Traditional Chinese opera is finding new life in a different art form. More than100 primary school teachers came to a training course to pass on the art to schoolchildren. After learning Chinese opera-themed (戏剧题材的) cartoons, they are now confident that they can spark (激发) children's interest.

    These school teachers proved to be quick learners in Chinese opera. They are practising a classic piece of Yueju Opera, a major branch of the Chinese opera family.

    Fang Tingting, the performer of Shanghai Yueju Opera Troupe, said, "I was actually nervous about teaching them, because I thought they may not be interested. But their passion (热情) swept away my worries. I think they will do well in helping Chinese opera."

Cartoons naturally attract the attention of children. Introducing Chinese opera to them in this way proved to be great.

    Liu Hui,a school teacher, said, "The children are really interested in the cartoons. As teachers, we give them some directions and they start to copy something from the opera."

    The teachers also believed this digital method really builds a bridge between the children and this traditional art form. And it really helps them learn the rich culture of China. They are glad to be trained here to take on this task.

    Last year, I went to a summer camp in the United States with my classmates. It was my first time to go abroad.

    I lived with a host family in Los Angeles for five days. My host family was friendly and gave me lots of advice. For example, they said I should say "excuse me" if I have to interrupt (打断) someone or ask for directions.

    I also took some classes. They were different from the classes I had had back home. In the US, each class is like a seminar. Students join groups, speaking freely and creating a cheerful atmosphere (氛围). I had to work hard to learn more vocabularies, so I could better communicate with my international classmates. I used to pay little attention to my word usage (使用), but now I pay more attention.

    During my visit, I also went to some famous universities in Boston, New York and Washington, D. C. We learned about the history behind the universities. At MIT (麻省理工学院), we saw lots of names on a wall in the hall. The tour guide told us they were the names of students who had lost their lives during wars. I was inspired (鼓舞) by the fact that they fought for their country.

A man noticed a woman in the grocery store with a three-year-old girt in her shopping cart. 

As they passed the cookie section, the little girl asked for some cookies but her mother r{#blank#}1{#/blank#} her. The little girl cried out at once. However, the mother said q{#blank#}2{#/blank#} , "Now Monica. we just have several passages to go through. Don't be upset. It won't be l{#blank#}3{#/blank#}." 

   Soon they came to the candy section, and the little girl began to shout for candy. When she was told she couldn't have any, she cried l{#blank#}4{#/blank#} again. The mother said. "There, there, Monica, don't cry--only two more passages to go and then we'll c{#blank#}5{#/blank#} out." 

   When they went to the cashier desk, the little girl once again began to ask for gum and burst into a terrible a{#blank#}6{#/blank#} when she found out that there had been no gum to buy. The mother said patiently, "Monica we'll be through this counter in 5 minutes and then you can go home and have a bath before having a s{#blank#}7{#/blank#} sleep." 

   The man f{#blank#}8{#/blank#} them out and stopped the woman to praise her. "I couldn't help n{#blank#}9{#/blank#} how kind you were with little Monica. You're such a good mother!" he said with an a{#blank#}10{#/blank#} voice. 

   "However," the mother replied, "I'm Monica--my little girl's name is Tammy."

Back home, Qian at once {#blank#}1{#/blank#} helping China develop a space program. He started the Institute of Mechanics in Beijing, where he trained young scientists. He worked on many important space {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. In 1960, China's first rocket and first missile were launched(发射) {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. In 1970, China launched its first satellite. It is largely because of Qian's {#blank#}4{#/blank#} that China so quickly developed a space program, and became only the third country to send a manned rocket into space in

2003. 

Qian watched this rocket launch on television. He was by he will always be {#blank#}5{#/blank#} for his great contributions(贡献). He working so hard for his country, even through difficult times, helping develop the space program that pushed China into the future. 

Known as "soft gold", Gambiered Canton gauze (香云纱) is the only silk fabric (织物) that's still hand-dyed (手染的) using natural plants in the world today.

The skill has a history of more than 500 years. In 2008, it was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage (国家非物质文化遗产). Ouyang Yongze is an inheritor of the dyeing skills from Guangdong. The man started learning the skills in 2017.

The dyeing process includes 30 steps. It can take up to six months and is done by hand with materials from nature. "The plant shuliang (薯莨), river mud, sunshine, and grass are all important in dyeing," Ouyang told China Daily.

To dye the fabric, workers put it in shuliang juice and let it dry on the grass. They repeat this many times until it turns brownish yellow. Then, they put river mud on it to help shuliang react fully. After washing and drying it again, the fabric turns black!

Mastering the skills is difficult, according to Ouyang, who put full effort into controlling the density (浓度) of shuliang juice. "Too much may cause color loss, and too little may nor lead to a dark enough fabric," he said. "Better control of the density comes after many failures."

Also, the job can be really tiring as workers have to be at work in the sun for 8 hours each day. Only a few people work in the industry, and skilled masters are getting older as fewer young people take part.

Considering this, Ouyang works harder to develop the traditional craft. He has got together other dyeing skills such as tie-dyeing (扎染法) and batik (蜡染) and has worked with famous fashion designers. They turn the silk into both traditional and fashionable clothes that are popular worldwide. He thinks this can help make the craft stay alive and drew people to the industry.

Gina is a new teacher in a middle school in the US. She lives in San Diego, just fifteen minutes' walk from the beach. So she always 1 along the beach after work.

Last week was busy but happy for Gina. She had a lot of work from Monday to Friday. When the weekend came, she hoped 2 a good rest. Her weekend began when she met her friends at Sam's Chinese Restaurant on Friday night." My friends and I all like Chinese food, so we often eat together at that restaurant." said Gina 3 .

On Saturday morning, Gina helped a friend move to a new house. In the afternoon, she went to her tennis class. She was new to the sport, 4 she played well. After dinner, Gina went to the Red Onion and danced there until 10:00 p. m. She really enjoyed 5 .

On Sunday, Gina got up at 8:00 a. m. and she went to 6 expensive restaurant near her home for breakfast. She 7 the food there was delicious. Then she spent the whole morning reading books. In the afternoon, she went swimming 8 her cousin. For lunch, they had9 special— seafood noodles. In the evening, she went to the San Diego Folk Festival. She thought it was 10 of all the festivals. And Gina had great fun there.

What a busy but wonderful weekend Gina had!