English Garden

To save or not to save?

2010-05-26T15:00:00.001-07:00

It is reported that more than ten college students from Changjiang University jumped into the water of the Yangtze River to rescue two teenagers. The two teenagers were saved successfully, however, at the expense of their own life, which generates heated discussion.

Most people are in favour of the great deed, arguing that struggling for a just cause is a traditional virtue of our nation. More heroic conducts are bound to be inspired by the moving deed. What's more, the situation being so emergent, by no means should we hesitate for the sake of our safety.

However, there are still students who doubt the conduct, insisting that unable to swim, it's unwise to act passionately as well as greatly risking their lives. After all, they should cherish their own lives firstly. Apart from that, it is on no account impossible for them to rescue the teenagers in other ways other than jimping into the river.

Personally, I think the college students' deed as a great and inspiring one, which should be encouraged.

(by Zhuo Yue)

abridge from/for

2009-11-05T05:25:00.003-08:00

abridge vt.
to make...shortened; to reduce the length of (a written work) by condensing or rewriting; to curtail; to diminish; to deprive of (privileges, rights, etc.)

1. This story must be abridged.
2. He's currently abridged his long story.
3. The play was abridged for TV.

4. The new dictionary is abridged from the old one.
5. He decided to abridge his stay here after he received a letter from home.

an abridged version
abridge/condense a written work

an abrasive voice

2009-11-05T05:25:00.001-08:00

abrasive adj.
1. causing abrasion; grating; rough
The surface of the new table was so abrasive.

2. irritating in manner or personality; causing tension or annoyance; sharply disagreeable; rigorous
He has an abrasive way of treating people.
If you criticize Peter, he will become very abrasve.

an abrasive character
an abrasive manner
an abrasive behavior

in a fair and aboveboard way

2009-11-05T05:24:00.003-08:00

aboveboard adj.
without concealment or deception; honest; straightforward

His part in the affair was quite open and aboveboard.
I didn't have to bribe anyone; it was all open and aboveboard.

abreast adv.
alongside each other and facing in the same direction; up to date (with); fully convrsant (with)

They lined up six abreast.
The girls came down the street two abreast.

abound in/with sth.

2009-11-05T05:24:00.001-08:00

abound vi.
1. to exist or occur in abundance; be plentiful
Apples abound here all the year round.
Questions abound as to the reasons for the president's decision.

2. to be plentifully supplied (with); teem (with)
Natural resources abound in our country.
The river abound with lots of fish.

abort plans for sth.

2009-11-05T05:23:00.001-08:00

abort v.
1. to undergo or cause (a woman) to undergo the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is viable
The doctor had to abort the baby.

2. to fail to come to completion; go wrong; to stop the development of; to cause to be abandoned
The boss decided to abort the plans for this corporate takeover.
He had to abort the trip because of his bad illness.

3. (of a space flight, military operation, etc.) to fail or terminate prematurely; (of an organism or part of an organism) to fail to develop into the mature form
The captain instructed them to abort the mission.
The rocket flight had to be aborted because of difficulties with computer.

(sth.)be abominable to sb.

2009-11-05T05:22:00.001-08:00

abominable adj.
1. offensive; loathsome; detestable
People denounced their abominable treatment of prisoners.
Your behaviour are abominable to me.
Their cruel treatment of criminals was abominable.

2. very bad; unpleasant, or inferior
The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable.
The weather in winter is abominable.

an abominable affair
abominable workmanship
abominable tortures

abolish slavery

2009-11-05T05:21:00.001-08:00

abolish vt.
to do away with (laww, regulations, customs, etc); to pur an end to; to get rid of

1. Do abolish this kind of bad evil.
2. Slavery was abolished in the mid-19th certury in America and in Russia.
3. The government was forced to abolish exorbitant taxes on some goods and miscellaneous levies.

aboriginal adj.
existing in a place from the earliest known period; indigenous;

They managed to wipe out the entire aboriginal population.

be ablaze with anger

2009-11-04T20:43:00.003-08:00

ablaze adj.
1. on fire; burning
The whole builing was soom ablaze after the attack.
By the time firefighters were called, the house was well ablaze.

2. brightly illuminated
The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.
It was springtime and the slopes were ablaze with almond blossoms.

3. emotionally aroused
His face was ablaze with anger.
Her distorted face was ablaze with rage.

abject poverty

2009-11-04T20:43:00.001-08:00

abject adj.
1. utterly wretched or hopeless; miserable;
This policy has turned out to be an abject failur.
Their attempt ended in abject failure.
The thought of working nights fills me with abject horror.

2. forlorn; dejected
The most abject slaves joined in the revolt.

3. indicating humiliation; submissive
an abject apology
in an abject way

4. contemptible; despicable; servile
What an abject performance!
an abject liar

an abiding love of sth.

2009-11-04T20:42:00.001-08:00

abiding adj.: permanent; enduring; unceasing; imperishable

1. I'm tired of your abiding complaints.
2. He had an abiding love of the English countryside.
3. My abiding memory of our first meeting is of a girl too shy to talk.

an abiding friendship
an abiding befief/truth
an abiding act
an abiding love of music

abide by one's promise

2009-11-04T20:41:00.003-08:00

abide vt. vi.
1. to tolerate; put up with; to accept or submit to; suffer;
She can't abide watching horror films.
How can you abide his rudeness of such a person?

2. to comply with; remain faithful to
Please feel assured that we will abide by our promise.

3. to await in expectation
He'll abide his time.

4. to withstand or sustain; endure
The brave soldiers abode several onslaughts of the fierce enemy.

5. to dwell
They abode in a remote mountainous village.
The child abode with his grandparents for two years.

to abide the court's decision
to abide the onslaught
to abide by the contract
to abide by laws
to abide by one's promise

abhor to do (sth.)

2009-11-04T20:41:00.001-08:00

abhor vt.
to detest or loathe vehemently; find...repugnant; reject or despise

I abhor to tell lies.
They abhor all forms of racial discrimination.
Most people abhor crualty to children.

on an aberrant course

2009-11-04T20:40:00.001-08:00

aberrant adj.
1. deviating from the normal or usual type, as certain animals from the group in which they are classified.

The rocket is on an aberrant course.
It reflects the aberrant personality of some American politicians hostile to China's development and becoming powerful.

2. behaving in an abnormal or untypical way
That student is always having some aberrant behaviors.
3. deviating from truth, morality, etc

abduct and hold sb. to ransom

2009-11-04T20:37:00.001-08:00

abduct vt.
to remove (a person) by force or cunning against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom; kidnap

1. The police think the boy has been abducted.
2. Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted.
3. The robber abducted the heiress and held her to ransom.

abdicate one's responsibility

2009-11-03T01:11:00.001-08:00

abdicate v.
to renounce(a throne or power) as monarchs or emperors especially formally; to give up (rights, responsibilities, duties or obligations)

1. The old must abdicate the new.
2. If the King didn't abdicate then, he would have to be dethroned.
3. Yuan Shikai forced the emperor to abdicate and hand over power to him.

abdicate one's responsibilities
abdicate the office

abbey n.
a building inhabited by a community of monks or nuns governed by an abbot or abbess

abdomen n. abdominal adj.
belly; the region of the body of vertebrate that contains the viscera other than the heart and lungs. In mammals it is separated from the thorax by the diaphragm.

abbreviate sth. to

2009-11-03T01:10:00.001-08:00

abbreviate vt.
1. to shorten (a word or phrase) by contraction or omission of some letters or words
We had better abbreviate it to ABC.

2. to shorten (a speech or piece of writing) by omitting sections, paraphrasing, etc.
I don't believe it will be necessary to abbreviate any of them, but leave the first paragraph out, which is just a greeting.

abbreviation n.
Fax is the abbreviation of Facsimile.

abate smoke nuisance

2009-11-03T01:09:00.001-08:00

abate v.
1. to make(wind,pain etc.)less or become less in amount, intensity, degree, etc.
The ship sailed when the storm abated.
She felt that his pain was abating.

2. to remove, suppress, or terminate (a harm or a nuisance)
The government is trying to abate the smoke nuisance in the big cities.
We must do a bit of effort to abate the noise pollution around us.

3. to suspend or extinguish(a claim or action), to annul (a writ)
The board of directors abated the strict rules.

4. to make (a writ or a legal action, etc.) null and void, to do away with or put an edn to

5. to subtract or deduct (a price etc.)

abase oneself by doing (sth.)

2009-11-01T05:56:00.001-08:00

abase vt.:
1. make...humble or embarrassed
Betraying his close friend abased himself among his friends.

2. make status or identity etc. reduced
Nobody doesn't refuse to abase himself in the presence of other.
He would not abase himself by showing any fear.
The boss was not willing to abase himself before the staff.

abase n.: belittling, humility or humiliation; or one who abases others.

Don't abandon yourself to despair!

2009-11-01T05:37:00.001-08:00

abandon vt.:
1. get rid of, throw away
The car was badly damaged, so he abandoned it over there.

2. leave...alone/behind, make sb./sth. unwanted
I'm sorry I abandoned you like that.
She abandoned her family and went off with another guy.

3. give up, stop doing sth.
We will never abandon our principles.
They abandoned their journey schedule temporarily.

4. stop, make...no more/longer

5. get into, be addicted in, wallow in (some feeling)

abandon n.: indulgence, turning sb. loose
All the class were shouting and cheering with abandon.

with abandon
abandoner n. one who abandons or gives sth.up easily.

The Draft of Teaching Demonstration

2009-11-01T02:34:00.001-08:00

Good afternoon, gentlemen.I am No.2. It is my great honor to be here to present my topic. Today I will talk about Global Warming in Unit from Book 6.

(The analysis of teaching material:)
This is a reading passage. It plays a very important part in this unit. By studying this passage, students can improve their reading skills and comprehensive ability.

My Teaching aims are as follows:
1. Knowledge aim is to understand the main idea of the text.
2. Ability aim is to retell the text in their own words.
3. Emotional aim is to know something more about the function of the topic.

And my Teaching focus is how to understand the text better, and teaching difficulty is to use your own words to retell the text.

(About the students:
1. The studnets have known something about the functions of topic from internet.
2. They don't often use English to express themselves and communicate with others.
3. Some students are not active in the class because they are afraid of making mistakes.)

During the reading practice, I'll use the following Teaching methods: double activities teaching method, question-and-answer teaching method, task-based teaching method and cooperation-study teaching method.

(In this period, I'll use 3 Studying ways: one is learning how to be a successful reader, another is learning how to get information, and the other is learn how to retell a passage.)

My Teaching aids are a computer, a projector and a tape recorder.

Now next are Teaching procedures:
Step 1 is warming up.
I will ge the students to talk about something about Global Warming to activate their interests.

Step 2 is pre-reading.
Discuss some questions before taking up the reading passage.
Its purpose is to improve the students' speaking ability and expression ability through free discussion.

Step 3 is fast reading.
In this step, I will ge them to read the passage quickly to catch the general idea and get a brief impression of this topic. By doing this, I will practise the students for fast reading skills.

Step 4 is careful reading.
The students are required to focus on the whole text much more carefully this time paragraph by paragraph and answer the questions. The purpose si to practise the students for the skills of scanning nad to lead the students ot find out the very important facts and detailed imformation. And furthemore to help the students understand the text and smooth away the difficulties all by themselves.

Step 5 is post-reading.
For the students to understnad the passage better, I will get the studnets to answer three questions to further develop the students' reading abilities and deal with the fifficulties.

Step 6 is discussion.
In this step, the students willb e asked to have a discussion in groups of eight. By doing so, I direct the students to activate their language that they have learned. Then invite some group members to report their work to the whoel class to make them overcome their shyness and stimulate them to speak in public. I think the ability to use English is the most importnat. I will the students some presents because of their excellent perormances, thus enhancing their aqareness of using English.

Step 7 is summary.
In this step, I will ask two of the students to retell the text in their own words so that they can revise what they will have learnt in the class.

Step 8 is homework.
The last step is also very important to help the students consolidate what they they will have learnt in this lesson.

This is my teaching design. That's all. Thank you all for your listening. Have a good day.

(Blackboard design
Unit 4 Global Warming
Topic sentences:
Para1:
Para2:
Discuss some questions:
1.
2.
Comments: Check the students through arragning some practice, and let them discuss the feeling of learning this lesson, in this way, the students can know what they have mastered. )

10,000 Metres!

2009-11-01T01:34:00.001-07:00

Today it is cloudy with a little cold. So I changed thick clothes.

Although there were only several people exercising on the playground, I was very happy and excited in high spirits.

In order to have another new feeling, I decided to run 10,000 metres this morning, and I made it with not very difficulty.

My new feeling is as follows: I got into a muddle, with my legs soft, my scalp tingling, ears fevering, eyes astringent, and my whole body heating.

It was a long time before I had this new feeling. I am feeling the experience and enjoying it all day.

This is another happiness and I will enjoy it forever.

Conduct the Demonstration Performance

2009-11-01T01:33:00.001-07:00

Saturday was a rainy day with a little cold breeze.

According to the schedule, the teachers from senior middle schools conducted the performances in the afternoon. And I was No.2 after No.1 Sun Hua.

The topic is Unit 4 Global Warming from Book 6. I felt that I performed well but it was not the best that I had expected because of the nervousness at the beginning and the end of the performance.

That my teacher, who was one of the judges, said "Very good!" made me very pleased. Leaving my book to Ma, I went home but not with a high spirit. I don't know why it was that I didn't show too much happiness. At that very time, it didn't rain and I was also very quiet and peaceful.

No matter however it is, I finished my great task and was another very important experience for me and my teaching career. No matter what result it is, I have tried my best to make it. This is the most important for me, not the result of it.

During Saturday evening, I was very relaxed these days.

Practise Reciting the Draft

2009-11-01T01:32:00.001-07:00

I was always practising reciting the draft from Thursday evening to Saturday morning. I spared all the time and all the energy and all the concetration and all the attention to practise reciting the draft emailed from Cao, another close fried.

In order not to interfere with my daughter in the evening, I had to go to our kitchen to do some reciting and practicing until deep into the night every time. Lying in bed, I was always thinking of the words of the draft, and recited them in silent avoiding waking up my wife of sound sleep. I slept into the dream imperceptibly.

Early on the Saturday morning, I woke up at 5.oo but I didn't get up, just lying there and practising reciting the words in a low voice. I didn't remember how many times I practised before the daybreak.

A Very Special Day

2009-11-01T01:31:00.001-07:00

October 28, Wednesday, is vvvvvery special day for me forever because I made a vvvvvery special task agaist my own will, but I had to do that because life is not always what you want it to make. Perhaps it is the cruel reality everybody must be brave to be faced with whether you are content or not.

That morning before I left home to go to work, I told my wife that I would and had to send it out that day, she nodded that she ageed to my decision.

All the whole day I didn't find appropriate time to conduct my decision to send it out. At the thought of sending it out, I felt my blood quicken in my body with a very high temperature. In actual fact, I wanted very much to sent it out, but I was also very afraid of going to send it out. This is the real person that he is always living in the fierce contradiction.

As evening came near, my blood quickened with my speedy hearbeat. That evening after two self-study, I returned to my baseroom to prepare myself to do my great task. I hesitated several minutes before I made the telephone call to ensure that there was somebody at home at that very time. GGGGGreat! Hostess at home!

But she said the host didn't stay at home so she refused me to come to her home. Without her notice I went to her home directly and bravely and desperately with the victorious faith in my mind.

Six knocks before the door opened, I went inside but she didn't politely greet me to sit down, and insisted that the host not come home until two or three days later, adding that she didn't dare to be in charge of this matter. Although she declined my intention with courtesy, I persisted in putting it into her arms fiercely, arbitrarily and brutally.

Throwing it out to her, quick as a flash, I flew away down the stairs like a lightening, with a deep fear that someone would happen to see all that had happened. Arriving at the end of stairs, I felt very relaxed and refreshed with a looooong sigh. I was very proud to find that I was myself a real brave person and also could make a little difference.

I was very excited to return home in triumph, with my blood quickening fastest almost to blow out my body. I sat down on the sofa and took several deep breaths to cool down my boiling blood.

That night I slept very well, smiling in the dream.

Fill in the Full Forms

2009-11-01T01:30:00.001-07:00

That was Friday morning last week October 23. We didn't do anything except prepare for the form filling.

First we went to Mrs. Hou's to fetch our certicificates and then went to the school factory to copy our certificates. And last we returned to our office and fill in the two forms, after which we turned them in to Mr.Zhuo.

What I handed in the certificates were as follows: a county certificate of outstanding teachers, two municipal award for outstanding teaching achievements, an open class certificate and two provincial theses.

After that, I prepared very well for the afternoon lesson in the office. That evening I made a telephone call to Mr.Song for much more advice and asked him for a piece of reading-teaching draft. He was very happy to help me.

Exciting Good News

2009-11-01T01:27:00.001-07:00

That was Thursday evening last week, October 22. After I came back from the sixth floor, I was told that our county Board of Education would conduct a county-level expert teachers appraisal.

That was a very goooood piece of news for me. I, together with my close friend and classmate and colleague decided to participate in this appraisal activity, trying to get more certificates for our advanced-teachers' assessment of middle schools.

Eerybody had to hand in no more than six certicificates since July 2004 that you think could show the maximum of your varity of performances in teaching achievements, educational honors, lesson-conducting competitions or open-class domenstrations, teaching scientific researches, teaching treatises or works, and so on.

I thought it was very easy for me to prepare the six certificates. So I was vvvvvery excited coming back and told my wife this good news. She was very confident of me, encouraging me to do it well.

That evening I made two telephone calls to Mr.Wu and Mr. Ma for their advice.

Mid-autumn Festival Poem

2009-10-07T17:34:00.001-07:00

Shui Diao Ge Tou

by Su Shi

Will a moon so bright ever arise again?
Drink a cupful of wine and ask of the shy,
I don't know where the palace gate of Heaven is,
Or even the year in which tonight slips by.
I want to return riding the whirlwind! But I
Feel afraid that this heaven of jasper and jade
Lets in the cold, its palaces rear so high.
I shall get up and dance with my own shadow.
From life endured among men how far a cry!

Pound the red pavilion
Slanting through the lattices
Onto every wakeful eye,
Moon, why should you bear a grudge, O why
Insist in time of separation so to fill the sky?
Men know joy and sorrow, parting and reunion;
While the moon waxes and wanes.
Perfection was never easily come by.
Though miles apart, could men but live forever
Dreaming they shared this moonlight together!

I Want to Smile

2009-10-05T18:43:00.001-07:00

As the saying goes, smile and everything will be okay. Simple as it si, smiles can make a magnificent difference, driving the sadness away and equipping us with an optimistic mind capable of coping wiht all the griefs and obstacles in our way. I want to smile, so as to beautify my world as well as others' in a magic way.

I'd like to smile at my parents and friends, comforting them and bringing fantastic pleasure. By smiliing at my dear fellows, I can reveal the message taht no matter what happens, I'm always here for you.

It occurs tome that when I smile a myself, I build up my confidence and win a positive attitude that helps me go through the hardships.

In a word, I want to msile, delivering happiness everywhere. I'd appreciate it if you accept my application, devoting myself to making the world a happier and warmer heaven.
(by Zhuo Yue)

I Want to Smile

2009-10-05T18:35:00.001-07:00

If you are a house, smile is your window. It brings you more sunshime and makes you inderstood more clearly by the people who stand outside the house. So everyone should accept smile as an important part of his life.

Smile at your parents, and it shows your thankfulness to them. So happy will they be that they shed tears when they learn that you have grown up. Smiling is so powerful that it can lose all your families in gratitude.

Smile at your friends. and it shows your admiration to them. Friedns are shadow that always companies you. Although the sun can't shine everywhere, your friends can walk you to the sunshine. smiling can strengthen your friendship and makes you live a colourful life.
(by Liu Fei)
Smile at yourself, and it cna bring more confidence even when you are faving difficulties.

I Want to Smile

2009-10-05T18:24:00.001-07:00

A saying goes that smiling everyday keeps the doctor away. Only when you smile can you live a satisfyingly happy life. So I want to smile.

I wnat to smile at my parents, who bring me up and teahc me life lessons. Sometimes just a sincere smile instead of flattery words can wanrm their hearts like the sunshine. I want ot smile at my friends, who share tears and laughters wiht me. Sometimes just a sweet smile instead of an unpoyal look can create a life-long friendship like the spring rain. I want to smile at myself, too. Sometimes just a simple smile can give you a full spring even after you hve accidentally missed a beautiful flower.

In a word, however hard life is and whatever will happen, I prefer to smile rather than regret for what is gone.
(by Du Jingwen)

I Want to Smile

2009-10-05T18:16:00.001-07:00

When weatlth is lost, mothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When smile is lost, all is lost. No wonder many people consider smiling a viratl way to their daily life, for smiling ahve large quantities of advantages such as promoting communication, expressing kindness and decreasing limitations between lauguages. So I want to smile.

I am eager to smile at my parents nad my friends. By similing, we can solve our unhappiness between us with ease and develip our relationship into equality.

I'd like to smile at myself. I can ignore the depressive and own the courage to get around all the obstactes lying in my way to future wiht a smile.

In a word, with smiling having so many advantages, I want to smile. I enjoy smiling and even I'd like to face my life with a big smile.
(by Su Hao)

Legends of Mid-autumn Festival (III)

2009-10-05T18:03:00.001-07:00

The legends of Mid-autumn Festival are very rich, some fairy tales widespread such as Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting laurels and the Jade Rabbit pounding medicine.

Mooncake Uprising

According to legend, eating mooncakes on the Mid-autumn Festival night began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, Large quantities of poor people in the Central Plains uprose against the Yuan Dynasty owing to not bearing its cruel ruling. Zhu Yuanzhang was prepared to revolt against the Yuan imperial court by uniting separate resistance forces.

But because imperial soldiers searched everywhere very tightly and fiercely, it was so difficult for them the convey the uprising message to each force army. Military counselor Liu Bowen came up with a good ploy that a piece of paper with "Lunar August 15 Night Uprising" on it was hidden inside into the pancakes and then separately sent them to the rebels of various areas, which informed them of the immediate response to the uprising of the August 15 night.

That day all uprising armies volunteered to respond to the planned rebels just like a little fire burning up the plain. Soon Yu Da led his army to attack the Yuan capital Da Du(Great Capital) and captured it, so the uprising succeeded in their great victory.

The good news spread here and there, and the emperor was very happy and in a hurry gave the oral instruction that all the generals and soldiers of the whole city celebrated the gorgeous victory with the whole people,and he rewarded the pancakes acting as the passer of the secret transmission as largesses to his courtiers and people.

