Spring is a wonderful season to celebrate rebirth(再生) and new life. The long, cold winter is over. The weather is warmer and sunnier. The trees again have leaves and the flowers are blooming(开). The season represents(代表) hope, joy and beauty. At this time, many people think of this classical music piece — “Spring”, which shows happiness. Italian composer(作曲家) Antonio Vivaldi wrote it in the seventeen hundreds.

    However, not all songs about spring are happy. This song written and sung by K.D Lang is about dreaming of spring in cold dark places. She recorded “I Dream of Spring” in 2008.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein wrote “It Might as Well Be Spring” for the movie State Fair in 1945. Frank Sinatra sings it. It is a feeling of restlessness(焦虑) or excitement brought on by the coming of spring. Richard Rodgers also wrote “Spring Is Here”, this time with Lorenz Hart. Ella Fitzgerald sings this song about feeling lonely during this season.

    Frank Loesser wrote the sad song, “Spring Will be a Little Late This Year”. Why has the season been delayed(延迟)? Because the singer's lover has left her. Sarah Vaughn released(发行) her version of the song in 1953.

    By now you may be thinking, “Enough with the sad songs, already!” Ok, then how about a cowboy(牛仔) song? Gene Autry was one of America's most famous singing cowboys. He recorded “When It's Spring time in the Rockies” in 1937.

    And finally, we'll leave you with a sunny song called “Up Jumped Spring”. Freddie Hubbard wrote this jazz(爵士) song in 1977 and Billy Taylor Trio performs it.

London is such a wonderful city. It is very large. The River Thames runs{#blank#}1{#/blank#} the city from west to east. So the city has two{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (part): the south and the north.

In the north there{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (be) important buildings, shops, big parks and interesting places. The weather in London is good. In winter it is not very cold and in summer it is not very hot{#blank#}4{#/blank#} the city is near the sea. And it often{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (rain). It is rainy all the year round.

There are twenty-seven bridges over London's River Thames.{#blank#}6{#/blank#}all the bridges, Tower Bridge is the most famous. Do you know what {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (make) Tower Bridge so famous? {#blank#}8{#/blank#} do so many visitors from all over the world come to see it? The surprising thing about Tower Bridge is that it is open in the middle. It does this{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (let) the big boats go through the pool (水域) of London. If you are{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (luck) enough to see the bridge with its two opening arms high in the air, you will never forget it. It's really exciting.

China's in﹣orbit Shenzhou﹣16 crew （全体人员），including Jing Haipeng，Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao（网络直播） the first science class from the Mengtian lab module of the China Space Station for the first time on Thursday. 

It is the fourth lecture of the "Tiangong Class" series，China's space science education program，aiming at encouraging young people to achieve their space dreams. 

During the lecture，the crew showed their living and working environment in the Mengtian lab module （舱）. Connected with the Tianhe core module and Wentian lab module，formed a basic T﹣shape structure of the space station. 

The crew showed several interesting experiments in the microgravity （微重力） environment. For example，they showed how a candle flame （火焰），they explained the law of conservation of momentum （动量守恒） by showing the collision （碰撞）

The crew answered questions from the students in the end. When asked whether space rubbish can be seen from the space station and how the space station protects itself，Jing said that they haven't found any space rubbish so far. He said that space rubbish is harmful to the station，and said that the scientists on the ground will keep an eye on its move. "Once there is a threat （威胁），action would be taken，" he said. The space station is also protected by some special equipment. "Even if we meet space rubbish，" he added. 

The Shenzhou﹣16 crew set off to space on May 30，2023 and returned to the Dongfeng landing site in November of the same year. 

Xiangsheng, or crosstalk, is a special and famous traditional art form and reaches people everywhere. It is popular with the children, the young and the old in China. It first appeared in China during the Ming Dynasty.

As the earliest form of xiangsheng, dankou, is performed by an actor who mainly tells jokes or humorous stories. It's known as qunkou when it is performed by three or more people. But most of the time, xiangsheng is performed by two actors, which is called duikou. The two actors usually discuss some serious subjects in a relaxing way to make people laugh.

Xiangsheng is not only a kind of comedy, but also an art form that needs skills and creativity. There are four key skills in xiangsheng—shuo, xue, dou, chang.

Shuo means speaking or talking. Actors usually show off their speaking skills by saying out many names in one breath, such as Chinese dishes. Tongue twister is also a favorite way for xiangsheng actors to show their skills.

Xue, or imitating (模仿), is usually a very interesting part of xiangsheng and actors can imitate the sounds of different animals and the dialects in different parts of the country. Xiangsheng actors also often imitate the movement and behaviors of other people.

Dou, teasing, in xiangsheng means telling jokes. Actors usually try their best to prepare a punch line (笑点) and use it at the end, which is called doubaofu.

Chang, or singing, is a way for xiangsheng actors to show their vocal skills to draw (吸引) the attention of people. Usually, they sing famous Chinese operas. They also sing popular songs to make young people enjoy it.

Xiangsheng is a special and interesting art form that has become an important part of Chinese culture. And it can also make people around the world have a deeper understanding of Chinese language and culture.

Many westerner find it interesting that Chinese people always carry a vacuum cup(保温杯). If you go to a western restaurant, they usually serve you a cup of cold water with ice. And when you ask if they can change to hot water, you may receive a strange look from the waiter or people nearby. Hot water? Seriously?

So hot water VS cold water, which one is better?

By 1930s, the water was polluted in China. In order to protect people from illnesses, the government suggested drinking boiled water, because they considered it a way to kill off bacteria(细菌). People at that time always boiled water and stored it in vacuum bottle to keep it warm for the day. Even now, you can find hot water everywhere. While for western countries, many people died of the plague(鼠疫). They took water quality seriously from then on, so that people can drink water directly rather than boil it.

You may also discover that Chinese people prefer hot meals. Some parents always teach their children to drink hot soup with meals, because they think mixing cold water with hot meals is really bad for the stomach. According to the eating habits in western countries, they prefer "raw" food, so they also prefer their water "raw". They also like hamburgers and fried food, which are all with high fat, so they need cold drinks to cool them off.

Drinking hot or cold water also has something to do with medicine beliefs. In traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese people consider drinking hot water washes away the coldness in one's body, and thus build up your body. However, most westerners believe that drinking hot water may be bad for your body. Drinking hot water too often will make your body unable to stand water below your body temperature.

You may find out that there is no answer to this question. The causes are different, so don't feel strange next time you see a Chinese ask for hot water, just show your respect.