Chinese ancient poetry competition a success at UIBE

    The University of International Business and Economics﹙对外经贸大学﹚recently organized a competition on Chinese ancient poems to improve students' understanding of Chinese traditional culture and celebrated Word Reading Day, which falls on April 23.

    About 1,300 students took part in the primary poetry contest in late March and four teams, made up of 12 students, entered the final, which was on Thursday.

    The final included a four-part quiz that tested students' knowledge of Chinese ancient poems and other forms of Chinese literature.

    University Vice﹙副的﹚President Zhao Zhongxiu said he was glad that the competition attracted attention from so many students on university and raised their interest and sense in traditional Chinese culture.

    Qi Xiaoming, a professor of Chinese literature at the university said, "In that sense, to fully understand a Chinese ancient poem requires students to recite ﹙背诵﹚and understand the meaning in the very beginning of learning. Then, as the students grow older and connect what the poem talks about with their own lives, they will see more."

    The popularity of a TV program on China Central Television, Chinese Poetry Conference ﹙会议﹚, which has been broadcast﹙播放﹚for two seasons, has inspired an increasing number of education institutions like UIBE to hold a similar event of their own.

    The purpose of the TV program is to appreciate the beauty of Chinese ancient poetry and to learn from the wisdom of the great minds of ancient China.

Information Card

    Can dolphins talk? Maybe they can't talk with words, but they can talk with sounds. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They are mammals (哺乳动物), but they swim together in a group.

    Dolphins talk to the other dolphins in a group. They give information. They say "Welcome" when a dolphin comes back to the group. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They talk when they play.

    They make a few sounds above water. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} People cannot hear these sounds because their pitch (音调) is very high. Scientists make tapes of the sounds and study them.

    Sometimes people catch a dolphin for a large aquarium. (An aquarium is a zoo for fish.) People can watch the dolphins in a show. Dolphins don't like to be away from their group in an aquarium. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    There are many stories about dolphins. They help people {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Dolphin meat is good, but people don't like to kill them. They say that dolphins can bring good luck to them. Many people believe this.

    People who buy property (房产) or move into a new apartment or house usually hold a housewarming party (乔迁派对). The party is an opportunity for friends and family to congratulate (祝贺) this person on their new home. It is a tradition (传统) to bring a gift to a housewarming party. Decorations (装饰品) for the new house, such as pieces of art or potted plants (盆栽植物), are good housewarming gifts. You can also bring food or drinks to share with the other guests. The host or hostess of the party will give all the guests a tour of their new home. Sometimes, because housewarming parties usually happen shortly after a person moves into their new home, guests may be asked to help unpack boxes. This isn't common, though.

    A long time ago, people would bring firewood (木柴；柴火) to their friends' new homes as a gift. This is where the name "housewarming" comes from. This allowed their friends to keep their homes warm for the winter. These days, most homes have central heating, so firewood isn't needed.

    A good book can help you learn more things than you can learn in class. If you want to get into a good reading habit(习惯), here are a few ways.

    Plan your time

    You should give yourself at least thirty minutes for reading every day. When time is set, nothing can change it.

    Always carry a book

    Wherever you go, take a book with you. When you leave the house, make sure that you always carry a good book as well as your school things.

    Find a quiet place

    Find a place in your home where you can read a book quietly and no one will trouble you. There should be no television, computer, music or even noisy family members around you.