Vienna (维也纳) is a beautiful old city on the river Danube. It's the centre of European (欧洲的) classical music. From 1750 a lot of composers and musicians came to study and work in Vienna. The most famous family of musicians was the Strauss family.

    There were two composers called Johann Strauss: a father and a son. The father, Johann Strauss the elder, wrote and played music for a classical dance—a waltz(华尔兹). His waltzes made him famous all over Europe.

    The son, Johann Strauss the younger, was even more successful and popular than his father. His most famous waltz was The Blue Danube. He wrote it in 1867. Strauss and Mozart were two of the most important composers.

    Mozart was born in Austria in 1756. Before he was six he played not only the piano, but also the violin. He wrote his first opera (歌剧) at the age of 12 and hundreds of beautiful pieces of classical music. But he died in 1791 when he was only 35. Some people say he was the greatest European composer.

    Gift-giving is different from culture to culture and person to person.

    When people give gifts, sometimes color is important. For example, for many Chinese people around the world, red is a lucky color, and people often like to wrap gifts in red. However, do you know that in South Korea, red is a color of death? That is why you should not wrap your gifts in this color if you are giving a gift to a person there.

What about Western countries? In Western countries, the color of wrapping paper is not really important. But color does matter when giving flowers, especially roses. You should not give red roses to a Western person you don't know very well because they are a symbol of love. You could give yellow roses instead, as these are a symbol of friendship. You could also send pink roses as gifts to say thank you.

    What other things should you remember when giving gifts to someone from a different culture? Well, one thing you should keep in mind is the person's religion (宗教). When choosing a gift for a Muslim (穆斯林的) or Jewish (犹太教的) friend, you should never get food including pork, or things made from pigskin. Another thing that you should not get for a Muslim person is alcohol (酒).

    It's almost that time of year again. Beijing held the "two sessions"(两会)in March. They are the National People's Congress (NPC, 全国人民代表大会)and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, 中国人民政治协商会议).

    This year, the NPC opened on March 5 and the CPPCC began on March 3. How much do you know about the sessions? Read on to learn more.

    Q: What is the NPC?

    A: At school, every class has a class committee (班委会).The committee holds meetings to make decisions for the class and generally improve the classroom environment. The NPC does the same thing, but for the whole country.

    With nearly 3,000 deputies (代表), it is China's highest organ (机关)of state power. The deputies supervise (监督)the work that the government does. The deputies also make and change laws. Every five years, they vote for the leaders of the Chinese government.

    All of the NPC deputies are elected (选举).They use their power on behalf of (代表)the Chinese people. Any Chinese national who is over 18 can take part in an election. The term length for an NPC deputy is five years.

    Q: What is the CPPCC?

    A: Leaders need suggestions for what they should do for the country. It's like you're your friends give you advice on what to do with your life. The CPPCC does this for Chinese leaders. Its 2,000 members supervise the work of the government and give suggestions.

    The Communist Party of China (CPC) is China's ruling party (执政党), but there are also other political parties and organizations (组织). CPPCC members come from these parties and organizations. They are not elected like those of NPC but chosen by CPPCC. They include businessmen, teachers and even celebrities, such as Jackie Chan and Feng Xiaogang.

    Q: What are the biggest topics at this year's sessions?

    A: Attendees at this year's sessions discussed new prospects (前景)for the future. They set economic index (经济指标)targets for the year, such as what the GDP (国内生产总值)should be. They discussed environmental events, such as how to prevent groundwater pollution. In addition, they considered new efforts to fight corruption (腐败), according to Guangming Daily.