What's the biggest online shopping day in the world? Not Valentine's Day. Not Cyber Monday or Black Friday. The winner is China's Singles' Day, celebrated on November11, or 11.11.

    Singles' Day began as a day for unmarried or uncoupled people to celebrate their lives. Single students, looking for an excuse to buy themselves presents, started it on November11,1993, reported The Guardian. It is symbolized by the four mumber ones in the date of November11 and is also called Double Eleven, in reference to the day it was started, said the BBC. It became a major shopping day in 2009. The CEO of an online shopping site --Alibaba-- tried to increase sales at the e-commerce company. The CEO, Daniel Zhang, launched an annual online sale on that day, said Fortune. When it first began, "Sigles' Day was very much an offline comfort to actual single people," noted the website atlas Obscura."A small group of students at Nanjing University are said to have chosen 11.11 as a day that singles could do activities like karaoke together." It quickly became a cultural phenomenon.

    Last year, Alibaba sold more than $1 billion worth of products in the first three minutes of the sales, reported Bloomberg News. Total sales on Singles' Day soared to $9 billion within 24 hours. That's four times bigger than Cyber Monday in the U.S., which is the Monday after Thanksgiving and traditionally a big shopping day. By comparison, online sales in the U.S. last year on Black Friday were just $1.5 billion, reported TechCrunch.

    Today, Singles' Day is very successful. Analysts say that this year, sales on China's Singles' Day will increase to a new high. In the U.S., Jennifer Wang, a co-founder of a company targeting Chinese-Americans, said, "We expect to have 3 million people coming to click Dealmoon for the Singles' Day launch." Some observers think Singles' Day could catch on globally.

    Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The next building was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.

    After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn't wash her window. It really looks terrible.”

    One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside.Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!

    Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?

    Since then, whenever I wanted to judge someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?” I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.

    There is no doubt that to study abroad gives you an excellent opportunity to learn things which are very helpful in your career building. Today Canada has earned a good name in providing quality education and safe healthy environment for its students. That is why more than 130,000 international students enroll(登记入学) every year in famous Canadian universities. It is an ideal education destination and gives students a unique experience of education and its versatile(多样的) arts and culture. Canada spends a lot on education and is ranked the highest in G-8 countries.

    To study in Canada is very cost effective. These universities are affordable compared to other universities in the world such as in the US, New Zealand and UK where cost of education and living is very high. According to a survey in 2006, "Canada offered the lowest tuition fees(学费) for foreign students compared to UK and Australia."

    The low rate of crimes and the peaceful safe environment of the country also attracts a lot of international students to Canadian universities. Canada has 92 universities and 175 community colleges and university degrees have three levels—Bachelor's (学士), Master's (硕士) and Doctoral(博士).

    A Bachelor's degree in Canada is for three or four years' full-time study depending on the nature of the program you are doing. On the other hand, a Master's degree consists of two years of study. For a Doctoral program in Canadian universities, you require a minimum (最低/小的) of three to four or sometimes five years of research and study.

    You can also find many diploma and certification (认证) program in Canadian universities where the time is generally one year. Some of the Canadian universities are well-regarded worldwide and the degree and diploma obtained from these Canadian universities are recognized globally and promise bright future. After the completion of studies, a person could also find great job offers in Canada itself. International students require a work permit to work on campus.

    Scientists say they discovered an earth­like planet orbiting the star closest to our planet other than the sun. It is the closest planet ever found outside our solar system that could support life as we know it. This planet is just 4.2 light years away from us. It is so close that space scientists have compared it to a next door neighbor. They say it could be reached by an unmanned spacecraft before the end of the century. The newly­discovered planet is a little larger than the earth. Scientists have named it Proxima b. It orbits its sun, Proxima Centauri, once every 11days.

    Alan Boss is the Chairman of NASA's advisory group for planet exploration. He told VOA that Proxima b not only confirms the discovery of a planet, but also increases the number of other possible "earths" by a huge amount. Boss said it is possible that most stars may have at least one earth­like planet orbiting them.

    This makes the possibility of living organisms increasingly likely. Boss said he believes human beings will prove that there is life in places other than the earth in his lifetime. "I am 65," he told VOA, "But I expect to still be alive when it happens."

    Paul Butler works at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. He told VOA that finding Proxima b "makes the case concrete" that there are other planets where life could exist. Paul Butler said the researchers used two telescopes in different countries to look for possible planets like the earth. Discovering Proxima b, he believes, changes the world.

    "This work has resulted in the discovery of hundreds of planets around the nearest stars, and now a potentially habitable planet around the nearest star is in the sky," Butler said.

Ken was my best friend for 30 years. I told him I would leave Chicago for Philadelphia to receive a new job there. "What do you mean you're leaving?" Ken asked angrily. "When did you interview for a job in another city? You had never told me before." I explained that was the new company's rule. "Like you couldn't tell me?" he asked. "I thought our friendship meant more to you than that." "I'm sorry," I said. But I would never give up the job because of friends.

Ken and I had met in a church. Then Ken was a college student studying mental health and I was working in a company. I found we both grew up in small towns and struggled for school life. He often volunteered in Thailand during school holidays. And I once worked there for five years. Talking with Keri gave me great pleasure. Gradually, our conversations even involved in deeper subjects, like our dreams.

I was older than Ken. When he married Lee, I gave him advice about marriage. By that time, I was running a television production business, and was under a lot of stress. It was Ken who encouraged me and helped me get through the hard time. He was a great guy. Even so, I didn't change my mind.

Anyway, when leaving Chicago, Ken and Lee had a warm farewell (告别) party. But we didn't talk much later. After September 2012, everything changed. It started with a letter from Ken: Lee had cancer. Unfortunately, I got divorced (离婚) later and everything was a mess.

In February 2013,I flew to Chicago to see Ken and Lee. We talked. I found there was no one I had ever been able to talk to quite like Ken. I needed to be there for Ken in any way I could. This friendship mattered more than work. When going back to Philadelphia, I left my job and bought a plane ticket that would mean a lot to the rest of my life.

Four rural villages in China were named Best Tourism Villages 2023 by the World Tourism Organization.

Huangling village in Jiangxi province, set in a hilly and mountainous region, is known for its surprising natural scenery, traditional architecture, and the preservation of ancient customs. The ancient houses in Huangling village are characterized by whitewashed walls, black-tiled roofs, and complex carved wooden elements. The village, rated as a national AAAA scenic spot, draws worldwide visitors throughout the year to view its live landscape.

Zhagana village, a globally important agricultural and cultural heritage site, is located at an altitude of 3,000 to 3,300 meters and is surrounded by mountains, in Gansu province. The steep mountains and Tibetan-style houses make up a "grand stone palace" where tourists can enjoy the harmony of nature and culture.

Xiajiang village, located in East China's Zhejiang province, is famous for its undestroyed natural beauty and a profound cultural heritage ranging from traditional folk culture to historical "red culture". The village has introduced unique tourism routes, high-level cultural programs, and a diverse range of celebrations.

Zhujiawan village, situated in Zhashui county, Shangluo city, possesses a variety of over 1,200 species of diverse animals and plant resources. Meanwhile, the village owns 25 intangible (无形的) cultural treasures. Additionally, it is home to 17 tangible cultural treasures. In recent years, Zhujiawan village has made use of its ecological strengths to develop tourism.