Would you like to experience what going to school was like in the late 1800s? To start with，imagine everyone in school only one classroom．

    In the 19th and early 20th centuries，most American students went to a one—room schoolhouse．A single teacher would typically(典型地)have students in the first through eighth grades，and she taught them all．The number of students varied from six to 40 or more．The youngest children sat in the front，while the oldest students sat in the back．The teacher usually taught reading，writing，arithmetic，history，and geography．Students memorized and retold their lessons．

    The classroom of a one—room schoolhouse probably looked much like your own．The teacher’s desk stood on a raised platform(讲台)at the front of the room，however，and there was a wood-burning stove(火炉)since there was no other way of heating．The bathroom was outside in an outhouse．

    In Honeoye Falls，New York，there is a one—room schoolhouse where kids today can experience what it was like to the students in the late 19th century．For a week during the summer，they wear 19th century clothes and learn the way children learned more than a hundred years ago．

    What else has changed about school since the 19th century? For more information，please visit our website：www .LoeaHygacy. con．

It has been around for centuries, but up until very recently, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) wasn't fully accepted abroad. The 2001 film Treatment(《刮痧》)tells the story of a Chinese man in the US who's charged with guasha, a form of TCM treatment, to cure his grandson's disease.

During the last 10 years or so, however, TCM has been getting increasingly popular all over the world. A report says this style of health care, which includes different forms like herbal medicine and exercise, has spread to 183 countries and areas.

"We have set up 10 TCM centers outside China, and all of them are popular among locals," said Wang Guoqiang at a news meeting on Dec 6. "Governments of 86 countries and areas have signed agreements with the Chinese government on TCM corporation(合作)."

One of the reasons behind the growing popularity of TCM is the increase of scientific research into it. And after Tu Youyou-the Chinese scientist who discovered the anti-malaria(抗疟疾)drug qinghaosu(青蒿素)-won the Nobel Prize, TCM became even more famous all over the world.

However, all these achievements in TCM don't mean that it's problem-free. Over the years, TCM has faced challenges in being able to prove that it has certain effects.

Some researchers have suggested TCM should be more exact and work together with western medicine.

"Bringing together with western medicine and TCM, rather than being in competition, is where the potential(潜力)for great effects is," said Bernhard Schwartlander, the China representative(代表)of the World Health Organization.

    Do you wear large T-shirts and baggy jeans? Or have you heard someone rap(说唱)? Hip-Hop is very hot now．

    Hip-Hop music was started in the middle of the 1970s by African Americans in New York．The music，break-dancing(霹雳舞) and graffiti(涂鸦) make up Western Hip-Hop culture．Most of Hip-Hop songs are about love，jobs or even games·

    Singers speak words very quickly to a certain beat．Most of the words are fun．Singers use words to make fun of themselves or others．Hip-Hop music has few rules．Singers just do what they think and rap it out in a clever or creative way．The freedom makes a lot of teenagers fall in love with the music．Many of them like wearing large T-shirts and baggy jeans．Famous rap and Hip-Hop stars include Eminem in the USA and Jay Chou from China．

    Today Hip-Hop is nlore and more popular across most of the world．

  You may have seen many pumpkins in posters and TV shows recently, since Halloween came on Oct 31.                                                      

Lanterns (灯笼) made of pumpkins, also known as jack-o’-lanterns, are often seen during Halloween. Many people in the US like to make them and put them in front of their houses. People hollow out a pumpkin, carve a face on one side, and place a candle inside to make the pumpkin glow. The lanterns can look funny or scary.

    This is not the only way in which pumpkins are part of American culture.During the Thanksgiving holiday, pumpkin pie is a common food. It is made from pumpkins and has some delicious spices to give it a nice flavor (味道). People often put some whipped cream on top of it before serving it. It is one of my favorite things to eat during Thanksgiving.

There is also “pumpkin chucking”. It’s a competition where people build machines to throw pumpkins through the air. The person whose pumpkin flies the farthest wins the competition. The world record for pumpkin chucking was set in Utah in 2010. The distance for that world record was about 1.69 kilometers!

Have you ever been to Hawaii? People from all over the world dream of seeing the beautiful island in the middle of the ocean. It’s always one of their dreams to watch the sun going down. The sun drops like a ball of bright fire into the sea, and it drops so quickly that you can even see it move.

  About two thousand years ago, the first people went to Hawaii in a very small boat. They found the beautiful white sand beaches and the waving palm trees. But it was difficult for people to go to Hawaii at that time. And there were no big hotels like the ones today. Now people can get to Hawaii in different ways. More and more people go to Hawaii. So lots of nice big hotels have been built in recent years. However, the scenery (自然景色) in Hawaii hasn’t changed much. The white sand beaches and the waving palm tree are still there. People often have a peaceful time, taking a walk along the water in the morning. At night, they get together to hold parties, chatting and dancing. So if you’re thinking about relaxing yourself, Hawaii is surely the first place for you to choose.

There are two ways of driving in the world: if the driver’s seat is on the left and cars travel on the right side of the road, it is called “left-hand driving”, as is in China, while the other way of driving is called “right-hand driving”, as is in Britain. Nowadays, around 65％ of the world’s population drives on the right of the road, while the rest is used to driving on the left.

