Chinese writer and translator Yang Jiang died early on May 25, 2016 in Beijing at age 104. The longest-living Chinese woman writer, she was known for her modest, subtle and witty writing style.

    Yang became a household name in China for her novels, essays, plays and translated works. Her most popular novel, Baptism, describing a group of intellectuals (知识分子) adjusting to a new society in the early 1950s, has been translated into French and English.

    Yang began learning Spanish in 1959 at age 48, and started to translate Don Quixote in 1962. She was the first to translate Don Quixote into Chinese. The work was stopped twice due to the "cultural revolution". She completed it in 1976, and the Chinese edition was published in 1978 and has sold more than 1 million copies. In that year, the Spanish king and queen visited China, and then-leader Deng Xiao-ping gave the royal couple Yang's translation as a gift. Yang was received by Deng at the Great Hall of the People. While shaking hands, Deng asked her when she had completed the translation. "It's just published," she replied, having no time to tell the full story.

    She was married to Qian Zhongshu, a well-known scholar and author of the best-selling novel Fortress Besieged. Yang's memoir about her family, The Three of Us, written after her husband and daughter died, in 1998 and 1997 respectively, was translated into German.

    Yang never stopped writing. At 94, she started writing the book Walking onto the Edge of Life to reflect on her life. It won China's top book award in 2007. At 100, she was still writing articles for newspapers.

    Settled by the Celts, invaded by the Romans and the Normans, and ruled by the English, Wales' population has regularly changed over the ages. Wales, particularly South Wales, became a melting pot (熔炉) of European nationalities and cultures. At first workers from England, Ireland and the rural areas of Wales rushed into the coal mines of South Wales. By 1911, workers from Ireland, Italy and Spain had joined the industrial workforce (劳动大军) there. Many of these newcomers were prepared to work for less pay.

    But during this period, workers, dissatisfied with regular pay cuts, poor safety, returned to the land. In 1891, the rural population of Wales was about 616,000 and by 1911 just over 649,000 people lived and worked in these areas.

       The rural population continues to grow slowly even today. People from richer parts of the UK, particularly southern England, are buying holiday homes in Wales. In some areas this has led to a lack of housing for local people. This, combined with the lack of employment in rural Welsh communities, has started a new movement of people in search of jobs and homes into the towns and cities of Wales and to other parts of the UK and Europe.

    As so many Welsh people have moved to other countries over the last 200 years, it's really no surprise that many visitors come to see friends and relatives. These visitors strengthen their links to their land of origin and continue to support the Welsh's development. During the hot summer days, about 28% of the visitors visit the countryside and nearly 70% visit the seaside.

    The Five Best Countries TO Move To For Retirement

    Retiring in a different country is gaming popularity. Below are five of the best countries to seek retirement

    Costa Rica

    Mild climate, breathtaking landscapes and beaches draw retirees(退休人员）to Costa Rica. The country readily welcomes immigrants and offers a simple residency process. With a monthly income of at least $ 1,000 per month from Social Security or a similar source, people enjoy a high standard of living at a much lower cost than the U. S.

Malaysia

    Retirees who choose to make Malaysia home will appreciate its rich culture and attractive scenery. Moreover, the country offers modern facilities at modest prices. Immigrants enjoy convenience and comfort in their daily life. You will find low-cost rental units, delicious street food, and various shopping malls.

Mexico

    Because it's close to the U.S., Mexico draws more than a million American retirees to its borders. Increasing immigrant communities enjoy seaside living and conversations with friendly. English speaking locals. Plus, legal residents over the age of 60 receive airline, grocery, and restaurant discounts.

Panama

    Gentle ocean wind takes the heat out of hot year-round temperatures, which has been the chief attraction to foreign retirees. Beautiful beaches and a booming economy also attract retirees to Panama. An income of $2,000 per month covers modest living costs. Furthermore, the country offers discounts to retirees with a special visa.

Ecuador

    Lazy coastal towns, sun-shining hot spots, and nature-filled views wait for immigrants seeking a carefree lifestyle. Public transportation costs in Ecuador make owning a vehicle unnecessary. A bus ride only costs 25 cents and taxi rides will run about $3.

