2016 is the Year of the Monkey. Monkeys are so smart and cute, and so many people like them. They have become a part of culture. Here are some stories to help you learn more about
them.
New stamps for the year
The China Post Group made special stamps for the year. They made two styles. On the first one, a monkey hangs on a branch（树枝）, holding a big red peach. This means to give luck to people. On the other stamp, a mother monkey holds two monkey b abies in her arms. It shows the happy reunion（团聚） of families. The monkey stamps were for sale on Jan.5th.
Monkey show
In China, there is an ancient drama called Monkey Show. It tells the story of Monkey King. When actors perform, they will paint "monkey faces" with colors. Red is the main color. Interestingly, they don't draw eyebrows（眉毛）.
Influence on personality
In Chinese culture, the monkey is a symbol of wisdom. Those who were born in the Year of the Monkey are said to be smart and outgoing. They are also said to have strong leadership and social skills. They can solve all kinds of problems in life and be kind to others.
Fun Fact
Did you know? The world's smallest monkey is the finger monkey. It is only 10cm tall. They live in the Amazon rainforest （亚马孙雨林） of South America. Amazingly, they can turn their heads 180 degrees.

    People use their mouths for many things. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word "mouth". But some of them are not so nice.

    Sometimes, people say something to a friend or a family member. Later they regret because it hurts that person's feelings. Or they tell the person something they didn't mean to tell. The speaker might say: "I really put my foot in my mouth this time."

    Sometimes when one person is speaking, he says the same thing that his friend is going to say. When this happens, the friend might say: "You took the words right out of my mouth!" Sometimes a person has a bad or sad experience with another person. He might say that experience "left a bad taste in my mouth." Or the person possibly has a very frightening(可怕的）experience, like having an angry dog running after him. He might say: "I had my heart in my mouth."

    Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. You might say the person "was born with a silver spoon (银勺) in his mouth". He is the opposite of a person living from "hand to mouth". This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food. 

    Today, roller-skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1750, no one had any ideas of roller-skating. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. He liked to make things and play the violin in his free time. He was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.

    One day Merlin was invited to a party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make an amazing entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought everyone at the party would show much interest if he could skate into the room. He tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.

    On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was very surprised to see him. There was just one problem: Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly he ran into a mirror that was hanging on the wall. The mirror fell down, breaking into pieces. Merlin's idea was so good that nobody forgot his special entrance for a long time. But could he find out a way to stop his roller skates?