An American in Beijing lives his Chinese dream

Gao Tianrui walks along streets in Beijing's Xicheng district as{#blank#}1{#/blank#}public security volunteer.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (wear) his bright red armband (红袖章) and speaking fluent Mandarin, 62-year-old Gao Tianrui could {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(take) for any regular Chinese man. But on {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(close) inspection, things are not quite{#blank#}5{#/blank#}they seem: Gao's real name is Terry Crossman and he is from the United States. He is now a member of "Xicheng Dama", that is, volunteers, usually women in late middle-age,{#blank#}6{#/blank#}walk along the streets of downtown Beijing's Xicheng district. Terry said that, at first, he saw the group as busybodies, but {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(gradual) he saw that it was a good thing for retired seniors{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(help) others.

He is often seen giving tourists{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(direction), getting water for a baby and even helping a neighbor sell yogurt. "I like helping others," he said, "I live in the hutong and my neighbors and I usually help each other ... This is where I live, where my friends are and where I call home." Crossman {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(become) interested in Chinese culture as a teenager when he read Tao Te Ching by Laozi.

    "Mirror, mirror, which clothes suit me best?" Now, there is a magic mirror in the shopping center {#blank#}1{#/blank#} can answer the question.

    A shopping center in England is selling a magic dressing mirror．You needn't enter a fitting room and put the clothes {#blank#}2{#/blank#} by yourself．All you need to do is to stand in front of the mirror．The magic mirror can tell you {#blank#}3{#/blank#} or not the clothing you have chosen suits you.

    3D technology {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (use) for the magic mirror for you to choose and try on all kinds of clothes from different stores．When you stand in front of the mirror, with the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (assist) of the technology, you can make its own judgement of your body type．Then you can see {#blank#}6{#/blank#} wearing the dress you have chosen in the mirror．

    It's very convenient for you to find the most {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (suit) dress．You do not have to spend a lot of time {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (walk) around in different stores．{#blank#}9{#/blank#} do you need to shut yourself into a small dressing room．

    "The mirror has worked much better with women's clothing than {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (expect), so we are now developing the software for men's and kid's clothing," said the marketing manager of the shopping center.

    Many kinds of dinosaurs' bones {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(find) recently by Chinese scientists in Nanyang county, Henan Province. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} the scientists inspected the bones, they were surprised {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(spot)) these dinosaurs could not only run {#blank#}4{#/blank#}the others but also climb the trees.

    Dinosaurs died {#blank#}5{#/blank#} suddenly around 60 million years ago. Some scientists think {#blank#}6{#/blank#}came after an {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(expect) incident when a huge rock from space hit the earth {#blank#}8{#/blank#} put too much dust into the air. Others think the earth got too hot for the dinosaurs to live on any {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(much). Nobody knows {#blank#}10{#/blank#}sure why and how dinosaurs disappeared from the earth in such a short time.

Going out to Sun Peaks for Fun

    We went looking for some family ski fun, not too far from greater Vancouver, and we found it and more at Sun Peaks Resort, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (locate) just 20 minutes outside of Kamloops. Pulling into the village, you feel like you've come along a mountainside wonderland {#blank#}2{#/blank#} two hills. Right away you feel at peace in the mountains.

    Sun Peaks has two mountains for skiing and boarding, with lots of lift and capacity {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (get) you around. Most accommodations throughout the village are ski-in/ski-out, so you can park your car once and walk or ski{#blank#}4{#/blank#} you need to go. Morrisey is on one side, and Todd Mountain on the other, connected by trails and a covered bridge, with skiable ground second in Canada only to Whistler. There is {#blank#}5{#/blank#} for everyone, from snow flying saucer and snowmobile, to mini golf and jungle live CS. During the two days of skiing on the holiday, we never met more than five minutes of lineup, and many times we {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (run) ourselves with fresh powder.

    Tubing is right there at the bottom of the main ski hill, perfect for parents who want to have some drinks at Bottoms Bar & Grill {#blank#}7{#/blank#} the kids keep the fun going into the evening. The village is small and quiet, so the kids {#blank#}8{#/blank#} have a lot of freedom to run around and play.

    Bring your skates! There is an NHL-sized outdoor rink (溜冰场), just a 10 minute walk from the main village. Skate rentals are available, and you can join a game of drop-in hockey, or enjoy a family skate during one of the open ice times {#blank#}9{#/blank#} go well into the evening, under the stars. Check with guest services to see if the rink is open, since it is weather dependent.

    In the summertime at Sun Peaks, the chairlifts switch up to accommodate mountain bikes and hikers. Downhill biking trails create adventure for those {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (look) for excitement, and the golf course at Sun Peaks provides hours of great scenic links.

    Longjing tea,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}has topped the list of the ten most famous teas in China with its color, taste and shape, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(name) after its production region一Longjing Village of West Lake. The good environment and water resources have contributed much to the{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(grow) of the tea, confirming the saying that “Longjing tea is flie{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(good) among all of the teas in the world”.

    Thanks{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, the tea has earned a high reputation. The story went that Emperor Qianlong visited the mountain during his Hangzhou travels, and he saw some ladies picking the tea at {#blank#}6{#/blank#} foot of the mountain. He was so interested in their movements that he decided to have a go himself.

    While{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (pick) the tea, he received the news of his mother's illness, so he carelessly put the leaves in his right sleeve and {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (leave) Hangzhou for Beijing. He visited his mother{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (immediate) upon his arrival in Beijing, and his mother smelt the fragrance of the tea leaves from his sleeves and wanted to have a taste. After drinking a cup of tea, she found herself completely {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (refresh), and she even praised it as a cure for all ills. From then on, it was listed as the tribute tea.