    Kenya-Giraffe Conservation

    Preserve and protect Kenya's Wildlife

    After some difficult years, Kenya is back in fashion and welcoming travellers with open arms, with one main aim—help save and protect their unique wildlife. It isn't just the elephant under threat, but it's the smaller species that are also suffering, for example, Rothschild Giraffes. Now there are only 670 left in the wild and they need your help to survive.

    How can you help?

    Head out to the Soysambu Conservancy, which is home to more than 450 bird species and over 50 different mammals, including lions, zebra and more than 100 critically endangered Rothschild's Giraffes.

Get stuck into general reserve conservation but primarily focus on the research and protection of their resident Rothschild Giraffes, which is the reserve's main priority.

    Your Daily Tasks

    Work will be a combination of observational research and hands on work—five days a week.

    Minimum number of weeks is 2. This project is perfect for anyone with a passion for nature, wildlife, and the great outdoors.

    No previous conservation experience required.

    Where will you live?

    You will stay in the houses right in the middle of the reserve with other volunteers.

    The weekends will be free time, so you can explore further up the Rift Valley, Lake El-menteita itself and beyond.

Interested in this; ready to enquire?

    Find out more by filling out the form below and clicking send. The Leap Overseas should then be in touch shortly to help with your enquiry.

    If you're encouraged by the tiny house movement and think 160 square feet is just enough for your needs, you may want to contact the Academy of Construction and Design (ACAD) at IDEA Public Charter School in northeast Washington．

    Students in the program built a micro house with a kitchen, a bathroom, a sleeping loft with space for a queen-size bed and a storage loft, all set on a trailer for mobility. The exterior (外部) of the house was part of a continuous living exhibit in 2015and was moved to the IDEA campus so students could work with builders to complete the interior earlier this year.

    McMahon said the D.C. government's approval to push companies to hire District residents (居民) was at odds with the school system not preparing students for careers in construction, exploring or electrical work. McMahon gathered industry and community leaders to establish ACAD in 2005 and he said 100 percent of the companies he contacted responded positively to the idea, including major firms such as JBG, Clark Construction, Hines Construction and Boston Properties.

    “When students make the connection between what they are learning a potential career, their academics improve dramatically,” said Carol Randolph, chief operating officer of the D.C. Students Construction Trades Foundation. “Some of them who didn't think college was an choice now have a better chance because their classes have become relevant to a job.”

    “We teach them life skills and explain that even if you start as a laborer, there are opportunities to move up quickly,” he said. “We rewrite the story for them and explain that they can work for a few years, make good money, get promoted, and start their own business or go to school with less debts.”

    “Parents and school advisors can be the biggest obstacles because of the negative idea of construction as a blue-collar career,” Karriem said. “I get middle-school advisors on board to talk about the opportunities this education provides. These kids are learning lifelong skills that can help them in other fields, provide them with income and allow them to take care of their homes.”

Tips for Writing Short Stories

    I was reading an article with David Vann's top tips for writing short stories -- he is a published writer, his most famous book being, "Legends of a Suicide." First of all he stats that there are no rules, but if he were forced to create rules for short stores, then they would be something like the following.

    He says there is no room for anything that is not related to the protagonist -- the main character of the story -- or indeed the problem of the protagonist. He makes it clear that the protagonist must have a problem, and this problem must divide the protagonist: he doesn't know what he is going to do to solve the problem. There is no point, then, in having a short story about a man who says he is hungry and then just goes to the shops to buy food. Nothing exciting happens. But if the man is hungry and he has a child who is hungry, then he has a problem; who does he give the food to?

    There should also be an antagonist, that is, somebody who works against the protagonist. The antagonist should ideally have the same problem as the protagonist but will have a totally different way of looking at it. This presents the possibility of having battles in the short story.

    Furthermore, the antagonist and the protagonist must know each other. But because they are viewing the same problem from different angles, they will probably drive each other crazy.

    Finally, the short story has to acknowledge a change in the protagonist. We must then, as a reader, see how the character will continue their life differently as a result of the events of the story. There is no point in going back to the beginning; the short story is a waste of time if nothing actually happens that is significant.

    It is very hard to create a character whom a reader cares about and a plot that a reader is interested in with just a few hundred words. But it is possible: Edgar Allen Poe, Anton Chekhov, and JG Ballard -- amongst many others -- have proved repeatedly that short stores can be little pieces of perfection. The best don't just see the protagonist change; they see the reader change, too.