Deep in the forest of southeastern Mexico, scientists found a surprise. They found an ancient pyramid. There were colorful murals (壁画)in it. A mural is a painting on a wall. Those murals are helping scientists unlock a mystery about people who lived in ancient times.

    The murals are about 1,350 years old. That's more than five times older than the United States. Scientists say the paintings belonged to the Mayas. That was a group of Native American people. They lived many years ago in what is now Mexico and Central America.

    Scientists are excited about the discovery because they don't know much about the Mayas' daily life, explains Michael Coe, an expert on the Mayas. The paintings show how the Mayas worked, shopped and dined. One mural shows a man drinking from a bowl. Another shows a woman selling food to a crowd of people.

    "Mostly we get the murals that show gods and kings, never anything about the daily life," Coe said. "This is like walking into a Maya supermarket." So far, scientists have found more than 30 murals in the pyramid. They are not sure why the Mayas created them. The experts hope to learn more as they continue their search.

    "We never had anything like this before," said Coe. "These are really special murals."

    Scientists learned a lot about the Mayas from the murals. The Mayas were known for more than paintings. Now the murals tell us some fun facts about the Mayan way of life.

    Sweet Home

    The Mayas lived in what is now Central and North America. Today the area includes parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.

    Smart Starts

    The Mayas invented a type of Maths. They also created a type of writing that used symbols or pictures. Mayas used bark (树皮)to make books.

    _____

    The Mayas often ate com and used it to make other foods. They grew many crops (庄稼), including beans and sweet potatoes.

    Cool Clothes

    Mayan men dressed themselves up with some cloth while women wore long dresses. Rich Mayas wore jewelry (珠宝).

    A well—known poem by the Tang Dynasty's poet Du Mu tells a sad scene in early April, Rain falls heavily as Qingming comes, and passersby with low spirits go."

    This scene takes place on Tomb Sweeping Day, also known as the Qingming Festival. Tomb Sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival. It began in the Zhou Dynasty, over 2,500 years ago Chinese people celebrate it to remember and honor their ancestors(祖先). This year, it falls on April 4. Tomb Sweeping Day became a public holiday on the Chinese mainland in 2008. People have one day off for that day.

    On this day, families bring flowers, food and wine to the gravesites(墓地) of their ancestors. They place cakes, fruit in front of the graves and some may burn joss paper, as money for the dead. After that, they sweep the tombs and cherish(怀念) the memories of their dead family members

Tomb Sweeping Day gives us a chance to show respect to our ancestors and family members who have passed away and show that we miss them. This tradition shows that family values are an important part of Chinese culture.

    Tomb Sweeping Day is also the beginning of the time for gardening and outdoor active China. Families often get together for outings or to fly kites.

    The 35th Weifang International Kite Festival opened in April 2018 in East China's Shandong, receiving kite fans from all over the world. Shandong has a long history of kite making. Over 2,000 years ago, a man named Gongshu Ban from Shangdong invented a kite. It was made of bamboo. In the following centuries, kite making developed well in China.

    The first Weifang International Kite Festival was celebrated in 1984. In 1983, chairman of the Seattle Kite Association David Checkley took part in a kite show in Shanghai and later he visited several kite manufacturers (制造商). He found that kites made in Weifang were the best. He suggested that an international event take place there. So Weifang began to hold it in April every year.

    At the fifth festival, Weifang became known as the "kite capital of the world". Today, Weifang is home to over 300 kite factories. Their products are sold to over 40 countries and areas, making up 85% of the domestic (国内的) market and 65% of the world market.

    However, there are also some problems. "Only a few people would like to learn traditional kite making," says Yang Hongwei. In her opinion, only something traditional can last. As for this problem, an older craftsman (手艺人) Zhang Xiaodong said, "Only through innovation can we achieve a bright future for traditional hand-made kites." Zhang has created a rocket-shaped kite after China launched the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft. "I have a controller and the two parts of the 'rocket' can separate in the sky," he said proudly. He is planning to use drones (无人机) in kite making next.

    In 99% of human history, people took their food from the world around them. They ate all that they could find, and then moved on. Then about 10,000 years ago, or in 1% of human history, people learned to farm the land.

    The kind of food we eat depends on which part of the world we live in, or which part of our country we live in, For example, in the south of China they eat rice, but in the north they eat noodles. In European countries near the sea, people eat a lot of fish. In central Europe, away from the sea, people don't eat so much fish. They eat more meat. In Germany and Poland there are hundreds of different kinds of sausages.

    In North America, Australia, and Europe, people eat with knives and forks. In China, people eat with chopsticks. In parts of India and the Middle East people use their fingers to pick up food.

    Nowadays it is possible to transport(运 输) food easily from one part of the world to the other. We can eat what we like, when we like, at any time of the year. In Britain, bananas come from Africa; rice comes from India or the USA; strawberries come from Chile or Spain. Food is very big business. But people in poor countries are still hungry, and people in rich countries eat too much.