After that, the mooncades were made more and more delicate and dainty and much more delicious in various kinds and in different sizes as high quality gifts. Since then, it has been in popular spread that people have eaten mooncakes on the nights of Mid-autumn festival.

Legends of Mid-autumn Festival (II)

2009-10-04T07:38:00.001-07:00

The legends of Mid-autumn Festival are very rich, some fairy tales widespread such as Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting laurels and the Jade Rabbit pounding medicine.

Wu Gang Cutting Laurels

According to legend, lush and luxuriant grew the large laurel in front of the Guanghan Palace on the moon, which was high up to more than 500 dekametres. A man under the tree was cutting it for many many years.

But each time he finished one stroke, the cutting recovered itself right away, so the tree could not be chopped down for tens of thousands of years.

It is said that the man chopping the tree was Wu Gang from Xihe in the Han Dynasty.

Once he followed an supernatural being to learn Tao to become immortal, but reaching Heaven, he made a mistake and was exiled to the cold moon where he did the unpleasant and uninteresting drudgery in vain every day in order to show him a necessary punishment.

Legends of Mid-autumn Festival (I)

2009-10-04T07:21:00.001-07:00

The legends of Mid-autumn Festival are very rich, some fairy tales widespread such as Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting laurels and the Jade Rabbit pounding medicine.

Chang'e Flying to the Moon

According to legend, in ancient time there were ten suns in the high sky at the same time, withering the crops in the fields, people living in hardship. Then a hero named Hou Yi was very strong and had an extraordinarily enormous strength with great sympathy for hard-suffering people. So he went aboard the peak of the Kunlun Mountain, exalted his strength, pulled his mighty bow and at a stretch shot nine of the suns, and he strictly ordered the last sun that it should rise and set on time every day to benefit the people all over the earh.

So Hou Yi was so highly respected and admired by the ancient people then that he married a kind and beautiful wife by the name of Chang'e. Hou Yi hung around with his wife all day long in addition to teaching people skills and hunting for food. People admired the talented guy and beautiful lady.

Many ambitious young men and compatriots came to him to learn from him with great admire for his great talents. Among them was a malicious guy named Peng Meng.

One day, Hou Yi went to the Kunlun Mountains to visit some friends and seek Tao, when he encountered the Queen Mother who by accident passed it there. He asked the Queen Mother for a package of everlasting elixir of life, a kind of medicine agaist death. It is said that whoever ate the drug of this kind could right away fly to Heaven and become immortal. However, Hou Yi could not bear leaving his wife behind, and temporarily had to hand the drug to Chang'e for a good hiding. Unfortunately when she was putting the drug into her dresser box, what she did was seen by the malicious guy who wanted to secretly eat it and become immortal by himself.

Three days later, Hou Yi went out hunting along with his believers and apprentices. Peng Meng pretended to fall ill and stayed at home with bad malice. Immediately Hou Yi left, Peng seaked into Hou Yi's backyard holding a sword in his hand, and forced Chang'e to hand the drug over to him. Chang'e knew she was not a strong rival to her enemy. In that critical moment, she, decisive, opened the dresser box and swallowed the drug in a flash. Instantly Chang'e swallowed the drug, her body immediately flew up off the ground, out of the window and up into the sky. As Chang'e worried about her husband, then she flew up to the moon and became immortal there.

In the evening, Hou Yi returned home, and her maids cried him what had happened that day. Hou Yi was so surprised and angry that he pulled out his sword and wanted to kill the bad guy but he had fled earlier before Hou Yi came to him. Hou Yi was very angrily crying, distraught, with great grief and distress inside. He looked up to the vast sky, calling the name of his beloved wife, when he was amazied to find that the moon that night was extraordinarily bright and clear and round and there seemed to be a shaking figure especially like Chang'e's. So he was very desperate to go chasing the moon, but when he went forward three steps, the moon went backward three steps, while when he went backward three steps, the moon went forward three steps. No matter how hard he tried, he failed to get forward closer to the moon.

Having nothing to do with great desperation but also with greater yearning for his beloved wife, he had to order his people to go to Chang'e favorite backyard where the incense table was set up with her favorite honey and fresh fruits on it to offer sacrifice and respect to Chang'e attached to him in the remote moon. As soon as people heard everything about Chang'e immortality, they at once placed their incense tables in the moonlight to pray for good luck and well-being from nice and kind Chang'e.

Since then, the custom widely spread into the folk that people offer sacrifice to the moon on the night of the Mid-autumn Festival.

Mid-Autumn Festival Origin

2009-10-04T07:14:00.001-07:00

Lunar Augutst 15 each year is the traditional Mid-autumn Festival. This period of time is the middle autumn of each autumn of the year, so it is called mid-autumn. In our lunar calendar, one year is divided into four seasons. Each season includes three periods known as Meng, Zhong and Ji, so mid-autumn is also called Zhong autumn. The full moon on the night of lunar August 15 is much brighter and clearer than any other time, which is known as "Moon evening" or "August Festival".

This evening, people always look up to the clear and round moon as bright as jade high in the vast and enchanting sky, with the white and soft light everywhere in heaven and world. It naturally makes people to look forward to family reunion. And in particular the soft light set off an tack of intense feeling of homesickness deep inside. Therefore, this festival is also known as "Reunion Festival".

The Mid-autumn Festival has a long history just like other traditional festivala that were slowly developed. In our ancient folk appeared a practice custom named Qiu Mu Xi Yue, which means worshiping goddess of the moon at the late end of autumn. Our ancient emperors had the strict ritual that they would honored the god of the sun in spring and worshiped the goddess of the moon in autumn. The word mid-autumn was found in the record appearing in the Zhou Li or Zhou Ritual as early as the Zhou Dynasty. In Zhou period, Ying Han or welcoming the coming winter months and Ji Yue or venerating the goddess of the moon were both held when the Mid-autumn nights came here.

A large incense table was set up in the courtyard with many offerings on it such as the mooncakes, watermelon, apples, dates, plums, grapes and something like these. Among them were definitely included the mooncakes and watermelon. Besides, watermelon must have been cut into lotus-like shapes. In the moonlight, the statue of the moon would be placed in the direction of the bright moon with high candles and incenses burning, and the whole family worshiped the moon by turns. And then head housewife cut the mooncake representing family reunion. The hostess must keep in mind the exact number of the whole family before she began to cut the mooncake because she could not cut it more and not less, and must ensure each piece of the mooncake was of the same size.

Later, nobles and literatus followed suit. On the night of the Mid-autumn Festival, facing the clearly bright moon, they passionately watched and enjoyed it, worshiping and paying tribute to the round moon to express their feelings inside. Then this practice custom spread and was passed down on to the folk, forming a traditional activity. The ancient people paid greater stress to and more attention on this practice until the Tang Dynasty, when the Mid-autumn Festival was established a fixed festival. "August 15 Mid-autumn Festival" was recorded in Taizong Record of Tang History.

In the Tang Dynasty, during the Mid-autumn Festival, watching and enjoying the bright full moon prevailed, together with playing some sports related to the moon. On the night of it in the capital Bianjing, now known as the Kaifeng City, of the Northern Song Dynasty, everybody in the whole city, without regard to rich or poor, must wear adult clothes, burned incenses, worshiped the moon with a good wish and praying for the bless from the goddess of the moon.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, people presented mooncakes as gifts among them, representing the meaning of reunion. In some places, the activities were held such as grass-dragon dancing and building pagodas and so on. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the customs of the Mid-autumn Festival were much more prevalent with varieties of more traditional practices appearing here and there. So the festival was prevalent in the Song Dynasty, and in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it grew as famous as the New Year's Day and became one of our major festivals.

According to legend, a very ugly girl named Wuyan, piously worshiped the moon during her childhood, so when she grew up, she was chose into the imperial palace owing to her outstanding morality. But she was not bestowed favor on by the emperor. When enjoying himself and the moon some year, the emperor saw her in the moonlight, feeling her outstandingly beautiful, and right then, he made her his queen.

So after that, it continued forever that people worshiped the full moon on the night of the Mid-autumn Festival. The goddess Chang'e housing the moon palace was noted for her unmatched beauty, so maidens worshiped the moon with a wonderful wish that they also could have Chang'e's beauty and bight moon-like face.

Today, the custom of playing sports in the moonlight is far from more prevalent than the past, but setting up a feast to enjoy the full round moon continues prevalently. People hold the wineglass up to the moon to celebrate a better life or wish distant relatives and friends good health and happiness sharing the beauty of the moonlight, though a thousand mile.

Happy Mid-autumn Festival!

2009-10-03T06:43:00.001-07:00

Today is October 3, 2009, Chinese lunar August 15, known as China's traditional festival: Mid-August Festival.

The first period of class is English this afternoon. After finishing it, I returned home in a great hurry, and made it ready to go home with my loving daughter to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival at my parents' home. Because wife had to work on the night shift, we had to go home without her.

First, we went to the Furong supermarket by riding my wife's electric bike, where we bought some apples worth about 37 yuan and some other snack my daughter likes best. We paid over 80 yuan for what we bought.

When we arrived home, we found my father with my nephew was waiting for us at the gate of their house. We were immediately seated to have our family reunion dinner because before we got there, my father had prepared everything for the great traditional festival. We had a very very pleasant reunion dinner, happy with smile and laughter.

During the dinner, mother told us a good piece of news that the loving mother dog gave birth to six punnies four days ago. That made my daughter and my nephew very excited and right now after they ate, they each had two punnies in their arms to play with them, very happy and with great delight.

And my nephew will come to my house after his morning writing practice. His timetable is as follows: he attends school at 8 am and class is over at 11 sharp am; he comes back at 1:30 pm and comes home at 4:30 pm. So I must remind me of the timeatable to pick him up by bike.

After dinner, mother accidentally talked about Angang, the son of my first sister. She is not satisfied with what he did during his part-job outside. His bad behavior made his parents very sad and unhappy.

After some chatting with my mother, we went back home as soon as dark fell. And at this time, the moon was rising in the high sky, bright and round and pleasing.

Owing to the traditional family reunion, there were few people moving on the road, so we talked and rode happily in high spirits inside although I felt a little cool outside, due to which my daughter played a good joke on me not taking thick clothes with me in advance like her.

Before 7 am, we arrived home safe and sound. We are very happy to have a pleasant and delicious family reunion dinner together with my parents and my brother along with his happy family.

Faithfully I bless all the people under the sun with happy Mid-autumn Festival.

Rio wins bid to host 2016 Olympic Games

2009-10-02T20:35:00.001-07:00

Yesterday evening Rio wan the bid to host 2016 Olympic Games at openhagen, the capital of Denmark.

COPENHAGEN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Rio de Janeiro of Brazil was chosen here on Friday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

IOC President Jacques Rogge made the announcement after three rounds of votes by nearly more than 90 IOC members.

The Brazilian city won the bid after beating rivals Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid.

Chicago was eliminated in the first round of vote as it got the least number of votes among 94 valid votes.

The American city was expected to have a tight race with Rio by the media here, but ended up the first loser.

Tokyo of Japan was squeezed out in the second round of vote with the least number of ballots among 95 valid votes with one abstention.

As many as 106 IOC members as of September 2009, but nationals of the countries of candidate cities are not allowed to vote unless their candidates are eliminated.

In the first round, Madrid won 28 votes, followed by Rio with 26, Tokyo 20 and Chicago 18. In the second round, Rio was on the top with 46, followed by Madrid with 24, Tokyo 20.

Rio won the campaign in the last round after netting 66 votes against Madrid's 32.

The Rio bid team played economy and geography cards in its final presentation to win the bid.

In a passionate speech, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula daSilva told IOC members that his country is experiencing a "magical moment" of economic development.

Silva, known as Lula, made a strong urge to the voters to choose Rio as the host of a Games.

"I ask for your support and vision. Rio is ready. If you give us this chance, you will not regret," he appealed, saying that the Brazilian people were full of "passion, energy and creativity".

He also stressed that Brazil and South America have never hosted an Olympic Games.

"It is time to address this imbalance," he urged. "I honestly believe it is Brazil's time. Among the countries that today compete to host the Games, we are the only one that has never had this honor."

"For others it will be just one more Games," he noted, "For us, it will be an unparallel opportunity."

"It will boost the self-esteem of Brazilians" , "consolidate recent achievements" and "inspire new ones".

He said the bid was not only Brazil's, but also South America's, "bid of a continent with almost 400 million men and women and around 180 million youngsters".

After praising the IOC for its contributions in modernizing the Olympic Games, introducing new sports and new technology, Lula said that "the opportunity is to expand the Olympic Games to new continents."

South America and Africa are the two continents that have never hosted an Olympic Games, the largest sports event on earth.

Officials of the Rio team detailed construction plans and public security plans of Rio, assuring the voters that the fast developing economy and ensured safety would guarantee a successful Olympic Games.

Brazil has gone all out to win the bid, mobilizing sports stars such as football legend Pele, and famed sports officials, such as FIFA's Honorary President Joao Havelange.

Havelange called IOC members for support to Rio, welcoming them to go to Rio in 2016 to celebrate his 100th birthday.

The reason for Madrid to last to the third voting round lied mainly in former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch's emotional appealing.

He asked the 100-plus IOC members at the end of Madrid's final presentation to consider his age and give the chance to Madrid to host the 2016 Games.

"Dear colleagues, I know that I am very near the end on my time. I am, as you know, 89 years old," he said peacefully.

"May I ask you to consider granting my country the honor and also the duty to organize the games and Paralympics in 2016."

Voices from over the world!

2009-10-01T04:22:00.001-07:00

Happy 60th birthday, great China! I cannot feel any more proud after watching the grand parad just a while ago from cctv.com here in Australia. It was brilliant from every aspect!
Love you & long live China!

A very Happy 60th National Day.
Many more to come.
May Peace,Success & Happiness might prevail through all the years to come.
God Bless all !!!!!

Happy 60th Birthday, Motherland!

Proud to be a Chinese. I love you, my dearest motherland. The Chinese people truly have rised up. Best wish.

Best wish and congratulations on the 60th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China from a Chinese American. I am proud to be witness of my beloved ancestral country marching on to world stage as a super power. Dearest motherland, wish you the very best and prosperity. You made me proud.

I am delighted to be here to witness the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China's founding, but I wish I could partake in (any) celebration rather than stay at home in front my television.

I'm very happy to see China progressing & I on behalf of all Pakistanis living in China congratulate China on this special day of 60th anniversary. Pakistan is always a good friend of China & Long Live Pak-China Friendship.

The Europe China Foundation sincerely congratulates the people and the Government of the P.R. China, with its 60th Anniversary of the Republic. The last few years, China has shown the world to be an open an harmonious society.

Its impressive economic growth - despite the financial problems in the rest of the world - has our deepest respect. We hope to continue and increase our cooperation and friendship with the National Chinese Government and several local Governments. The future looks promissing and we are looking forward to deepen our relationship.

Birthday China on your 60th anniversary! Chairman Mao rightly said "The Chinese people have stood up!" May China and the Chinese people continue its peaceful development and become a beacon of hope to all still developing nations and peoples. May China continue to live in peace and harmony with itself and with all other peoples in the world. Long live China and the Chinese peoples everywhere.

Grand National Day Celebration!

2009-10-01T04:09:00.001-07:00

Liu announced the start of the ceremony.

Beijing municipal secretary, Liu Qi announed the beginning of the celebration of the 60th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The soldiers shot 60 cannons, and then the national flag was raised with all the people present singing together the national anthem March of the Volunteers.

Hu addressed the people.

At 10 am sharp, the celebration ceremony began. President Hu Jintao, to Chinese state and military leader addressed the whole people present, the military band of 2,000 hushing their instruments and Tiananmen Square falling into silence. Present also are former president Jiang Zemin, top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao and some other officials flanking Hu.

President said we Chinese people should be proud and confident of our nation's developments over the past sixty years. And then he stressed we China would continue the reforms and opening-up policy to ensure the development of China, socialism and Marxism. China will adhere strongly to our own form of socialism as it enter the future and will also continue assuring the progress that has been made in the last six decades.

Finally he also took some time to honor and respect our revolutionary pioneers, who have made great contributions to realizing national independence and liberation of our great county and great people.

President Hu was optimistic, from the past, to the present and into the future, about the strength, unity and prosperity of our people. We all Chinese people are full of confidence in the bright prospects of the great rejuvenation of our great nation. "Look forward to the future. We envision wide prospects for the future of China," he said.

Hu reviewed the troops.

After his speech, he walked down the Tiananmen Rostrum and was carried by a black open-roof Red Flag sedan to review our defense forces which will stage a massive parade.

Along the newly widened Chang'an Avenue stood tens of thousands ot soldiers in full-dress brand new uniforms, together with ranks of camouflaged tanks and missiles, and waited to be inspected, which stretches some three kilometres and involves about 8,000 military personnel.

President Hu wore a high-collared Mao suit and saluted troops through a microphone with "Greetings, comrades!","Comrades, you are working hard!" The soldiers replied loudly with "Greetings, leader!","We serve the people!"

The grand military parade started.

First fourteen phalanxes on feet came into the stage one by one which are composed of the army, navy, air force and the Second Artillery Force of the PLA, the People's Armed Police Force and reserved force and the young mysterious Special Force which made their debut for this inspections.

And then a total of 30 phalanxes in wheeled transport in turn displayed more more 50 types of new weapon systems manusfactured on our own, including the newest model of intercontinental nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.

Some other cutting-edge weaponry included our new generation of tanks, sophisticated radar, airborne early warning and control aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and satellite communication devices.

All the weapons in the inspection are made in our own country. More than 150 jet-fighters, bombers, helicopters and other aricrafts in 12 echelons flew over the square, packed with some 200,000 people at home and abroad.

This parade is set to show our newest weaponry and enchanced defense strength. This is the 14th parade since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949. (The other 13 parades took place in 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 ,1955, 1956, 1957 ,1958, 1959, 1984 and in 1999.)

Followed the mass denstrations.

Following the grand military parade, the mass procession came into the stage at around 11:20 am in 35 formations withe different themes. But the same theme is to express our desire for national unity and reunificationa and rejuvenation.

About 8,500 people joined the formations unfolding achievements of our country, turing the Tiananmen Square into a sea of colourful flowers.

A gorgeous float with colossal Chinese characters "tuan jie fen jin", or "march in unity", marched from east to west along the Chang'an Avenue, leading the parade into the theme of national unity. The 34 floats forming the array"Splendid China" eulogized the great changes in our country during the past 60 years and expressed the desire for national unity and reunification of our great country.

Decorated with landmarks of the 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and Hong Kong, Maco and Taiwan, the 34 floats focused on economic achievements while highlighting local characteristics.

The five floats from the autonomous regions offered a distinctive flavor of ethnic minority groups with dancers dressed in ethnic costumes toeing and heeling it to the music making solidarity and prosperity stand out.

Special floats featuring Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions highlighted their city landmarks and their return to the motherland. Our government resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997 and Macao in 1999.

The float representing Taiwan drew applause and cheers when it pulled into Tiananmen Square. It featured the Taipei 101 Tower model, colorful local fruits and other landmarks. A Taiwan compatriot, who has been engaged in mainland-Taiwan exchanges for 20 years, said we should lay aside our historical grudge and look forward together because of our same skin color and the same bloodline.

With a long feud after the civil war 60 ago, the mainland and Taiwan have been cementing ties in recent years. We are very glad to see financial coperation, disaster relief donations and exchanges between people across the straits, in addition to the breakthroughs in transport links.

Finally tens of thousands of children entered the stage with lots of colorful balloons in their hands and in front of the Tiananmen Rostrum flew the balloons to the high blue sky, making the celebration culminate exciting and encouragingly.

The whole process of celebration lasted two and a half hours. It is really a big success to inspire our spirits and light our morale. We are so proud of our great country and our great people.

Happy Birthday,Motherland!

2009-10-01T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today is October 1st, the National Day of our great country! We all have an 8-day holiday for this great moment. I got up early to the playground for my morning exercise of each day. But I'm really deeply feeling today is so differently unique.

Cloudless, breeze grently blowing my face, everything seem so equivelently beautiful. And I am particularly excited to see everything around me is full of another different tenderness because today is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the great People's Repulic of China. With this in mind, I am again feeling the popular song ever-lingering in my mind: "Today is your birthday, my country. This morning, I fly a group of white pigeons. ..."

I am humming this exciting song, feeling paritcularly happy with relaxing gaits, and facing the rising sun walking to the playground full of energy, looking with tenderness at every tree and bush of the school.

This morning I find only several women and students exercsing there and here. But this doesn't have any impact on the nice and terrific feeling. As usual, I easily and pleasedly finish my 10 laps of 4,ooo metres, and then walk 2 laps around the playground, shedding a lot of sweat and feeling especially cool.

And then I climb the small hill behind the basketball playground and enjoy myself extremely delightedly. After eating breakfast with my daughter, I am expecting the coming National Day military parade eagerly and nerously.

Great incredible personal honor

2009-09-30T07:12:00.001-07:00

August 22nd of the year 2009 is a memorable day worth bearing in mind forever for me, an average teacher, who has been working 19 years for our great eduational undertakings.

That afternoon, leader of senior 3 telephoned me to fill out the form of county outstanding teacher at the school office at 9 the next morning. During the whole afternoon, I was very excited owing to that incredible honor of people's teachers.

It was so unbelievably amazing and fantastic that I couldn't sleep much better though I didn't tell my wife about it because of quarrelling with each other which was so fierce that we each hit a door glass, which frightened my daughter eating to cry. I am very very sorry for that.

In order to acknowledge his kindness and great care, wife bought an English dictionary the same as my daughter's and a Fulong shopper card worth 500 RMB yuan yesterday afternoon, and asked me to thank him but I couldn't find any chance to accomplish this great and hard task yesterday evening.

This morning, I found there was nobody in his office and I was brave to enter the room and put the dictionary in his desk drawer quickly and hurriedly and nervously, and fortunately, nobody noticed my steal-like clumsy behavior, but actually I was very wretched inside and unable to believe that it is me that has finished this great feat of my whole own life since ever.

And this is really the first brave experience of my life and I am even proud of myself for this fantastic feat which is very extremely surprising.

And after I came home at about 10:30 this morning, I telephoned him about it and he also thanked me for that English dictionary. This afternoon, he came across me and wanted to stop me to give back the shopper card but I immediately ran away and did not leave him any chance to finish it.

