Winter solstice, as the name shows, means the coming of winter. As an important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, it is also a traditional holiday for Chinese, which is also called “冬节”， “长至节”，“亚岁”, etc. Generally, winter solstice occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, five days constitutes a pentad and three pentads constitutes a solar term. One year is divided into twelve periods and twelve climates which are regarded as twenty-four solar terms. The Winter Solstice is one of twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the Northern Hemisphere the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is longest. . In Northern China during winter solstice there is a custom of eating dumplings.

    Cinyee Chiu, an artist from Taiwan, is always happy to try something new. Her amazing works won lots of prizes. Among them, "24 Solar Terms(节气)" is the most popular.

    Ancient Chinese divided a year into 24 parts according to the changes of the weather. It's the 24 solar terms. But not everyone knows them well. Cinyee Chiu put the 24 solar terns in pictures to help people understand them better.

    Cinyee turned each solar term into an animal. But these animals are not just animals. You can also find seasonal fruits, vegetables or beautiful flowers on them.

    When spring comes, water gets warm and fish start to swim around. So Cinyee chose fish as a symbol of Start of Spring. Also, she drew spring vegetables, Chinese chives on the back of the fish.

    White Dew falls on about Sept. 8. It shows the beginning of the cool autumn. There are colorful leaves and cooler nights at this time of year. As the temperature falls, white dew(露珠) is often seen on the grass and trees at night. For White Dew, Cinyee chose a raccoon—a small animal with thick hair. She drew white spots(小圆点) on the raccoon to show dew. And she used the dragon fruit to show the rich colors in autumn.

    The young artist really gave the ancient Chinese culture a new look.

    A Chinese song could be heard in a classroom in Sana, the capital of Yemen(也门), where around 20 Chinese-learning schoolchildren were singing

    "I love to learn the Chinese language because it is very nice, important and I want to travel to China to complete my studies there," Karim al-Areqi, a student of the private Languages Model School in Sanaa, told Xinhua.

    Teacher Mohammed al-Ansi, who learnt the language in China and received a university degree, stressed(强调）the importance of learning the Chinese language. "It is the language of the future and it is necessary for all people to get advantages from the great development in China," he said.

    Like many other private elementary and secondary schools in Yemen, the Chinese language is a basic part of the Languages Model School's courses, where the students study Chinese as actively as math and science subjects. "In teaching the Chinese language, I succeeded in educating students in a simple way that fits everyone," al-Ansi said proudly, stressing that teaching Chinese has changed his life without doubt.

    Al-Ansi expects that Yemen and China will work together to set up centers and schools for teaching the Chinese language in Yemen so that many young Yemenis can learn. "I hope that a branch of the Confucius (孔子学院),could be built in Yemen to teach the language and spread the Chinese culture to many years who are interested in learning the Chinese culture and language," he said. see that learning a foreign language may open a way of hope to a new life, such as getting ,more money and paving(铺平)the way to a bright future in the country that has experienced war for almost five years,

Anna's coat is too small. She goes shopping with her mother on Sunday. They go into a clothing shop first (首先). She wants to buy a new coat. Anna finds a green coat in the clothing shop. She likes it very much. She tries it on, but it's too small for her. She wants a big one, but the big one is not green. She isn't happy. Then she wants to go to another (另外的) shop to have a look. Then they find a new shop. The shop is big. There they see many kinds of coats in different colors and sizes (尺码). Anna tries on a green one. It looks nice on her. Anna is very happy. She takes it for fifty yuan.

Just outside a village, there was a pretty but small Fir tree. He lived in a very beautiful forest with a lot of sunshine and fresh air. However, he didn't care about that, and always wished for something more interesting instead of enjoying the simple things in his life. 

One day, the largest trees were cut down. They would be made into masts. The Fir tree thought happily, "I want to be a mast. It seems so cool. "

The air and the sunshine heard the tree and said, "Don't wish for another life. Be happy now. You have warm sunlight. You have a health y trunk. "But the tree did not understand them.

This year, some young trees were cut down. They would live in a warm room and were decorated(装饰) with so many colors and lights. The Fir tree was very interested in this and really wanted to be like that. 

Again, the sunlight and the air said to the tree, "Do not be so silly. Your life in the forest is the best. Be happy with that. "But the tree didn't listen to them.

Finally, the woodcutters came to cut down the Fir tree and put him into a large room. 

On Christmas Day, many servants came in. They decorated the tree. On its top, there was a large golden star. Later, all people came in and sang Christmas carols together. The tree enjoyed watching all of this. 

"This is all for me!"thought the tree, "I will live my life in this warm room. The sunlight and the air were all wrong. "He felt very good about his future.

However, the next morning, some servants came into the room. They put him into a dark room. He was forgotten. 

As many lonely nights passed, the door to that dark room finally opened. Two servants came in and took the tree outside. 

"This is wonderful. "thought the tree. "My new life is beginning. "He relaxed in the sunlight. Just then, he discovered something terrible. His branches were all yellow. They were weak.

At that time. Some children were running around the garden They cned, "Look! The Christmas true is old and ugly. But it still has the yellow star on top of it. "One of the children took the star from the tree. Now, there was nothing beautiful about the tree anymore.

Soon, a gardener came with an axe. He chopped the poor Fir tree into pieces. Then, he placed each piece into a fire. The poor tree burned in the flames. As he burned, he could see the children playing. They were playing with his golden star. But it was too late for regrets now. 

"This really is the end, "thought the tree.

Dear Tony, 

I am very happy to hear from you. Let me{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(tell) you something about my school life. 

I still remember my first day {#blank#}2{#/blank#} junior high. I got up {#blank#}3{#/blank#} went to school early. In the first class, the teacher asked us to introduce {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(we). Each of us shared our interests and hobbies. We hope {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(be) good friends. There are more subjects than primary school, so I have more homework. It's hard for me {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(decide) what to do first. Luckily, my brother gave me some {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(advice): Do the easy one first, and then do the difficult one. The {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(two) advice is: Write down my {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(task) and the time for each one. In this way, I can make good use of my time. 

I hope {#blank#}10{#/blank#} advice can help you. I'm looking forward to seeing you. 

Yours, 

Li Hua