"Colour, colour, colour!" are the words of the artist Eric Carle. Eric is like the king in the world of children's books. He has written over 70 children's books. His most famous book. The Very HungryCaterpillar, is common on children's bookshelves all over the world. What most people don't know is that Eric also makes art for adults, which is called "ArtArt". People didn't know about it, because he didn't show it to the public until he was 84 years old!

    Like Eric's children's books, his "ArtArt" is full of bright and clear colour. He says that he loves colour so much because he missed it during the war in Germany. Eric was born in New York in 1929, but moved to Germany with his family when he was 6. When he was 10, World War Ⅱ began. He noticed that all the houses and buildings in his town were painted grey, brown or dark green. It was a sad time, and it seemed like there was no colour anywhere.

    At the end of the war, "when colour came back", Eric explains, "I just loved it so much. I keep saying that I wish our eyes could see more colour. Colour is a very important part of my work."

    That's true. Eric paints bright colours on Paper, cuts out shapes, and then glues them onto another piece of paper. This method is called collage (拼贴画). In fact, it is what led Eric to his "ArtArt".

    Eric's "ArtArt" includes large collages as well as paintings, photographs and even costumes. In all these works, he uses all kinds of colours—everything from purple to light green to orange. Now that's a lot of colour!

We're still in Ireland. We 1 in Dublin four days ago. My sister and I liked it a lot— it was great —we weren't bored at all. Then yesterday, after lunch, Dad hired (租) a car and we travelled to the west of Ireland—it didn't 2 very long, just about two and a half hours, but that was a bit 3 .

However, after two hours, Dad 4 to us and said, "We've got a surprise for you. Tonight, our hotel is a castle (城堡). How exciting!" "A joke, right?" " 5 !" We didn't think he was serious, but he 6 !

At the 7  of the journey, we stopped outside a real castle. A nice lady 8  us and started to show us around. What an amazing place! Can you believe that we 9  fifty stone steps to get to the living room? 

The castle is over 600 years old, but. it had 10 we needed. There was a 11 for our parents and we each had a bedroom. too. But I didn't sleep very well last night-I was so excited to be in a real castle!

This morning we had breakfast and then we climbed up to the 12  of the castle. We were amazed at the beautiful countryside around us. Then it started to rain and there was a 13  rainbow-I love rainbows! 

The place was so great and we didn't want to 14 . This afternoon we want to go to Limerick, so we're packing our bags again! 15 it be as good as a castle? Let's see.

Mulan is one of the most famous women in Chinese history. What did Mulan do? Her father was so1 that he couldn't fight in the army, so Mulan dressed up like a man to take his place. Nobody2 she was a woman until(直到) she finally came back to her hometown and dressed herself in her old3 .

On December 4th, 2020, the live-action (真人版) Disney4 Mulan opened in the US. This is not the first time Disney makes a movie about Mulan. In 1998, the cartoon film with the same name made Mulan one of the most5 Disney princesses(公主). And through the film, many people began to6 and even fall in love with Chinese culture.

Why does she7 people's hearts? In the past, most women in China could8 stay at home with their family. But Mulan tells us that women can be as9 as men on the battlefield(战场).

In the latest live-action film, a Chinese actress stood out from nearly 1,000 women who tried for the role. She is good at Chinese kung fu and dancing. Also, she can10 English well.

One afternoon, my son Eric asked me, "Are all people the same even if (即使) they have skins (皮肤) of different colors?" It was a difficult question. I 1 for a minute and said, "Let's go to a 2 shop. I'll show you something."

At the shop, we bought some apples in different colors--red, green and yellow. After we 3 , I told Eric, "It's time to 4 your question." I put one apple of each color on the table. Eric watched them with a surprised(惊讶的) look on his 5 . "Eric, can you tell me which apple you like best?" Eric picked up the red apple 6 . Then I peeled (剥皮) all the apples and put them back on the table. "OK, Eric, now tell me which one you like best." He said, "I can't tell. They all look 7 now." I said, "Eat them and see which one is which." He ate and said, "I got it, Dad. People are like 8 . They are in different sizes and 9 . On the outside of the apples, some of them may not look as 10 as the others, but are the same inside."

Eric knew everything. I didn't need to say or do anything.

Every year before the Spring Festival, Zang Chaiyuan is really busy. The young pastry chef (面点师) from Shandong works from morning to night 1 people from across the country order her huabobo. Huabobo 2 of corn flour and has been a treat at many folk activities, such as celebrations and festivals. 

 This year, Zang's huabobo, in the shape of a rabbit dressed in a lion- dance costume, is one of3 products. Although Zang's parents were against4 decision, she stood her ground and opened her small huabobo shop in Yantai. "I loved huabobo in my 5 . My grandmother6 to make huabobo for me in all kinds of shapes, which were very beautiful, " Zang said. 

 Zang first learned the basic skills from7 experienced huabobo master and then practiced over and over again on her own. So more and more new products are brought out now. Her products have made their way to customers from cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. To let more people learn 8 huabobo, Zang has held training classes at her shops and shot a video recently. " Many people have shown great interest in picking up huabobo skills,9 women who have just become mothers, " she says. "I love traditional Chinese culture and I believe10 this art work is worth spreading. "