As a Chinese saying goes, "Taste is actually a memory of childhood". Local specialty food may not be popular among all people, but it offers outsiders a glimpse of local culture and history.

    Gongcheng "oil tea" is such a kind of food that would be considered "weird" by many first-time visitors to the remote county in the north of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Many people dislike its bitter and astringent(涩的) flavor when they take a sip.

    "It felt like drinking Chinese herbal medicine. I never expected that I would gradually accept it afterwards, and even become addicted to it," said a traveler surnamed Zhang who comes from Shijiazhuang in northern China's Hebei province.

    Langshan village is said to be the birthplace of Gongcheng "oil tea" whose ideal ingredients are green tea and fermented tea. The village has preserved well its buildings and roads dating back to late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), as well as its traditional way of making the special tea.

    Lin Fengyou, 60, introduced the cooking process. She looks younger than her age, and attributes this to the benefits of drinking "oil tea" throughout the year.

    The first procedure is to use a wooden hammer to pound the tea while heating it in an iron pot, and then add edible oil and boiled water afterwards. She filters off the solid residues(余渣), and pours the glue-like green tea soup into bowls. Then, she adds salt, caraway seed, green onion, dried rice, fried groundnuts, sliced taro and fried beans.

    The taste of the "oil tea" is a mixture of the distinctive flavors of all its ingredients. Local people usually eat it together with glutinous rice(糯米) balls, rice dumplings and glutinous rice cake.

    The villagers consume "oil tea" three times a day. The tea soup is a healthy and refreshing food. "The tea soup to us is coffee to Westerners", said Lin. "But it is tastier."

    Travelling around the world with children is difficult enough, while attempting it without using motorized transport is even more of challenge．Even so, Dario Schworer a 42-year-old climatologist and mountain guide, and his 33-year-old wife Sabine are on a journey to do just that．

    The Swiss couple want to travel across the world's oceans and climb the highest mountain on every continent to promote Earth-friendly ways of life．

    "We are collecting good examples of dealing with climate change and living in harmony with nature and we want to spread such ideas．" Schworer said．"We want to help people affected by global warming and to inspire children for the future．"

    Recently after having spent three months teaching children in the Everest region, the couple want to show it is possible to travel through the world's climate zones using just human-power and forces of nature．

    In the 47 countries they have visited they have collected 22 tons of trash, taught people in Ecuador how the sun's rays can be used to clean water and inspired a person in Chile to build a house on water with recycled plastic bottles as a foundation．They have also collected trash in the mountains of Nepal with school children．

    So far they have communicated with 45,000 children from South America, Australia and Asia, giving presentations about the importance of recycling and using alternative energy like solar and wind power．

    When they began their adventure in 2003 they had no children of their own．But since then two has become five: daughter Sabine is now five years old, Andri was born in Chile and baby Neo was born in Australia．

    Initially the couple thought they would complete their travels in four years, but now, they believe it could take seven more．

    "Since our belief is the need to respect nature, we travel only when conditions are good," Schworer said．

    All the foodies(美食家) in Shanghai know where to explore next. The world famous food guide, the Michelin Guide, updated its Shanghai edition(版本) on Sept 20.

    The Michelin Guide rates(评价) restaurants with one to three stars. The French tire(轮胎) company Michelin first made the guide more than a century ago. But why does a tire company make food guides?

    Back in 1900, there were not many cars in France. So the company made free motorist guidebooks, with a list of hotels and restaurants to visit. They encouraged people to drive more and to buy more tires. It turned out that the guidebooks were popular. Later, it became restaurant guidebooks we know today.

    The restaurant reviews are written by a group of mysterious people--the Michelin inspectors(巡视员). The company hires(雇佣) inspectors, who are all cuisine(烹饪) experts, to visit restaurants just like common customers. Neither the restaurants nor the public know who they are and how many of them there are in the world.

    The guides have come to 28 countries and areas. It arrived in Shanghai, its first stop in the Chinese mainland, in September 2016. Many people doubted whether a food guide from Westerners could understand the Chinese cuisine. The company argued that most of the Shanghai guide's inspectors are Chinese and from different parts of the country.

    This year, four new restaurants have been added into the second edition. They are of different styles, including a Ningbo cuisine restaurant and a vegetarian(素食的) restaurant. According to the Michelin, more Chinese cities will have their own Michelin guides in the future.

