Over 40 years ago, a country music DJ convention (大会) was held every year in Nashville, Tennessee. Many country performers used to attend (参加) the convention to give their performances. Fans would go to Nashville hoping to see their favorite performers. In the end, so many fans began showing up in Nashville that a festival named Fan Fair was born.

    The first Fan Fair was held in April 1972, in Nashville for four days. Some of country music's biggest stars attended. There were about fifty thousand fans. The first Fan Fair was so successful that planning began almost immediately for 1973. The date was changed to June, when the weather would be better. Over one hundred thousand fans attended the second Fan Fair.

    Every year brought so many performers and fans to Fan Fair that, in 1982, it was moved to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. Fan Fair stayed at the fairgrounds for another nineteen years.

    There was always the unexpected during the festival. In 1974, former Beatle Paul McCartney attended. In 1992, more than six hundred reporters from Europe, Asia, and South America went to cover the appearance of a popular star, Billy Ray Cyrus, who had introduced a new country line dance. In 1996, Garth Brooks, who made a surprise appearance, signed autographs (签名) for 23 hours.

    In 2001, Fan Fair returned to downtown Nashville as the world's biggest country music festival. Now, over one hundred and twenty-five thousand country music fans go to Nashville every June. As you can imagine, those who want to attend Fan Fair must plan ahead. For example, they need to buy a ticket several months ahead of time. Of course, there's much more to prepare.

FOREIGN TEACHERS ARE NEEDED ALL OVER CHINA

Ad No.90347

Posted July 12,2016 14:00 by Amanda

Expire Date August 12,2016

Tag: Beijing Language Teaching Part Time

    We are looking for teachers,whose native language is English,willing to teach in China.Most schools are in the south of China.

The benefit package for ESL teachers includes:

One-year contract: 1^st September 2016 to 1^st August 2017

Salary: ￥4,000 to￥5,000/mouth

Teaching load & schedule: 20 teaching hours per week

    A rent-free,fully furnished apartment with a living room,bedroom,kitchen and bathroom.

    Kitchen facilities provided,other electric appliances will be supplied: water,heater,microwave etc.

    If you are interested,please read the information above and kindly send your application to attach the following documents (in doc or JPEG format).The subject to be mentioned,as "teach in China"

l).CV/Resume（简历）

2).A copy of academic degree,diploma,certificate or college transcript

3).A photocopy of the data page of valid passport

4).A recent color photo

5).A letter of recommendation or release（释放）letter from your previous Chinese school (Only if you worked in China previously)

6).Any other relevant information that you think might help your application

    Some of us friends are making big decisions in their life: Which universities should they apply to? I also noticed that many high school students in China are thinking of studying at universities abroad. Unluckily, from what I've seen, the information given by some websites and other media about studying abroad is very limited and sometimes even wrong.

    There are once a Chinese girl who hoped that she could go to Columbia University in the US because she wanted to major in (主修)journalism. Columbia has a very famous graduate(研究生)program in journalism. However, they have no journalism program at the undergraduate(本科生)level! What's more in both Canada and the US, it's not suggested that students throw themselves into journalism right after high school. School say that students should take in more knowledge about the world and writing before entering that field.

    The University of Waterloo, a Canada university famous for its engineering program, is another example. The emphasis(重视)of engineering in this school may go beyond your expectations. According to our teachers, this university spent millions of dollars building a library just for engineering students. The school's computer science, mathematics and accounting are also great programs for students.

    But, to be honest, according to my friends who have visited this university, the campus and the food are not very nice. Maybe this is because the school stresses its academic(学术的)strengths too much, thereby paying little attention to personal comforts.

    Now you see, choosing a university is really not that easy. We need to do good research and consult as many people as possible before making a decision.

    Scientists have found living organisms trapped in crystals (晶体) that could be 50,000 years old.

    The organisms were found in a hot, but beautiful cave system in Naica, Mexico. These ancient life forms can be seen only with a microscope. Penelope Boston, who leads the Astrobiology Institute at NASA, the space agency of the United States, says the ancient microbes were able to live by eating minerals such as iron.

    She spoke about the discovery recently at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. If the findings are confirmed, they will show how microbes can survive in extreme conditions. Forty different kinds of microbes and some viruses were found in the underground area. The genetic structures of these organisms are 10 percent different from those of their nearest relatives.

    The caves in Naica are 800 kilometers deep. They were once used for mining lead. Before the miners began working in the caves, the area was separated from the surface and the outside world. Some of the caves are as big as the large religious centers built during Europe's Middle Ages. There are crystals covering the walls. The caves are so hot that scientists must wear special clothing to keep cool. The clothing keeps the crystals safe from human germs (病菌) or other damage. Boston said the researchers could only work for about 20 minutes at a time before they had to go to a room that was 38 degrees Celsius to cool down.

    NASA officials would not let Boston share her findings with scientific experts before last week's announcement. So scientists could not say much about the findings. But Norine Noonan, a biologist with the University of South Florida, said she believed them. “Why are we surprised?”Noonan asked. “ As a biologist, I would say life on Earth is extremely tough and extremely colorful.”

    Boston is also studying microbes commonly found inside caves in other countries, such as Ukraine and the United States. These microbes appear to be impossible to kill. Boston said they show how difficult life on Earth can be.

    Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest genius of his age. There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such thing as genius,” Edison said. He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.

    But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. Nature, he often said, is full of secrets. He tried to understand them; then, he tried to learn what could usefully be done with them.

    Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men enjoyment and pleasure.

    Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life. “Work,” he answered. “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.