SSSSSoooooo, I am the last winner, a real man winner. I believe that nothing is impossible to make it.

The Wisdom of Giving Up

2009-09-27T23:22:00.001-07:00

During these days, I've found that a lovelorn netizen is suffering from the past feelings,interwined. Here I'd like to tell this netizen that we will surely futher know and understand a lot of things only after we have indeed experienced them. Only when you have a painful feeling, then can you know how to learn to protect youself; also only after you are so silly, then can you understand how to persist and give up timely.

During this process of attaining and losing, we slowly learn to know ourselves deeply and completely. As a matter of fact, life does really not need these unreasonal and unnecessary attachment, nothing so precious for us not to let go.

Learn to give up, and you will evidently find that life itself will be so easier.

Speaking of emotional choices, many people experiencing suffering of emotions can think they have missed a certain period of life, which in fact is not always true. Some so-called losses only mean that we can do nothing just like a turtle on its back and are unable to control the future of ouw own.

Take some girls for example who are eager to achieve their own aspirations of life and dream, they often try to make their gaols true by using the most primitive and also most effective way to retain men of wealth. They have resulted in keeping men aside without his heart inside, hurting themselves at last. We can find such one thing after another around us.

Never be upset and regretful after something has happened, lying awake and tossing youself throughout the night. Remain silent when you are wandering and wondering and when you are indecisive because silence is also a kind of option and wisdom. I like the lyrics that read: "If you go back to the past, all will be repeated." Subject to many factors, the hero of story turns left at one time and then turn right at other time.

The accepted practice many people follow is to be a frog to become a prince, retreating in order to proceed, but unfortunately some of people are really giving up. But what we really want to give up is only our broken emtions, not our own, on the contrary, we should constantly enrich ourselves.

Just like a girl descriped by an article from Reader, she scarred emotionally on the love way, but each obstacle made her much more courageous and grew much braver than ever because she always continuously enriched herself after each frustration and setbacks. This time she learned to play the piano just for her love and next time she again tried to improve English and so on. All she did evantually enhanced herself in everything, most importantly in emotion. And in the end she became an elegant woman that she wanted to be.

Often reading these words, I will be touched inside, and admire them from inside bottom of my heart on account of their courage and strength.

Any man who learns to give up is a real man of wisdom only because giving up means another choice and not complete retreat forever not only in emotion but in our daily work. So it applies to everything.

Haircut Event

2009-09-27T06:06:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of the new school year, my daughter's school found itself a new headmaster, who is said to have originally worked as Headmaster of the Fifth Secondary School and is a proficient figure moving to and fro the back-and-white society.

As the saying goes, a new broom sweeps clean. So some of new school rules have been made to facilitate his unique displays which are different from the former headmaster, mainly including different educational concepts, different ideas of management and different working styles, at the same time, giving all the teachers and students a big surprising awe to smooth his future way of office.

His first fire is to require all the teachers can not be late for the faculty meeting, as well as switch off all mobile phones. Any person who is late must be fined 50 RMB yuan at the spot.

His second fire is to force all the teachers to be on the scene on time in the flag-raising ceremony of each Monday morning and the great gatherings of teachers and students.

His third fire is that all students, whoever you are, are not allowed to have long hair, including long-hair-loving girls, and not equipped with a variety of light accessories. This arbitrary and unreasonable rule immediately and quickly aroused fierce outrage and resistance from the girls of the whole school.

The non-people-oriented rule is very very hard and harsh, and the girls'voice and resistance is very very weak and powerless without any satisfactory results.

Poor girls ah! Unfortunate kids ah! They are and will all the victims of society of no law rules, and under autocratic style of leadership without any voice sounded. This is also a very good microcosm of the whole society.

Among of them is my loving daughter. Since she saw the famous singer Tian Chen, she has not only loved her songs but also likes his hair style--beautiful long hair. And she kept her precious long hair until Friday evening. She was sad when she came back for the barber's shop with her mother, with her cut hair in her hand.

This is as it is, and when we can not change it, it is wise for us to bravely accept it. This is, I think, the true and active attitude.

Hail for the sports wears

2009-09-26T23:52:00.001-07:00

Monday of the last week was a really pleasant day of all wonderful ones because today we the whole staff received our long-foward-looking sports wears that our so-called nice and worthy headmaster had promised us for not more than a week.

Although the headmaster is not a real man to make his promise come in practice and use because he has seldom been willing to keep his word and everybody likes to call him a so-many-promise-but-break-more little man, it is beyond our expectations that we were really able to have found his promise in force,and so everybody has been that excited to fly in the air for many many days since Monday.

To tell you the actual truth, our headmaster is good and open man in character, but he is really poor and low in the school management. We are all agreed that he is not a bad basketball player and much better at it than his real competence in school mangement.

Therefore, the school staff were and are all smiling emotionally, elated, excited and in high spirits, delightedly spreading the news all over the school. And some people were moved too hard to describe their feelings in almost full tears.

People wish each other good happiness and are all comfirmed that this colourful move will certainly find its glorious place and leave an indelible impression in the great school history. This move not only has a far-reaching historical significance, but more extremely practical significance.

At the vitally critical moment, with his principal office term to be expired, he has really given the whole staff a good and big surprise not to bear in not time, which fully embodies his modern people-oriented educational thoughts and concepts, in addition to his foresight, future vision together with sympathizing and caring for his subordinates. He is always anxious before staff are, and think future before staff do. He is really indeed of a modern sense of leadership and a good headmaster of modern art of leadership.

I strongly wish our good principal would leave happily, and all the teachers along with students will never never never forget you, never forget you, because your sportwears will warm our hearts to the deep inside forever and always will.

The Development of Abacues

2009-09-24T23:09:00.001-07:00

With the widespread use of abacues, people summed up many computational mnemonics to make the calculation speed faster.
This method of claculation with abacues is called zhuansuan in Chinese. By the Ming Dynasty, abacues had not only been used to carry out all kinds of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division operations, but also to calculate land areas and the sizes of a variety of things.

Because of its being simple and convenient and its mnemonics easy to remember, abacues were applied in ancient China wide and far, and therefore gradually spread abroad to Japan, Korea, India, the United States, Southeast Asia and other countriea and regions.

The emergence of abacus has been a major reform of calculating tools in the history of human beings. And even today when electronic calculators are prevalent in daily life, it is still playing its special and unique role.

In China, there are a great number of abacus masters in walks of life. The use of abacus can cultivate human thingking ability in addition to its easy operation because it needs a close cooperation of brain, eyes and hands, so it is also a good way to exercise and descipline human brain.

In 1996, IBM scientists have used 10 atoms to generate the world's smallest abacus.

The Origin of Abacues

2009-09-24T23:08:00.001-07:00

Exactly when and where the abacus was invented has now not been inspected, which can be traced back as early as 600 BC, when China is said to have had suanban(calculating sheet). The modern abacus is said to have evolved from ancient chousuan, which was a kind of calculating methord to use bamboo sticks as bargaining chips to carry out calculation operations. The end of the Dang Dynasty saw the great improvement in chousuan multiplication and division, and during the Song Dynasty, there emerged the division mnemonics.

Ancient Chinese people strung 10 beads into a group, each group arranged well into a rectangular wooden frame, then fiffling with beads to and fro to carry out calculating operations. During the last years of th Eastern Han Dynasty, in his Shu Shu Ji Yi, Xu Yue recorded his teacher's, Liu Hong, visit to a hermit Mr. Tianmu, who explained and demonstrated 14 sorts of calculating methords, one of which was zhusuan(calculating using beads) very close to modern abacus. That ancient abacus had 5 movable beads of each string, the upper bead an equivalent of 5, but each bead of the lower four ones representing one.

Some historians believe that the name of abacus first appeared in Mr.Jingxiu's Collected Works, authored by Liu Yin(1249-1293), a Yuan dynasty scholar. We can easily find an abacus on a store counter in the famous Chinese paiting Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival by Zhang Zeduan, a noted painter from the Northern Song Dynasty. So as early as the Northern Song Dynasty or even before it, abacues were making the widespread use of it all over ancient China.

The structure of Abacues

2009-09-23T22:58:00.001-07:00

An abacus it the trditional Chinese calculation tool. It is one the most important inventions in ancient China, which is widely used worldwide before the advent of the Arabic numerals.

An abacus was invented by Chinese on the base of suanchou(counting chips)used in the ancient China in the long run.

In ancient times, people used to employ sticks to go on calculation. These small wooden sticks are called suanchou, so the calculation of this kind is named chousuan(calculation using suanchou). Later, with the development of modern production, the calculation of this kind was restricted very hard with small wooden sticks. So people invented a more advanced calculator--abacus.

An abacus si rectangular and surrounded by a wooden frame, with some small sticks fixed inside it, each stick wearing some beads. There is a big beam in the middle of the frame to divide the abacus into two parts. The upper half of each stick has two beads, each meaning five, while the lower half of each stick contains five beads, each representing one.

The earliest computational tool

2009-09-23T22:23:00.001-07:00

An abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily by the easterns for performing arithmetic processes. Nowadays, abaci are often constructed as a wooden frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beads or small stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of wood, stone, or metal.

The abacus was in use for centuries before the adoption of the written modern numeral system and is still widely used by merchants and clerks in China, Japan, Africa, India and elsewhere. The user of an abacus is called an abacist; he or she slides the beads of the abacus by hand.

Daughter coming back to school!

2009-09-15T06:43:00.001-07:00

Today it is very sunny.

To my great delight, my daughter felt very well this morning, and she went to school delightedly. Seeing her come to herself, we are also extremely pleased. Her mother took her to the school gate, and then she went back to work.

Because there weren't any important lessons this afternoon, her mother took her to the hospital to have another injection immediately we had a rich and delicious lunch.

It is my biggest pleasure of today that my daughter felt very well and went back to school.

During this period of my daughter's being ill, my wife has made tremendous efforts and paid too much for it. I can find very easily that she has felt very tired and exhausted these two days. Not only does she go to work during the day, but she also cares for my sick daughter, and it is really hard for her.

My wife is a very good and dedicated nurse in work, and also a good hard-working mother in family. She has always touched me, so I am very proud of my devoted wife.

Daughter ill

2009-09-14T07:00:00.001-07:00

Today it is very rainy!

Most unfortunately, my daughter is having a high fever!

Yesterday evening, she said that she didn't feel very well that morning, but she didn't think it very bad so she ignored it and didn't tell us parents because she is always a very strong girl which I am very proud of since ever. But last night her mother took her temperature of 39 degrees Celsius. So her mother did her some physical cooling the whole night so they didn't have a good sleep.However, during that time, I was sleeping very well and didn't do anything to help them so I am very guilty of my selfness.

So daughter wasn't able to go to school today, and she made five calls to her headteacher to ask for leave. This morning, wife took her to the hospital for the injection. They didn't come home back until half an hour I had prepared the lunch.

Daughter felt herself in a good state of mind and drank some bean juice. I was very glad that she did so well.

The whole afternoon she slept at home and in the evening she felt very well. After having supper with us, she practiced playing the piano a lot.

But coming back after the evening self-study, I found that she again had a fever and fell asleep. Her mother is looking at her. My poor girl.

But besides, this is not necessarily a bad thing because it is useful and helpful for her growth. Not only can it promote her personality, but can also cultivate the quality of her will. Take the bitter with the sweet, and life must be infinitely better.

SSSSSorry for my own LLLLLaziness!!

2009-09-13T03:27:00.000-07:00

After almost one whole year, today I've had access to my own English Garden.

From the very bottom of my inside, I am always unable to bear it any longer, but sometimes after that, I will come to the old way and forgot what I once promised myself.

Personally, this deadly shortcoming has caused me to suffer from setbacks in life, and I am vulnerable to give up or in in studies, and so cannot go all out in my teaching career.

Today,very cloudy, it is SSSSSundy with on extra lessons after the one-day-and-half month test. Feeling very good this morning, I ran 25 laps on the playground with a total of 10,000 metres.

BBBBBut after the running, I felt very tired and exausted all the day.

Althought very exausted, it is also a very different feeling for my so boring a monologue life.

SSSSSo, it is very necessay for us to try to feel different from the last day. The daily different feeling is vey good for one person's state of mind and spirit and physique.

The origin of Teachers' Day of our country

2008-09-21T02:16:00.000-07:00

A group of students of Jinan University in Guangzhou cycled north, submitting a proposal to the Ministry of Education, the CYL Central Committee to set up Teacher's Day. After a year, the State Council decided to set September 10 every year as Teacher's Day. Since then, the mainland's teachers have also had their own festival.

Teachers’ Day was established in the history of our country. In 1931, educators Tai Shuangqiu Cheng Qibao and others had an assembly at the National Central University in Nanjing, and issued a declaration "to improve the treatment of teachers, protect the jobs of teachers and promote training of teachers," and agreed on June 6 for Teacher's Day, also known as double-6 Day. Soon, the Nationalist government first agreed on June 6 for Teacher's Day, but then Teacher's Day was changed to August 27 (lunar birthday of Confucius)

After the founding of the People’s Repubic of China, the Central People's Government resumed June 6 for Teacher's Day, and the Ministry of Education announced that local educators could organize the celebratios based on the actual situations. National Education Union was set up in 1951, and educators were recognized as part of the working class. On April 19, 1951, the Minister of Education and the Chairman of the National Committee of China Education Union issued a written statement, declaring the "Labor Day" as Teacher's Day at the same time. However, due to the lack of teachers’ characteristics, the implementation was not satisfactory. Especially after 1957, the "left" ideology under the influence of the “left” ideology, teachers were ignored, so Teacher's Day in fact existed no longer.

In recent years, the Chinese government has taken many measures to mobilize the whole society to respect teachers, to improve the status of teachers and to make better teachers’ working and living conditions.

To further enhance the political and social status of teachers, form a good social atmosphere of respecting teachers and knowledge and talented people in society, and promote the development of education career, according to many proposes from the National People's Congress, the CPPCC National Committee members and people from all walks of life, particularly teachers around the country, as well as the experiences to carry out activities to honor teachers throughout, the State Department issued a motion on January 11, 1985 to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to determine September 10 every year as Teacher's Day. At the Sixth National People's Congress on January 21 in the same year, all agreed on the establishment of a Teacher's Day motion, and decided on September 10 as Teacher's Day.

September 10 is determined as Teacher's Day because at the very beginning of new school year, the new students begin to respect teachers create a good atmosphere. At the same time, there are few national holidays in September and it is convenient to focus on all aspects of the organization and activities of the prominent media coverage, and promote the formation of good social atmosphere that teachers, knowledge and talented people are all respected across the country.

The establishment of Teacher's Day marks the fact that teachers are respected in our whole society. This is because the teachers’ work determines the future of our country to a large extent. Teachers’ work is closely related with every family, every child, youth, young people.Teachers play a huge role in the development of human society and progress. Teachers are engineers to cast human civilization, and are the communicators and builders of human civilization. The continuity of the development of human civilization depend on teachers’ work of generation after generation. The Civilization of a society, one country and one nation will suffer great losses in the absence of teachers’ hard and effective work. Therefore, a history of civilization is unimaginable with teachers.

Since then, in annual Teacher's Day, teachers have all celebrated their own festival in different ways across the country. Through selections and awards, by introducing the experiences, and helping to solve the problems of wages, housing, medical care, and other aspects of the practical difficulties and improving teaching conditions, the majority of teachers’ initiatives have greatly been enhanced to be engaged in the education cause.

My current episodes of life (5)

2008-09-21T01:37:00.000-07:00

September 20
The new teacher-training began in the multimadia hall of Meiao Middle School today. This training was not meaningful for our improvement in teaching, just for the money-making of some officials. If you want the title assessment, you must attend the training or you will not have the qualification to be assessed.

At 8 am, all the teahers had singed in at the gate of the hall according to the schools you are from. All the morning, a teacher from Tancheng Party School, led us to study some knowledge about intellectual property. But he did so bad that most of teachers just talked there and did not want to know what he said and some teachers left so early. So the meeting was in great mess. He was not so interesting that I slept there most of time.

In the afternoon, a teacher from the Board of Education was so clever that he really knew what we really wanted. He did not make some other explanations about quality education, and just underlined the important points on the book and even some answers. He was very welcome then.

At 3 pm, we began our first test on quality education, with your book in your hands to help you to find your answers quickly. Ma Baolong, Ma Jiuzheng and I co-operated verywell. After about one hour, we all finished all the questions correctly and successfully. And some teachers feared that they could have a very high grade so that the test was not real.

September 21
At 9:30 am, we had the second test on intellectaul property just like what we did yesterday afternoon. After about one hour and a half, we were very glad to go out of the test room. We were very happy not because we did it very well but because the funny training was really over.

In the afternoon, I stayed at home, strangely not very happy. I was again worried about my title assessment of this year. I am not very sure of it.

In the morning, my wife went home directly after she goe off night shift of work. She sent the design plan of the new building, and was told that we will not start to work until October 1. She was and is very happy whenever she thinks of her future new house. She is ready to do anything for her new house in her own heart.

That experience made me different！

2008-09-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I was and am very sorry for my not good performance in the English-teaching career, especially that I did not present an English open class in front of my whole colleagues of English teaching-research group, not to mention in front of the whole school and the whole county. As a teacher, I felt very embarrassed for my bad performances in the English lesson competiton or the open classes within the whole county. So when I got the news, I really did not know whether I would be glad or not, or whether I would be sad or not.

During those 19 days, I always felt very worried, upset, anxious, sad, depressed, in low spirits and sorry for myself, and sometimes even fearful and frightened, with a long face. And most of time, I was always feeling suppressed so much that it was too hard to take a slight breath.

Most of nap time, I always slept on the floor of the sitting room with the electric fan on, but often in insomnia. Although lying there, I always thought of my teaching content, or the teaching courseware, or sometimes just too anxious to go into the state of sleeping, turning over and over again and not falling asleep.

Though I fell asleep at times, it was a very short time before I felt that I had already waked up and worried again about my prepared lesson because I always felt that my preparations were not enough, and thought it should be much better. It all meant that I was not very confident in myself and that lesson presentation.

Only in the office, could I concentrate on the preparations for the lesson, because I love this work very much, and am hard-working, sudious, cautious and conscientious seriously and carefully. And almost I did not join my colleagues in their little chats about some trivials in life or teaching. I was silent to everything and I was not interested in anything a bit. What suppressed me most was an invisible force, so that I could not breathe. Although I also had a gooooooood laugh over some of jokes and something funny. I felt very feeble almost every day and I did not find any energy to support me and needed very much a power to raise me up,

At home, I did not turn on the TV set at once as usual. At times, I opened my courseware in the computer and looked at it aimlessly, at other times, I just lay on the floor and did not want to do anything. It is very strange that lying down should make you feel very good or calm down. Lying there, I was always worrying about my coming open class, with my eyes wide open. Sometimes, I went to the kitchen to prepare lunch or supper to make me busy in order to make myself forget that matter temporarily in a very short time.

But of couse, I also had a short moment of pleasure and comfort and non-worry. Whenever I had a goooooooood idea or inspiration about my open lesson, I also felt very excited and even thrilled with myself and my new changes for my lesson. Several times, I got my inspirations when lying on the floor and turning over and over not to go to sleep. When I made my rehearsals against my computer, I was also feeling very fine and full of a little confidence. And I had to admit that every rehearsal or practice would made me firmly confident and full of courage to win.

Little by little, I was gradually becoming sure that presenting an open lesson was not so terrible if I made a complete and careful preparation, and especially after the last two rehearsals, I was not nervous and surely thought that I was able to do very well in that seminar. Because of all those practices and thorough careful preparation, I did not feel any nervous and upset and anxious about the open lesson. I also felt very calm even though the day came near to me. I felt very calm on the way to Linyi, and had a pleasing and relaxing chat with my colleagues, very happy.

So when it was my turen to present my lesson, I went up on to the platform calmly in the presence of all the teachers present. After talking a lot with my ever-deskmate in front of the platform, I felt much more relaxed, and in some sense, I felt that I had entered a good state of mind, acting as my role. I was very calm in my inner heart, and was enjoying the process. And I did not have any kind of tension and unease I had been worried about prior to it. Therefore, finally I truly triumphed over myself, and overcomed my own shortcoming in front of so many teachers from some counties and districts.

When I finished my course and thanked my students with “Thand you all!”, all the students gave my a warm applause. In their sincere applause, I bowed to them deeply and politely, because I knew that I won the open lesson and myself and recognition and appreciation of students. So I think that lesson was the best one of all my lessons since my graduation. I was feeling satisfied and proud that I could do what I wanted to do, and meanwhile I could do it very well if I wanted to.

So when I got off the platform, I did not feel a kind of excitement I desired for before. When I came back my seat, I had the same state of mind as I did not present my lesson. I did not have the special happiness and pleasure, and did not feel as if relieved of a heavy load. I was not very happy as I had imagined when I got the news. I felt that everything went as it was. And thinking that a lesson was a lesson as it was, not any specially. After a short time of explanations about the lesson, I went to the bus stop peacefully to catch my bus home. Everythin would go as usual.

That experience really made me so different. I really suffered from the sadness, but I also benefited a lot from that experience, and I also grew stronger a lot. At the very beginning, I felt very sad and anxious and evern depressed, and then after many practices and careful preparations, I felt a little comfortable and relaxed, and finally I felt very calm about it and enjoyed it.

Everybody is different if you think you are so different. And believe in yourself and think that everyone can make a difference if you think you can make a difference.

My current episodes of life (4)

2008-09-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

September 16
According to Ma’s requirement, I made another two rehearsals in the multifunction hall in the morning with students from Classes 1 and 2, Senior 3 of my female colleague Cui Daorong. The two rehearsals went very well and smoothly, and I felt very confident in myself and the success of the coming open class.

And after those two rehearsals, I was very calm and full of faith and success. And the first time, it was not so hard for one to give a lesson in public places. On the contrary, I hoped its coming very much. That evening, I had a very gooooooood sleeeeeeeep.

September 17
Today I went to Linyi No.6 Middle School to show my open class.

My lesson today is a reading one of Texts one and two. I showed my two students in charge of English how to carry out my teaching plan and asked them to make the class in good order and maintain the class discipline. And I was also convinced that they were able to do it very well.

Then I waited for a short while in my caseroom before I received a telephone from my colleague Wang Xiuying to tell me to come to the school gate to gather for the start-off. At about 8:20 am, I started out in Wang’s private car together with my other colleagues Xu Baoguo, Zhang Qiuyun and Liu Qing.

