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(Source: dict.cn)

A new outdoor rock music festival, the Strawberry Music Festival, will open in Beijing over the upcoming the Labor Day holiday weekend. Altogether, 60 international and domestic bands and performers will present live shows on three stages.

The festival lineup will be announced soon.

The city has held the Modern Sky Music Festival every fall since 2007, so the Strawberry in the spring is exactly what music fans have been wanting.

Starting this year, the Modern Sky Music Festival coupled with the Strawberry will be two of the foremost music festivals, besides the established outdoor Midi music festival, currently China’s largest.

Compared with the chaotic Modern Sky, the Strawberry will be fun and fresh, said a source on the festival’s organizing committee.

The festival will run from May 1-3 in the city’s suburban Tongzhou Carnal Park. With its vast water area, the park will be an ideal venue in which to play water games, bask in the warm sun and enjoy the music.

(Source: ebeijing.gov.cn)

More and more middle schools and universities in France have begun to offer Chinese classes, Joel Bellassen said during a recent talk with Kong Quan, the Chinese ambassador to France.

Among the 30 school districts across France, 27 now offer Chinese classes, including some in the remote areas, said Bellassen, the Chinese learning inspector in the Education Ministry.

About 25,600 middle school students were registered to study Chinese in September, a large increase from the less than 5,000 students 10 years ago, Bellassen said.

There now are 44,000 school students learning Chinese in France, including 16,000 university students and about 2,000 primary school students, Bellassen said.

In addition, the number of Chinese teachers in France has grown to 430, up from less than 30 in the 1980s when the French Teachers of Chinese Association was established, he said.

In Bellassen’s view, the support of China’s government is an important reason for the promotion of Chinese language studies in France.

Kong said that China has made vigorous efforts in recent years to promote Chinese language learning in France, including dispatching teachers to the country, offering text books to educational organizations, and promoting Chinese language tests such as the HSK and BCT.

(Source: xinhuanet.com)

Helan Mountain lies in the middle part between the Yinchuan Plain and the Inner Mongolia Prairie. There are forests of age-old and rare spruces, pines and aspens. Pine spindrift and snow in the sun are spectacular views there.

In the Ningxia Helan Mountain Nature Reserve, there are about 150,000 mu (1 mu = 1/15 hectare) of spruces, which is very rare in Northwest China. Songmo (pine mushroom) is a special local product in the reserve, and is tasty and nutritious. Besides, a deer-raising field is located deep in the forest, covering an area of over 30 hectares.

(Source: chinaculture.org)

To make a butterfly picture, the craftsperson chooses butterfly wings of different shapes to be pieced together, harmonizing the relationship between texture and color. During the process, the artist has to pay close attention to the thickness and density of the wings used.

A good butterfly picture usually displays its creator’s hyper imagination, sophisticated painting skills and rich knowledge of butterflies. When placed in a bright area, the work will shimmer.

Generally speaking, subjects for butterfly pictures mainly include human figures, water and mountain landscapes, and flowers and birds. Some of the best examples include “Twelve Beauties of Jinling City,” “Scenery of Xishuangbana,” and “Return of Hundreds of Butterflies.”

At the 19th International Congress of Entomology held in Beijing in June 1992, China showcased beautiful butterfly pictures to the world as “one unique Chinese work”, winning much praise from event participants.