    Looking for a great summer read? Kid reporters from Time For Kids have reviewed the season's hottest new books. They have recommended a list of kid-approved page-turners (令人爱不释手的书) to our readers. Whether you're fond of mysterious, fantastic or realistic fictions, there's always one that suits you.

    Three Bird Summer

    By Sara St. Antoine

    Genre: Realistic Fiction

    Number of pages: 256

    What's the basic story line?

    For his entire life, 12-year-old Adam has spent summers at his grandma's cabin in Minnesota. But this year things are different. His parents have divorced. Apart from that, Adam's cousins won't be vacationing at the cabin with him. Also, Grandma seems to be acting differently. At first, she's just a bit more forgetful than usual. But after spending more time with her, Adam realizes Grandma is “slipping.”

    There are new neighbors at the cabin this summer, including a girl at Adam's age named Alice. At first, Adam isn't interested in spending time with her. But as time goes by, their friendship flourishes(繁荣). Throughout this unusual summer, Adam searches for hidden treasure with his new friend and begins to uncover family secrets as well.

    Are the characters believable?

    The characters are believable because they don't have cookie-cutter(千篇一律的) personalities. Adam is quiet and shy and finds girls difficult to understand. Alice is adventurous and unlike any girl he has ever met. Readers will likely see aspects of their personalities in the characters and recognize their friendship too.

    Who would like this book?

    Anyone who appreciates memories of family vacations or summertime in general will enjoy the vivid imagination that fills ThreeBirdSummer. Readers will fall into the story, almost as if they're actually spending the summer exploring Three Bird Lake with Adam and Alice.

Whistler World ski Snowboard Festival

    There are many reasons why the World Ski& Snowboard Festival has been so popular for the past 22 years. Known to locals as WSSF, the festival combines spring energy with Whistlers unique mountain culture. It is being held from 10th April to 15th April, at the Whistler Conference Centre in Whistler. Canada. There are photography, filmmaking, ski and snowboard competitions.

    WSSF Schedule

    Below are some of the events.

    Tuesday, April 10

    Eight famous adventurers give visual stories to the audience. The eight people include mountain bikers Darren Berrecloth and Hans Rey, climber John Long, diver Jill Heinerth, snow boarder Alex Warburton, skier Johnny Thrash, and adventurers Casey Brown and Ted Baird.

    Wednesday, April 11

    This free exhibit gives you a deeper look at mountain culture. It goes further than simply landscapes and wildlife. The exhibit will be open to everyone from April 1l to April 13.

    Teams have 72 hours to shoot, edit and produce a short film taken within 100 kilometres of Whistler Village. Judges will choose just one winner for "Best of show".

    Thursday, April 12

    Six photographers compete to amaze the judges and the audience with pictures that record sports, culture and the human spirit.

    Friday, April 13

    Whistler Blackcomb is the fourth stop in British Columbia, Canada, for this snowboard contest. The contest is free to enter and the two champions (man and woman) will share C $50, 000.

    Saturday, April 14

    Competitors include a mix of racing legends. The audience can view the ski race for free. The ski race depends on the weather and is scheduled for Saturday, April 14 but may be moved to Friday, April 13-check wssf.com for up-to-date information.

    When it comes to learning a foreign language, many people wonder if they will be able to memorize enough vocabulary. But this question never happens about their mother tongue, and yet, it was a foreign language once. However, among all the questions that new parents ask, no doctor has ever heard: "Will my baby be able to learn my language?" Be honest, do you know all the words of your mother tongue? The answer is: "no".

    New words, and new ways of using old words, appear every day. Twenty years ago, who could have been able to understand a sentence like this: "Click here to download your digital book."? Nobody. You never stop learning new vocabulary and you never know how long you will need it.

    Sometimes, you have the word on the tip of your tongue...and it sticks there! But you do know this phenomenon(现象) and don't think that it is because of a bad memory. You should not give this phenomenon more importance in the language you are learning than in your mother tongue.

    You need to learn only 2000 or so basic words to be able to create any phrase you need. You can't avoid some work in order to learn these necessary words and all the more if you want to learn quickly. And before you consider buying into any method, be sure it is right for you. It is not wise to depend on any method based upon mnemonics(记忆群). The first few words seem very easy to learn, so you buy the course, but then you discover quickly, though too late, that a dozen words later, it is all the more difficult to learn a new word when you have also to learn the trick to memorize it.