Since it was announced on Monday that84-year-old Tu had become the first Chinese citizen to win this internationalprize, her former home in the old town of Ningbo, Zhejiang province, hasattracted visi-tors, especially parents and their children-even though it isnot open to the public.

    The house, where Tu lived until she wentto university in Beijing, covers an area of 2,200 square meters and is pricedat 150 million yuan( $ 23. 6 million) . It is part of a complex of 37traditional build-ings, including several city-and-district-level culturalrelic preservation sites, that have been trans-formed into a high-end art, andcommercial zone.

    "There are continually parentstaking their children, from infants in strollers to college students, to takephotos in front of Tu's former home. Security guards have been ordered to go onpatrol around the clock,"  said Mr.Zhao, a salesperson from Ningbo Real Estate Inc Co.

    Shanghai resident Xu Lingfei, who was ona trip to Ningbo, took her 9-year-old son to walk around the complex onWednesday. "Chinese people believe in exams and awards and have a strongpreference for high performers. Taking children to visit the former dwellingplaces of celebrities(名人)  is a way to inspire them to studyharder," Xu said.

    Something similar happened. after Mo Yanwon the Nobel Prize for literature in 2012. Tourists started visiting Mo'sformer home in rural Caomi, Shandong Province, in an endless stream startingthe day after he won the prize. Some even pulled the radishes planted in frontof the house. and carried away some bricks.

    Avatar has become the most successful movie in 2009. It is about a soldier whose mind is set into the body of a giant blue alien. He was sent to a dangerous planet called Pandora. His mission（使命） is to find a rare mineral（矿物质）. The mineral is the key to solve the earth's energy crisis(危机).

    According to the latest figures（数字）, Avatar has become the fastest film ever to make more than 1 billion dollars in ticket sales around the world. When it had been shown in cinemas for several days, it became the most popular film ever made.

    Avatar knocked the movie Titanic off the international release top spot. But Titanic's director James Cameron probably won't be too upset, because Avatar is directed by him as well! Before Avatar was filmed, the best selling film ever was Titanic.

    James Cameron decided to make Avatar in 1999. However, the means（方法）to realize his vision（影像画面） did not exist yet. In 2002, The Lord of the' Rings: The Two Towers made him believe that CGI (电脑影像合成) effects had progressed enough to make this film. After several years of production, the 3D spectacular Avatar successfully showed us a fully immersive experience.

    If you are human, you can't help but experience times when everything seems to be going wrong and you feel as if your life is completely out of control. It is during those “down times” that words of encouragement from family, friends, co-workers or even strangers can lighten your spirits. It is also during those times that destructive(有害的) words can sink you deeper and deeper into depression(沮丧).

    For example, consider this story about a group of frogs who were traveling through the woods when two of them fell into a deep pit（坑）. All of the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two unfortunate frogs they would never get out.

    The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump out of the pit. The other frogs kept telling them to stop. Finally, one of the frogs took heed of what the other frogs were saying and simply gave up. He fell down and died. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again the crowd of frogs shouted at him to stop the pain. The more they shouted, the harder he jumped and finally he made it to safety.

    When he got out, the other frogs asked him why he continued to jump when they were all shouting at him to simply quit. The frog explained to them that he was a little bit deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

    Every time you have a chance to say either something positive or negative to another human being, do choose the chance to say something positive! Don't let those opportunities get away from you. Your words have a large amount of power. Use them wisely. You really never know just how much they can mean to someone else.

    In England, we look forward to our birthdays for 364 days a year! We invite special people to celebrate it with us.

    The Presents

    Presents are opened as soon as the children are awake. They can't wait for the birthday cake later in the day!

    The Cards

    Friends and family send birthday cards. Sending birthday cards is a custom that began in England about 100 years ago.

    The Party

    The birthday child will have a party to which friends and family are invited. Visitors to the party bring presents for the birthday child. The children play games such as Musical Chairs and Pass the Parcel.

    The Cake

    The birthday cake is decorated on a theme(主题). A candle for each year is lit and placed on top and the child blows out the candles making a wish. We don't put objects inside the cake as shown on many websites.

    The Bumps

    It used to be traditional for the birthday child to have the bumps. Friends would hold the child by the child by the legs and under the arms and lift the child up and down bumping them gently on the ground. The number of bumps given is the age of the child plus one for extra good luck. As this can be dangerous, clapping is often done instead.

    The Sweets

    Some children do take sweets into school to share with their classmates on their birthdays.

    Mom wanted only one thing for her birthday. “Can you find me another copy of this song?” she asked, and handed me a worn-out cassette tape (磁带). I knew exactly what was recorded on it: My Redeemer (救世主). I heard the song played at least a thousand times while growing up. After so many years, the cassette tape was too worn out to be used. I promised her I would find a replacement.

    My Redeemer became Mom's favorite song after my younger brother Tim was killed by a drunk driver in 1973. The only thing that helped her calm down was the soulful sound of My Redeemer from the local radio station.

       We recorded it on a cassette tape so she could listen to it any time she wanted but none of us knew who the soloist (独唱者) was. These days, I thought the song would be easy to find out. I went home and searched the Internet. Several songs with that title popped up, but none of them was the one Mom loved. I got frustrated.

    Mom's birthday drew near and then one day, I was driving home, listening to our local radio station. A familiar tune came on. It was My Redeemer! As soon as I could, I phoned the station. I got a line on the soloist, who was called Alan Parks. I typed his name into Google and found his home number in South Carolina. Minutes later, I was telling him how much his recording meant to Mom. He offered to ship two CDs out to me personally. I gave him my address.

    'Red Lion, Pennsylvania?' he said. 'Do you know the Logans?' 'They are our neighbors!' 'I've been friends with them for 25 years,' Alan said. 'They'll be at my concert at York Gospel Chapel on April 17th. Would you and your mom come too” We sure would. Mom was excited to hear Alan sing My Redeemer to her, live in concert —on the evening of her 87th birthday.

    Are you sometimes a little tired and sleepy in the early afternoon? Many people feel this way after lunch. They may think that eating lunch is the cause of the sleepiness. Or, in summer, they may think it is the heat. However, the real reason lies inside their bodies. At that time—about eight hours after you wake up—your body temperature goes down. This is what makes you slow down and feel sleepy. Scientists have tested sleep habits in experiments where there was no night or day. The people in these experiments almost always followed a similar sleeping pattern. They slept for one long period and then for one short period about eight hours later.

    In many parts of the world, people take naps（小憩） in the middle of the day. This is especially true in warmer climates, where the heat makes work difficult in the early afternoon. Researchers are now saying that naps are good for everyone in any climate. A daily nap gives one a more rested body and mind and therefore is good for health in general. In countries where naps are traditional, people often suffer less from problems such as heart disease. Many working people, unfortunately, have no time to take naps. Though doctors may advise taking naps, employers do not allow it! If you do have the chance, however, here are a few tips about making the most of your nap. Remember that the best time to take a nap is about eight hours after you get up. A short sleep too late in the day may only make you feel more tired and sleepy afterward. This can also happen if you sleep for too long. If you do not have enough time, try a short nap—even ten minutes of sleep can be helpful.