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    The kindly “Chinese Fortune Grandpa” wearing Han Chinese clothing and holding a fortune bag debuted （亮相） at the Imperial Ancestral Shrine in Beijing on the day after Christmas. The final image of the Chinese gift-giver was selected through a global design competition against “Santa Claus”, according to a report by Guangming Daily.

    Many Chinese cities have been filled with Christmas neon lights, Christmas songs, Christmas trees, and the images of “Santa Claus”in recent days. As a matter of fact, foreign festivals are becoming more popular than certain traditional Chinese festivals among the Chinese people, particularly the youth. “Certain traditional festivals have died out because people have forgotten their spiritual meanings, ”said noted writer Feng Jicai. More and more Chinese people are beginning to exchange gifts on Valentine's Day and Christmas. However, many of them know nothing about Chinese New Year pictures or sugarcoated figurines（小糖人）, and have never heard suona music. Certain folk customs on the Dragon Boat Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, and other traditional festivals have gradually disappeared. Under such circumstances, even the “Chinese Fortune Grandpa” is unlikely to defeat “Santa Claus”.

    However, it is not a bad thing to some extent. It constantly reminds people to restore the “true face” of traditional festivals. China has listed traditional Tomb Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival as legal holidays, which brings more paid leaves to the public, and helps to awake the public awareness of traditional festivals.

    In modern society, festival is a carrier of culture and its meaning largely depends on their understandings and usages by people. Compared with foreign festivals, traditional Chinese festivals are not inferior （次于） in cultural meanings, but lack of fashion sought by modern people. If people do not appreciate the historical culture contained by traditional festivals, and only take pleasure-seeking as the most important, the significance of traditional festivals will fade away and the inheritance （继承） of fine traditional culture will be cut off.

    Laziness is a state of inaction. It is something that you do, not something that you are. Being lazy means you have no motivation to do anything. Many people make the mistake that they view themselves as lazy.

    Lazy people are often seen as useless. They are the ones who don't do anything. They can be seen as underachievers or even bums（废物）. This can be a child or an adult. You can view a student who never studies as lazy. You can see an employee who doesn't do his work as lazy. In all of these cases, what the lazy person is doing is being lazy. But are they really being lazy or are they acting lazy?

    There is a huge different between saying you act lazy sometimes and you are a lazy person. One is suggesting that your laziness is temporary while the other suggests that it's permanent. This is the myth of laziness. People who are lazy aren't; they simply are people who are temporarily acting that way.

    So that causes a person to be inactive? The answer is a lack of goals. If you give someone a good enough reason to do something, they will do it. People who don't seem to do anything just haven't found a good enough reason to do something. Lazy students don't study because they don't see the point in studying. If you give them a reason, a strong enough reason, they will take action.

    For example, if you are too lazy to go to the gym, would you go if someone offered you a million dollars to go? If you are too lazy to go to clean out the garage, would someone pointing a gun to your head help you take action? The reason can be positive or negative as long as it's strong enough to induce（引起）action.

    To motivate someone who is lazy, what you need to do is to help them find purpose and enough reasons to work towards a certain goal.

    My arms shook. The bow was almost as tall as I was, and it was equipped with an arrow, ready to be shot. Never had a more ill-suited person handled a weapon. But my editor had sent me on a mission: to find my inner Katniss Ever deen at one of Beijing's indoor archery clubs.

    The brilliant archer Everdeen is the lead character in The Hunger Games movies, the final of which was just released in cinemas. Her arrows can hit almost anything: sword-swinging enemies, fierce animals, even aircraft some-how. Me? I can't throw a paper ball into a trashcan with any precision. And I was warned that archery would require a great deal of upper body strength, though I hadn't seen the inside of a gym in years.

    News outlets like the New York Times and NPR have reported an increase of interest in archery, thanks to movies like The Hunger Games, Brave and The Avengers. Archery clubs have showed up in many major cities. In Jian Club, an archery-themed bar, we paid 120 yuan for an hour's worth of target practice and prepared our bows and arrows.

