What is the most popular communication tool today? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}your answer is QQ or MSN, I must say you're a bit old fashioned. Today, a new form of communication “Wechat”, which {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (own) a Chinese name Weixin, is becoming the most influential text and voicing tool all over the world.

What advantages does Wechat have? First, Wechat is {#blank#}3{#/blank#}relatively cheap way of communication; that is to say, it uses network traffic instead of telephone fare. Next, we can know {#blank#}4{#/blank#} is going on at any time. And we can have {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (easily) access to information available than other messaging tools.

What roles does it play in our daily life? According to the latest report, the number of the {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (register) users on Wechat platform has topped 200 million and it has expanded its business to overseas market. Can you imagine that a mobile phone ‘app' works so {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (power) that it reaches 200 million users within 8 months? Wechat itself has become the most popular mobile chat application in the world. A large number of people have become “Wechataholic”, which means they keep staring at the mobile phone all the time and can't live {#blank#}8{#/blank#} it.

However, while enjoying its great {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (convenient), people should not ignore the danger of  {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (cheat), for information on Wechat is publicly known.

    Chinese brush calligraphy or “shufa” in Chinese is one of{#blank#}1{#/blank#} most important art forms in China. Many Asian cultures have originated their own calligraphy styles, but China's is unequaled because of {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(it) beauty, grace (优雅), and history.

    The {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (origin) of Chinese brush calligraphy are unknown, but local tales say it goes back over 4,000 years to the time of the legendary (传说的) Yellow Emperor (2698-2598 B.C.). At that time characters were carved on animal bones or tortoise shells. Only after Emperor Qin Shi Huang united China under his rule {#blank#}4{#/blank#} one country did it really gain popularity as a common art form.

    He simplified Chinese characters and regular rules were set,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (make) it easier for people to learn and master. This Chinese art form continued to progress and during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) a new type of cursive script (草书) was formed and standardized. It is written {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(free), but it's not as easy to read.

    Today Chinese calligraphy is once again a subject in schools and an art form highly {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(appreciate) across the world. Anyone can practice it and{#blank#}8{#/blank#} is required is a simple set including: brush, ink, and paper. It's fun for amateurs to try, but to become good at it, not only years of practice but natural talent {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (need). Practising this art consistently can develop personal character and is of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (benefit) to health.

    More than 700 years ago, a 17-year-old Italian youth followed his father and uncle on a journey to the East, dreaming about the mysteries of China. The three set{#blank#}1{#/blank#} on a path that might have frightened even the most ambitious travellers. The young adventurer was Marco Polo.

    Having a talent for languages，Marco Polo learned to speak Mongolian and Chinese. Later under the orders of Kublai Khan, he{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(travel) far and wide across China. Along the way, he stopped {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (record) detailed notes about the local customs, geography and values of the people, so as to report back to the Khan.

    Marco Polo returned to Venice 24 years later. With{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (count) treasures brought back from the East, he became{#blank#}5{#/blank#} wealthy man overnight.{#blank#}6{#/blank#} he witnessed in China aroused much interest among his countrymen. Marco Polo's journey to China and the contents of his{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (vivid) written book, The Travels of Marco Polo, which{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (think) to be a fairy tale in Europe at the time, triggered a wave of European interest in the Orient.

    Marco Polo's story is both one about an explorer's search riches and a Westerner{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (follow) his dream to reach China. More than 700 years later, China, the once mysterious Oriental nation，is igniting the Chinese dream of many modem Marco Polos, attracted by its rapid {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(develop) and its growing importance in the world.

    China's educational and health authorities have banned convenience stores in all kindergartens, primary, middle and high schools across the country. The regulation took effect on April 1.

    The campus convenience store is a place {#blank#}1{#/blank#}many students enjoy a snack and a chat. But it will soon become {#blank#}2{#/blank#}thing of the past. It requires that administrators (管理人员) should keep record of each meal and solve any food problems as soon as possible. Parents can also eat with students at school canteens and give{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(suggest) to the school on food safety and nutrition. The regulation raised heated debates.