At about 10 am, we all arrived at Linyi Hotel, and after checking in, I came to Room 411 and had a good rest and waited for the lunch time of 12 am. I lived with Hou Zhanling. At 2 pm, I got up and prepared to start off to Linyi No.6 Middle School.

At this seminar, there were three lessons. The first one was taught by Fan Jingzhi from Lanshan Tutorial School of College Entrance Examination. The second one was given by a teacher from Hedong District. I presented the third lesson at about 4:30 pm. At the very beginning of the meeting, all the teachers paid attention to the lesson, but after a short time, a loud noise arose from the teachers, and sometimes even influenced the students on the platform who were all from Lanshan Tutorial School, with 30 girls on the platform and other boys sitting beside the platform.

A short rest after the first two lessons, I began my open lesson at 4:40 pm. But before that, I had met with a little trouble that my mobile disk borrowed from Ma Baolong, my close male friend, did not work in the computer. Finally I had to go on internet to open my email box and again downloaded the powerpoint courseware.

To be honest, I did not feel any nervous or upset when I stood on the platform and began my teaching content. Ignoring all the teachers present below, I was absorbed in the teaching content and the students’s performance. I had to admit that that lesson was the best one including the four rehearsals. I finished all the teaching content in the limited time of 45 minutes.

And then three of us had several minutes to explain about each other’s lesson. At 6 pm, the meeting ended successfully. At 6:30 pm, I arrived the bus stop and luckily caught the last bus to Tancheng. After 75 minutes, I reached Tancheng and got off at the crossing, and then walked home happily.

I must admit that I had spent the most difficult 19 days since I worked as a teacher in September, 1991. But I also must admit that all that benefited me a lot and that experience made me braver and more confident than ever.

I was very lucky that I came across my deskmate Liu Zhengxiang. Since we graduated from Linyi Teachers’ College, we did not see each other for 18 years. We were all very happy and excited to see each other on this special occasion. In front of the platform, we had a gooooood chat about what we were interested in most. Because it was time for me to prepare my lesson, we had to stop our pleasing chat. After the meeting, I was so busy to return home, so I couldn’t meet him again. But I know he is working in Yishui No.2 Middle School, and I decide to get in touch with hime after my advanced title assessment.

My current episodes of life (3)

2008-09-19T02:50:00.000-07:00

September 14
Today is our country’s lunar Mid-Autumn Festival. Because of this, all the schools will have a three-day holiday from September 13 to 15 according to the requirements of the country. In the morning, my daughter finished her homework before we went home for the festival. And then at about 10 am, we went to the market to buy two chickens and some fresh peaches, and went home to get together for the family union.

My youngest sister, together with her only son Haoyu, had arrived there before we got home. After a short rest, my wife and I started to help my father to prepare the family dinner. Father was very happy to stew the two chickens in his little simple kitchen. My wife and I prepared other vegitables of dishes. My wife was ready for spring onions, ginger and garlic, and I helped to cut off the celery and garlic. We were all happy with pleasure. In actual fact, life is as simple as that. Cherish all you have to cherish and value all you have to value, and you will find you are very happy and happiness will always be around you.

After that, I went up to the second floor of my younger brother’s building to look at my daughter and her two younger brothers play the computer games. They were all very happy and full of pleasure. All children are always masters of all holidays and festivals.

At about 4 pm, my sister and her husband returned home from the river beach for the family dinner. For life, they carry sand beside the river up to the river banks in the evening, because today is the festival and no other officials inspected the river, they could carry up the sand. And then they sell the sand to others to make money because they are building a two-storey building and are in much need of money. So I know that their life is not very wealthy, but I can easily find that they are living a very happy life, which I think is most important.

We had a very inviting dinner of the family union. Though we did not eat any mooncakes because we were all full, we were feeling very happy when finding everything went very well and everybody was so happy.

A short rest after the dinner, my sister and her husband continued their previous work. My wife and I had a pleasing chat with my parents. The main topic was whether to build a house or not at home. As a matter of fact, I did not agree to build a house at home only because we did not much-need a house when we are so young and my daughter is so young. And my intention is our focus on my daughter’s growth and her studies.

But my wife wanted very much to build a house because my parents told us that it is likely that our villege will be re-planned and re-designed in a not very far future. If it is that, villegers will be given some money to make up for the loss of the houses. And another reasone is that several houses are being built in the villege. All this caused my wife to make up her mind to build a house of our own. And my parents ageed to help us build a house and they all supported my wife’s decision. So our final decision was to build a house of our own.

My current episodes of life (2)

2008-09-18T01:41:00.002-07:00

September 4
After two classes in the morning, I surfed the internet at home in the afternoon to search for two proper reading materials for this open class. And at the same time, work out some of the reading questions about the first article.

September 5
I continued to work on my teaching multimedia coursware besides two classes of the morning. Most difficult, it is to work out nine reading questions according to the first reading passage. During the process, I felt very tired but also very pleased full of happiness. You will be feeling very fine when you are absorbed in what you are very interested in, forgetting your current worry and depress not only spiritually but mentally. And I felt confident in working on my courseware.

In the evening, I finally completed my courseware, very happy and excited even though a little exausted.

September 6
All day I practised my courseware over and over again. Today was the last military day of my daughter. In the morning, they continued their military training, and in the afternoon, their superiors came to inspect their military training result, finally ending the successful training. Also because they continued the military training on Saturday, they did not attend class on Monday.

September 7
All day I continued my practice of grasping courseware. In the evening, I worked out my learning programmme to be prepared well for printing. I focused time and energy on the practice of reading contents. Much more practice made me full of confidence and the sense of achievement.

September 9
Yesterday evening, I received a telephone for Ma to tell me to prepare a teaching programme and a speaking-class manuscript. So today I began to prepare them in the moring and at 11 pm, I succeeded in working them out, and meanwhile emailed them to Ma.

September 10
Today is Teachers’ Day. As a senior teacher, I was very happy not because I received fresh flowers and a cup of tea from the two classes but because I was and am feeling that we teachers are very important for our students, and we also felt that education cause is so important and meaningful and worth striving for it. And we all felt that we are loved and much-respected by the students.

In the afternoon, I received the telephone from Song Keyu that told me he looked through the program and manuscript and emailed me his revised ones, and asked me to print them.

September 12
In the afternoon, I had two rehearsals in the school multifunction hall with Zhou Tao’s students from Classes 11 and 12, Senior 3. In the first class, I did not finish all the prepared content, but in the second class, I felt it was very fine because I successfully completed all the teaching content, and I felt I made a little progress in the time of control and fluent process. But I also found many faults much needed to be improved, and made some necessary changes, by omitting some of the process details. And I felt that the rehearsal was very useful for me to convince me that I could made a very gooooooood performance in the seminar.

After the rehearsal, I felt very confident and much more convinced because I knew that I could do it very well this time.

My current episodes of life (1)

2008-09-18T01:41:00.001-07:00

August 30
Just when I got up at about 7:30 am, I got a telephone from Wu Qingfeng, my close male friend, telling me that I was given a chance to present an open class in the 2008 first seminar on Senior 3 English because of our Senior 3 group's excellent performance and great achievement in the 2008 national college entrance examination.

I was very excited and much more thrilled to hear the good news, but I was, meanwhile, very worried and even frightened to have so good a chance. And then I made a telephone to Ma Baodong to ask about some details of this seminar. After our communication, I felt a little fine and eased a little. So in the following period of days, I was glad and alos very worried, very excited and very upset and unrest full of anxiety. And I did not really know whether I was happy or not, and I was unrest or not. During those days, I was not a bit myself, and not knowing what to do next and how to deal with tomorrow. At about 12:30 pm, I received a sample courseware from Cao Yunqiang by emailing. After looking at his sample courseware, I felt taht I knew what to do next and felt that I was able to do it very well and was very confident in myself and the open class. In all, I really didn't know how I lived the bittersweet day: August 30, 2008!

September 1
Todayd I was feeling a little happy because my only daughter will begin her new school term year and also begin her junior middle school life from today. This morning, she went to Yucai middle school to have a little test of english and maths before she really entered her new class. In the afternoon, she went there again, waiting for her new enrollmetn of class. But they did not have any news, just waiting there for a long time until 7:00 pm. Not any teachers to go to tell them any thing, they had to go home separately.

This evening, my wife telephoned her ever colleague, her husband working in Yucai, to ask about the distributions of class, and told her that we wanted very much to have my lovely daughter studying in her husband's class. But to our disappointment, we received bad news that her husband couldn't help us and I and my wife felt very helpless and very sorry about that Because we did not have any ability to make my daughter study in better classes: class 9 and 10, junior 1.

So I telephoned Feng Ling in no time, hoping that my daughter could study in his class and he promised to have a try to help me. Then I thought that it was likely that my daughter would study in his class and also felt very glad. Because we knew very well each other even though we are not good friends, it is very convenient for me to be informed of study information of my daughter at any time, and I did really not have any other intention.

September 2
In the morning, Feng telephoned me that the head teacher of Class 3 did not want to exchange students, so he did not succeeded in helping me. But he still promised to have another try that afternoon, and I was very grateful to him even though we did not succeed.

In actual fact, I was and am very sorry that I did not make my daughter study in the so-said better class. And I felt much sadder and even a little depressed.

So we had to receive the reality that my daughter has to study in her current class: class 3. And we encouraged her to study hard and made her believer that it is not important in which class to attend but important to believe in herself and that she also would study very well in any class. And also we told her that her head teacher did not want to exchange her because of good test result. As I observed, she was not influence by this matter, so I was and am very glad and happy about it because I believe that she is growing up. So finally this matter ended without success.

In the following days, my daughter continued her military training before new school year really began. She was very tired, but also very pleased. After all, her new school life began.

Teaching programme for extracurricular reading practice

2008-09-18T01:41:00.000-07:00

I. Teaching materials
The teaching materials is from one certain newspaper. The theme of the article is that through a pleasant trip,both father and daughter will eventually lead to mutual communication and mutual understanding, embodying the current relationship between father and daughter.

II. Teaching objectives
1. Teachers guide students to use skimming, scanning and other reading techniques to understand the passage extracting important details and facts.

2. Accumulate useful words, phrases and sentence structures, and improve their language ability and the habits of thinking in English.

III. Teaching focus and difficulty
1. Teaching majors
Guide students to use reading strategies to develop reading ability, and can apply to their language knowledge to express their ideas.

2. Teaching difficulty
Skillfully use the phrases and sentence structures in the passage.

IV. Teaching design ideas
Through the use of the design task of teaching, fully embodies “student-centered" philosophy of teaching to enable students to participate, and experience.

V. Teaching aids
Multimedia courseware

VI. Teaching process
Step One: Reading
Teachers directly show students the reading passage and enable them to read through the whole passage by skimming and scanning to catch the main idea and relevant specific information to complete the following questions within the limited time.

Give students a hint about the reading skills: According to the different requests of each question, you can easily find the main idea by skimming and if you want to find out some specific information, you can ignore some unimportant information by scanning and catch key information, so it is very easy for you to get what you want in a very short time to speed up your reading skills.

Step Two: Understanding
1. Students are allowed to finish the questions below all by themselves first and then can have a discussion in groups to check that they are right. And then ask some of them to share their answers with the whole class and meanwhile enable them to give their reasons or find their supporting information to let their choices make sense.

During this process, any student who has different opinions can give out their own ones to debate with others to support his own point of view.

After the right answers are showed then, students can continue to share their understanding with others about the answers whether they are right or not.

2. Students are asked to fill in the following blanks according to the text:
Rose goes on a road _______ with her friends as her first step toward _____________. Considering her _______, her father, James, joins them. After many comic situations, James finally _____________ her daughter and realizes that Rose is _________ up and every kid should be on his own way to growth and success.

Through this process, students can further understand the reading passage and further grasp the theme of the passage, and meanwhile it’s an effective way of checking that students really understand the passage, and also benefit their later writing.

3. Focus on the outlook of the passage
Part1 Para. ________ don’t agree with each other
Part2 Para. ______ go on a college road trip
Part3 Para. ______ the great significance(意义) of the trip

Students are allowed to finish the blanks with paragraphs according to the hints of main idea given of each part. And it’s easy for students to complete it.

With the passage organization in students’ mind, they will have a much better understanding of the ideas and structure of the passage.

Step Three: Enjoyment
1. Paragraph enjoyment: ask students to find out one or two paragraphs full of as many words and expressions as possible. Give students several minutes to find and underline what they think are useful, colorful and joyful, and during this process they also can do in groups and exchange their notes.

And then show out the paragraph and check that students find enough of it, and add some of them to his own that are left out by him.

Next, ask some of students to share their enjoyments one by one: First point out the wonderful words or expressions and explain how to use them correctly and freely. And then some of
students can give some complements or some changes if necessary.

Although this process is a little difficult, it can make the classroom atmosphere lovely and meanwhile fully mobilize the enthusiasm and autonomy of the students’ learning and participation.

2. Sentence enjoyment: first ask students to find out and then exchange what they have found and make a summary of them. And then show four of them to the whole class to enjoy and analyze, and meanwhile ask students to translate them fluently to all the class.

Step Four: Reading aloud with memory
Students are all allowed to have several minutes to read aloud the beautiful and colorful words and expressions and sentences over and over again so that they even recite them. And then in groups they can have a good review of their reading aloud.

Step Five: Employing
Drill One: Choosing …
Drill Two: After following …

Two of the very useful sentence structures are picked out of the passage. Students are allowed to have several minutes to make at least two sentences, which will fully train students’ ability to use language communication to express themselves. First teachers give an example for them to follow and ask two of them to come to the front to finish this task and finally check together with the whole class.

Step Six: More expressions
Accoring to the topic of this passage, present students some expressions of agreement and disagreement
1. Agreement
I’ll say. There’s no doubt about it. That’s the idea. I can’t agree more. You’re saying that! Now you are talking. That’s more like it. That makes two of us.

2. Disagreement
Of course not. I really don’t think so. I’m afraid not. Nothing doing. That I can’t say. Not that I know. Not on your life.

Step Seven: Another extensive reading
Present another reading material to further train the reading skills and ability of students. Students are asked to finish reading in a very short time to strengthen students’ ability to read and capture relevant information.

And then ask students to do as they have done with the first passage to enjoy this one.

VII. Homework
Students are all asked to write a short passage with new words , expressions and sentence structures they have learned in this lesson to strengthen what they have learned.

VIII. Teaching reflections
1. The teaching process fully embodies the "student-centered" philosophy of teaching. Under the guidance of teachers, students learn to think, learn to analyze, learn to find and learn to express, and students really play the main role in teaching and learning as well as the leading role of teachers to comprehensively improve the reading ability of students

2. Teachers should also continue to strengthen methods of learning to better improve the quality of teaching.

Friday, August 29, 2008 Fine

2008-08-29T05:38:00.000-07:00

From today to August 31st, my daughter will stay at home and her piano class stopped yesterday. After she had breakfast, we worked out a detailed English review plan for the coming three days. First Book 8 and then Book 7 and then Book 6, finally Book 5 if she has more time. After she first reviewed new words and phrases, recite the dialogues in Parts A and B, one dialogue each part. The review time is from 8:30 am to 11:00 am, and from2:30 pm to 5:30 pm every day, three days in total.

All day she did do very well according to the plan, and I hope that she will do much better tomorrow. And she can study conscientiously and voluntarily in accordance with the established plan arrangement. This is her greates progress in study I am looking forward to seeing until now. So I think the best education method is to encourage children to form a gooooood study habit and continue it firmly and lasting with perseverance.

Perhaps I am very tired and exausted today, so I did not get up until 3:30 pm when my student (Wang Zengjiao) telephoned me to wake me up. She received her university admission notice, but unfortunately she did not satisfy the college, the Feixian campus of Qingdao Polytechnic University. I have known this campus by chance, and it is not very good, or exactly speaking, it is not really a university campus. She was not sure whether she would go or not, so she telephoned me to want to know more about this campus and my opinion of her admission notice.

In fact, I was a littel shocked when I heard it. She is a very studious and hard-working student, but her physics is not very good, and has a bad knowledge foundation; her biggest drawback is carelessness and inadvertence in study. I am very sure that if she can overcome this shortcoming, she will have much more progress, and most importantly, she is very confident in herself. So I gave her my opinion and advised her going back to have a good review, and she said that her elder brother had the same advice as me.

We talked a lot for about 30 minutes because we had a very good terms with each other during the whole school term. Two exams after she just arrived at this class, she came to me for some help with her English. She graduated for Tancheng No.2 Middle School. And then we talked a lot about English study, and encouraged her to have a big confidence in herself and told her if she continued her perseverance she would pay off sooner or later. Meanwhile, I gave her some good English advice and methods. She did not agree with me any more. After that long talk, we also had several more chats about her study or study results after each important examination. She is so childish that she made some mistakes again and again; sometimes, she made up her mind to get rid of her bad habits, but in next exam, she would made this mistake agin.

So I strongly think she did not form a goooood study habit and gooooood thinking habit; it is not because she did not study very hard but becasue of her bad study habit that she did not make much more progress in study that she was still looking forward to. In all, she is a girl of great personality with a big heart. As a matter of fact, I like her and this kind of girls very much, so I strongly advised her going back to study hard for next year's college entrence examination, because I know her very much, and she has a very big dream of her own.

Afte a short time, my wife returned home from her work. Yesterday I spoke of it unintentionally that it is a long time since we ate dumplings, so today she bought some leek to prepare for leek dumplings. Then we went to the kitchen to prepare the dumplings stuff happily; I prepared the dough and she prepared the stuff. She mixed fried eggs, vermicelli and shrimps with leek to be the dumplings stuff, which is very delicious and inviting. And then we made the dumplings as we were watching CCTV 5: Starry Way, and my daughter was surfing the internet.

And then when we ate the inviting dumplings, I felt very very happy and comfortable and contented. How beatiful life is and I love it very much.

Thursday, August 28, 2008 Fine

2008-08-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

Today everthing went every well as usual in the morning. After my daughter returned home, she told me that the piano class stopped today, and she did not have to go to practise the piano tomorrow. After hearing of her words, I suddenly realized that the summer holidays will be over soon and I will go into my route of teaching.

Suddenly I did not know why I had such a bad notion that the holidays are always so short but a school term is always so long a hard one. In fact, time is the same to the holidays and a school term, and different is how you feel and what you think of. So in some sense, it only means that I am feeling a little depressed and a bit upset about the job of my own. I do not have much confidence in my future, and I also know it is not good for my coming new school term and my much progress in my teaching and research.

So it is where it is. But I can control my mood and attitude even though I can not change my working environment. How I should get along with others is not more than what attitude I should have towards them. Attitude determines everything! Passion is everything! I know these encouraging words, but I do not practise them evey well, so in the coming new school term, I will try my best to put them into practice to ignite myself and bright myself and push myself.

At about 2 pm, my daughter called me to wake up, but I was really really very tired and did not get up, and just wanted to sleep a little more. Then I hesitated a short time before I finally got up. But at last I got up because I suddenly realized it would be a bad example for my loving daughter if I did not get up on time when she got up to continue her revision plan. So I made up my mind to set a gooooood example for my daughter.

In the whole afternoon, my daughter continued her revision plan and went on to translate another half of the article I did not complete yersterday. In fact, I finished the big part of the part left in the morning. In the afternoon, I completed all the task of translation and did some tense change necessary.

After I published it in my English Garden, I felt very very relaxed and fine to be fresh. So if you want to have a feeling of happiness, the best way is to work yourself very hard first full of energy and enthusiasm, and then to relax yourself. After that, you will really feel yourself and can be very relaxed.

I am vey tired but also very happy. I work very hard but I am also very happy!

Centuries-Olympic dream come true!

2008-08-28T01:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight centuries Olympic dream finally come true
The 29th Olympic Games grandly opens in Beijing

On August 2008 night, the worldwide attention-attracting opening ceremony of the 29th Beijing Olympic Games was held grandly at the National Stadium. President Hu Jintao attended the opening ceremony and announced that the ceremony opened. With more than 2,000 years of history of the Olympic movement and more than 5,000 years of splendid Chinese culture heritage making the other more beautiful, it will commonly write a new large chapter of human civilization.

State leaders, the IOC President Jacques Rogge, honorary life president Juan Antonio as well as leaders and dignitaries from around the world attend the opening ceremony, and with all the audience witnessed this exciting moment in history.

Under the darkness, the nest-modelling National Stadium is brilliant, gorgeous, magnificent and glorious. The grand stadium that can accommodate more than 90,000 is fully packed and all the audience is excitedly full of great joy. Before the formal opening ceremony, some performance teams presented the brilliant national songs and dances and rendered the scene is very warm atmosphere, which are from a number of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan.

At 19:51, in the joyful sound of music, Hu Jintao, Jiang Zemin, Jacques Rogge and so on go up the chairman podium, waving to the audience. Breaks out a long period of warm applause.

A dazzling ring illuminates the ancient sundial. In the central stadium, with many powerful beats, 2008 Fou drums, a kind of ancient Chinese percussion instrument, utter the sound of moving spirits, and the white lights on the Fou drums are flashing in turns, producing the numbers of countdwon. In the thunderous sound of the beat Fou drums, all the audience present cry loud with numbers’ transformation: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4. 3, 2, 1, in the midst of cheers, greeting the opening ceremony starting time: 8pm sharp.

2008 actors beat and sing, reciting “That friends come from afar is very pleasant”to express our welcome to the Olympic athletes and guests from around the world. Multicolorful fireworks bloom in good order along the Beijing north-south axis, showing 29 huge footprints, a symbol of the 29th Beijing Olympic Games. One burning footprints after another flies across the night sky, all the way north, and change into down-flying stars over the national stadium, and then on the ground they all gather into glittering Olympic five rings, and finally the rings are lifted up slowly by the flying fairies dancing lightweight in the air. Full of romance and unique creation, this display of the Olympic rings move and shock the audience present.

“Five-star red flag flutters in the wind, how resounding the victory songs are. Sing our dear motherland, from now on towards a prosperous and powerful one ……” In the clear voices of a girl, China’s 56 chilren all clad in their national costumes enter the stadium, surrounding the bright five-star red flag.

At 8:12 pm, all rose, and the PRC military band plays the national anthem, and the PRC national flag is hoisted slowly. The audience present sing at the top of their voices, and the sonorous national anthem reverberates in the stadium.

Dark to light and Guqin sounding, a huge scroll spread slowly, and begins the large-scale cultural and arts performance which of the theme is the beautiful Olympics. It took artists more than 3 years to meticulously prepare this performance. With a display of novel ideas, strong Chinese styles and the rich appeal of performance practices, it dedicates to the world a gorgeous and splendid blend of the Olympics and Chinese civilization.

