Christmas is one of the most important festivals in some Western countries.Now it is celebrated in many countries including China.The practice of putting up special decorations on Christmas has a long history.Long ago,people in Rome brought branches from evergreen plants indoors in the winter,Decorating with green plants is also part of Jewish tradition.

    When Christmas Day comes,we can see some traditional colors everywhere.The traditional colors of Christmas are green and red.White,silver and gold are also popular.Red stands for the blood of Jesus and green stands for eternal life.People like to decorate their houses with the evergreen tree because it does not lose its leaves in the winter.

    Decorating the Christmas tree is a tradition when Christmas Day comes.The phrase“Christmas tree”is first recorded in 1835.The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century though many people argued that Martin Luther began the tradition in the 16th century.

    Christmas lights and banners may be hung along streets,music played from speakers,and Christmas trees placed in prominent places.It is common in many parts of the world for town squares and shopping areas to display decorations.In some countries,Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down in the evening of January 5.

    Japanese girls love stickers(贴纸). After school, the sticker stores are usually full of young girls.

    Every kind of stickers can be bought in stores. The cartoon sticker with Hello Kitty or Doraemon on it is always the hot topic. Of course, stickers with pop stars are becoming more and more popular. New stickers come out every day, so young girls always go to those stores. Choosing stickers in those stores may be the best time for girls after school.

    Every Japanese girl has a special book to put her favorite stickers. They classify(分类)their stickers according to different subjects. They like to get together in their classrooms or at their friends' houses to exchange stickers. Their talks can go on and on just by talking about their sticker books.

    Young Japanese girls often stick their favorite stickers to cards and then send the cards to friends. For them, the sticker is not only something to collect, but also a tool to know about friends. They can see what their friends like by looking at the stickers they collect.

The Double Ninth Festival is one of the most important {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (festival) in China.It is {#blank#}2{#/blank#}special day for elderly people.It {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (begin) long ago.The festival is {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the ninth day of the ninth month in the lunar calendar (阴历).As the Chinese word for " nine" has the same sound as the word for "long", people take the Double Ninth Festival to send  {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (they) best wishes to elderly people.They do many activities  {#blank#}6{#/blank#} ( show) love and respect to the elderly.Generally, people celebrate the day by {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (spend) time with their older family members and climbing mountains in the hope that the elderly will live much longer.Also, they {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(usual) drink chrysanthemum wine (菊花酒)  and wear a plant called zhuyu as the symbol of warding off evil and wishing for longevity.It is a  {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (tradition) virtue (美德) in China to respect elderly people.That's  {#blank#}10{#/blank#}  the Chinese know that elderly people have knowledge and experience that young people can learn from.

Recharge (充电) Your Body's Battery

My phone is showing that little red low-battery sign. What if I didn't recharge it—no, that would stress me out. But what if I took a few minutes to recharge myself—yes, that would help. But how? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Tell yourself the truth. 

When something stressful happens, we often can't help taking a deep breath at first. But we control what happens next. It's possible to work with our stress, rather than against it. Thank it and remind yourself: "{#blank#}2{#/blank#}"

Turn your attention to joy. 

To protect energy stores, turn your attention to being present. Focus on what you can feel grateful for. Smiling can reduce stress. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Plant something in your day that you look forward to. 

Work your stress out. 

You might think all your feelings live in your brain. But in fact, we feel them with our whole bodies. Doing exercise can help your body reduce stress. It can change how you feel. Also, heating up and cooling down, like taking a shower, may cheer you up. 

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Being in crowded and busy places sends our bodies signs of danger. We can recharge our batteries with green space time—look for a park, gardens or plants to calm our bodies and minds. 

Life is short. It's even shorter living on half a battery. We can break our daily stress habits and create more energy. 

Theo works days, nights, and weekends in the tulip, fields in the Netherlands and never feels tired. How is this possible? Theo is an AI robot that looks fo sick flowers each spring. 

The work stops viruses（病毒）from spreading among the plants. The robot looks for troubled tulip bulbs（鳞茎） and kills them if necessary. They are removed （去除） from the healthy ones，in a processing center after the harvest. 

There are 45 robots like Theo working in the tulip fields of the Netherlands. Their job becomes important as the winter turns to spring and the busiest season nears. People come from around the world to see the colorful flowers. 

This is the second season that Allan Visser has used a robot. He said it is very costly-the same as sports car-about $200, 000. In the past, knowledgeable farmers would walk the fields looking for tulips that showed signs of sickness. "I prefer to have the robot because a sports car doesn't take out thesick tulips from our field, " he said "Yeah, it is expensive, but there are fewer and fewer people who can really see the sick tulips. 

Erik de Jong, the manager of the company that makes the robots, said all of the knowledge they use in the computer program comes from tulip farmers—farmers like Theo van der Vourt. He is the farmer after whom the robot is named. 

Van der Vourt retired（退休）after 52 years of looking for sick flowers in his fields. ＂It＇s fantastic＂he said, "It sees just as much as I see. "

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The National Air and Space Museum in Washington. And the German Historical Museum in Berlin.

 And those are only part of the list. 

 Children from more than 180, 000 families in China can now go on virtual(虚拟的) tours of ten world-famous museums. The programs provide video clips, cartoons and commentary(实时解说) by Chinese experts. The shows are produced by Aha School, an education company. The families each pay 15 yuan to watch. The company also gives away the programs to 174 rural(乡村的) classrooms. 

 Ma Xiaoyan is a teacher in Sichuan. He says the children there are very poor. They have never visited a museum. For some of them, even going to the closest town is difficult. 

 Educators are excited about the museum project. It shows how live streaming(在线直播) can help improve rural education. The technology is already widely popular on social media. However, it was not until recently that it had been used for education. 

 Aha School is not alone. A few urban schools in China have also begun sharing their lessons with rural schools. But some of the projects fail to produce the expected effect. That is because students in rural classrooms have very different backgrounds. 

 The museum project of Aha School has been a success. Pan Lisheng, the head of the company, says the problem doesn't lie in the technology. Instead, it is because few educators have worked out how to make the lessons interesting. 

 Pan and his workmates make sure that their programs will interest children from any background. "Every child is a unique(独一无二的) flower, " Pan said.