How did the ancient Chinese keep food warm in winter?

    Facilities like electric rice cookers, microwaves, and electric kettles, make it easy for people to keep food warm and enjoy a comfortable winter. So how did Chinese people in ancient times keep food warm in winter without these? In fact, ancient Chinese people used their own methods of heat preservation as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

● “Wen Ding”, ancient rice cooker

    One of the major functions of an electric rice cooker is to keep food warm. The “Wen Ding”, an ancient cooking container, served the same purpose, but instead of using electric energy, the ancient cooking container, served the same purpose, but instead of using electric energy, the ancient cooking container preserved heart by burning fuels like charcoal.

    The “Wen Ding” unearthed in Nanjing in 1989 is thought to be the oldest of its kind discovered in China, dating back to the Stone Age, The craftsmanship of making the “Wen Ding” was developed in the Bronze Age. The bronze Ding from Shang and Zhou dynasties took on different shapes and structures.

● “Ran LU”, ancient small hot pot

    The “Ran LU” is a small size cooking vessel(器皿) made of bronze, which can be divided into three parts. 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 it may have been used as a small hot pot and that these vessels became popular in the Warring States Period(475—221 BC)

●Bronze You, ancient kettle

    The Bronze You was one of the most common wine containers during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The Bronze You can also be used to warm wine. For example, the Bronze You with beast mask design, unearthed in Jiangxi province, has an opening where charcoals could be placed. Just as people today can't do without an electric kettle, the Bronze You allowed people to enjoy a hot drink.

●Bronze Yan, ancient steamer

    Although the “Wen Ding” was effective at keeping food warm, the ancient Chinese people later found that its burning produced pollution. As a result, the Bronze Yan was made with a two-tier 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.

    Have you ever been to the world's smallest bookstore?

    The World's Smallest Bookstore, whose official name is just these three words, sits quietly about 100 miles northeast of Toronto.

    The bookstore is about 10 feet by 10 feet，so it is easy to imagine how tiny it really is. The bookstore is open 24 hours a day. Inside the bookstore are various books, especially literary books and classic authors' works. So if you are looking for something less popular, you may get a bit disappointed there.

Another special feature of this bookstore is that each book only costs three dollars. All the expenses are paid on the honor system, which means buyers should make a note of what they've bought and leave their money by themselves. So the tools of the trade in this bookstore are quite simple: pens, papers, light bulbs and a label-maker.

    In order to catch passers-by's attention, the billboards (广告牌) of the bookstore are several times bigger than the store itself. With these large eye-catchers, many people are willing to stop by and have a visit.

    These days, tall modern buildings are everywhere. But if you want to see how life was back in the old days, China still has many beautiful water towns to visit. And now, CNN has chosen five of the country's most beautiful ones.

    The village of Zhouzhuang in Jiangsu calls itself the “oldest water town in China”. The village was built in 1086and is crossed with canals. Taking a boat ride through town, the red lanterns might make you think of China's romantic past.

Hongcun in Anhui is 900 years old. It was built to look like a big ox. Huangshan Mountain is the head; the town is the body and the bridges are legs. Hongcun is filled with lakes and beautiful Anhui-style buildings.

    Fenghuang in Hunan doesn't look like a bird, but its name means “phoenix” in Chinese. The town is really as beautiful as the mythical bird. The stilted buildings on each side of the Tuojiang River make the area look like a scene from a postcard.

    Huangyao in Guangxi is known for its natural fengshui. The town lies in a river bend. People say it can prevent the villagers' good fortune from flowing away

    While most water towns are in the south, Shangdong's Tai'erzhuang stands out in the north. The town lies on the bank of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It was a busy trading center during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the town, there are ancient bridges, a canal and temples, making you think of its past glory.

    A new study suggests some language learning can take place during sleep. Researchers from Switzerland's University of Bern say they discovered people were able to learn new language words during deep levels of sleep.

    Much of the earlier research found that memories made when awake were strengthened during sleep. This supported the idea that information learned while awake is replayed and deeply embedded in the sleeping brain.