In the midst of elegant and remote tones of Guqin, some shadows of black dance and flutter on the white paper, just like an invisible hand is painting on it, and then a Chinese ink painting is rising slowly at the central stage of the stadium. 810 dancers all clad in Confucious period costumes and carrying bamboo scrolls, a kind of one of the earliest forms of books, intone “All are brothers around the world”,“There must be my teacher among three walking people”. 897 movable types transform into the different periods of Chinese character he which means harmony or peace, showing that it envolves from various stages of calligraphy, and the winding-rising Great Wall. All the programs such as pictures and words, show meaningful connotation and artistic conception, visually presenting that the Chinese culture goes back to ancient times and the enduring charm of our ancient “four great inventions”such as printing. On the mobile stage, four puppets of Beijing Opera and 800 actors performance the triumph scene of joy with the accompaniment of Jinghu, drums and gongs. Capacious and boundless desert, the choppy and waving sea, the pioneers’ arduous trek on the land and sea “Silk Road”, beautiful Kunqu floating here afar, 5 long scrolls of Chinese paintings spreading one by one, flying celestial nymphs dancing wearing colorful clothes, 32 dragon poles rising slowly, …… operas, Silk Roads, etiquettes with music etc., they are all warmly unrestrained, and gloriously magnificent, vividly demonstrating the ancient and profound Chinese culture. The piano music is bright and cheerful; 1000 actors dance on the stage disguising themselves as stars, just like the vast Heaven River was floating in the night sky, and finally set up the star-glittering Nest, and a beautiful girl dressed in red is flying a kite across the starry night sky. The Tai Chi performace is not only vigorous with grace but also full of power and grandeur; in the center of Tai Chi, innocent and artless children are singing folk songs, and carrying colorful pencils are depicting out in the ink painting green hills, blue waters and the smiling sun, and the colorful birds spreading their wings and flying in the sky. …… All these performancing arts of simplicity and lasting appeal profoundly embody the Chinese excitement of embracing the great Olympics and the sincere pursuit of peace and harmony.

The grand music is suddenly played. In the vast and expansive universe, stars spangle and the blue earth slowly rotates, with 58 actors running and jumping on the planet. The British singer Sarah Brightman and China’s singer Liu Huan passionately sing the theme song of the Bejing Olympic Games “You and me”: You and I, heart to heart, live in the global village. For a dream, we cover a thousand li and meet in Beijing. ……” 2008 smiling faces of children around the world are showed at the stadium, and the wide-smiling faces also appear on the projection screens at the top of the stadium. The heartfelt theme song and the smiling faces of different skin colors is a lively interpretation of the Beijing Olympic Games theme“One World, One Dream”.

At 9:10 pm, the admission of athletes begins. The military band played by turns the classical music of different styles from five different continents. The Greek delegation from the birthplace of the Olympic movement first enters the stadium, and then delegations of other countries and regions follow according to the order of simplified and admitted Chinese character strokes. A total of 204 delegations of countries and regions participate in this Olympics. During the following 16 days, more than 10,000 athletes from all over the world will compete under the five-ring Olympic flag. Athletes are all full of youthful energy and in high spirits, smiling and waving to the audience from time to time. The audience present show that they are welcome to come to Beijing with warm applauses and cheers.

At 11:09 pm, the host Chinese delegation enters the stadium last. Chinese sports delegation is composed of 1099, including 639 athletes, the biggest number than any other previous Olympic delegation and also the largest delegation of athletes participation.

Yao Ming, our flag-holder and a famous basketball player, walks at the forefront of the process with Lin Hao, a primary school student of Grate Two from Yingxiu Town, Wenchuan County in Sichuan province. At the moment Wenchuan huge earthquake occurred, the 9-year-old little Lin Hao bravely faced the music, and stormed into the ruins to rescue the students, and later was rated as a juvenile hero of earthquake relief. That Chinese people facing disasters courageously demonstrates the perseverance and unyielding tenacity greatly touches all the Chinese and foreign audience. The audience burst into stormy and thunderous applause, cheering constantly. Go China resounds throughout the stadium.

In the process of admission, each athlete leaves a colorful footprint on the drawing of scroll at the centre of the stadium. Colorful footprints and the drawings of cultural performances together constitue a beautiful scene of Human Homeland.

Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee President Liu Qi addresses a speech on behalf of BOGOC, warmly welcoming athletes, coaches, and guests from various countries and regions of the world, and expressing our sincere thanks to the IOC, international individual sports organizations, all the builders and workers participating in the BOG organization and building, all the friends showing concern and support for the BOG. Liu Qi says that the important mission of the BOG is to promote cultural exchanges between the countries in the world. We sincerely hope that friends can have a beautiful memory of Chinese long history and culture and passionate and hospitable Chinese people.

And then IOC President Jacques Rogge addresses a speech at the opening ceremony. He thanks the BOGOC and tens of thousands of volunteers for their hardworking delecation. He says that we are in the same world, and we have the same dreams, and hopes that this Olympic Games will bring us joy, hope and pride.

At 11:36 pm, a long-expected moment arrives. State President Hu Jintao announces with a resonant voice: The 29th Beijing Olympic Games opens!

Immediately, the dazzling fireworks bloom in the night sky; the boiling melodies resounds throughout the stadium; colorful flags wave; and passionate people cheer constantly.

8 flag-holders enter the stadium carrying the Olympic flag. They are the representatives of elite athletes of different periods of our country’s sports development. Zheng Fengrong is the first athlete of our country who broke the women’s high jump world record in the history of our track and field. Mu Xiangxiong is a swimming master who broke the world record in the 100m breaststroke three times. Zhang Xielin stormed to the table tennis world champion several times. Pando (Pan Duo) is the first female athlete who stepped on the Everest. Li Lingwei won 13 badminton world champion. Yang Ling, a shooting player, set the Olympic record in 10m mobile target shooting. Xiong Ni is a diving player who collected gold and silver in four consecutive Olympic Games. Yang Yang, a short track speed skating player, realized the “zero breakthrough” for our country in the Winter Olympic Games. 80 children are dressed in national costumes and sing the Olympic theme song. The Olympic flag raises slowly, and flutters high above the stadium with the five-star red flag.

Under the five-ring flag, Chinese player Zhang Yining and Chinese referee Huang Liping respectively are on oath on behalf of all participating athletes and referees.

“We meet here, different languages, but the same smile, ……” In the beautiful song, 100 girls in white keep time of rhythms, cross their arms and wave their hands, as white peace doves are flapping and flying. Athletes and audience wave their arms together with the girls. The spectacular scene of tens of thousands of doves flying deeply expresses people’s ardent expectation for peace.

At 11:54 pm, the Olympic flame from Olympia arrives at the Bird’s Nest, and the exciting Olympic flame-lit ceremony is about to begin. All the spectators wave colorful flashlights, like millions of stars flickering brightly. In the past more than four months, the Olympic torch travels across five continents and vast land of our country, and first on the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. More than 20,000 Chinese and foreign torchers participate in the torch relay, all the way igniting passions and all the way transmitting dreams.

8 torchholders lift the torch high, continuing the final relay at the stadium. Xu Haifeng is China’s ever firdt Olympic gold medalist in the history of Olympics. Gao Min is China’s first Olympic springboard diving gold medal winner. Li Xiaoshuang is the first winner of Olympic individual all-round gymnastics gold medal. Zhang Xugang is only one player who won two Olympic gold medals in the history of weightlifting. Zhang Jun is the first winner of Olympic badminton mixed doubles gold medal in China’s Olympic history. Chen Zhong is China’s ever first over-67kg taekwondo Olympic champion. These well-known athletes, who once created many magnificiences lift the torch high and jog in the stadium, who are warmly welcome by all the spectators present.

At 0:00 am on the day of 9th, Sun Jinfang, the seventh torchholder, who was former captain of the Chinese women’s volleyball team and made her great contributions to winning the “three consecutive championships” holds the torch to come to a high platform in the stadium. There she lights the torch in the hand of Li Ning, a famous gymnastist, who is waiting there. And then Li flies in the sky with the torch in his hand, running strongly on a Chinese scroll which is spread slowly at the same time above the stadium, and on it appears the video of globle torch passing of Beijing Olympic flame.

At 0:04 am, Li Ning running in the air comes to the torchtower lights the fuse. The great torch at once bursts forth a huge raging flame, making all the stadium brilliant and sparkling.

The holy flame is kindled and all are boiling. Magnificent fireworkd rise high into the air, forming the rainbow over the stadium. Unrestrained music and warm deafening cheers make the exciting atmosphere present to the peak. Meanwhile, more than 40,000 fireworks burn at the same time, making all Beijing brilliant and splendid with a blaze of colour.

Happy sounds of singing and strong dances emerge a grand event with a bustling night. This is a memorable moment 1.3 billion Chinese people will never forget, and another glorious moment of the modern Olympic movement. After seven years of meticulous preparations, China dedicates to the world the grand celebration of sharing friendship and peace.

Tonight, Beijing does not sleep! Tonight, the world celebrates together!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Fine

2008-08-27T06:49:00.001-07:00

I am very glad and very happy that everything went very well exactly like a clock. My daughter went to her piano class in the morning, and in the afternoon, she continued her revision plan in her own room. My wife worked all day long in the hospital, and at noon, she surely told me that it will not be long before the Chinese medicine hopsital conbines with the County No.1 People's Hospital. I am very happy to hear that only because she can have a salary rise.

In the morning Ma telephoned me again to talk about that matter of yesterday and he wanted me to go with together to the grate office, but I did not receive Xu's any message about it, so it is not polite for to go there drectly. So he first went there and a short time Xu informed me of it by telephone. We talked a lot about it but we finally could not change anything, so I finally decided to accept the assignment of my job, and I am not very sure that I like it very much. I felt a little upset about the two experimental classes:Classes 15 and 16, which were taken by my student Sun Tao ago. He was asked to take Classes 17 and 18. I was and am feeling a little embarassed now because of all that. So the best answer to this problem is to accept it without any explanation.

In the whole afternoon I was still translating an article about the Beijing Olympic Games. But I don't finish it now, and have just finished translating half of it. This article is about the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games. As soon as the Olympic Games started, I wanted to translate it in memory of this grand and gorgeous event, but because I spent much more time watching the games most of the time, I delayed this task that I assigned me. So until today, I did set out to do it. I think it is very arduous, but it is very interesting and meaningful, and I have learned a lot through this job.

In the afternoon, I felt very tired and exausted, so I stopped the translation and had a very good rest to relax myself. I watched the Korean soap opera You are loving with my wife after my daughter went to bed after her shower.

I felt a little fine after a short time.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 Fine

2008-08-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

Today everything went very well as usual according to its previous route.

In the morning, I translated two pieces of my blog-friends' essays, one My August's Sky and the other Smile to sing the songs of life, which I have liked very much. My August's Sky presents a loving emotion between the two lovers who love each other very deeply. I am very touched by their missing each other and thinking of each other and bless them a gooooood life. Smile to sing the songs of life is teaching you how to cope with your troubles, your setbacks, your loneliness and your happiness in your own life. It deeply moves me in the bottom of my heart. It also indicates that I am not sure about the real life and have no idea how I can have a goooood and loving and happy life now and in the future. It also means that life is not easy for every one of us, so we must take it seriously and face it bravely and courageously.

In the afternoon, I was surfing the internet and my daughter went on her revision plan peacefully. I visited my blog-friends' websites and did some responses to their information. After a short time, I received a telephone from my friend and colleague Ma Baolong, who was out of the school then. He told me that Xu Hui, head of Senior One, telephoned him and asked him to take charge of the lessons of two experimental classes. And then he told me that Xu wanted me to take charge of another two experimental classes, and asked me if I would like to take it in the new school term.

To be honest, I would like to go and work with Xu, who is very good and impressive and very capable with great ability and grear courage. I also like him himself. We are having a goood terms with each other untill now. But in the matter of fact, I don't want to go to his senior group, only because I will not be feeling very well in that English office because of a woman. I know that I am very wrong to think about that and her, but I must not be feeling fine to work with her all day and all month and all year. Her biggest drawback is that she is always looking down at others and thinking very low of others, showing off herself, and she is very very difficult to get on with.
So I don't decide to go or not go. It all depends tomorrow.

A short time after I answered Ma's telephone, I went out to have my hair cut. I havn't had it cut since about three months ago. I usually have my hair cut every three months. I was very lucky that there was only one man who was being shaved. It was at 5:40 pm when I arrived there. First I had my hair cut and then had my hair dyed black. It was 30 minutes before I had my hair dyed well. I returned home at 6:40 pm.

I was feeling very well after I had my hair cut and felt relaxed in the mind and spirit. Andalso I felt free and fresh.

Ceremony draws worldwide attention（reproduced）

2008-08-26T01:43:00.000-07:00

Stunning display, UK press says
The British press spoke in praise of the spectacular Beijing Olympics opening ceremony unanimously, calling it the best ever and a stunning display of China's rising confidence.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), also ran live broadcasts of the opening ceremony on its BBC1 and BBC high definition channels.
Huw Edwards, who delivered the commentary with Sue Barker in Beijing, noted China's confidence.
A presenter with Eurosport hailed the Games as "bigger than anything imaginable", calling the ceremony an "extraordinary" and "extravagant" presentation.
The Financial Times said "the most certain victory of the Olympic Games was duly ratified on Friday night when China won the gold medal in the opening ceremony competition - presumably for all time".
The paper noted that no country in the world ever has - or will - match the Chinese in effort, human power, synchronicity, and ingenuity.
Calling it an enormous show and a gigantic event, the paper said the first triumph belonged to the evening's auteur Zhang Yimou, who insisted on traditional lines: nationalism with Chinese characteristics.
The Guardian displayed a photo captioned "Beijing Olympics take flight" showing the Bird's Nest being lit up by fireworks.
The Guardian said the ceremony that opened the 29th Olympic Games on Friday night outdid all of its predecessors in numbers, color, demonstrating to the world that the new China intends to make its presence felt.
The Daily Telegraph said: "China marches on to world stage." It published a photograph of hundreds of Chinese dancers wearing feather headdresses to represent the age of Confucius.
The paper said China had showed itself to the world leaders present in the stadium and to a television audience of billions.
The tabloid Daily Mail said Hollywood "will study the DVD of the performances for years to come and plunder Beijing's visual tricks".

Sharing in pride
The Chinese shared the Olympic pride as they watched the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.
In Beijing, locals and visitors braved stifling heat as they crowded parks and other designated viewing areas to see the opening ceremony, the paper said.
"They might not have tickets to the Games. They might never set foot inside the stadium. But wherever there was a TV screen, big or small, the people of Beijing on Friday gathered and cheered, soaking up this brief moment in the long history of this ancient capital when the Olympic flame illuminated the Chinese sky," the paper said.
Despite heat and the threat of a summer shower, locals poured into designated parks and viewing areas in Beijing, grandparents and babies in tow, some waiting hours for a foothold among the standing-room-only crowds of thousands, the paper said.
"I am so proud to be Chinese tonight," Ju Ke, a 19-year-old animation student who got a front row seat on the grass of Ditan Park before two giant monitors, was quoted as saying.
"China has made so much progress in recent years," he said. "Chinese culture is so amazing. The Olympics were hard-earned."
All the years of waiting and sacrifice seemed worth it when the Games finally began at that auspicious 8 minutes past 8 on the eighth day of the eight month in the eighth year past the second millennium, the paper said.
"They've probably been preparing for this day since Deng Xiaoping opened up China to the world," Nicholas Martelli, a Chinese language student from Italy, said. He also had waited hours to see the show on the big screen along with a group of visitors from Spain.
The US Miami Herald said "the Beijing Olympic organizers dazzled an audience of 91,000 at the whimsical Bird's Nest Stadium and another estimated 4 billion watching on television with a colorful, imaginative opening ceremony that bridged ancient and modern Chinese history."
The New York Times said on its website: "An ecstatic China, an ancient nation so determined to be a modern power, finally got its Olympic moment on Friday night ... the 2008 Beijing Olympics began with an opening ceremony of soaring fireworks, lavish spectacle and a celebration of Chinese culture and international good will."
The Wall Street Journal said on its website that the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games "is expected to attract 4 billion viewers, probably the largest number in Olympic history".
The World Journal said in an editorial the Beijing Olympic Games opened successfully, as wished by 1.3 billion Chinese people and overseas Chinese. It was a big day for China.
CNN, ABC and Yahoo also gave wide coverage to the opening ceremony.

Japanese front page news
In Japan, nearly all the major newspapers - Yomiuri Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, Tokyo Shimbun and Nihon Keizai Shimbun published news of the grand event on the front pages of their evening editions.
The state broadcaster NHK (Nihon Hoso Kyokai) televised live the entire ceremony.
Kyodo News and Jiji press, the two leading Japanese news agencies, continuously updated their news items about the event and released striking pictures of the performances at the ceremony.
"Tonight, the Bird's Nest was turned into a red sea of joy with smiling faces everywhere," Mainichi Shimbun said
To host the Olympics, which was a 100-year dream of the Chinese people, will speed up China's development toward maturity, Jiji press said.

Spaniards 'delighted'
The Spanish media was impressed and delighted with Friday's opening ceremony of the Games.
The spectacular event was seen live by around five million Spaniards, and was the main item of Friday evening's news bulletins.
Television channel Antena 3 described the ceremony as "an astonishing effort". While Cuatro called it "impressive".
Radio station Cadena COPE said it was "the most dramatic Olympic opening ceremony ever".
Television Espanola - the state-owned channel that holds the rights to screen the Olympics - featured an interview with Crown Prince Felipe, who is head of the Spanish delegation.
Prince Felipe said their Chinese hosts had made them feel "very welcome indeed", and that "we are hoping for a very strong Spanish performance here".
Spain is hoping to improve on its performance four years ago in Athens, where it won 19 medals.

Live TV broadcasts
In France, French TV channel France 2 televised live the opening ceremony with explanations of performances depicting China's history.
In South Korea, KBS, MBC and SBS TV stations also showed the opening ceremony live.
KBS invited a Chinese student in South Korea as a guest to explain to viewers performances at the opening ceremony, while MBC sent Chinese-speaking reporters to Beijing to cover the event.
In Thailand, TV commentators of the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) lauded the opening ceremony, calling it "the most spectacular Olympics opening ever".
"Beautiful indeed," Thai TV anchors repeatedly said when seeing a central stage designed in the form of an ancient Chinese scroll with artists "dancing out" traditional Chinese paintings.

Canadians celebrate
About 5,000 people gathered outside a movie theater in Toronto early on Friday morning, hoping to watch the spectacular opening ceremony on the big screen in high-definition.
Although the show was not due to start until 8 am local time, many people, young and old, arrived at the Richmond Hill Center for the Performing Arts well before sunrise.
A year ago, the theater decided to show for free the opening ceremony because of the demand.
"When I arrived at 5:30 am, there were about 700 people here," Michael Grit, one of the organizers, said.
"The theater can only accommodate 3,700 people, so we had to turn about 1,000 people away," Grit said.
The audience was amazed at the dazzling performances, which they though not only demonstrated China's great ancient culture, but also its progress in modern science and technology.
"It was amazing - I liked it and I'm proud of it," said one young woman of Chinese origin.
In Vancouver, the event was televised at 5 am, but that did not deter viewers.
To celebrate the historical occasion, several government officials and Chinese embassy staff gathered at the City Hall in Ottawa to raise the Olympic flag.
"Beijing and Ottawa are sister cities, the flag-hoisting ceremony was meant not only to mark the opening of the Games, but also to express our best wishes for the friendship between the two cities," Ottawa mayor Larry O'Brien said.
Federal Environment Minister John Baird said: "The opening ceremony was stunningly spectacular. It's not something you see every day. It was an exciting occasion for Chinese and Canadians."
In Montreal's China town, hundreds gathered before a big screen to enjoy the show.
The Chinese communities in Vancouver and Ottawa have planned parties and parades in the coming days to celebrate their home country for hosting the Olympics for the first time.

Reception pleases Iraqis
Iraqis on Friday were happy to see their athletes at the opening ceremony of the 29th Beijing Olympics, and witness the spectacular event.
"Just as I had expected, the Chinese did not miss the opportunity to demonstrate the distinctive characteristics of their ancient culture," 55-year-old Adel Rasheed said.
"They not only evoked people's curiosity about China's history, but also showed their superiority in modern science and technology."
The Rasheed family shared the occasion with their neighbor Basim Ali, 54, in Baghdad's western district of Yarmouk.
Before the opening ceremony, they had got themselves a generator and enough fuel in case there should be a power failure. Baghdad suffers from a chronic power shortage.
"I wonder if the number eight that the Chinese believe brings good luck holds true for all people of the world," Rasheed said.
He was referring to the UN announcement on the very same day 20 years ago, which signaled the end of the devastating eight-year war between Iraq and Iran.
When popular singer Liu Huan, and British diva Sarah Brightman were about to start their duet of the Olympic theme song, Um Sameer, Basim's wife, took out her mobile phone and asked everyone to keep quiet.
"I recorded the song because I heard it would be performed by a Chinese and a British singer. I did not want to miss the opportunity. Now I can listen to it whenever I want," she said.
The Iraqi team's participation in the Games at one point was doubtful due to a dispute. Iraq eventually sent a very small team.
"I did not expect to see any of our top leaders at the stadium to welcome our athletes. But I was sure the Chinese people would give them a warm welcome," Muhammad Hussan, 20, said.
"I was not disappointed. When our team entered the stadium applause broke out. They were also cheered by the millions of Iraqis glued to their TVs at home," Hussan said.
Rasheed said: "I feel proud of our athletes. They are few in number, but they give me the sense that we are part of the world community, we are not alone. People do care about our sufferings."

