Qu Juanru is the official inheritor(官方继承人) of Jiaxing City Tongxiang flower­drum opera. She began to be on the stage when she was a teenager. "My mother died when I was 14. I've lived with my father since then. In the old days, women were not allowed to perform opera. However, my father always supported me when I tried to sing," Qu said.

Qu started performing in the local troupe(剧团) called Aimin Flower­Drum Opera. Later, the troupe was disbanded(解散), and she went back to farming.

After that, the young girl tried to set up the troupe several times but failed. She really lived a hard life at that time. But she didn't give up.

In 2001, some developers planned to rebuild Wuzhen. They thought a place which has no culture is of little significance(意义). So they wanted to bring back local customs, including the Tongxiang flower­drum opera. Qu was their only hope.

Knowing she could sing again, Qu was so excited. Whether it's cold or hot, Qu always gives her everything on stage in Wuzhen. She has six rounds(场) of performing every day and each round lasts 30 minutes. In 2017, she was badly ill, yet it didn't stop her.

"I can still sing and perform. I'd love to be here," Qu said. In her opinion, opera life is a wonderful dream that can't be missed.

Tom and Jerry

    Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse are two of the most popular cartoon characters in the world. In the short cartoons, Tom is always trying to catch Jerry, but he never has any success. Almost every cartoon ends with Tom in trouble and Jerry laughing at him. The stories are full of fun and have a long history.

    William Hanna and Joseph Barbera both worked for MGM in the late 1930s. Their boss told them to make funny cartoons. Together they thought of the idea of a cat and a mouse. They thought it would be funny if the mouse was clever and always got the cat into trouble.

    The first Tom and Jerry cartoon was shown in cinemas in 1940. It was a great success. Over the next 17 years, they made many Tom and Jerry cartoons. Most of them are around seven minutes long.

    In total, Hanna and Barbera made 114 Tom and Jerry cartoons. The cartoons were so good that they won a number of awards. The famous cat and mouse remain popular today, as the cartoons are still shown on television around the world.

Dinner customs are different around the world. If you are a dinner guest in Ghana, this information will help you. 

In Ghana dinner is usually from four in the afternoon to six in the evening. But there are no strict rules about time in Ghana. Whenever a guest arrives, a family offers food. 

When you arrive, the host takes you to the living room first. At this time everyone welcomes you. Then you go to the dining room. There you wash your hands in a bowl of water. All the food is on the table. 

In Ghana you usually eat with your fingers. You eat from the same dish as everyone else. But you eat from one side of the dish only. It is not polite to get food from the other side of the dish. After dinner, you wash your hands again in a bowl of water. 

There is a dish called fufu in most meals in Ghana. People in Ghana make fufu from the powder of some plants. Sometimes they cut the fufu with a saw(锯) because it is very hard and like rubber. You must chew fufu well, or you can get sick. You eat fufu with the fingers of your right hand only. 

 What comes to your mind when you think of kung fu? Maybe the image of Shaolin monks(和尚) posing with a serious look {#blank#}1{#/blank#}their eyes. But does it really present the meaning of kung fu?

 Laurence, J. Brahm, a documentary filmmaker from the United States, explored this question in Searching for Kung Fu(《寻找功夫》). In the movie, Brahm {#blank#}2{#/blank#} ( travel) to cities in China and the US in search of the value of kung fu. 

 Brahm himself is a kung fu {#blank#}3{#/blank#} ( love) who has been practicing the art for more than 40 years. For him, it is more than a pastime. Ages ago, Brahm was unable {#blank#}4{#/blank#} ( use) one of his legs for two years and had to walk with a cane(拐杖). But by {#blank#}5{#/blank#} ( practise) martial arts(武术), he was able to recover step by step. Now, kung fu has become a {#blank#}6{#/blank#} ( day) activity for him and also the way he begins the day. 

 Still, there are other deep meanings in the practice. Nonviolence(非暴力) is one value, which{#blank#}7{#/blank#} ( show) both in the name and practice of kung fu. The Chinese character Wu 武 has two parts-"ge戈", meaning"to fight", and"zhi 止", meaning"to stop". So, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} meaning of kung fu in Chinese is the art of stopping fighting, the art of nonviolence. Kung fu artists always greet people with baoquan(抱拳). This lets each person know that there are no hidden weapons(武器) and shown trust. 

"The {#blank#}9{#/blank#} ( tradition) values of kung fu, actually, are in the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} ( mind) of all Chinese people, " Brahm told Xinhua. 

The relationship between teachers and students is an important part of school life. An Indian movie called Hichki tells us such a story about it. In the movie, a teacher named Naina Mathur helps some bad students and makes them better.

In Hichki, the main character, Naina Mathur suffers from Tourette's syndrome (症状), which makes her hiccup often. She fails several job interviews because of this. But at last, she lands her dream job as a teacher. But she soon realizes that she is teaching the students who can't seem to keep out of trouble. They laugh at Naina and imitate her sounds during her first class.

However, Naina isn't angry with them. She tries to find the students' strengths. Even when they cause a very serious accident and they are asked to leave school, Naina saves them by bringing the cause of the accident to herself. Under her care, Naina wins the students' hearts and they start to study harder.

The movie tells us that a good teacher doesn't simply pass on knowledge, but shows students how to be a good person. Teachers can shape their students' personalities. The movie also shows us that anyone can succeed, even if they have some kind of illness.

On December 4, 2024, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization(联合 国教科文组织) added China's Spring Festival to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity(人类非物质文化遗产). Now, China has 44 traditions listed, making it the country with the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (many) traditions on the list.

The Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year, is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} very important festival in China and around the world. Being added to the list means that people recognize not only its Chinese origins {#blank#}3{#/blank#} also the ideas it carries, which connect all people.

The Spring Festival shows China's desire for peace and harmony. It supports values like {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (have)a good relationship with society and nature

Food is a big part of the Spring Festival. From dumplings to sticky rice cakes, all the foods carry good {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (wish) for people's loved ones. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} you are in China, from north to south, you can find special food for the festival.

The Spring Festival {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (include) many traditions and stories. For example, people once used fireworks and red decorations to scare away a beast (野兽) {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(call)"nian" which was thought to hurt people and animals at the beginning of the new year. Today, people still hang red lanterns and set off fireworks. They hope these will keep away {#blank#}9{#/blank#} bad spirits and bring good luck.

Apart from the customs on specific days, there are also other interesting symbols and events related to the festival. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} is said that many of these celebrations have been passed down from generation to generation and are practised in China, Asia, and other places.