（Source: chinaculture.org）

MARTIN: Excuse me. Where is Martin Luther King School?
MAN: What?
MARTIN: Where is Martin?
MAN: Wait a minute. Let me turn off my engine. Now.
MARTIN: Where is Martin Luther King School?
MAN: Hmmm. Go three roads. Is it three? No. Go four roads. Then turn right. Then go two roads.
MARTIN: Wait. I have a map.
MAN: Good.
MARTIN: Show me Martin Luther King School.
MAN: Look here. We are here. There’s the school.
MARTIN: I see. I go straight ahead three roads.
MAN: Then turn and go there.
MARTIN: Turn right and go two roads.
MAN: Martin Luther King School is there.
MARTIN: Wonderful. Thank you.
WOMAN: Goodbye Mr. Learner.
MARTIN: Thank you very much for your time. Goodbye. Where is the airport.
WOMAN: Oh, the airport. It’s on Nixon Road.
MARTIN: Where is Nixon Road?
WOMAN: Turn left. Go straight ahead. Look for the sign.
MARTIN: I have a map. Please show me.
WOMAN: Oh, good.
WOMAN: Look here. We are here. That’s the school.
MARTIN: I see.
WOMAN: Now look there. That’s the airport. Turn left. Go straight ahead. Then turn on Nixon Road.
MARTIN: Thank you very much. Goodbye.
MARTIN: Hello.
MAN: You again.
MARTIN: Yes. Sorry. I’m looking for the airport.
MAN: OK. Show me your map. Where is the airport? Hmm. We are here.
MARTIN: I know that.
MAN: The airport is there. Do you see the airport?
MARTIN: Yes.
MAN: Look at this road. Go straight ahead. Then turn right. That is Nixon Road.
MARTIN: OK. Thanks. Goodbye.
MAN: Where are you going?
MARTIN: I’m going to Seattle. I’m a reporter. I’m going to write a story.
MAN: Are you from Seattle?
MARTIN: No, I’m from Chicago. I live in Baltimore now.
MAN: Good luck.
MARTIN: Thanks. Practice 1：迷路时借助地图向人问路的方法:
I have a map. Show me…
我有地图，指给我看……
Examples:  MAN: Turn right. Then go two roads.
MARTIN: I have a map. Show me the school.
WOMAN: Go to Nixon Road.
MARTIN: I have a map. Show me the airport.

(Source: wwenglish.com)

pay attention
take notice of
to care for

Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan will answer the question “what is love?” in their dance In-I.

Beijing and Shanghai audiences are in for a rare treat when Academy Award-winning French actress Juliette Binoche (The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Chocolat) takes center stage at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center on March 27 and 28 and at the Meilanfang Theater in Beijing from April 3 to 5.

As part of the annual three-month Festival Croisements that began on Monday, Binoche will dance to the choreography of the London-based Akram Khan in the show In-I. An honorary patron of the 2009 French Movie Festival, Binoche, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The English Patient (1996), will show she is equally adept at dancing. In-I combines modern dance, film and opera and premiered last September in London. The show has Binoche and Khan answering the question “what is love?” as interpreted through the struggles of a modern couple.

The Festival Croisements commemorates the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France, and is sponsored by the French Embassy and the French Cultural Center in China.

Now in its fourth year, it will feature 100 different events ranging from dance and theater to music, photographs and art exhibitions in more than 20 cities around China. Alluding to this year’s additional events, French ambassador to China Herve Ladsous said: “We are promoting communication between the two countries. Both of our countries have rich cultures. The festival will not only present traditional cultures, but also modern and futuristic ones.”

The festival will bring the French lifestyle closer to the Chinese, and also strengthen people-people ties with artists of both countries working on the same projects.

For example, for the graffiti exhibition, two French graffiti and street art groups will send their most famous pieces to China, to give people here a feel of French-style graffiti.

Sanlitun Village in Beijing and Babu Gallery in Shenzhen will host the works of Surface Active and TT Crew works on May 23 and from May 25-29.

Surface Active collects major figures of French street art, including Jef Aerosol, Speedy Graphito and Jean Faucheur, each of whom has his own unique style. TT Crew will bring four of France’s top graffiti artists, who will join their Chinese counterparts to demonstrate their work on site.

Yann Tiersen, a French multi-instrumentalist, will perform at Yugongyishan in Beijing on June 19 and 20; at Yuehu in Wuhan, Hubei province the very next day; and at the Shanghai Concert Hall on June 23. Tiersen’s soundtrack for Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s film Amelie won him many Chinese fans and much acclaim.

