There are 24 solar terms (节气) in China, and the Grain Rain(谷雨) is one of them. It falls on April 19 this year.

    This solar term is called the Grain Rain because it is known for “rain” that helps the grain grow. From its name, we can guess it means a time of more rain. So if you go out in the next two weeks, you may need to bring an umbrella with you.

    But this is a great time for planting crops. If you miss the time for planting during the Grain Rain, you will feel sorry later. So maybe you can try to plant some flowers or vegetables in your garden. When the spring rain falls, farmers begin to grow crops (庄稼). Farmers often say, “Spring rain is as precious (珍贵的) as oil.” It brings farmers hope for a good year ahead.

    There are also many interesting customs during the Grain Rain. In the northern part of China, people like to eat Chinese toon (椿芽) mixed with eggs. The food made during the Grain Rain tastes wonderful and is good for your stomach. In the southern part of China, the tea leaves are picked during the time. They are called Grain Rain tea, which is famous for its freshness and sweet smell.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Jenny has no time to take care of her 2-year-old son, so she needs an app for him to learn to speak.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Sam has to read some books but he has an eye problem, so he needs some app that can read books aloud to him.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Bob finds it difficult to remember the new words from the English books. He wants to improve in a relaxing way.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Cathy likes traveling. She needs an app that can make it easier for her to buy train or plane tickets.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} John is going to have a long train trip. During the trip, he needs some games to kill the time.

A. Vocabulary Hero may help you learn more English words while you are playing games.

B. Rail Friend can be best helper when you find it hard to buy the train or plain tickets.

C. World of Tanks Blitz, an online game while can be the best choice to have fun in the travel.

D. Himalayas Reading has millions of books and you can listen to the books you like.

E. Baby Bus is a good friend for children under 3 years old to learn to speak.

F. Weibo can help you make friends on the Internet and know more about the world.

    Paper cutting is a special form of traditional art in China.It has has a history of over 1, 500 years. People started to do paper cutting in China in the 6th century.It has a number of special uses in Chinese culture.Almost all of them are for health, happiness or peace.Red is used the most widely of all the colors.Since long ago, Chinese people have been interested in cutting paper into traditional Chinese characters.

    Paper cutting is popular around the world, but only the Chinese paper cutting is listed in the UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists (联合国教科文组织的非物质文化遗产名录) in August 2010, because it has long history and it tells people so much about Chinese history and culture.

    Paper cutting has developed fast over the past few years.It is still popular in China now.During special festivals like the Chinese Spring Festival, people cut beautiful pictures and put them on windows and doors.

Information Card

   Almost everybody likes to play. All over the world men and women, boys and girls enjoy sports.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} They help people to live happily.

   {#blank#}2{#/blank#} People play different games in winters and summers. Sailing is fun in warm weather, but skating is good in winter.

   {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The Arabs are famous for their horses and camels. They use them in their work, and they use them in their sports events, too.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} －but millions of people hunt and fish for a living.

   {#blank#}5{#/blank#} but after a game on the sports field, they often become good friends. Sports help to train a person's character. One learns to fight fair and hard, to win without pride and to lose with grace(体面).

    Paper cutting is one of the traditional folk arts in China. It is a kind of popular folk arts and has been popular for about 1, 500 years. Let's learn about paper cutting.

    Wonderful meanings

    Paper cutting has some wonderful meanings, In our mind, paper cuttings can always bring us happiness and good luck. At the Spring Festival, people put up "Fu "on doors or windows. At a wedding, people also put up "Xi".

    The largest paper cutting in the world

    The largest paper cutting was made by Guo Xiaodong. It has an area of about 456 square meters. It is as large as a basketball court.

    Why are most paper cuttings red?

    In old times, people respected the sun. Red is the color of the sun. We always regard red as the symbol of hope and good luck. Now, we can still see red everywhere in China. The walls of old palaces are red. Lanterns are red. Weddings are always full of red things, too.

    Black paper cutting in Shanzhou

    It's true that most paper cuttings are red. But paper cuttings in Shanzhou, Henan Province are black. Black is the best color there. Shanzhou is a dry place. The local people make black paper cuttings to wish for rain.

    Rock climbing is a popular hobby that many people enjoy doing. You can do it indoors on special walls or outdoors on real mountains. There are many advantages of rock climbing--it is fun and it also helps people forget worries.

    The most important equipment(装备) to have is good shoes. They need to be half a size smaller than your usual size. The next thing you need is a harness(保护带). This allows you to move freely, but will hold you up if you fall. It's important to know how to use your equipment. If you are a beginner, it's best to have lessons. A climber with experience can help you a lot in the beginning.

    Rock climbing is very exciting for people of different ages. Climbers, however, must be careful not to pollute the environment. Sometimes rock climbers leave rubbish on the mountains where they climb. They should take it with them and throw it away. This will allow future climbers to enjoy a clean environment.