Believe it nor not, ancient Chinese people had their own methods of heat preservation in winter.

    “Wen Ding”, ancient rice cooker

    The “Wen Ding”, an ancient cooking container, preserved heat by burning fuels like charcoal. The one unearthed in Nanjing in 1989 is thought to be the oldest of its kind discovered in China, dating back to the Stone Age.

    Ran Lu”, ancient small hot pot

    The “Ran Lu” is a small-sized cooking vessel (器皿) made of bronze. A charcoal stove forms the main structure, with a bottom tray to hold charcoal ashes, and a movable cup at the top. Some experts have concluded that the vessel's structure suggests that these vessels became popular in the Warring States Period (475—221 BC).

    Bronze You, ancient kettle

    The Bronze You, one of the most common wine containers during the Shang and Zhou, dynasties, could also be used to warm wine. For example, the Bronze You with beast mask design, unearthed in Jiangxi province, had an opening where charcoals could be placed, allowing people to enjoy a hot drink.

    Bronze Yan, ancient steamer

    Although the “Wen Ding” was effective at keeping food warm, ancient Chinese people later found that its burning produced pollution. As a result, the Bronze Van was made with a two-tier (双层的) structure and used to steam rice and other grains. After the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-AD 220), further improvements to the Bronze Yan led to the modern day steamer.

    One afternoon I toured an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting. I was looking forward to a quiet view of the art works.

    A young couple viewing the paintings ahead of me chatted nonstop between themselves. I watched them a moment and decided the wife was doing all the talking. I admired his patience for putting up with her continuous talk. Distracted by their noise, I moved on.

    I met with them several times as I moved through the different rooms of art. Each time I heard her constant burst of words, I moved away quickly.

    I was standing at the counter of the museum gift shop making a purchase when the couple came near to the exit. Before they left, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a white object. He extended it into a long stick and then tapped his way into the coatroom to get his wife's jacket.

    “He's a brave man.,” the clerk at the counter said, “Most of us would give up if we were blinded at such a young age. During his recovery, he made a promise that his life wouldn't change. So, as before, he and his wife come in whenever there's a new art show."

    “But what does he get out of the art?” I asked. “He can't see.”

    “Can't see? You're wrong. He sees a lot. More than you or I do,” the clerk said. “His wife describes each painting so he can see it in his head.”

    I learned something about patience, courage and love that day. I saw the patience of a young wife describing paintings to a person without sight and the courage of a husband who would not allow blindness to change his life. And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away.

In an attempt to fight with the nation's food wastage problem, Denmark has opened the world's first supermarket that sells expired(过期的) or damaged products. Ever since the grand opening in Copenhagen last Monday, people have been lining up outside WeFood for a chance to purchase discounted items that would otherwise have ended up in the trash because of damaged packaging or very short use—by dates. Food, cosmetics, and other household items at WeFood are priced at least 30 to 50 percent lower than at regular stores.

    “WeFood is the first supermarket of its kind in Denmark and perhaps the world, as it is not just aimed at low-income shoppers but anyone who is concerned about the amount of food wastage produced in the country,” said project head Per Bjerre. “Many people see this as a positive and correct way to approach the issue.”

    While Denmark alone is estimated to waste about 700,000 tons of food every year, the United Nations has stated that globally, food waste amounts to 1.3 billion tons. About 795 million people in the world are undernourished. Denmark, however, has adopted several measures to clean up its act, wasting 25% less food than it did five years ago.

    The WeFood project is a collaboration between The Food Bank and charity DanCurch Aid. Together they raised nearly $150.000 over the past year through crowdfunding. They also had to face many obstacles while convincing the government to permit the sale of expired food. They were finally allowed to carry out the project, and the store is now run only by volunteers. Profits are used to fund DanChurch Aid's other projects in developing nations like South Sudan and Bangladesh.

    Provided WeFood's remains popular in the long term and if it is able to maintain its food deliveries, DanChurch Aid plans to open multiple branches across Denmark.

    Canada is a very large country. It is the second largest country in the world. By contrast it has a very small population. There are only about 29 million people there. Most Canadians are of British or French origin, and French is an official language of Canada as well as English. About 45% of the people are of British origin, that is, they or their parents or grandparents, etc., come from Britain. Nearly 30% are of French origin. Most of the French-Canadians live in the province of Quebec.

    Over the years, people have come to live in Canada from many countries in the world. They are from most European countries and also from China, besides other Asian countries.

    However, Canada was not an empty country when the Europeans began to arrive. Canadian Indians lived along the coast, by the rivers and lakes and in forests. Today there are only about 350, 000 Indians in the whole country, with their own languages. In the far north live the Inuit. There are only 27, 000 Canadian-Inuit. Their life is hard in such a difficult climate.

    Genetic engineering, in its broadest definition, means to control a species so that a particular trait is increased in the population. A trait is how an organism (有机体) looks or acts or what it does. Having brown eyes is a trait. Flying in circles is a trait. Climbing trees is a trait.

    The earliest forms of genetic engineering occurred on farms. People selected seeds from plants that had more fruit production or tastier leaves than other plants of their types. Then they chose to save the seeds from the best of that group to sow the next year. So, year by year, the farmers produced better and better crops. This type of activity probably has been going on since mankind first settled in villages and began making a life for themselves in one location, about 12,000 years ago!

    The same sort of thing would have also happened with animals. For example, people chose to eat the animals that didn't have favorable traits and let the animals with the favorable traits reproduce. It was thousands of years before mankind figured out how plants and animals reproduce themselves. With this knowledge, people could pollinate (授粉) plants by hand or keep a pair of animals together in order to deliberately cause an increase in a favorable trait.

    It was only in the last 250 years that scientists began figuring out chromosomes (染色体) and genes and the role they play in the way one generation passes its traits on to the next. And it's only been in the last 30 years that scientists have been able to cut out specific genes from one organism and put them in another. It is this 30-year-old technology that is described by the narrow definition of genetic engineering. Mankind has long been able to have a deliberate impact on the world around him. He now possesses the tools to deliberately impact himself. Some people are afraid of what might be done with that power.

Rosie, a first-year university student in Beijing, entered a classroom for her oral English exam and slid her topic across the table to Joe, a foreign teacher. My Story, it read. "In middle school, my classmates laughed at me for having deaf-mute parents," she began softly. "From that moment on, I decided not to tell anybody. But today…"

It's widely considered taboo(忌讳) in Chinese to discuss the details of an unhappy family life with anyone other than very close friends. However, as Joe has noticed, many Chinese students appear surprisingly comfortable discussing emotional moments from their lives when they speak with foreign teachers in a language different from their own.

"Speaking English," one of his Chinese students told him, "I feel like another person." When speaking Chinese, he is kind of reserved; in English class, he is more open. English, to the Chinese speaker, may be like a mask, creating a buffer(缓冲物)between speaking the truth and the listener's reaction. Students focus on how to speak rather than what is being said. If there's a misunderstanding, English can take the blame.

Another reason why Chinese students are more comfortable sharing their secrets during English class may be the distinct approach to teaching used by their foreign teachers. "I always try to come to each student, make eye contact, have a 20-second conversation and see how they are doing," Joe said. Classes taught by Chinese teachers, in contrast, are more formal. Many students said they had never been asked their opinion in class.

Rosie's English vocabulary is now extensive, but she still can't find the words to describe her feelings towards the English language. "English makes me feel I am different," she said. "English is beautiful."