Shandong Province held the 36th Weifang International Kite Festival on the third Saturday of April in2019. A lot of kite fans from all over the world went there to join in the interesting festival on that day. Different kinds of beautiful kites flew in the sky.

Over 2, 000 years ago, a man named Gongshu Ban from Shandong Province invented a kite. It was made of bamboo. In the following centuries, kite-making developed well in China.

The first Weifang International Kite Festival was celebrated in 1984. In 1983, the Chairman of the Seattle Kite Association David Checkley took part in a kite show and later he visited several kite manufacturers(制造商). He found that kites made in Weifang were the best. He suggested holding the first Weifang International Kite Festival there. After that, Weifang began to hold it in April every year.

At the fifth festival, Weifang became known as the" Kite Capital of the World". Today, Weifang is home to over 300 kite factories. People in Weifang sell their products to about 40 countries and regions(地区) , making up 85 %of the domestic(国内的)markets and 65 %of the foreign markets.

However, there are also some problems. "Few people would like to learn about traditional kite-making," said Yang Hongwei. Yang's grandfather was once one of the best kite makers in Weifang. Nowadays, Yang still uses traditional ways and skills to make kites. In her opinion, only traditional things can last for a long time. Since the1990s, she has travelled to many countries to teach and take part in kite shows. "I won't stop teaching the ways of making kites as long as someone wants to learn. Meanwhile, the government should hold more kite festivals in China or even overseas, "she said.

As the weather gets warmer，there are few things that are better to do than travel．But traveling might not be that fun for everyone，especially for those who have motion sickness（晕动症）．

Motion sickness is also called travel sickness．It is a common experience for many people．Depending on how you travel，it can be called carsickness or seasickness．People with motion sickness feel very uncomfortable while they are in motion．They feel sick and dizzy，like the room around them won't stop spinning．

It is generally believed that motion sickness happens when your senses become confused （困惑的）with each other，Scientific American reported．

We use different parts of our body to sense movement．Our eyes tell us if we are moving．The inner ears （内耳） contain a special liquid that helps us sense our direction and balance．Our muscles react to movement．

When you move around，these body parts work well together．But when you are in a car or an airplane，they get confused．Your inner ear signals that you're moving．This mismatch gives us motion sickness．

But some people are less sensitive to motion sickness．This may be because they have certain genes （基因） that prevent mismatching senses，Bethann Hromatka，told the Atlantic．

Although there are many ways to deal with motion sickness，scientists believe that the key is to simply try to adapt to it．For example，some astronauts do special exercises that give them mild motion sickness．After a week or two，the astronauts become used to it and don't feel uncomfortable anymore，a NASA flight doctor，told the BBC．

Chinese people had hotpot as early as the Shang Dynasty. At that time, people boiled foods in bronze cauldrons(青铜鼎), which had two parts — one was the pot to cook foods in soup, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the other part was a space inside the cauldron to hold firewood.

 People started to have lattice (分格的) hotpot {#blank#}2{#/blank#} the Han Dynasty. They divided pots into several parts to enjoy different tastes.

 Yuan Mei was a poet who was very fond of food in the Qing Dynasty. He mentioned huoguo, the Chinese name for hotpot, in {#blank#}3{#/blank#} book about all kinds of food. At that time, hotpo t was very popular. People put all kinds of meat and vegetables into the hotpot. They also used different {#blank#}4{#/blank#} to make pots such as copper(铜) and iron.

 It's said that Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty {#blank#}5{#/blank#} hotpot. He had it for almost every meal. He once held a big hotpot party and invited more than 5,000 people to enjoy 1,550 hotpots.

SAVE THE OCEAN

STUDY TOUR

 Every year, more than 1.1 million tons of plastics end up in the ocean. It can take centuries for the waste, such as plastic bottles and single- use bags, to break down. That seriously harms(伤害) wildlife living there. Are you an eco- warrior(生态卫士)? Are you ready to help save the ocean from plastic pollution?

Do you know any famous museums in the world？Here are three famous museums in different countries.

Have you ever wondered how many ants there are on the earth? Scientists at the University of Hong Kong certainly have. In a new study, they estimated (估计) the number of the world's ants is about 20, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000(20 with 15 zeroes!

That means for every human, there are nearly 2. 5 million ants. If you put all the ants on a scale, they'd weigh more than all the wild birds and mammals (哺乳动物) on the earth. 

How did they count such a big number? In the past, many scientists have counted ants in different areas. They collected fallen leaves and earth and dried them to force the ants to come out for counting. Based on 465 studies that cover the whole land, the new study made the estimation. According to Wang Runxi, one of the authors, the number and distribution(分布) of ants can be valuable to show the environmental changes. 

"Ants play an important role in the ecosystem, " Wang told Science and Technology Daily. "They help loosen the soil, spread seeds, break down things and form a part of the food chain (食物链). They are everywhere on the earth except for the coldest places. "

"Compared with big animals, little ants are more sensitive (敏 感 的 ) to environmental changes, " Wang added. Most ants live in tropical (热带的) and subtropical(亚热带的) areas. But in recent years, ants have been moving toward the two poles because of global warming. Changes in forests, such as too many trees being cut down, also have influence on the number of ants, the study showed. 

"Our global map of ants allows us to better understand and predict ants' responses to worrying environmental changes, " scientists wrote in the study.