Most English people have three names: a first name, a middle name and the family name. The family name comes last. For example, my full name is Jim Allan Green. Green is my family name. My parents gave me both of my other names.

    People don't use their middle names very much. So "John Henry Brown" is usually called “John Brown”. People never use Mr., Mrs. or Miss before their first names. So you can say John Brown, or Mr. Brown; but you shouldn't say Mr. John. They use Mr., Mrs. or Miss with the family name but never with the first name.

    It is different from Chinese names. In China, the first name is the family name, and the last name is the given name. For example, a man called Zhou Jian puts his family name Zhou first.

      The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Grain Rain (谷雨), as the last term in spring, starts on April 19 and ends on May 4.

      Grain Rain comes from the old saying, “Rain brings up the growth of hundreds of grains”, which shows that this period of rainfall is very important for the growth of crops. Here's something that you may not know about the Grain Rain.

    Sumo wrestling (相扑) is a national sport in Japan. Every year there are six tournaments, and millions of Japanese watch them on television. A tournament is a series of matches.

    Sumo wrestling is almost as old as the nation of Japan itself. Stories say that there was sumo wrestling over 2,000 years ago. There are written records of national sumo tournaments in the 8th century.

    In many sports, athletes are thin and can move very quickly. However, sumo wrestlers weigh from 100 to 160 kilograms. One famous wrestler weighed 195 kilograms. Sumo wrestlers do not move quickly, and sumo wrestling is a very slow sport.

    Sumo wrestlers start hard training when they are boys. They exercise to make their bodies strong. They also eat a lot.

    They wrestle in a round ring with a sand floor. A wrestler loses the match if he leaves the ring. He is also the loser if any part of his body except his feet touches the floor. Each wrestler tries to push the other down on the floor or out of the ring. Sometimes one wrestler just steps aside when the other wrestler rushes towards him. Then, the wrestler who is rushing falls down or moves out of the ring.

    Sumo wrestling is not very popular in other countries, but the Japanese think that it is a very exciting sport.

Celebrate :庆祝  Lunar:农历  Lantern:灯  Riddles:谜