Do you know an old city called “Pingyao” in Shanxi? The old city is not far from Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province (省). It's a town with a long history of more than two thousand years.

    The old city is not very large. It is only 2.25 square kilometers in size. And there are no tall buildings here. Most of the buildings have only two floors. And most of them are made of stones (石头). There are many Chinese-style shops on each side of the street.

    Pingyao is a square city. The city has a wall around it. It's about 6 km long and 12 m high. The wall has six gates. And you mustn't miss the nice food in Pingyao. Try Pingyao beef and you are sure to fall in love with it.

    Pingyao is a place worth (值得) a visit. You can take buses or trains here. It's less than 2 hours' bus ride from Taiyuan. It costs you only 20 yuan. If you take a train, it will take you less time, only one and a half hours. And if you want to go to Pingyao from Beijing, the train ride takes only about 6 hours.

The City of Pingyao

    The first cartoons appeared in newspapers. They told stories using pictures. The first cartoon film appeared in 1906. It was about humorous faces. In the film, an artist drew pictures of two faces on a blackboard. The faces came to life. They smiled and a small dog jumped through a ring. There were a lot of animals in early cartoons. One famous early cartoon character was Felix the Cat.

    Walt Disney started to make films in the 1920s. Some of his earliest films were about a famous story, Alice in Wonderland, but in Disney's films it was called Alice in Cartoon Land. Walt Disney's most famous cartoon character was Mickey Mouse, first in a black-and-white film without sound, then very soon after that in a talking film and later in colour. A Mickey Mouse film was the first cartoon film with sound to become really popular.

    Today, the popularity of cartoons has risen around the world. People of all ages still show great interest in cartoons.

    According to the traditional Chinese custom, 2018 is just the year of Dog. Ranking as the eleventh animal in the Chinese zodiac-the Shengxiao, Dog is a symbol of loyalty(忠诚)and honesty.

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    Words and phrases including dogs (Gou in Chinese) are commonly used by young people when telling jokes about themselves. For example, you can say "Valentine's Day has nothing to do with me since I am a single dog." It is believed that dog related words and phrases usually have good humour.

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    Among some young people, adding“dog”to a friend's name has the meaning of a close relationship. One of the most famous examples in China is that the actor Lin Gengxin is called Lin Gou by his close friends and fans.

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    Kids with pleasant names are easy to bring up, according to an ancient Chinese saying. Parents in the countryside prefer to give nicknames(绰号)including Gou Sheng and Gou Dan to their kids in the hope that they are as easy to be raised as dogs.

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    Since dogs are considered to have many good qualities(品质), the word is included in more than 10 Chinese metaphors. For example, "serve like a dog or a horse" is used to describe someone who is ready to work hard for the people who have powers.

    When I was a little child, I dreamed to be a rich man who could fly around the world and take the first class (头等舱) on the plane. After I grew up, when I first took the first class, I felt like part of the rich group. I was filled with a sense of pride when sitting with those important people.

    Once I was on the plane, I noticed that the stewardess (空姐) was working all the time to make sure that first class passengers felt comfortable. I thought she must love her job very much, because she gave everyone a big smile. When the stewardess walked past my seat, I looked up at her and said, "Thank you and I hope you have a great night." She stopped with a look of surprise on her face, and said, "Excuse me?" I said my words again. It seemed that I asked a question that she did not know how to answer.

    A little later, when I was getting off the plane, the stewardess said to me, "Thank you very much, sir." Then she said, "You are the only passenger who has thanked me or said anything nice to me all night." The pride of being part of rich group disappeared as soon as I heard these words. Then I came to understand that taking the first class didn't mean you were a real "first class" person.

    Liu Wei is very famous in China because he can play the piano with his toes(脚趾). One day when Liu Wei was only 10 years old, he played a game with some friends. He lost both his arms because of electricity(电). Liu Wei was very sad when both his arms were cut off after the accident. But soon he had to make a choice. "For people like me, there were only two choices. One was to give up all the dreams, which would cause a quick death. The other was to work hard without arms to live an excellent life." says Liu Wei. Liu's dream was to be a pianist. His excellent life included a show on China's Got Talent(《中国达人秀》) and a wonderful performance(演奏) playing the beautiful Marriage D'amour with his two feet on the piano. Liu Wei learned to play the piano with his feet. And teaching himself to play the piano with his feet was very hard. Many times he wanted to give it up, but his parents went on encouraging(鼓励) him and he wanted to make his parents proud. Maybe you can not believe that Liu Wei is able to play well only with his toes. The audience(观众) were deeply moved and very excited when they watched his performance.

    ①它是世界上最流行的歌曲。It has been sung hundreds of millions of times each year. It has been heard in outer space, at baseball stadiums, in movies and in domiciles(住处) from the White House to the remotest (最遥远的) backwoods shack (棚屋) in Mississippi. It has been wired to millions of music boxes, greeting cards, watches, toys, games and other products. And it is the only song in the English language to make people of all ages smile and sing along. ②The song, of course, is "Happy Birthday to You."

    This amazing song began its life in 1893. Written by two sisters from Kentucky, Mildred and Patty Hill, it was originally (起初) named "Good Morning to All", and intended as a classroom greeting from teachers to students.

    Good morning to you.

    Good morning to you.

    Good morning, dear children.

    Good morning to all.

    To this day, no one knows for sure who wrote the new words to Hill's melody (旋律)，or exactly when it happened. "Happy Birthday to You" first appeared in a songbook in 1924. The words were presented as the second stanza (节) to "Good Morning to You".