    Though no one knows the exact reasons, it seems likely that people in ancient times travelled on the left of the road. Roman coins show pictures of horsemen passing on each other’s right. And right-hand people generally got on a horse from the animal’s left. Obviously, it’s safer to do this at the left side of the road, and it makes sense for the horse to be ridden on the left.

    A change happened in the late 1700s. When Napoleon（拿破仑）conquered（攻占）nations, he forced them to travel on the right side of the road, which spread left-hand driving throughout Europe. However, Britain still stuck with the right-hand driving rule and countries which were part of the British Empire were made to follow. This is why India, Australia and the former British colonies（前英国殖民地）in Africa continue to drive on the left. One exception（例外，除外）is Egypt, as that country was defeated（打败）by Napoleon before becoming part of the British Empire.

    Some countries changed sides until modern times. Sweden only moved to driving on the right in 1967 and Iceland changed the following year. Ghana changed sides in 1974. On September 7, 2009, Samoa became the third country ever to change from left-hand to right-hand driving for the reason that it made it easier to import（进口）cheap cars from right-hand driving Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

    So if you want to travel to another country or go on business, make sure you know whether it is left-hand or right-hand driving to avoid unnecessary trouble.

   January 1 is New Year's Day, the first day of the year. It is a legal (法定的) holiday, and all banks, stores and schools are closed. Many people invite their friends to come and visit them in the afternoon or evening.

   The only legal holiday in February is Washington's Birthday. Although Washington was born on February 22, his birthday is now celebrated on the third Monday of February. Some states also celebrate Lincoln's birthday on February 12. These two, the United States' most famous presidents, were both born in February.

   The last Monday in May is Memorial Day (纪念日). This holiday remembers the Union Civil War soldiers, who died for their country. Americans celebrate Memorial Day with services in cemeteries (公墓) and churches.

   America's great national holiday, Independence Day, falls on the fourth of July. It celebrates the birth of the United States. It was on this day that the colonists (殖民地居民) announced their independence from England. They had to fight hard for the next seven years to win this independence.

   The first Monday of September is Labour Day (劳工节). This holiday honours (向……表示敬意) the working people of the United States. There are sorts of celebrations and speeches on this day too. People go to all kinds of places to enjoy the fine weather at the end of summer.

Different countries celebrate the New Year in different ways. Many countries still follow the lunar calendar, meaning that their new year often starts in late January or in February. New Year celebrations for some countries (like China, Vietnam, and Korea) last not one day, but up to two weeks!

In the US, many people attend New Year parties. They drink, dance, and cheer at midnight.

In the southern US, many people eat black­eyed peas for good luck in the new year.

In Mexico and Venezuela, many people wear red or yellow for good luck.

In Brazil, people wear white clothes for good luck, and in China, they wear red clothes and give children red envelopes with money in them.

In Iran, people wear brand new clothes on the first day of the New Year.

In Scotland, people open the front door at midnight to let in the New Year, and open the back door to let out the old year.

In Switzerland, people kiss each other three times at midnight.

In Japan, they ring a bell 108 times to get rid of(除掉) the 108 bad desires.

In Korea, they ring a bell 33 times for 33 old soldiers(士兵).

National parks are large areas of public land. They give a safe home for local plants and animals. They help keep the air and water clean. They also give us the best trips. Today, there are nearly 7,000 national parks around the world. Forbes has listed 12 of the most beautiful ones in the world that will surprise you with their amazing landscapes（风景）, geographic wonders and colorful plants and animals.

TheGrand Canyon National Parkof the US is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. It is best known for its size and depth. It is 446 kilometers long, up to 29 kilometers wide, and 1.6 kilometers deep. The immensity of the canyon makes people think big. Every year, about 5 million people visit here. Taking a tour in the South Rim offers visitors the parkˈs full views, while the North Rim shows beautiful wild flowers.

If you love animals, youˈll like theSerengeti National Parkin Tanzania. The“Big Five”live here. They are the lion, African elephant, African leopard, black rhinoceros and African buffalo. The name“Big Five”came from the five animals that were the hardest to catch. Now they are what people most want to see in the wild. If you visit the park, you should never miss the migration（迁徙）of over 1.5 million wildebeests（角马）and 250,000 zebras every year. This is the most famous site of the park.

In Ghana, dinner is usually from four in the afternoon to six in the evening. But there are no strict rules (规则) about time. Whenever a guest arrives, a family offers food. When you go to a home, the person who receives guests takes you to the living room first. At this time everyone welcomes you. Then you go to the dinning room. There you wash your hands in a bowl of water. All the food is on the table.

In Ghana you usually eat with your fingers. You eat from the same dish as everyone else. But you eat from one side of the dish only. It is not polite to get food from the other side of the dish. After dinner, you wash your hands again in a bowl of water.

Most meals in Ghana have a dish called fufu. People in Ghana make fufu from the powder(粉末) of some plants. Sometimes they cut the fufu with a saw(锯子) because it is very hard. You must chew(咀嚼) fufu well, or you may get sick. You eat fufu with the fingers of your right hand only.