    We were told to stand sideways, with one shoulder facing the bull's eye. Your weaker arm would hold the bow, while the other would pull the bowstring back until the arrow was right next to your face. Then it was meters away.

    Well, sort of. Instead of sending the arrows whistling through the air, my first few simply dropped onto the ground.

    The failure was a good reminder that archery is a demanding, Olympic-level sport. It worked muscles in my back and arms that I just didn't have yet. An hour came and went, and I found myself leaving with a couple pierced (刺穿的)bull's eyes and sore shoulders. Was I ready to shoot down aircraft with a swift arrow? Not quite. But I was definitely ready for a return trip.

    Welcome to Amazon. Here are some top films to recommend this week.

    Magellan

    Scores 5.5

    101 min 2017

    When NASA picks up three outer space signals coming from within our own solar system, the space agency speeds a mission to investigate the sources. As Earth's lone messenger, they send Commander Roger Nelson, the test pilot for an experimental spacecraft called the Magellan, assisted by an on board A. I. named Ferdinand.

    Rent Movie HD $3.99

    Buy Movie HD $9.99

    The Lost City of Z

    Scores 6.6

    141 min 2016

    The Lost City of Z tells the unbelievable true story of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who journeys into the Amazon at the beginning of the 20th century and discovers evidence of a formerly unkown and advanced civilization that may have once ruled the region.

    Rent Movie HD $6.99

    Buy Movie HD $19.99

    The Post

    Scores 7.2

    115 min 2017

    Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep team for the first time in this exciting true story about how the Washington Post uncovered a huge cover-up of government secrets that lasted three decades. It made Richard Milhous Nixon, the president of the United States of the time, lose his power in the end.

    Rent Movie HD $5.99.

    Buy Movie HD $19.99

    Room

    Scores 8.2

    117 min 2015

    Both highly suspenseful and deeply emotional, Room is a unique and unexpectedly gentle exploration of the endless love between a mother and her child. After 5-year-old Jack and his Ma escape from the closed surroundings that Jack has known in his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery: the outside world.

    Rent Movie HD $3.99

    Buy Movie HD $12.99

    Earthquakes happen without warning(前兆). They can happen any time of a day, at any point during the year. But don't worry because most are so weak that they cannot be felt. Only a few big ones hurt people. However, it's important to know what to do when an earthquake is happening.

    Do NOT go outside. You could get injured from falling glass or parts of buildings. If you are outside, stay away from buildings and power lines (输电线).

    Stay under a desk, table, or other strong furniture. Hold on to it. Or stay in a corner of the building. Cover your face and head with your arms and cover your mouth with a towel or clothing. Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside.

    Keep away from windows, pictures or advertisements on the wall or the building, and anything else that could fall and hurt you. Most people get injured by falling things during an earthquake, not by the shaking itself.

    Also keep away from a fire. You could fall down and burn yourself on the fire.

    If you are driving when an earthquake happens, stop the car if it's safe. Stay inside your car until the earthquake stops, and don't drive near bridges. Try not to stop by power lines or trees. These could fall and hurt you.

    Are you interested in higher education in the United States? The following advice might help you.

    College, University or Institute

    College and universities offer undergraduate degrees in arts and sciences. And both can help prepare young people to earn a living. But many colleges don't offer graduate studies. Universities are generally bigger, offer more programs and do more research. An institute of technology can offer a wide choice of programs and activities. Seventy-five percent of freshmen go there with a strong interest and involvement in the arts.

    The Application Process

    International admissions officers advise students to apply to at least three schools. You may be able to apply online and pay the application charge with a credit card, or by mail. You should study the websites of schools to find information about how and when to apply, how much it will cost and whether any financial aid is available.

    Get a Student Card

    If you request a visa for the first time, you will have to go to an American embassy or consulate(领事馆). You will need to bring a government form sent to you by your American school that shows you have been accepted. A consular official will also take your picture and your fingerprints. You will also need banking and tax records that show you have enough money to pay for your education.

    Financial Aid

    American schools provide aid, like scholarships, fellowships, to almost half of foreign graduate students, but only ten percent of undergraduates. But grants, which, unlike a loan, does not have to be paid.