    Many students were sad about the ban. They said the campus life would be less interesting {#blank#}4{#/blank#}convenience stores, and they wouldn't be able to have different flavored drinks or desserts.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}, many parents expressed support for the regulation. The father surnamed Fang said, "cheap, low-quality snacks sold at these stores are{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(harm) to children's health, and students rush to shops to buy snacks as soon as a class is over, which affects the normal teaching order".

    The move comes among food health concerns at public schools and{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(design)to meet the nutritional needs of students. The regulation also requires schools{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(monitor) students who may be obese, and intervene (干预) to make sure they follow a healthy diet. And in fact many foreign countries have their own ways to make students eat {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(healthy). For example, many parents in Australia volunteer in schools, sometimes in canteens, do their best to see that {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(they) children are served nutritious food. In Japan, there is "food and nutrition education". This helps children acquire "a sense of gratitude (感恩)" and "appreciate foods and social manners."

    If you enjoy kayaking (皮划艇运动), you can paddle for free in Denmanrk, Ireland, Germany, Sweden and Norway, but you also have to be willing to pick up trash.

    Organized by Greenkayak, free trips in the group's two-person kayaks are offered in return {#blank#}1{#/blank#}collecting waste from water surface. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}project began in Demark in April, 2017. With the help of a thousand kayak {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(voluntary), three tons of trash were collected from Copenhagen harbor that year. You can easily book a kayak for the time {#blank#}4{#/blank#}works for you. Life jackets and equipment — like a paddle, a waste picker, a bucket for the trash —{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (provide): just bring yourself. You can have two hours of free kayak time.

    Greenkayak believes that kayaks are highly effective at collecting waste because they can get close to areas that are otherwise hard {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(reach).

    "In Denmark, people love to hang out on canals, but {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(fortunate) they see waste {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (float) by." one of Greenkayak's co-founders speaks of the program's origin. "You can't take your shirt off and jump in. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} you can get in a Greenkayak and make a difference."

    If you want to take advantage of the free kayak, {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(tourist) a city from its river and do your part to control water pollution.

How to Become a Morning Person?

You have grand ambitions: to start a business, to write a book. But chances are you work long hours, or household responsibilities consume your days. By the time you finish all you have to do, you will have had no energy {#blank#}1{#/blank#}anything you want to do beyond turning on the TV.

Yet some busy people do make time for their priorities. The secret is giving the most attention to {#blank#}2{#/blank#}at the very beginning of a day. They get up earlier than they have to. Morning by morning, they make progress on something {#blank#}3{#/blank#}matters.

It's not fun to force yourself out of bed, but these early hours are often the best time to do things for yourself. With a little schedule reorganization, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(become) a morning person is more doable than you think.

I first learned that mornings {#blank#}5{#/blank#}be transformational years ago, when I was studying a busy lawyer's schedule. She wanted to spend more time with her son, but she had little control over when she left work. This state of affairs kept her sad {#blank#}6{#/blank#}she realized she and her son were both early risers and the morning time could be made full use of. After thinking it through, the lawyer decided to get up even earlier. Then, when the boy stepped into the dining room, she {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(finish) preparing a rich breakfast so they two could enjoy the meal to the fullest together.

Mornings are also great for focused thinking. Getup an hour earlier, and you can knock out your most important task of the day. Or you can spare some time for those creative desires {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(bury) deep in your heart and hard to nurture.

But many will argue：I'm not a morning person! The fact is that there are not so many true night owls. When most people take an honest look at {#blank#}9{#/blank#}they're spending the hours before bed, they'll find they have wasted much time on the TV programs they don't mean {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(watch). Also, they often browse through photos on social media of people they didn't like in high school anyway.

A better approach is to sleep earlier, rise earlier and turn unproductive evening hours into productive morning hours.