    The researchers theorized that, if replay during sleep improves the storage of learned information while awake, the processing and storage of new information should also be possible during sleep.

    They carried out experiments on a group of young German­speaking men and women, which centered on periods of deep sleep called "up­states". They identified these slow­wave peaks as the best moments for sleep­learning.

    The researchers observed individuals in a controlled environment during brief periods of sleep. Brain activity was recorded as pairs of words were played for the study subjects. One word in the pair was a real German word. The other was a made­up foreign word. For later identification purposes, the German words chosen were things clearly larger or smaller than a shoebox.

    Each word pair was played four times, with the order of the words changed each time. The word pairs were played at a rhythm that is similar to actual brain activity during deep sleep. The goal was to create a lasting memory link between the false word and the German word that individuals could identify while awake.

    When the subjects woke, they were presented with the false language words­both by sight and sound. They were then asked to guess whether the false word played during sleep represented an object smaller or larger than a shoebox. Results of the study found that a majority of subjects gave more correct answers about the sleep­learned words than would be expected if they had only guessed at random.

    The researchers said they measured increased signals affecting a part of the brain known as the hippocampus. This brain structure is very important for building relational memory during non­sleep periods. The researchers also said memory was best for word pairs presented during slow­wave peaks during sleep.

    The study suggests that memory formation in sleep appears to be caused by the same brain structures that support vocabulary learning while awake. The researchers say more studies are needed to support their findings. However, the experiments do provide new evidence that memories can be formed and vocabulary learning can take place in both conscious and unconscious states.

    A large number of people enjoy listening to various types of music while they paint, write, or draw. Many believe that music helps creativity.

    However, an international study conducted by English and Swedish researchers is challenging that opinion. Psychologists from Lancaster University, The University of Gävle, and The University of Central Lancashire say that their findings show music actually blocks creativity.

    To come to their conclusions, researchers had participants( 参与者) complete verbal insight problems designed to inspire creativity while sitting in a quiet room, and then again while music played in the background. They found that background music “badly affected” the participants' ability to complete tasks related to verbal creativity.

    The tasks were simple word games. For example, participants were given three words, such as dress, dial, and flower. Then, they were asked to find a single word related to all three that could be combined to form a common phrase or word. The single word, in this case, would be "sun" (sundress, sunflower, etc).

    Participants completed the tasks in either a quiet room, or while exposed to three different types of music; music with unfamiliar words, instrumental music, or music with familiar words. "We found strong evidence of damaged performance when playing background music in comparison to quiet background conditions," says co-author Dr. Neil McLatchie of Lancaster University.

    To conclude, the findings challenge the popular view that music encourages creativity, and instead prove that music consistently disrupts creative performance in dealing with problems.

Dunhuang,an  oasis(绿洲) in the Taklamakan Desert,used to be a major stop along the Silk Road,but is now mainly a fascinating tourist destination.

Those interested {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Dunhuang's colorful history will be attracted by the Mogao Caves,one of the city's main attractions.The entrance to each cave {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(block)by a locked door,which can only be opened by expert guides.Behind these doors are caves of all {#blank#}3{#/blank#}  (size)—from very small to absolutely huge.The caves contain thousands of priceless manuscripts and silk paintings,which,upon their discovery,drew much  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(attend)to the  area.  Also,there  are  few  things  as  special  as  walking  across  the  desert  oasis  at  sunrise.  {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (catch)this  incredible scene,you must rise early.It's bitterly cold.But as the sun rises atop the golden dunes(沙丘)and paints a {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (true)picturesque  scene,all  your  efforts  pay  off.Sunset is a popular time for a camel ride.Get off the camels  {#blank#}7{#/blank#}walk up a rather steep dune overlooking Crescent Lake.From this position, {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(regard)as the best one,the incredible sunset is awe-inspiring.

No trip to Dunhuang is complete without visiting the Dunhuang Museum,{#blank#}9{#/blank#} it's possible to put all of the city's historical sites into proper historical context.The museum is expansive, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (contain)many original  artworks.Here,you are bound to be amazed by Dunhuang's rich culture.