The weather of early spring is really
changing and unsteady. It was warm yesterday but it gets bitterly cold and
sleety today. I had to wear a scarf, a pair gloves and a hat that can cover my ears. On
my way to school, I spotted a few farmers begin burning the remains of the dry corn
stems and leaves in their fields in preparation for the approaching sowing. As I
returned more and more peasants joined the burning which is banned by the local
government. The local people have always been dealing with the remnants of the
dead plants in this way. The government only knows to issue orders but fails to
direct how to solve the problems. Now so many people should challenge the authorities
and violate the law and discipline, would the government punish these offenders
as it has declared ?

She, a young mother from the countryside of
Shaanxi, appeared on the platform offered by the Shanghai TV station for
performances of mums. She gave the judges and audience a good surprise when she
began to sing an old folk song. She was just a chicken farmer without learning
singing specially from any teacher. But she was gifted in singing with a
sonorous voice. And singing was only one of her hobbies. She would sing loudly
to call the dispersed chickens together for feeding. What she was most proud of
was that half of the migrant workers from her village have come back to work on
her farm.

It is usually thought the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is just as incompatible as fire and water. Both sides often criticize each other face to face or privately. Therefore most daughters-in-law have determined to live apart from their mothers-in-law even before their wedding. Some single men can hardly find wives when they insist on living with their parents after marriage. As long as the parents keep healthy and can take care of themselves, they may live separately from their married children temporarily. But the children had better live as close to their parents as possible and make frequent visits to them in case the seniors need help.

Straining my eyes, I see sky-high
ridges of ice blocks floating down the river from the west.

群冰從西下，極目高崒兀。
I suspect that they are the dislocated Kongtong mountains which
are menacingly inclined to destroy the pillars of the heaven.

疑是崆峒來，恐觸天柱折。

No road lamps near the tall buildings illuminated my way back to the apartment this evening.
The 87th anniversary of the September 18 Incident when the Japanese troops began their invasion of northeastern China. On 18 September 1931, the Japanese accused the Chinese army of blowing off the railroad track near Shenyang after they did it themselves. The Chinese National Revolutionary Army retreated without any resistance giving up the northeast completely. The Republic of China fixed today for National Humiliation Day. We really shouldn’t forget our humiliating history. And we must strengthen our national defense to avoid being bullied again.

He’s a hard drinker that can drain the rivers.
He smokes as a chimney making suffocating clouds.

豪飮吸百川，勁嘬吐雲煙。

It has got round that he has been stricken with
epilepsy. That is why he has been absent recently.

近日忽不見，傳言患癲癇。

Cervantes lived at the time when China was under the Ming dynasty. He was contemporary with Shakespeare. His representative work is Don Quixote, which is recognized as the best work in Spanish literature. He was hasty in writing and never revised his works before put to press. The popularity of Don Quixote ranks second only to the Bible. As soon as it appeared, it received a great welcome from the public. This aroused the envy and attacks of his counterparts. Although he lived in poverty all his life, he was always sanguine about the future. Up to now, no satisfactory translation of Don Quixote has been found.

The tree leaves have begun to fall and
people are putting on more clothes. The harsh and raw breath of autumn is
almost invincible.

木葉脱兮人添衣，肅殺之氣無與敵。At the foot of the hill of coal stands its
joyful seller. The beauty is dismayed by the ending of the exposure of her
breast and thighs.

峩峩煤山碳商喜，悶悶美女掩胸髀。

A 49-year old mother has passed the postgraduate
entrance examinations with her son in the same year after accompanying him
studying at college, dreaming of becoming a teacher by getting a PhD.

49岁“陪读妈妈”和儿子成为同一届研究生：梦想读博当老师 It’s never too old to learn. In the eyes of the 49-year old Aunt Yuan from Henan,
this is not only a slogan.

活到老学到老，在49岁的河南原阿姨的眼里，这不单单只是一个口号。In last December, she took part in the entrance
exams for postgraduate schools with her son. After the announcement of the test
scores, the son was admitted to Fudan University as graduate student, and Aunt Yuan also
gained admission to Guangxi
University as
postgraduate majoring in Chinese international education.

在去年12月份，原阿姨和儿子一起考研，最终考研的成绩下来之后，儿子被录取为复旦大学的研究生，而原阿姨也被广西大学的汉语国际教育专业录取为研究生。A lad committed suicide
by jumping from a bridge just before his mother. What’s
wrong with the domestic education？

男孩在母亲面前跳桥自杀 父母教育出了什么问题？

I almost recovered from the bad attack of diarrhea. I was still weak from the illness. I had vomited all I had eaten at breakfast yesterday, and then without any lunch and supper. I had thought to have a good rest today. But I knew brother urgently needed help now for his trade because the Festival for the Dead is approaching. If I had not been ill yesterday, I would have offered him help. So I headed for his home after taking a little porridge in the early morning. On my arrival I saw brother was loading sacrificial paper onto the van for delivery. A throng of customers came after another. I was in charge of moving the goods from the storehouses to the trading place filling the vacancy left by selling.