Belgians give thumbs up
In Brussels, heart of the European Union (EU), overseas Chinese, along with dozens of Belgians, gathered before a big flat screen in a Chinese restaurant to watch the opening ceremony.
As one of nearly 4 billion viewers across the world, David Fouquet, director of the Brussels-based Asia Europe Project Information Service, said: "It was quite impressive. It would have been even more impressive if I could have been there rather than watching it on the screen."
Andre Puttemans, managing director of a business consultancy, said: "The opening ceremony was not a copy of the Western world. It was Chinese.
"I think the Chinese people have the right to be very proud of what they have achieved."
When the national flag of China was raised at the beginning of the ceremony, everyone in the restaurant stood up to show their respect and admiration, Puttemans said.
"In dealing with China over the last 22 years, I have seen great changes there. I think in spite of all the difficulties before the Games, my personal feeling is China has been evolving nicely," he said.
Bernard Dewit, chairman of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said the opening ceremony presented a modern and changing China.
"It was beautiful. The ceremony showed that China is a modern country," he said.
Dewit, a lawyer who published a book on Chinese business law in 1980s, said China's hosting of the Olympic Games marked a step forward for the emerging nation to be more open to the outside world.
"It will convince people that China is continuing with its opening up," Dewit said.
He said it was a good coincidence that this year China was also celebrating the 30th anniversary of its opening up policy, which was introduced by the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1978.
Dewit said the Games would definitely help promote China, which is already one of the world's most vibrant economies and promising markets.

Smile to sing the songs of life

2008-08-26T01:24:00.000-07:00

Smile to sing the songs of life. Do not complain about life for too many tribulations, do not have to complain about life in too many twists and turns. If the sea loses its rolling waves, it will lose its power, and if the desert loses its dancing-flying sands, it will lose its spectacle, and so if life goes smoothly without any storms, it will lose the charm of its existing.

Smile to sing the songs of life. Attribute any failure to an attempt, don’t think too meanly of yourself; imagine any succes as a kind of luck, don’t pride. In this way, smile and calmly play music to bravely face setbacks, to gladly accept happiness, to courageously taste loneliness and to gallantly overcome sadness.

Smile to sing the songs of life. Write the Chinese character 人 very well and live in dignify and strength, not to ingratiate yourself with money and any power. The poor is a simple song; the commonplace is a line of beautiful poem. Smiling, we go to sing, looking at Red Dust fluttering in a calm, and tasting the worldly ups and downs in loneliness.

Smile to sing the songs of life. Open wide your dust-laden hearts, make narrow selfish die away, fly your soul freely, and returen your expansive tolerance. In this way, a bright world will appear in front of you: blue sky, white clouds, little bridges, running streams and so on. You can live all the way happily, with the flowers’ fragrance lingering in your nose while enchanting, and with the gorgeous colorful butterflies dancing around you beautifully.

Smile to sing the songs of life. Shed tears for others’ sorrow; have mercy for the good of soul; have sympathy for the unfortunate friends and care for the elderly and old and unlucky people of misery. With the power of smiling, we, smiling, care for everything around you, move everything around you, and affect everything around you until every one of people is wearing a brilliant smile on their faces that will never appear forever.

Yes, it is so. And let us bring a smile to face all that life has given us.

My August's Sky

2008-08-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

In the August sky, the air is filled with yearning; your purple wizard stretches my folded sentiments. The wait of the Millennium, the Millennium looking back and the Millennium’s expetations all are drifting lazily in the thick fragrance of osmanthus. Here you are and I have had this life of love and painted the August sky an azure one.

You are the most beautiful encounter of my life. When I gently opened your space, your heart closely seized mine. In a blink, your name was ironed in the bottom of my heart as firm as a rock. Whenever I am free, I will be in your room, lingering over those words of wisdom and those beautiful pictures, which have held my heart and my soul.

The appearance of a certain sentiment is not because I have known you many years, but because of a casual, which makes life full of concerning and missing.

My heart is leaping with great joy, and even if it is a small symbol, it can make me imaginable. When my flower of feeling was waken by wind, I knocked open your heavy door of heart with my warmth, resulting in my heart immersing in the gentle sea. The heart that had subsided a long time before regained its consciousness the moment it touched yours. And you are in my mind even at busy moments.

I often think that you come or not come is the same, because you are always in my mind and I will be waiting for you in time or out of time.

You don’t know of the deep love affair unless you have missed; you don’t know of the thick love affair unless you have loved.

Sometimes, I convince myself to make your smile and your face blocked in the screen, not to stare, not to make him stir my heart, and to leave it as it is, and forget the just oath only in the blink of eyes. As at this moment, I hold myself in the lonely corner, writing and painting, only to fill the grief with loneliness of my own.

My love is not in any injury even with the pain of missing, the heart of traveling, and the drunken yearning. My missing scrolls over my fingertips, and that shallow and drunken feeling is that you are gently calling for the previous agreement so that the love flower is blooming in purity in August. Look at clouds, mountains and rivers, read my poetry books, and send my waving thoughts distantly. It is you that plant this yearning, and share with you my love to you with the help of easten wind even if water and clouds block me.

I am again thinking of you when the setting sun is like rosy clouds, like your dimples. My heart is indulging to you and for you.

Monday, August 25, 2008 Fine

2008-08-25T05:29:00.000-07:00

Thoughout the morning today, I was feeling very tired and exausted, could not afford to mention the spirit of doing something, feeling lethargy, and not being interested in anything.

Early in the morning, I went to do some morning exercise, a little tired but feeling well. After coming home, I first prepared some breakfast for my daughter, and then lay on the long sofa to have a rest, but, however, I fell asleep unwittfully. I woke up when my daughter greeted me gladly to go to the piano class. I went to bed again as soon as she left home. I slept until about 11 am because after a few minutes my daughter returned home from her class.

So I got up to prepare lunch for my family. After having our lunch, I continued my sleep again to about 2:10 pm, when my daughter and my wife, who stayed at home from her night work, woke up. At this time, my younger sister telephoned to ask about the password of money that was deposited in the bank. And then my wife went out to meet her to deal with this matter.

At 2:20 pm, my daughter and I worked out a review plan to prepare for an admission examination on September1 at Yicao Middle School. The review plan is as follows:
Time schedule: 2:30 to 5:30 pm every afternoon, from 25th to 31st of August; 5:30 to 6 pm for supper; 6 to 8 pm for the rest and play
Review content: maths textbooks 12,11,10 and 9; english books 5 and 6 in primary school
Time schedule: 2:30 to 5:30 pm every afternoon; from 25th to 28th for maths, from 29th to 31st for english
Review methods: maths: all the example exercises are redone, and all the formulas and definitions are recited again; English: recite agaian all the dialogues and texts that were recited, and then review all the word and phrases in the books.
And she carried out this review plan successfully and she completed it very well.

In the afternoon, I was feeling a little well and surfed the internet, visiting some websites of my blog friends. And then I felt very comfortable from their beautiful words and good articles. So communication among people is a very good method to comfort yourself and relax yourself and excite yourself and ignite yourself and bright yourself.

Sunday, August 24. 2008 Fine

2008-08-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

Curtains closing on Beijing Games

Today my daughter stayed at home because of Sunday, and my wife had a rest at home from night work. At 10 am, my daughter and I went to enrol at Yicai Middle School. At first begining, we did not succeeded in enrolling because we did not have two recently-taken and no-caps photos of one cun and the copies of the residence permit and property ownership certificate. And then immediately I went to copy the permit and the certificate and daughter went home to fetch her photos. I was very unlucky that there is not a photocopying house near my school, so I had to walk south a long way to have the copy. And then, I went back to the school gate and met my daughter to go together to Yicai Middle School to complish our task of enrolling. And then everyghing went very well, and we completed the task of registration successfully and smoothly.

After that, I telephoned my wife at home to come downstairs and we went home together. Before we started out home, we went to the market first and payed for a just-killed chichen. And then my wife and daughter went to frame and mount their pieces of embroidery they had finished two days before. I first went home alone. But we promised that we would meet at home.

Our main intenti0n to return home is to visit my younger brother's new house that just had been built a short time before. He is a good and clever man and himself designed his two-storey new house. It was about four months before it was finally built. There we found that they had moved some furniture into the new house. After we knew that they did not have a very big wallmirror, we gave him 500 yuan to pay for a big wallmirror. And then we visited every room of his new house, and my little nephew, only about five years old, is very glad that he can have a large high-rise to live in. At about 3 pm, we had a party meal with our parents, my brother and his family, and then chatted a lot of homely words with my parents, and at about 4 pm, we said goodbye to them and went back home happily.

I am very happy that my parents are very well and they are living a very happy life and everything at home is going very well and smoothly, and my brother and his family are also leading a sweet and happy life. You are very happy when you are feeling that you are feeling very happy. So the biggest happiness is that you are feeling that you are happy!!

On the closing day of the Olympic Games, our excellent players continued their marvelous performances at the venues that brought us two gold medals in the boxing event. Zou Shiming bagged his first ever gold medal in men's 48kg class boxing title, and Zhang Xiaoping stormed to men's 81kg boxing crown, which is the 51rt and also last gold medal of our delegation.

In the gold medal list, our country topped with 51 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze; the United States second with 36 gold, 38 silver and 36 bronze; Russia third with 23 gold, 21 silver and 28bronze; and the United Kingdom fourth and Germany 5th.

At 8 pm, the closing ceremony began amid a display of fireworks that form a huge circle in the sky which symbolizes the complete success of the Beijing Games. In our traditional Chinese culture, circle is a symbol of perfection, harmony and renewal. The countdown to the closing ceremony started from the number 29, indicating 29th Olympic Games. And all the audience joined the countdown from10, while the numbers were displayed by firework explosions in the high night sky.

During the 16 days, friends from all sides, get together as in a big family, with friendly competiton, harmonious coexitence. They compete fair, just and open, and enhance understanding and promote friendship between them and their countries that they belong to. Thus, in such a warm and harmonious environment, 38 worl records that have been broken, and 85 Olympic records have been broken. Beijing Olympic Games, as a great Olympic Games, will find its exclusive place in the history of the development fo modern Olympic Games and will eventually be recorded in history.

Saturday, August 23, 2008 Fine

2008-08-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

Today is fine and I am feeling very well because of the fabulous weather with warm wind and sunlight. My daughter went to the piano class. As was planned, I would go to pay her fee but her teacher said we had better pay it in a short time, so I did not go to her teacher. I went to surf the internet and visited the websites of my friends online and watched the Olympic Games. And my wife came back home from her work all night, and she was sleeping all morning because of hard work last night.

At noon, one classmate of my daughter’s sent us her letter of acceptance from the county education department. We are all very happy for the good news. It is as follows:

Junior high school enrolment notice of 2008 Tanchen County’s urban areas
Awarded place number: 2002371322001110277
Name; Zhao Ruijie
Identity card number: 371322199605040022
Father’s name: Zhao Changrong
Mother’s name: Gao Xia
Based on Compulsory Education Law of People’s Repulic of China and the spirit of 28th document of 2008 Tancheng educational foundation documents, and according to the admission principle of the regional and nearest plan and test exemption, please come to Yucai Middle School to enrol from 23rd to 26th of August, 2008, together with this notice, compulsory primary education certificate, the residence permit, and property ownership certificate. Children of migrant workers and whose parents are doing business come to enroll with the following valid documents or certificates such as the temporary residence permit, housing lease contract, business licenses or labor and employment contracts.
The Department of Basic Education of the Education Bureau of Tancheng County
20 August, 2008

We are all very excited when the good news from the Olympic venues stormed to us from time to time. In the afternoon, Meng Guangliang and Yang Wengjun, the defenders of the men’s canoe double 500m, did their best to defend their title, and they are the first ever defending champions in this event. We are very proud of their marvelous achievement and fantastic performance on the river.

Ma Lin won Olympic men's table tennis singles gold.
In the evening, world No. 2 Ma Lin claimed the Olympic title, outgunning Wang Hao 4-1 in an all-Chinese men's singles table tennis Olympic final. Ma took the game 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, becoming the third Chinese player to win Olympic men's singles gold, after Liu Guoliang in 1996 Atlanta Games and Kong Linghui in 2000 Sydney Games.
Again, three five-star red flags were hoisted at the same time at the same stadium in the same event at the same Olympic Games.

Friday, August 22, 2008 Cloudy

2008-08-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

An all-Chinese women's singles table tennis

Today there was nothing special for the whole family. My daughter was continuing with her piano class in the morning, and in the aftenoon, she finished another three consonants and also did it very well. My wife stayed at home all day and went to work all night.

During other time, we were watching the Olympic games live. In the evening just-finished table tennis event, Zhang Yining, the defender of this event, edged her teammate, Wang Nan, to the title, and her another teammate, Guo Yue settled for bronze. Zhang won 4-1, becoming the third Chinese table tennis player to pocket four Olympic golds, after legendary Deng Yaping and Grand Slam veteran Wang.

This is the first time at this Olympic Games that three five-star red flags was hoisted at the same time at the same stadium at the same event at the same Olympic Games. All the spectators present were singing the national anthem together with our players on the podium, all with excited tears in their eyes.

Two sprint gold medals winner Usain Bolt led Jamaica to the men's 4x100 meters win with a new world record. Bolt, who broke both the 100m and 200m world records en route to the gold medals, ran the third leg and gave the Jamaicans a big lead before handing the baton to his compatriot, the former world 100m record holder. His teammate easily anchored the race in 37.10 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 37.40 set by the United States in the 1992 Olympic Games.

A total of 37 world records had been broken at the Beijing Olympic Games by August 21.
We are all proud of their amazing presentation at the stadiums.

Thursday, August 21, 2008 Heavy rainy

2008-08-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

Today it was raining very heavily from last night till now. So my daughter did not go to the piano class because of the heavy rain, and stayed at home and finished another two consonants. And then, she ddi some more reading in her own room, after that, she watched the Olympic events. She always goes to surf the internet at about 11:30am every day during the summer holidays. My wife rested at home from work and continued her embroidery job, and I think it will not be a long time before she finishes it.

This evening, there was a major women’s vollerball competition, our volleyball team agaist the Brazilian volleyball team. If our team wins the game, we will enter the finals. We were all looking forward to its coming and expecting that our women’s volleyball team could have an excellent and amazing performnace. And we all expected that our volleyball team succeeded in defending the title.

But unfortunately, at about 6:30pm, there was a thunderstorm, raining cats and dogs and lasting about one hour, with lightning and thunder. So after a short time, TV signals were cut off and we could not have a good chance to watch the volleyball match. Finally, our women volleryball team was defeated by the women Brazilian team with a big score of 0:3 because of not our hails of fans. We lost the defending and we are very saddened for their failure. However, we are always supporting our women volleyball team as usual with our great enthusiasm.

Today our delegation seized only one gold in women’s 10m platform singles event. In the first four rounds, our player, Chen Ruolin, was left behind a Canadian player and ranked second, and her teammate, Wang Xin, finished third. But in the last round diving, Chen gave a marvelous and perfect dive and overtook her rival and made the final victory. This is the 46th gold of our delegation.

I am very proud of our players’ marvelous achievement in the games though they could get more gold medals. .

Another new world record

2008-08-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

Bolt breaks 200m world record against headwind.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica, the Olympic men's 100m gold medalist, broke the men's 200m world record in 19.30 seconds en route to his golden double last night, even into a headwind of 0.9m per second.

The previous record of 19.32 seconds was set by American Michael Johnson in the 1996 Olympic Games. The 21-year-old had already broken the 100m world mark in the Games when he became the fastest man in the world in 9.69 seconds.

Former Chinese leader Hua Guofeng died.

But early in the morning, I received a piece of shocking news on the internet. Hua Guofeng, a former leader of the Communist Party of China, died yesterday at the age of 87. It is said that Hua died of illness at 12:50 pm in Beijing.

Hua was an outstanding CPC member, a long-tested and loyal Communist fighter and a proletarian revolutionary who once held important leading posts in the CPC and the government.

Born in 1921, Hua once served as the Chinese premier and chairman of the CPC Central Committed.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Cloudy

2008-08-20T06:33:00.000-07:00

Yin Jian won our country’s 1st Olympic sailing gold.

My daughter and wife did their routines in the morning, and afternoon, my daughter finished another two consonants and she did very well in practising them. And then my wife came home from work at 3:30pm. She went to sleep at once after a short time she arrived home because she did not have a cat nap at noon. My daughter watched the Olympic Games events and I went to surf the internet to enjoy ourselves.

From last night to this morning, I did not feel very well and felt a bit depressed, and I also felt the pressure when I received an invitation from a friend and also ever colleague to drink together to celebrate his daughter being admitted to the university. To be honest, it is a goooooood thing to celebrate a child being admitted into a university, but I did not make meself happy and excited because I am afraid of going to such situations, and I am not convinced that I can do very well in such situaions. Since I received this good news, I watched the television, absent-minded all the night. And always I was thinking about this matter, to go or not to go? I was indecisive. I was under no determination. I think that we are good friends and ever colleague, so it is logical for me to go to the party to drink together. But I am in introversion and not a talkative person and not sure that I can behave myself. But the main idea is that I do not like to drink, do not like such an occasion, more important, I do not know how to persuade people to drink more. The whole night, I was worried about it with much anxiety. At about 12:40pm, I went to bed but did not go to sleep, just lying in bed, awake. This matter made me difficult to sleep well. Perhaps it was a long time before I fell asleep at last.

I went to the playground to do my morning exercise. I was still very depressed, and still did not decided to go or not go. All morning, I did not have my breakfast and just lay on the bed, awake, and didn’t know what to do next. I was not sure of going to the party until about 11:10am when I had to decide to check that another teacher would go. Even when I telephoned him about this matter, I urgedly wanted to come to the result that that teacher had gone to the party so that I could have a gooooood excuse that I did not go to the party. But unfortunately, that teacher did not go then and asked me to wait at the school gate, so I had to go with him to the party.

But I did not know why I was feeling very fine as soon as I finally got in the car after I waited for about an hour. Therefore, I think that we often feel a bit worried and even depressed before we go to do something that we are not sure of. But we will feel very fine once we are trying to do it or we are very sure that we can do it well. But to be honest, however, in any case, I do not like such an occasion.

But to be frank, I was and am very glad to have met my friend and very happy that he was and is also very happy that we got together 12 years after we departed each other. And we chatted a lot about him, his children and me and something we were very interested in. He told me his daughter would go to a college located in Zaozhuang City to study nursery. He told me she did not like it but at last she agreed to be admitted to that college. I am very glad to know something about him and his life. So after talking a lot, I did not feel a bit depressed, on the contrary, I went to thd party to have met him. I delecated 200 RMB yuan to his daughter’s pocket money, and then I gladly came home at about 2pm without any dish.

Meeting friends will make me feel much better, and the mood is relaxed, and am again interested in everything around me.

Today, we did not have many events that can bring us gold medals. But we also had very gooooood news: Yin Jian won our country’s 1st ever Olympic sailing gold. Yin used her knowledge of local water to the best effect. Despite a fourth and three fifth finishes by the first four marks, she collected her composure and stormed back to the third by the finishing line to claim the title. In just-finished event, Wu Jingyu claimed the women’s 49kg taekwondo title, beating the player from in the final with the absolute advantage.

I lived a goooooood day happily. How beautiful life is!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Sunny

2008-08-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

At 5:20 in the early morning, I woke up. Perhaps I was exhausted because my wife and I watched a soap opera of South Korea “You are lovely” until late into the night 12;40 pm. So I wanted to sleep ten minutes, and finally I overslept and did not wake up until 6;30 in the morning. Therefore, I did not go to do my morning exercise. I am very sorry for my not-perseverance.

My daughter went to her piano class on time at 8am and my wife went to work at 7am. At about 8:30am, I got up and drank a little gruel. And then I came to my own room to surf the internet. But I was very sorry when I turned on the TV set because the singals are not clear, and the screen was always beating, which made your eyes uncomfortable. But fortunately, no morning events were played and only several events were re-broadcasted, and I went them over again. After a short time, I finally found the real reason for which our TV set had a bad singal is we should pay the TV-watching fee during these days. At about 10:30am, my wife telephoned home to check what we would eat lunch for, and seizing the opportunity, I told her about the bad TV singals. At lunch at home, she told me that she asked for leave to pay for the television-watching fee. No wonder, the TV singals were clear again a short time after she telephoned home. She is a lady with a chip on her shoulder and does anything very quichly and fast. And she has a strong capability of dealing with matters. I am very very proud of her and her cleverness.

At noon, I prepared a rich dish for my hard wife and my studious and sensible daughter. In the afternoon, my daughter again succeeded in studying another two consonants. She did a goooood performance and made much progress in ICA phonemes. After that, she took up her unfinished embroidery and I continued to surf the Inteenet to manage my blog, answer my blog friends’ informaion and visit my blog friends’ websites. And at the same time, we were expecting the coming of Olympic competitions and we were very determined that the total of gold medals would pass 40 golds.

In the evening, Li Xiaopeng won paralled bars gold medal, which is 40th gold. After that, Zou Kai claims horizontal gold with a big advantage, which is his third gold at this Olympic Games and also 41st gold of our delegation. And then Lu Chunlong seized the 42nd gold for our delegation in men’s trampoline final. The 43rd gold is from He Chong who crowned the men's 3m springboard singles title. I am very proud of their performances.

Monday, August 18, 2008 Sunny

2008-08-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

Liu quitted men's 110m hurdles first round due to injury.

Today it is fine and sunny though it was a little cloudy in the early morning. As usual, everything went well. In the afternoon, my daughter finished practising another two consonant phonemes. She did not any better in it. And during all the other hours, we were watching the Olympic events on TV, and we were happy that our player compatriots did marvelous performances at Olymipcs.

After a false start, Liu Xiang, the world and Olympic champion and our nation’s best hope of an athletics gold medal, he stumbled forward for a few paces and girmaced in pain, obviously hindered by the injury to his right foot. Then he hobbled down the tunnel and walked away into the blocks, leaving a packed Bird’s Nest Stadium in stunned silence. So his dream of defending his Olympic title on home soil ended when he failed to start his first-round heat in the 110m hurdles.

Tonight we bagged four golds in three different events.
Our gymnast Chen Yibing claimed men’s rings gold, the second gold in this event in our country’s gymnastic history. It tool us 24 years to make the achievement after the sport’s legend Li Ning brought the first rings gold at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. During the game, Chen, who made his Olympic debut, remained quite calm in the final despite chants of “Come on” from home fans. Showing no slight sign of shivers, he moved easily from one position to another and put an end to the routine with a solid landing. The next-to-perfect performance won the hearts of judges and secured his leading position with a high score. His teammate Yang Wei settled the silver.

Another gymnast He Kexin claimed the women’s uneven bars title with 16.725 points . A USA player also collected 16.725 points, but she had to stand second according to a tiebreak (act quality) rule. Her teammate Yang Yilin got the bronze. In the just-finished women’s trampoline event, He Wenna claimed the title, which is the first Olympic gold in this event and the 38th gold of our delegation.

