There was a very rich man named John. He gave a great puzzle (谜语) to the people in the town.

    In his house, he had a very large room. "If anyone of you can fill my room in one day, I will give you 100,000 dollars." Everyone in the town wanted to try.

    The first man tried to fill the room with stones. At the end of the day, he was very tired, but the room was still empty.

    The second man tried to fill the room with wood. He worked all day, but the room was not full. "That room is too big," he said. "No one can do this."

    The third man said, "I can do it. It's easy." Everyone laughed. They thought he could not do it. Then, the man went to the park and played all day. His friend said, "Why are you playing? You should be working." The man said, "I can do it. Don't worry." At 8 o'clock at night, the man came to the room with a small bag. The rich man said, "Haha……that bag is too small. It doesn't fill the room." The man reached into the bag and took out a candle. He lit (点亮) the candle and said, "You see, the whole room is filled with light!"

    Oldest festivals!

    Festivals and celebrations of all kinds are held everywhere. The oldest festivals would celebrate the end of the cold weather, planting in spring and harvest (丰收)in autumn. Other celebrations were held when they had food. They thought these festivals would bring a year of plenty.

    Festivals of the dead

    Some festivals are held to honor or satisfy and please the dead. In Japan the festival is called Obon. They have lamps on and play music because they think this will help the dead back to Earth. In Mexcio they have the day of the dead in early November. On this important day, people might eat food in different shapes and offer food, flowers and gifts to the dead.

    Festivals can be held as an honour to famous people. One of these is the Dragon Boat Festival in China, which honours the famous poet, Qu Yuan. Another is Columbus Day in the USA, in memory of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in America.

    Harvest festivals

    Harvest and Thanksgiving festivals can be very happy events. People are grateful because their food is gathered for the winter. In European countries people usually decorate churches and town halls with flowers and fruit, and get together to have meals. In China and Japan there are mid-autumn festivals, when people admire the moon and give gifts of mooncakes.

    Spring festivals

    The most energetic and important festivals are the ones that look forward to the end of winter and to the coming of spring. In some Western countries, Easter is an important festival in February which celebrates the return of Jesus and celebrates the coming of spring. In Japan, the Cherry Blossom Festi­val happens a little later. In China, families get together to eat, drink and have fun at the Spring Festi­val.

Information Card

    Do you know S.H.E? It is a singing group from Taiwan, China. There are three girls in it. They are Selina, Hebe and Ella. They are very popular.

Lots of girls like Selina because she is very beautiful. She has long, straight hair. She is of medium height and she is thin. Hebe is a nice girl. She isn't tall but she has long, straight hair, too. She likes to wear cute hats. Ella is really cool! She looks like a boy. She has short, straight hair and she likes to wear jackets and pants. Many fans think that she is the best singer.

    It's December. It's snowing and the weather is really cold in the north of China. You can see many children playing with snow. Some of them are skating on the river because it's so cold that the water in the river freezes (结冰). It's a white world. How beautiful! But in Australia now, the weather is hot. Many people go swimming in the sea. They are having a good time. Jim and his friends are playing soccer near the sea. The sunny weather is really cool for them. They want to swim after playing soccer.

    Why are they swimming in December? It is winter, isn't it? Yes, it is in China. But it isn't in Australia. That's because we, Chinese and Australians, have different season (季节) in a year.

Four Funny Inventions

       ①        

    Are you a person who wants to know the time and temperature during the day? You might like Time Temp Glasses. These special glasses show the time above your right eye and a temperature above your left eye. It is surely easier than wearing a watch, and you never have to guess the temperature.

      ②        

    Do you eat too quickly? Do you eat too much? How can the Alarm Fork help you? Aren't you curious? Well, this special fork has two lights: one green and one red. When the green light is on, it's OK to take a bite of food. The fork "knows" when you take a bite, and soon the red light is on. Wait for the green light before you take another bite.

       ③        

    How do you know if your breath(呼气) smells nice or if it smells bad? It's difficult to know, because it's very hard to smell the air that comes out of your own mouth. Smell This is useful for this situation. Smell This covers your nose and your own mouth, so it is easy to smell the air that comes out of your mouth. Does your breath smell nice, or do you need a piece of gum?

       ④       

    Has this ever happened to you? You put a banana in your bag lunch in the morning and when you open the bag at noon, the banana looks like someone drove a car over it. If you put your banana in the Banana Suitcase, this will never happen. It keeps a banana safe, delicious and looking like a banana!

Differentweather makes people feel different. It influences health, intelligence andfeelings.

InAugust, it is very hot and wet in the northern part of the United States.People there have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems during thismonth. In the Northeast and the Middle West, it is very hot at some times andvery cold at other times. People in these states have more heart trouble afterthe weather changes in February or March.

Theweather can also influence intelligence. For example, in a scientific report,IQ of a group of students was very high when a very strong wind came, but afterthe wind, their IQ was 10% below. The wind can help people have moreintelligence. Very hot weather, on the other hand, can make it lower. Studentsin many schools of the United States often get worse on exams in the hot monthsof the year（July and August）.

Weatheralso has a strong influence on people's feelings. Winter may be a bad time forthin people. They usually feel cold during these months. They might feelunhappy during cold weather. But fat people may have a hard time in hot summer.

Low air pressure may make people forgetful. Research shows that people leave more bags on buses and in shops on low-pressure days. However, at about 18℃, people become healthier and stronger. People feel best at this temperature.

Areyou feeling tired, forgetful or unhappy today? It may be the weather's problem.