Festival Croisements will also have Beijing band Yin San’er and French band Big Red come together for an exceptional urban music fest. Their hip-hop concert will be held at Yugongyishan on May 23.

(Source: ebeijing.gov.cn)

She had her eye on University Hill Secondary School, the top public school in an annual school report card compiled by Fraser Institute, an independent research and educational organization. Unfortunately, UH had no vacancy available, leaving Theresa on the waiting list while studying in Lord Bynd, another public school with high ranking. It was only one year later that Theresa was finally allowed a seat in UH.

Iris is one of many parents from Chinese immigrant families who seek to select so-called famous schools for their children. However, education officials here just don’t think the selection is necessary. They told Xinhua recently that public schools in Canada are all equal and every student has the right to access public schools of equal quality.

According to William Wong, district principal of Vancouver School Board, Canadian public schools get funding from government and teach the same curriculum. All teachers are professional and qualified and the principals and teachers are subject to transfer among schools. So unlike the situation in some other countries, all Canadian public schools are comprehensive and at the same academic level, and students are supposed to attend their neighborhood school.

Wong played down those “famous” public schools which are strongly favored by Chinese parents. He said the Fraser’s ranking which Chinese parents usually refer to when evaluating a school contains lots of misinformation and is misleading, adding it’s like a quick snapshot based on maybe only one academic assessment and does not reflect the whole picture.

Wong suggested that instead of focusing on good reputation in selecting schools, parents and children should talk to school administrators and check the different programs that schools provide. Besides, in order to choose a suitable school, parents need to find out what is best for their children, their learning capacity and what really makes them more interested in schools.

Lewis Nicolle, a Grade 11 student, may be an excellent example. He feels comfortable with the study in the Mini School of Point Grey Secondary School, saying he “loves it and enjoys every minute in school.” It’s not because the Point Grey is seen as a famous school by parents from Chinese immigrant families, but because it offers Mini School program, which provides opportunity of enrichment for highly motivated students.

Lewis said he was keen on computer and liked to take challenges. He chose Point Grey Mini School because it met his expectation with its challenging program, field trips and peers with similar interests. He was accepted into the program at Grade 8 after taking cognitive, English and Math tests. He was competitive enough to be among the 30 students being chosen out ofsome 500 applicants.

Switching from his neighborhood school to the desirable Mini School means, Lewis has to spend 20 more minutes by bus on the way to school, but he said “it’s absolutely worthwhile.”

Echoing Wong’s opinion, Lewis said he didn’t see Point Grey as a famous school, adding it had “good environment, good teachers and good people, but nothing special.”

Whether to attend a so-called famous school or not does not matter, Wong believes. What really helps students, he concludes, is the motivation of students themselves, the support and encouragement from family and the inspiration from teachers and other adults around them.

He said that some parents choose the so-called famous school in order to make their children successful, but the purpose of education is “to help our students live a good and worthwhile life, and that good and worthwhile life is not always about money or personal success.”

(Source: xinhuanet.com)

In Ali of Tibet, a huge mountain rises up 6,714 meters above sea level. It is the highest peak of Gangdise — Kangrinboqe Peak, also called Shenshan (Mountain of Divinity).

When Buddhism was in blossom, local Buddhists as well as those from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and other countries came to worship the mountain. Now, temple relics of different styles still can be seen at the foothill.

The name of Shenshan(Mountain of Divinity) might have something to do with its arduous and odd shape. The magnificent mountain shoots high into the sky, covered with snow and ice all year round. Natural stone steps, which run across the mountain like a hanging ladder up to the clouds, are formed from long-time weathering. Deep cliffs are at both sides, making the mountain even grander. Limited by their knowledge about nature, ancient people could not understand how such surprising view was formed; therefore, they called the mountain Shenshan(Mountain of Divinity).

(Source: chinaculture.org)