The most amazing moment of this night is that our delegation claimed the men's team table tennis title. We lifted the men's Olympic team table tennis crown after downing European powerhouse Germany 3-0 in the final. Our players, Ma Lin, Wang Hao and Wang Liqin, who are ladden with champions, met little resistence from German challengers who went all out to foil us and failed. Our supremacy was never in doubt as both the men's and women's teams their way into the final with unbeaten runs.

We are all proud of our players' fantastic performances in the Olympic Games.

Sunday, August 17, 2008 Raining and cool

2008-08-17T02:57:00.000-07:00

Michael Phelps coasts into history with 8 gold.

Today is wet. It is raining so heavily all the whole day. Daughter rested at home and wife worked all day. Daughter finished another four consonant phonemes and she did a very goooood performance. while watching the Olympic events, she tried to finish her embroidery in several days. I think she will manage it very well.

Today is a great day for Michael Phelps, also for the Beijing Olympic Games. Michael won his recrod eight gold medal with his teammates in the men's 4 x 100m medley relay swimming final to become the grandest of Olympic champions. With the history-making eight gold, Michael has become the first man to win eight gold medals at the same Olympics, passing his predecessor Spiltz, who won seven gold medals at the same Olympics in 1972. So Michael said,"Everything is accomplished." The medals were won in: 400m individual medley (August 10), 4x100m freestyle relay (August 11), 200m freestyle (August 12), 200m butterfly (August 13). 4x200m freestyle relay (August 13), 200m individual medley (August 15), 100m butterfly (August 16), and 4x100m medley relay (August 17).

Today is also great for our players who stormed 8 gold medals to crown among 37 gold medals that have been produced in the afternoon and in the evening.

Qiu Jian seized the 28th gold in men's 50m rifle three postions. Four beautiful girls, Tang Bin, Jin Ziwei, Xi Aihua and Zhang Yangyang pocketed the gold medal in women's four-person scull rowing. This is the first tims our rowing team won the gold medal in the Olympic Games, which is a great breakthrough in this event. They have written a glorious page in history. Wang Jiao claimed the title in women's 72kg category freestyle wrestling, which is the 30th gold medal. Zou Kai made a fantastic performnace in men's floor exercise, resulting in seizing the 31st gold for our country. In men's pommel horse, our player, Xiao Qin, delecated an amazing show to all the spectators and viewers and handed in the 32nd gold for our delegation.

Our country-ball players, Zhang Yining, Wang Nan and Guo Yue, stormed to the first Olympic team gold medal in women's table tennis team final, by beating Singapore easily for this team gold. This is the 33rd gold of our delegation. Our Super Dan bagged the badminton men's singles champion, which is the 34th gold of our delegation. Guo Jingjing at last pocketed the 35th gold for our delegation in women's 3m springboard singles event, and her teammate, also rival, settled for bronze.

Today our great Olympic players delecated 8 gold medals to us, and we are all proud of them and their marvelous and excellent performances in various venues and stadiums.

Saturday, August 16, 2008 Fine and cool

2008-08-16T03:04:00.000-07:00

Bolt saunters into history: 9.69 seconds.

Today the weather is changing a little cool and feels chilly in the early morning.

My daughter went to the class and wife worked all day. In the afternoon, my lovely daughter continued to finish another four consonant phonemes. After about 10 minutes, she did practise them very well. She is so clever a girl as I am proud of.

Today the 27th gold is from our Olympian Zhang Ning in badminton women's singals final event. Zhang, at the age of 33, is the defending champion of this event. This is a duel of will and courage instead of skills because both of them were on the verge of exhaustion following days of fierce fights against the world's top players. In the third decisive game, both used rackets to support their bodies amid the intervals of the competition, which was a sign of limits of physical energy, but Zhang was more persistent afterwards than her compatriot Xie Xingfang, world No.1 seed. Zhang and Xie presented the world a most wonderful match. "I have never stopped dreaming of standing on the medals podium." Zhang said after the match.

This night, Jamaican Usain Bolt will give us all the night awake. The world record holder dashed to his first Olympic gold in the men's 100m final and set a new world record, clocking 9.69 seconds. 91,000 spectators in the Chinese National Stadium (Bird's Nest) are very lucky to witness this historic moment, thrilling and unforgettable, and we will remember the following exciting scene: Before he reached the finish line, Bolt slowed up, stretched his arms out wide and put his palms out, then slapped(bounced) his chest with his right palm. At the same time, he looked around to check how his rivals aree doing then. And he was still running. And then he crossed the finish line. All that meant he did not even use all his strength in his final strides. But the final result made all the spectators and viewers touched to cheers that an Olympic sprinter sauntered to victory, by clocking 9.69 seconds in the sprint final. The 21-year-old's performance left no doubt whatsoever about who deserves the title of "World's Fastest Man" by coasting into history. Finally, ecstatic Bolt, wearing the Jamaican national flag, repeatedly kissed his gold shoes, bathing in the hails of all spectators in the Bird's Nest.

This evening, another exciting moment is the national basketball team successfully entered the top eight in the Olympic Games. Yao Ming had 25 points and 11 rebounds to help our team earn a quarterfinals berth after ousting Germany 59-55 in the hard-fought preliminary Group B matchup.

Beijing Games kicks off（reproduced）

2008-08-16T02:36:00.000-07:00

It was grand. It was eye-poping. It was filled with oohs and aahs.

The curtain is pulled, the show is staged, and the Games officially kicked off at the 8th minute, 08/08/08, a team of four eights that will bode well for the Chinese, and the world.

It's time of joy, and it's time of world unity.

China's brand-new National Stadium, also nicknamed Bird's Nest, is packed with more than 90,000, among them are a slew of heads of states, princes and princesses, government ministers, celebrities of all walks, and IOC president, vice-presidents and members, athletes and visitors from all over the world, who all are distinguished guests of China.

The opening ceremony celebrated Chinese civilization and the importance of harmony. As a production of performing arts, it had got to be the biggest in Chinese history, with 15,000 people in the cast and 13 months of rehearsal time. Here is a rundown of the numbers for the show.

The Opening
The star of this number is a drum called fou, which can be traced back to the Xia and Shang dynasties (2070BC-1046BC). It was made of ceramic or bronze and resembles the ancient vessel of ding, commonly seen in museums and dating from the same period.

The 2,008 fou drums form a matrix that occupies both sides of the arena, leaving only the central rectangle empty.

Of course, these are more than regular square drums. The top can emit light, and so can the two sticks. When robe-clad drummers beat on them, gargantuan words and shapes appear, such as the countdown numbers and the effect of sweeping light.

At the heart of this number lies the traditional group calisthenics. But the high-tech upgrade gives it a palpable surprise: No more flipping of cards; no more human bodies forming gigantic flower petals. It is art steeped in 3,000 years of history.

Scroll
The visual theme of the ceremony is laid down when a pair of scrolls, measuring 2m in diameter and 22m in height, are elevated out of the central rectangle stage. The scrolls part to reveal a traditional Chinese ink painting. Throughout the evening, both the scrolls and the painting, actually an LED display, constantly change their images.

For this number, a piece of blank paper, 20m X 11m, 20mm thick and actually weighing 800 kg, is placed at the center of the ink painting and functions as a canvas where a dozen dancers use their bodies as paintbrushes. It is a modern dance with abstract movements. However, what they draw resemble clouds, mountains, rivers and the sun.

Eventually, the whole painting (i.e. the LED part) transforms into Landscape of a Thousand Miles, a rare painting from Wang Ximeng of the Song Dynasty (960-1276AD).

All the while, a guqin (a Chinese zither) is being played in a fan-shaped stage up from the central performing area.

This number is quite artsy. It leads right to the area of high culture, and it features modern dance as the icing on the scroll cake. It also provides a welcome respite for a quiet moment in an evening of razzle-dazzle.

Writing
My grandma used to say that Chinese words were created by Confucius. Of course it was not true, but this number seems to be based on this urban myth.

There are 3,000 dancers clad in Confucius period costumes, supposedly playing the Sage's disciples. Carrying bamboo scrolls, one of the earliest forms of books, they intone familiar mantras from his Analects, mandatory for a Chinese education.

In the center are 897 dancers, each hidden inside a cube. They simulate the movable type, which was first invented by Bi Sheng of the Song Dynasty (969-1276AD). This invention was instrumental in the growth of human civilization.

Later, the cube matrix graduates to a computer keyboard.

The Chinese character he, meaning harmony or peace, is shown to evolve from various stages of calligraphy. The Great Wall and peach flowers are also replicated, with the help of the LED painting.

This is probably the most ingenious in the whole program. The wonder of Chinese writing and things associated with it, like calligraphy, the progress of printing, and the great thinking facilitated by it, is visualized in a splendid feat of cohesion. Even my grandma would have enjoyed it.

Opera
With the accompaniment of Peking Opera music, 900 actors and several puppets put on a show on a makeshift stage and all around it. Group actors are dressed as the famous terra-cotta soldiers.

This is said to be a last-minute replacement, and it shows. It's noisy, it's fun, but it just doesn't congeal into the framework. It simply lacks fine details.

The Silk Road
The Silk Road starts from Chang'an, now known as Xi'an, and goes all the way to Europe. It is a trade route that connects East and West Asia, central to cultural dissemination by linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from China to the Mediterranean Sea for thousands of years. The development of the great civilizations -- of not only China, but Egypt, Persia, Arabia, India, Rome and Byzantium -- were made possible by this route.

Zheng He's seven expeditions were, in a sense, a Silk Road on the sea. It made use of the compass, another great invention from ancient China.

This number begins with the music set for Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei's immortal lines of farewell. It is about parting, about leaving for a foreign land, for the unknown, and ultimately about the connection of cultures, and the shrinking of our world. The solo dancer is first a flying celestial nymph from the Dunhuang Grotto, an indelible image on the Silk Road, and later changes to one of Zheng He.

The real attraction, however, is the long oars, which turn sailing into a dream of formations.

Music
This echoes the "Scrol" number, with five of China's best classic paintings as an evolving backdrop. The first is Spring Outing, from the Sui and Tang dynasties of 1,300 years ago.
Along the River during Qingming Festival, by Zhang Zeduan, was from the Song Dynasty, about 1,000 years ago. It is about a busy street scene in Kaifeng, arguably the biggest metropolis in the world then.

From the Yuan Dynasty, 700 years ago, we have a painting of a royal procession.

The Ming Dynasty painting, from some 600 years ago, depicts sports of the time, including arrow shooting and polo playing.

The last painting was commissioned in celebration of Emperor Qianlong's (1711-1799AD) 80th birthday. It recreates the imperial party and its grandeur.

On top of the paintings are shown performing arts classics, such as the dance Moon Reflected in a Spring River, and Kunqu, China's oldest known opera. The majesty of the number reaches its zenith when 32 columns, each 2m in diameter and weighing 1.2 ton, ascend skyward and each shoots out a girl in full imperial regalia.

This number is about the good old days, the golden era in Chinese history, the times of singing and dancing, of painting and partying. It's about rituals and self-confidence. In a sense, it is about the ancient equivalent of the Olympics. It has a feel-good quality that infuses one with pride for the deep roots of Chinese civilization.

Starlight
Cosmic and translucent, this number provides a portal from the past to the present, even to the future. With pianist Lang Lang in the middle, group actors with light bulbs all over their bodies evoke a world of fantasy with their movements. They not just form cute objects like a dove or a smaller bird's nest, but add a touch of otherworldliness to the presentation.

This is quite romantic, which is good for the pacing of the program. Thematically, it is a bit hollow, though.

Nature
You can interpret this number as a call for biological protection, but that would be reading too much pragmatism into it. It is about man's relations with nature, embodied in the movements of tai chi. It expounds on the philosophies from The Book of Changes, which contains an ancient system of cosmology intrinsic to Chinese cultural beliefs. The cosmology centers on the ideas of the dynamic balance of opposites.

The 2,008 performers doing tai chi in a circle that surrounds a rectangle is an epitome of the notion of "heaven is round and earth is square". And the boxing itself perfectly illustrates Lao Tzu's teaching -- "The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong."

The black-and-white world erupts into colors when ancient Taoism is given a modern spin as a teacher instructs her pupils on the importance of loving the natural world that feeds us.
This is a very Chinese interpretation of environmentalism, with inspiration from ancient philosophers. Cryptic epigrams are conveyed in color schemes, shapes and forms. I never knew a gala idea could be so enlightening.

Dream
This is the last number before the entrance of the athletes. It is a manifestation of the One World One Dream mantra. Literally, a globe 18m in diameter and weighing 16 tons rises in the middle of the arena. Circling around it are nine tracks, along which performers do the kind of weightless walk usually seen in outer space but here to simulate gravity.

Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan join to sing the theme song, titled “You and Me”, on top of the globe. Around it are 2,008 volunteers who present 2,008 smiling faces of little children. The faces are also projected on the overhead panel and even into the fireworks.

The giant globe is a nice touch, and the simulation of weightlessness for the sake of gravity is very Taoist if you think about it – it’s about the conversion of opposites. The celebration of volunteerism and happiness of children is an apt culmination of an hour of fete and a grand beginning for the sports world’s biggest event in four years and a nation’s longing for glory.

Friday, August 15, 2008 Cloudy and cool

2008-08-15T06:34:00.001-07:00

The Gost Festival comes.

Today it is very cool and a little windy so we did not turn on the electric fan, perhaps because it is after Liqiu. My daughter and wife did not their routines. In the afternoon, after going over all the vowels, my daughter finished studying three pairs of explodents among consonants. She still did very well in practising them.

Today is the Gost Festival that falls on the lunar July 15 every year. On the day, the whole family come together, offering a common sacrifice to the victims of the families, or relatives, by burning paper money to wish that they are living happily and well in Hell.

Today our Olympians continued their excellent performances in the games. Cao Lei, two-time world champion, claimed the title in women's 75kg category weightlifting event, winning our delegation its seventh weightlifting gold, also the 23rd gold medal for our country. At the beginning, Cao domiated the game as she snatched 128kg, and lifted 154kg in clean & jerk, breaking three Olympic records. At last, she tried to break the total world record of this event in her third jerk attempt, by ordering 159kg, but failed. She happily bowed to the spectors and hugged with her coach.

In the evening, our Olympian Tong Wen bagged the 24th gold for our delegation in women's Judo +78kg category event at the last minute. After a short time, Lu Yong seized the 25th gold for us in men's 85kg category weightlifting event. In the just-finished event, Du Jing and Yu Yang made a gooooood performance and stormed to their first ever victory in the badminton women's double final, by beating a pair of Korean players.

I am very happy today and wish everybody a goooooooooood dream.

Thursday, August 14, 2008 Raining

2008-08-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

Zhang Juanjuan made history in archery!

From at about 3 am to dawn, it was raining very heavily so that part of Tanxi Road was in the rainwater and it was hard for a child to go through. But my daughter was very brave to go to the piano class as usual. She has never been absent from the piano practice since she was determined to practise the piano during the summer holidays no matter how bad the weather was. So I am always praising her for it and encouraging her to do even better. In the afternoon, she was very successful to finish the last two dipthongs and so she succeeded in studying all the vowels in seven days.

My wife worked days today as usual and came to lunch at home. In the evening she continued her embroidery.

Today our Olympic players continued their excellent performances in the Olympic Games. They have seized five gold in five different events. Yang Wei, a three-time Olympian withe two world championships all-around golds under his belt, stormed to his first Olympic all-around victory by beating a runner-up Japanise player. This is also our country's second gymnastics men's all-around title after Li Xiaoshuang's at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. Yang is famous for his hard work, perseveranc, strong fighting spirit and his awesome preciseness of movements.(20th gold)

Nineteen-year-old swimmer Liu Zige smashed the Austrlian players' world record in the women's 200m butterfly, pocketing our country's first swimming gold at this olmypic Games. At the beginning, she did not lead the race in the first 100 metres although she was in the first place after the qualification round. But Liu overtook her tough rival after the 150m trun. AAAAmid thundering roars from home fans, Liu stormed to touch first. (18th gold) And her teammate, Jiao Liuyang, settled for silver and also broke the world record. Recovering from her first day's failure, our shooter, Du Li, staged a comeback today to samsh the Olympic record in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions, ensuring her a hard-won Olympic gold medal. She finally hit her target for gold. (19th gold)

In the afternoon' archery event, Zhang Juanjuan made history in our country's olympic archery by breaking South Korea's dominance in women's archery at Olympics for 24 years, winning our country's first ever Olympic archery title. During the very tough event, after brushing aside all three Koreans in her way to the Olympic victory, the two-time Olympican foiled reigning champion and No.1 seed's efforts to defend her title with a 110-109 win in the final. Two Koreans respectively settled silver and bronze. This women's individual archery gold is our delegation's twenty-first gold. In the just-finished event, Yang Xiuli won another Judo gold for our delegation in women's 78kg class with a little margin against a Cuba player, delecating the 22rd gold to our delegaion.

Our players are playing in best condition, and achieved impressive sports results. We are all proud of their outstanding achievements.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Cloudy

2008-08-13T06:54:00.001-07:00

Women's gymnasts have made history by winning 1st women's team gold medal.

As usual, daughter went to the piano class and wife worked days. In the evening, my clever daughter finished studying four dipthongs and grastped them very well. And other times, we continued to watch the Olympic games at home together happily.

Today is also so special a day for us Chinese people because women gymnasts won our first ever Olympic team gold mdal with a big victory over the United States team, scoring a winning total of 188.900 points and making a dramatical and historic breakthrough expected by us for decades. They finished 1st in the qualificaion round for the gymnastics. This is the fourteenth gold dedicated by Cheng Fei and another five debutants, Yang Yilin, Jiang Liyuan, Li Shanshan, He Kexin and Deng Linlin.

Chen Ying pocketed the fifteenth gold for our delegation in women's 25m sports pistol event, who made her incredible victory in the final round. Qin Kei and Wang Feng bagged the sixteenth gold, men's 3m springboard synchronized diving gold with their perfect performances. In the Water Cube, they ignited the home crowd, and fans roared for their dramatical and excellent performance.

Liu Chunhong, the defender in women's 69kg class weightlifting champion, pocketed the gold again with her fabulous and perfect performance. In Athens 2004 Olympic Games, she claimed the title easily and broke the world record in this event three times, and today, she broke this event's world record five times in snatch and clear & jerk. She is a great player and a very lovely girl and hugged her coach tightly and happily and delicated her supreme honor and achievement to her coach.

I have spent a pleasant and exciting day and been proud of our players' dramatic and terrific performances and confident demonstrations.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 sunny cloudy

2008-08-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

My daughter went to the piano class in the morning and wife off the night shift at home all day. During the whole afternoon, we were watching the Olympic games happily. Daughter studied two vowel phonemes and two diphthong phonemes. She still did very well in it, and I am proud of her goooooood performance.

In the afternoon, I was very guilt for my own attitude to my lovely daughter. The reason is as follows. My some little change of about 20 RMB yuan had been left in the upper pocket of my T-shirt for my morning exercise every day. But this morning I didn't find my little change in the pocket and I was very determined that it was my daughter that took it away without my permission because she was still watching Internet videos in my study from 7 to 9pm every day during the whole summer holidays. So I stubbornly thought she did it and I was very angry that she did not admit that she had taken it away after she was asked on this matter.

But after a short time, I suddenly recalled that I did not put on my that T-shirt to the Xinhua Bookshop to buy the IPA table for her but another short-sleeved coat. So I checked up my recalling and found that change was in my pocked of that white short-sleeved coat. I know that I was mistaken very much and very sorry for my fault and for my being arbitrary. Also I was feeling so guilt for what I did to my poor daughter who was wronged very much.

This is, for me, a painful lesson that I was taught by my life. As a matter of fact, my daughter never take any monery without parents' permission, and I should know that it is her big virtue that I have ever been proud of it, but doday I forgot it so irrationally and arbitrarily. I am very very sorry for my irrational act today. I am very sorry, my daughter.

Today is also a very special day for our gymnasts. Our players were met with deafening cheers and applause, as they are determined to re-claim the Olympic team crown which they lost to Japan in Athens four years ago. Our formidable male gymnasts stormed to a long-awaited Olympic team gymnastic gold medal at last as they are longing before an ecstatic home crowd here They claimed the title beating defending Olympic champion Japan to second place by a comfortable margin. Our great gymansts are Li Xiaopeng, Yang Wei, Huang Xu, Chen Yibing, Xiao Qin and debutant Zou Kai.

Wang Xin and Chen Ruolin, another two debutants, seized the eleventh glod for our delegation in women's 10m platform synchronized event. Zhong Man downed a French player 15-9 to win the men's individual sabre fencing gold medal, it is 24 years since Lu Jujie took the foil gold medal in Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984. The thirteenth gold is from another Olympic debutant, Liao Hui, who beat other players to win the men's 69kg class weightlifting gold medal.

Our Olympic players have made a fabulous performance today. They are all best of best.

Monday, August 11, 2008 Sunny and cloudy

2008-08-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

In three days, I can not help but to be excited and feel glorious and proud every time the five-star red flag is raising and the national anthem is playing.

My daughter continued to go to the piano class with her good friend Shuting this morning. She studied and practised every morning, and stayed at home in the afternoon. Before the Olympic Games, she did some reading all by herself in her own room. From August 9, she watched the Olympic events with me at home, practised IPA together with me. During the short rest, she went on to do her simple embroidery. She was very happy. According to her request, we switched on air condition in my bedroom, tonight she slept there. She usually goes to bed at 9pm on time.

My wife was off the night shift today and had a good rest at home. Besides watching the Olympic events, she does not stop doing her simple embroidery happily.

Today my daughter finished learning four vowels well. According to the study plan, we finish only two phonems each day, but because of her much progress, we learned two more phonemes, and she also did very well in grasping them. She is a very clever girl, but sometimes a little careless. But to my great pleasure, she knows her shortcoming and tries to correct it.

During three days, we are very proud of our players' fabulous performances. I am very excited and touched evry times the five-star red flag is raising and the national anthem is played in every competition venues or stadiums. Today, our players have bagged three gold medals in weightlifting and diving.
The seventh gold is from our defending champion Chen Yanqing. There is no doubt that Chen seized this gold, not any controversially, in women' s 58kg class weightlifting. She defended her championship of this event she crowned in 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
In the afternoon, Lin Yue and Huo Liang, another two debutants, won the men's 10m platform synchronized event with a greater advantage of victory over a pair of Russian players.
In the evenig, Zhang Xiangxiang's fabulous performance brought us the ninth gold for our delegaion in men's 62kg class weightlifting. He bagged this gold medal with an absolute advantage.

