We often find that weekends and holidays feel so short while classes and work feel so long. Actually, though, we know that this is not true. But we still wonder where that strange feeling comes from.

    In fact, this is one of the ways that we're tricked by time, according to the website. All that S interesting. The website lists several wrong impressions (印象) we often have about time. Let's have a look.

    First of all, emotions affect (影响) our time-keeping abilities. Negative emotions (消极情绪). especially anxiety and boredom, make time seem longer because they make us concentrate (集中) more on the passage of time. However, when we are enjoying ourselves, we pay more attention to what we are doing and are likely to lose track of (失去对……的意识) time.

    Here is another example. In 2007, a group of scientists carried out a test. In the test, people fell 50 meters into a safety net and were then asked about their experience. Although the experience took shorter than 3 seconds, the people thought it was much longer than it actually was.

    This is because of the way our bodies reply to danger, according to the scientists. Our bodies produce a chemical called adrenaline (肾上腺素) when we are faced with danger. It allows us to concentrate better so that we can stay alive. As a result, we are able to remember far more details (细节) over a short period of time, which makes it seem like time is going more slowly.

    Another situation when we make mistakes about time is when we take afternoon naps (午觉). Have you ever had trouble telling what time it is after a long nap? That's because the best amount of time for a nap is 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you enter a new stage of sleep called slow-wave sleep. If you wake up mid-way in this stage, it will take a while before you can correctly perceive (感知) time again.

    Yes, time can be mysterious (神秘的) and there is no way to control it. So, perhaps the best thing to do is to make good use of every minute.

The Long March 5 Y3 is China's strongest rocket.

    China's biggest and most powerful carrier (运载) rocket roared (轰鸣) into space on Dec 27, 2019. The Long March 5 kicked off its mission (任务) at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan.

    The 57-meter-tall rocket, known as the Long March 5 Y3, is the tallest, strongest and most technologically sophisticated (技术复杂的) rocket in China. Since it is much bigger than China's other Long March rockets, people call it "Fat 5". The rocket is able to carry spacecraft (航天器) weighing up to 25 tons – roughly the weight of 16 midsize cars – into low-Earth orbit (近地轨道), China Daily reported. This payload capacity (有效载荷) is about 2.5 times greater than that of any other Chinese rocket.

    During the December launch, the Long March 5 successfully sent the Shijian 20 experimental satellite into orbit. At more than 8 tons, it is the heaviest and most advanced communications (通信) satellite built by China.

    The launch also tested key technologies that will be used to take the Chang'e 5 probe (探测器) to the moon, according to the China National Space Administration.

    The success of the Long March 5 launch washard-earned. The rocket's first launch was carried out in November 2016 at the Wenchang center. A second mission took place in July 2017 at the same site, but failed to send a satellite into orbit. According to project leaders, in the two years since that failure, the rocket's research team held more than 600 seminars (研讨会) and carried out at least 1,000 experiments and tests to improve the rocket.

    "Compared with the Long March 5 Y2 that was used in the failed second mission, the new one has about 200 technical improvements, including changes to the engine design," Li Dong, the rocket's chief designer (总设计师), said to China Daily.

    The future missions of the Long March 5 will include a trip to Mars, taking back moon samples (样本), and placing parts of a manned (载人的) space station into orbit. 

People love walking through a giant puzzle. In a corn maze(玉米迷宫), they can follow miles of paths and run into lots of dead ends before they finally find their way out. The corn maze has been growing for almost 30 years. 

Simple corn mazes began appearing in the 1980s. In 1993, the first big corn maze created for the public to enjoy was made in Annville Pennsylvania, by Don Frantz and Adrian Fischer. Then, in a corntield as big as two and a half football fields, Mr. Frantz created "The Amazing Maize Maze"with the help of his family and friends. When it was done, almost two miles of pathways snaked through the cornfield. Since then, thousands of corn mazes have been created around the world.

For many farmers, a corn maze means a boost(激增) of extra income. During the opening weekend, about 6, 000 visitors came to get lost in Mr. Frantz's maze. Charging only $5 per person, he earned almost $32, 000in two weeks.

Brett Herbst is also a maze designer. In 1999 he set a world record for the world's largest corn maze, an image of the solar system with nine planets in it. He now has a business called The Maize, which has designed more than 4, 000 mazes around the world. "Corn mazes help people connectwith their roots, "he says. "People are so far removed from farm life that they are drawn to something real, something organic. "

Today, a great number of people enjoy seeking fun in a corn maze. Mr. Herbst says, "When we see families on the farm having fun, we know that they are making memories that will last a lifetime. "

The kites in Weifang never disappoint. Every year the Weifang International Kite Festival amazes visitors with creative kites, as "paper birds" of varied designs keep appearing in the sky.

Kites in China can originate from the Warring States Period when Mozi made the first "wooden kite". Kites didn't actually become popular until the Ming Dynasty. By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, artists who were good at kite making began to appear in Weifang. In 1984, the first Weifang International Kite Festival was held.

Kites were used in China during the wars at the very beginning. For example, they can be used to record wind readings, similar to ship flags at sea. Over time, kites became connected with relaxing activities, and were often flown during festivals and holidays.

Today, kite-flying is a popular activity in China, and the Weifang International Kite Festival is one of the largest kite festivals in the world. In 2024, 622 kite artists from 59 countries and areas took part in the event. Zhang Xiaodong,74, has attended all the festivals. In the early days, he only brought traditional kites to take part in the competitions, but this time, he used sound and light to make the story of Chang'e flying to the moon come "alive".

The festival is a great platform to share kite-making skills. It also brings the people of China and other countries closer. As one citizen put it, "No matter how far away kite lovers go, there is always a 'thread' in their heart that can pull them together."

Have you ever imagined how people eat in space? It's not easy. In a word, it is different from that on Earth. The food that astronauts carry with them doesn't look like the food you eat.

Some food is carried in closed bags. It is cooked and frozen before the astronauts get it. All the water is removed （去掉）from the food. In the space capsule （太空舱）, the astronaut puts the water back. He "shoots" hot or cold water into the food bag with a special gun （枪）. He eats the food through a small hole in the bag.

Other foods come in bite-size （一口大小的）. The astronaut puts a whole piece in his mouth each time. There can't be crumbs（食物碎屑）. Crumbs would float around the capsule and get in the way. Meat, cakes and cereal（麦片）often come in bite-size pieces.

Astronauts can't drink water from open cups. The water would float in drops in the air. The water is put in the special gun. The astronaut shoots the water into his month.

Do you think it difficult to eat in space? Astronauts must learn to eat this way.

We recycle (回收利用) rubbish, so why not language? Recycling language means using vocabulary（词汇）that you have learnt before again and again. However, unlike rubbish that piles up (堆积) in our environment, if we do not recycle language, we simply forget it. So how do you recycle language?

There are basically（主要的）three ways to do it. The first is through reading. Go back to your favourite articles and read them once more. Just reread them and do not worry about each vocabulary item. If there are some that you are not sure about, make a guess and you will probably guess right. The second way to recycle is through writing. Look at some of your favourite articles and write either a short paragraph or a few sentences in your own words. After you have done this a few times, go back and read through what you have written, checking vocabulary functions. Don't worry if you have made mistakes. That's how you learn. The third way to recycle language is by having an imaginary chat with yourself about your favourite articles at home. You can pretend there is someone with you who speaks English and tell him what you are thinking about or how you feel.