eat when your stomach is full.

Do not drink with medicine. It many change the medical result. You can drink tea two hours after you take medicine.

    Green tea is the best choice for office workers. Why? Because green tea helps stop the bad result of the computer.

    In the US  Summer vacation starts in early June and ends around late August. Teachers will give summer homework. There are many classes and camps for middle school students. They can be about sports, cooking, boating or outdoor skills. Some students will try to make money by doing housework, such as babysitting or mowing the lawn(割草坪) for neighbours. Some will also do volunteer work, such as helping old or poor people.

    In the UK  ①Summer vacation starts around June 24 and ends on September 3. In Scotland, teachers hardly give schoolwork to kids to do during the summer. So, many of my friends and their families like to travel abroad.

    In France Summer vacation usually goes from mid-June to the end of August. French students don't have any homework or extra classes over the summer. Some students like travelling around the world. ②They see nature in Africa or visit English-speaking countries to learn English. Other students have fun in France. They go to the beach, see friends and watch movies.

    In Australia Summer vacation starts in late December and ends in early February. During the vacation, students have to finish their homework. They should read and write reports on three to five English books. They also need to work with their classmates to do science projects. Australian students often go to special interest classes during the vacation. They learn singing, cooking and so on.

    In China, the 12^th month of the lunar calendar（阴历）is called layue. The month is full of interesting festivals and customs.

    Laba Festival, which falls on the eighth day of layue, is the first festival in this month. From this day on, people begin to get ready for the Chinese New Year. On Laba Festival, people eat hot Laba porridge.

    There are usually eight things in the porridge: rice, red beans, peas, dried lotus seeds（莲子）, dates（红枣）, and three different kinds of fruits and nuts. The porridge is not just good for your health, but a blessing（祝福）for the coming of Chinese New Year.

    Laba porridge is not the only tasty food in layue. Laba garlic（腊八蒜）is popular in the north.

    People begin to soak garlic in vinegar from that day on, and eat it with dumplings during the Chinese New Year. While in the south, people like making sausages.

    Another major celebration before Spring Festival is xiaonian. It is usually on the 23^rd or 24^th day of the last lunar month. Traditionally it is an important occasion when people offer sacrifices（祭品）to the Kitchen God who looks after the family.

    Don't forget to clean your home. This is also an important thing to do to prepare for the Chinese New Year. It means sweeping away the dust of the old year and welcoming a fresh start.

    Now, the last thing for you to do is to wait for the coming Spring Festival.

    The World Memory Championships is an organized competition of memory sports in which competitors memorize as much information as possible within a given period of time. Tony Buzan, the founder of the competition, believes that everyone can improve their memories. The first World Memory Championship was held in London in 1991 and London kept holding the following ten competitions. It takes place every year, with the exception of 1992. The winner of the first competition was Dominic O'Brien, so was the second competition.

    The 19th and 20th World Memory Championships were held in Guangzhou, China. 130 competitors from all over the world gathered there in the 20th World Memory Championships. Over the following three days, the competitors had mental boundaries (限度) tested by memorizing numbers, images, dates, names and faces, as well as packs of cards, all against the clock. The prize was to become the next Grand Memory Master. More than a quarter of the competitors were female and the oldest was 74 years old. Many of the competitors believed the memorizing techniques they practiced could help them achieve other goals in life. But for that moment, their focus was all in their heads.

    Wang Feng, the winner of the 20th World Memory Championships, made the record by memorizing 2660 numbers within an hour. He said, "I won the Championship last year. To keep the achievement, I had to practice 5 to 6 hours every day over the last three months."