I am very very proud of our country's strength and her great achievements. I will have a gooood sleep and a gooooood dream tonight.

I wish our great motherland prosperous and strong and her people well-being.

Contemporary youngsters to celebrate Qixi Festival

2008-08-11T03:18:00.000-07:00

The Qixi Festival (the Double Seventh Festival), known as the Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month each year, on Thursday this year. For the same festival, different periods of people have different ways of celebrations and activities, featuring their own characteristics of the times. Keen to celebrate the romantic day, many many youngsters and lovers have creatively come up with some very fashionable and trendy practices and activities to celebrate the Qixi Festival, also known as Double Seventh Festival or Qiqiao Festival because it is very meaningful for them to do some great things to celebrate.

Young people will always come together to organize some parties, or to participate in community services, or do some social or educational activities of significance to celebrate this special festival. For example, a Beijinger loves the ancient costumes associated with the festival. So on Qixi this year, he an dother clothes lovers have held an ancient sports contest to celebrate it, which has included such events as cuju (ancient football—it’s said that modern football originated from it), jiaoli (ancient wrestling) and archery. All of the competitors have worn period costumes.

As well as being the eve of the Olympics, many volunteers link it with the Olympic Games to send their wishes for the upcoming Olympics. They have made it publicity around them to stimulate people's enthusiasm for the Olympic Games and the active participation in the grand event.

Also, a large number of netizens are mutually blessing each other through the network. Sending messages to bless is a very popular practice, in young people's favor. I received lots of blessings and greetings on that special day.

Nowadays, a lot of young people, while also eating Jiaozi, have given them new meanings as follows.
One dumpling means a pleasant journey; two means double happiness to door; three is the same as six and nine, which promise promotions at work; four hints people will come into money within four seasons of year; five pomises a good harvest; seven means good wishes for everything; eight suggests you will soon release your unique potential to the best in everything, but also hinting the Eight Immortals cross the sea; nine is highest above all; and ten means everything will be perfect in every way. And at the same time, they are also blessing each other for a long life in goooood health and freeeee of worries.

Sunday, August 10, 2008 Sunny and hot

2008-08-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

Today is a happy Sunday.

My daughter did not go to the piano class held for children during the summer holidays because she only goes to the class six times from Monday to Saturday, and have one day off to have a good rest. Today we studied two middle vowel phonemes; she did very well in practising them. Her mother had a rest from the night shift today, so also happoly joined her in practising them together. They both made a gooooood performance and grasped them very well.

After that, they continued the knitting and embroidery that lasted one week now. They both have to be Zhinvs with a kind mind and quick and nimble fingers.

And at the same time, we watched the Olympic events. Today we have successfully seized four gold medals in the four different events. The third gold medal is from Guo Wenjun, another debutant of the Olympics, who won it in women's 10m air pistol and smashed Olympic record to crown. She had a marvelous performance. The fourth one is from our world and Olympic champions Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia who took the limelight of the Water Cube together as they retained their women's three-meter springboard synchronized gold. Guo and Wu took the lead after the second round in the final to collect 343.50 points, beating their closest rivals from Russia, who posted 323.61, by almost 20 points. Much to our delight, Xian Dongmei successfully defended her championship in women's 52kg class Judo event and seized the fifth gold to crown.
Another Olympic debutant Long Qingquan topped the men's 56kg class weightlifting in the evening and contributed a gold medal to our delegation.

Now we have received 6 gold medals and 2 silver medals and 8 medals in all. Our player compatriots have made s fantastic and amazing performance on the first two days. People throughtout the country have hailed their great efforts for the grand and marvelous achievements and outstanding and excellent performance and display in the Olympic Games.

We are all proud of them and theri fantastic and amazing performances.

Look beyond Du Lis’failure

2008-08-10T02:59:00.000-07:00

As the defending champion of women’s 10m air rifle, Du Li failed to realize her aspiration to defend her champion only to finish only fifth, and lost her championship, much beyond people's expectations. It is said that enormous home-crowd pressure is the key reason for her failure in the event. Great home soil pressure took its toll on our Chinese athlete especially on the opening day of the intense Games competition.
Under so big pressure, Du Li wilted down in her bid to win the Games’s first gold medal, while Tan Xue, another famous sabre player, and also world women’s sabre champion, lost in the quarterfinals in enormous pressure. Conincidentally, Ren Jie, the record holder of women’s 10m air pistol, failed to enter the quarterfinals also because of her tremendous psychological pressure.
Coincidentally, the first three gold medalists of our country are all the debutants of the Olympic Games. It is fully proved that a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. Because they are young, they do not have any mental and psychological pressure or ideological burden, therefore, they can give their full play to their best level and finally create their excellent competition results.
On the contrary, the veterans are always shouldering emormous pressure psychologically and ideologically, and they have failed to do a better performance they are desiring for. Before the competition, Du Li is widely tipped to win the Beijing Olympic’s first gold medal to respire the nation’s enthusiasm and restore the host’s pride hours to make much more achievements. Unluckily, much to our disappointment, Du did not manage it to her compatriots successfully.
The same situation has happened to Tan Xue and Ren Jie. People have placed great hopes on them like they have done to themselves. It is hoped that they can achieve a breakthrong to bring great surprises to our compatriots mainly because they have been doing well in various events before the Olympic Games.
So they have carried more and more burden besides the game itself, and they are psychologically in strong interference from the outside world, so that they can not put themseves into the competition itself heart and soul. For them, competition is not competition itself but certain things outside the game. More of them are all from excessive propagandization and publicity, and sometimes exaggerated media reports. All these are from unrealistic expectations and dreams of our compatriots, which have resulted from what we Chinese people have wanted too much to prove through the Olympic Games. So they can not lose, and they are not permitted to lose and they are not tolerated to lose the games. It is very difficult to be an athlete of success, especially to be a very very successful athlete. Winning is not what only belongs to you, but to our compatriots across the country.
If they want to have a new start, we must remove the pressure off them. Warding off pressure is the key to their new success.
I wish them good luck!

Chinese Valentine's Day: Tanabata

2008-08-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

In our country, China, during the Lunar July 7th (Chuqi) night, the weather was warm, grass and trees are well-fragrant and odorous, this is what people commonly know as the Tanabata Festival. It is also known as "Qi Qiao's Day" or "daughter Festival" due to the meeting day of the annual Cowboy and Zhinv (a weaving girl), also known as Chinese Valentine's Day. This is the most romantic holiday among the Chinese traditional festivals, and Chinese girls also put great emphasis on it over the past days.
In fine summer night, the stars are shining in heaven, and a wide river (the Milk Way, or the Silver River) is running through the vast north and south, east and west across the river, each side with a shining star. The two stars are looking in each other with a deep feeling between them across the distant river, that is, Qian Niuxing and Vega.
This is our civil customs during Tanabata to look up at the two stars in the clear sky. Legend has it that this evening of each year is the time when Zhinv will meet with the Cowherd on Queqiao (or the Magpie Bridge) in heaven. Zhinv is a beautiful smart fairy with a keen mind and quick and nimble fingers. So women on the earth will beg for her wisdom and clever art in the evening, sometimes also beg to her for happy marriage, So the Lunar July 7th is also known as Qi Qiao (Begging for Clever Art) Festival.
Legend has it that in the Tanabata night, we can see that the Cowherd and Zhinv meet each other on Queqiao across the Silver River, or under the fruits shelves could be eavesdropping their love whispers when they meet on the bridge.
In this romantic evening, in the bright moonlight, girls put the seasonal fruits on the tables, worship to the moon and beg the goddess of the sky to give them intelligence of mind, and dexterous hands, so that their female knitting and embroidery techniques are getting more skilful, at the same time begging for their love marriage. For the past women, married life of happiness was very very important to decide whether or not they would be happy in their whole life. Therefore, the world countless men and women will love this evening, deep night at all times, praying happy marriage in front of their stars.

The origin of Tanabata festival and ite legendary stories

Tanabata Qiqiao, this festival originated in the Han Dynasty. The Eastern Jin Dynasty Gehong Xijing Journal made the early records like these, "Han women often wear clothes with seven hloes to the Kaijin Floor on the lunar July 7. And then other people followed suit “. This is the first Qiqiao records that we’ve found In our ancient literature. Later, in the poetry of the Tang and Song dynasties, women QiQiao was also frequently mentioned. According to Kaiyuan Tianbao Yishi (yishi here means all things left over by history), it contains: Tang Taizong and his concubines had a big banquet during the Tanabata in Qinggong Palace, and the ladies and his concubines had their own QiQiao to have a gams between them in the bright moonlight. Also the practice of QiQiao lived continuously from generation to generation in civil folks.
In Song and Yuan dynasties, when Qiqiao Tanabata was grand, the capital the Qi Qiao also had an exclusive market to buy and sell all kinds of QiQiao goods, known as QiQiao Market. Zui Ong (Drunken Old Man) Talks of Luo Yup and Jin Ying of the Song dynasty said: "During Tanabata, QiQiao goods are on sale in front of Pan Buiding. From July 1 to July 3, the carts and horses are in traffic congestion and can’t move a bit until night comes to us."
From the grand purchase scene of Qiqiao goods, you can easyly find busy and lively success of the festival then. From the first day of July, people startied to do home Qiqiao items. The Qiqiao Market is thronged with steams of people. By the time approaching Tanabata, Qiqiao Market simply became one of the oceans of people, and the traffic was so hard for people. Speaking of its style and scale, it is no less than the biggest traditional festival - the Spring Festival, which means that the ancient Qi Qiao Festival is one of the most favorite holidays in the old times.

Legends about Cowherd and Zhinv

Tanabata Festival is always connected with the legend of Cowherd and Zhinv. This is a very beautiful love story, spreading through the ages, and has become one of the four major civil love legends.
According to the legend, a long long time ago, west of Nanyang City, there is a village of Niu and there lived a clever and honest and tolerant young man. His parents died at his early age, and he had to live with his elder brother and sister-in-law. His sister-in-law of Ma was unkind and vicious to him, and often abused him and forced him to do a lot of housework. One autumn, his sister-in-law forced him to graze their cattle. She gave him nine cows, but didn’t allow him to come home unless he had 10 cows. The miserable poor boy had no other way and had to drive his cows out of the village.
Cowherd alone drove his cattle into the mountains with deep grass. He sat, sad, under a tree, and did not know when he could go home with ten cows. Then appeared an old man with white bears and hair and asked him why he was so sad. When he was informed of his bad experience, he smiled and said to him: "Do not be so sad. There is a sick old cow in Funiu Mountain. You go to feed it properly and carefully, and you can drive it with you to go home.
Cowherd walked over the mountains. Finally he found that sick old cow after he covered a long long path. He found the cow had a terrible disease, and immediately went to fetch bundles of grass to feed it a series of three days. At last, the cow told him that he could have been a god in heaven called God Grey Cattle. In breach of the regulations, he was banished down from heaven, and broke his leg, unable to move. His injuries could not be cured unless they were washed one whole month with drops of dew of one hundred kinds of flowers. The kind cowherd was not afraid of hardship and took good care of the old cow one whole month. During the day he collected flower dew to cure the old cow, in the evening he slept beside the old cow. The cowherd happily drove 10 cows back home immediately the old cow was well.
After returning home, his sister-in-law was still not kind to him. Many times she wanted to hurt him, but the old cow managed to save him successfully. Finally, his sister-in-law was a shameful rage and forced him leave them, and he had to leave only accompanied by that old cow.
One day, Zhinv and all the other fairies came to the world from heaven and did some interesting games together, bathing in the river. With the help of the the old cow, the cowherd got to know Zhinv. They loved each other at first sight. Later, Zhinv secretly came to the world, and made the cowherd's wife. Zhinv handed out her silkworms taken from heaven to everyone in the village, and also taught them how to raise silkworms, how to spin and at last how to weave out light and bright satin.
After their marriage, Cowherd ploughed the fields and Zhinv wove cloth, and they loved each other deeply and happily. They lived a very happy life with one boy and one girl. But good times don’t last long. Soon her father, the main god of heaven, knew the love affair and her mother, Mother Wang, personally came to the world on a bright moonlight night and forcibly took Zhinv back to heaven. The husband and wife in deep love were breaking up.
The cowherd couldn’t go up to heaven. One day, the old cow told the cowherd that he , in its death, could use his skin to make shoes, and he could wear the shoes to heaven. In accordance with what the old cow said, he did wear leather shoes to fly to the sky, holding their children. Just when they caught up with Zhinv, Mother Wang pulled a hair clasp out of her own hair and made a draw between husband and wife. Here appeared a wide surfy river separatihng from each other, only shedding tears across the waving river.
Magpies were touched deeply by their love loyalty. Millions of millions of millions of magpies came to make them a bridge called QueQiao over the big river to succeed in making them get together and hug. Mother Wang was also helpless, and only allowed them to get together on QueQiao Bridge on the Lunar July 7 of each year.
Later, every Lunar July 7, Legend has it that when Cowherd and Zhinv got together, girls would come to the flowers in the moonlight, looking up to the sky to find Cowherd Star and Zhinv (Vega) Star on both sides of the Milk Way, hoping to see their annual meeting begging God to makd themselves Zhinv, a kind mind and quick and nimble fingers, and praying they could also have their own wishful heart of a happy marriage, which formed a Tanabata Festival.

Tanabata Festival customs

The most common customs in the Tanabata festival are that on the night of the lunar July 7 women always do various Qi Qiao activities together. The ways of Qi Qiao are mainly as follows: girls do some games of how to do better in small items and to put some friuts on the tables to compete in their knitting and embroidery. The various regions are of different ways of QiQiao, all interesting.
In Jinan, Huimin, Gaoqing, and other regions in Shandong, Qi Qiao activities are very simple, just displaying fruits to show their cleverness. If spiders make nets among the fruits, it means that it is a big success.
And in Juan City, Cao County, Pingyuan County and other regions, the trational customs to eat QiQiao dinner together are very interesting as follows. Seven close girls collect their own grain and vegetables to make dumplings. a coin, a needle and a red date are respectively hidden in three dumplings. After the Qiqiao activities, they get together to eat dumplings. Legend has it that the girl is blessed and happy who eats the dumpling containing a coin; the girl who eats the dumplin containing a needle will have the same quick and nimble fingers as Zhinv; the girl will soon be married who eats the dumpling containing a date.
In Zhucheng, Teng County and Zou County, the Tanabata Zouxian area under the rain falling in Tanabata festival is called "Love Rain" or "Tears of Love", because it is due to the meetijg of Cowherd and Zhinv who shed tears happily. Jiaodong, southwest of Shandong and other regions, this legend has it that in Tanabata people see fewer magpies because they have all gone to heaven to make the bridge across the Heaven River (the Milk Way).
Today, in many regions in Zhejiang Province, there exist the same similar Qiqiao customs and practices. In Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou and so on, on this special day girls will always use flour to make all kinds of small items and then oil-fry them, which are called Qiao fruit. In the evening, many fruits are displayed on the tables in the courtyard. Girls do some knittings in the moonlight in order to pray for Zhinv thanks to her technology; or they may catch a spider, and put it in a box. The next day, they are very blessed if they find the networking of the spider in the box.
In rural areas of Shaoxin, Zhejiang Province, during the night, a good many girls will secretly hide themselves uner the pumpkin tents, which are in a lush growth. If they head the whisper of Cowherd Zhinv on the Sky Bridge in heaven, they will be very very happy that they are able to receive a Millennium love in the near future.
To express the desire that Cowherd and Zhinv can have a happy family life every day, in some regions of Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, on July 7, every family should kill a chicken, intended to mean that if a rooster doesn’t crow at dawn whth they get together, Cowherd and Zhinv will never separate forever. will get together.
In western Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, legend has it that on the July 7 morning, the fairy Zhinv will come to the world to bathe. People say that drinking her bathing water can cure themselves to live a long long time. The water is called Double Seven Water. In the next morning, people will be scrambling to the river to fetch the water, after getting back home put it away in a new and clear urn for the future use.
In Fujian Province, in Tanabata Festival, girls let Zhinv appreciate and taste fruits and melons to hope for her bless for the coming harvest year. After their bathing, people take turns to burn incense to and worship God in front of the gifts table for God, praying in mind secretly. Women not only demonstrate their skills of knitting and embroidery but also beg for sons, for longevity, for beauty and for love. After that, Later, while eating fruits, having a tea and chatting, they are playing QiQiao games. There are two games: one is Bu Qiao, that is to tell their future or forecast whether they are stupid or not by using a kind of special forecasting items; the other is to compete in knitting and embroidery, that is to see who is to finish a certain sewing work fastest than others. The losers will give their small knitting gifts prepared in advance to the winners.
Among the Tanabata festive foods, the most famous fruit is also known as "Qi Qiao fruit", many styles. The main material is oil, flour, sugar, honey. In the Song Dynasty, Tanabata markets had QIQiao fruits on sale. The approach is: first to put white sugar in the melting pot to make it syrup, and then mix into the flour with sesame. After stirring them well, put it on the flour panel to make it very thin. Slice it into small pieces of rectangular after it is dried up, and then fold them into spindle shapes, finally oil-fry them to golden. Girls with nimble fingers can pinch various shapes related to the beautiful legend to show off their art of tricks.
Until today, Tanabata is still one of very romantic traditional festivals. Many customs have been to weaken or disappeared, but only the legend that is the symbol of loyalty of love between Zhinv and Cowherd, has been passed down from generation to generation and gone round common folks.
I wish you lovers married!
Happy Tanabata Festival!

Saturday, August 9, 2008 Sunny and hot

2008-08-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

Today, I have taught my daughter another two front vowel phonems. She did better in prouncing them correctly than yesterday after reading after me sevral timesk.
And I am very happy for her much progress and good performance. The key to a little progress is to put your heart into it and try your best to manage it! Come on, gooooood girl!

Last night, my wife was on the night shift in the Chinese-medicine hospital, twice each. She was not very happy because she did not have a good chance to watch the opening ceremony of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The TV set in the hospital does not work very well and affected her watching of the grand event. So she watched it once again carefully and happily.

I have three main tasks: Making meals for my lovely family, Surfing the Internet to visit my blogfriends and Watching the Olympic Games. Sooooooo, I am very happy though it is very hot today.

Today, our players have had access to two gold medals. One is weightlifting gold medal and the other is shooting gold medal.
Young weightlifter Chen Xiexia won the first Olympic gold medal for Chinese delegation in womes's 48kg class weightlifting competition held in China's aerospace university. This is the first time for her to participate in the Olympic Games. She did very well in the event in confidence and full of vigarousness.
Marksman Pan Wei, a Chinese Olympic debutant, nailed down the second gold medal for Chinese delegation in men's air pistol competition.
The first gold medal of this Olympic Games has come to Czech Katerina Emmons this morning. She wrote her name into history when she won the 1st Olympic gold medal in women's 10 air rifle competition.
The famous player of our country, Du Li, is very unlucky to lose her chance to defend her champion. In Athens, in 2004, she won the gold medal of this item and also the first gold medal of that olympic Games. Much more regrettablly, she was still the best player in this item during the past four years. I think that the great great pressure is the key to her failure that she only ranked 5 in the today' final, which is a long long long distance to her best competition result. So regrettable.

Dream comes true!

2008-08-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

Chinese people look forward to The century-old dream has come true which Chinese people were and are looking forward to.

So here I have uploaded several pictures to commemorate this festival event.

I wish the victory of the Olympic Games a complete success.

Friday, August 8,2008 Sunny

2008-08-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

The 29th Beijing 2008 Olympic Games opens!

Today is a special and important for us Chinese nation.
At 8 pm, the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games began. The opening theatrical performance is so grand and brilliant, and also has fully embodies the Chinese national and traditional characteristics, and has aslo stirred up the unprecedented enthusisam of whole people across the country.
It is very terrific and exciting to make our blood boiling.
I am so deeply touched that I've shedded my happy tears many times.
And I am very proud of my powerful country for her strength and the people prosperousness and happiness and well-being of her people.

I am also touched by the notion that blood is thicker than water. Because when Chinese Taipei delegation and China' HongKong delegation entered the National Stadium (known as Nest), they also received warm applauses and cheers of all the people present. I am also proud of them because we are all Chinese.

This afternoon, I went to the Xinhua Bookshop to buy a IPA table in order to teach my daughter before she enters a junior middle school in case she is lost at the starting point. According to my teaching plan, we will learn two phonemes each day. Today we've finished learning the first two phonemes: front vowels i: and i. I first told her the tips of vowels and showed her the mouth shapes. And then she read after me one by one. She did very well. But after a short time when I checked her practice, she didn't do it very well.

So I thought twice of my checking up. And we did it again many times until she did it very well all by herself, and then asked her to practise several times. Finally, she managed to make a better performance.
Children are children. They can't do anything just like we adults do because they have a poor self-control. We parents should try our best to monitor them properly, and set strict requirements for them to follow so that they can do well in what they are interested in.

But I am feeling very sorry for my daughter waiting over one hour outside the door. She had gone to her good friend,Li Shuting' birthday party. Tv is so loud that I did not hear the knock of door. Another reason, I think, is the real reason that she was afraid not to knock a little louder when she knew she came home later than usual because she was always scolded very much and even told off before this time.
So I am very guilt for my wrong teaching ways of childrne keeping time.

Education is art. So I should study harder to improve myself to learn how to educate my daughter very well. Educating a child is a hard and arduous job, so if you want to have a good result, you must put all your heart into it.
I will do my best to manage it.

Thursday, August 7 2008 Sunny

2008-08-07T09:27:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday, my English blog. Today is so special a day for me, and I'm determined to blog here to continue to further study English hard to improve myself in order to teach my students very well and live a better life.

But I am at a loss of my determination to blog before I've really decided to take it up. However, I know nothing is so easy for everybody to live well, so I should do it well since I've decided to begin it. I promise myself that I am able to do it well so long as I've made up my mind.

So I want to start a new and different life.

Today is so sunny and so hot that my daughter wanted to switch up air-conditioning and so she did it, her mother also agreed with her, so I didn't hold on and gave it up.

On August 6, Olympic women soccer games begin today. Our national Olympic soccer team won the first game (2:1) against Sweden's soccer team. This evening, I am not very happy because our national Olympic men soccer team did not do well. But luckily, we made a hard draw (1:1) with New Zealand's Olympic men soccer team. What a hard beginning. But we all support our men soccer team, and believe that they will do well in the next game.

Today is China's traditional Tanabata Valentine's Day, and sincerely wish that all the lovers are married happily.

Today is also Liqiu in China's 24 solar terms

So I am very very happy and I have a new start.