Chinese Kung Fu (Martial Arts or as popularly referred to as Gongfu or Wushu ) is a series of fighting styles which has developed over a long historical period in China. 【小题1】Styles including Shaolin, Tai Chi and Qigong have many followers worldwide. Some westerners think that all Chinese people are Kung Fu masters. That’s not true, but this traditional heritage has its unique existence in modern times and left much influence on the locals’ lifestyle.

【小题2】This has been the common value upheld by martial artists from generation to generation. With a number of movement sets, boxing styles, weapon skills and some fighting stunts, Kung Fu keeps its original function of self-defense. Now its value in body-building and fitness is also highly appreciated.

In order to survive in an extremely hostile environment, our primitive Chinese ancestors developed primary means of defense and attack that included leaping, tumbling and kicking. 【小题3】The Martial Arts we recognize today as Kung Fu had their origins in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties (17 century BC—256 BC). During the following Qin (221 BC—207 BC) and Han (202BC—220 AD) Dynasties, wrestling, swordplay and spear skills became well developed and were popular among civilians and troops. Following the Song Dynasty (960—1279), various schools, boxing styles, movement sets and weapon skills flourished.

Over the centuries of development in China, Kung Fu has become a large system containing various schools or sects. It is recorded that there are over 300 distinct types of boxing existing around the country. 【小题4】Some of the schools are classified by geographical locations, for example, the Southern Fist (Nanquan) prevailing in south China, and Shaolin School based at Shaolin Temple in Henan Province. Some are named after the creator and master, like the Chen Style Tai Chi and Yang Style Tai Chi. Some are identified by different training methods, such as the Internal Boxing Arts (Neijiaquan) that concentrate on the manipulation of the inner breath and circulation of the body, and the External Boxing Arts (Waijiaquan) concentrating on improving the muscles and the limbs.

People have been making and flying kites for about 2,000 years. 【小题1】Some historians believe it the ancient Chinese may have started kite flying 2000 years ago. It is still a popular hobby in China, Japan and Korea and in other countries of the Far East where beautifully decorated appear in different colors.

【小题2】Simple kites are made by crossing two sticks and covering them with paper or cloth. Then you attach a string at the end. More expensive kites have frames made of fiberglass, plastic or aluminum. The name comes from a graceful bird called kite.

【小题3】A flat kite is the oldest and simplest type of kite.   It flies because air flows over and under the kite's wing. The pressure under the wing helps the kite lift into the air.

【小题4】Early scientists sent kites up into the air to measure temperature at different heights. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin used a kite to prove that lightning was a form of electricity. He attached a metal key to the string of a kite. When lightning hit the kite, electricity passed down the string and Franklin got an electric shock. It was a very dangerous experiment that you shouldn't copy.

Kites were also used to develop airplanes. The Wright Brothers experimented with kites before they flew the first airplane. 【小题5】 In World War I the Germans developed a large kite that could transport people to a submarine. Kites were also used to carry radio signals over long distances.

Today most people fly kites as a hobby. Kite festivals are organized in many cities in all parts of the world.

The discovery of the ruined palace in the Mosul Dam reservoir on the banks of the Tigris River inspired an archeological dig that would improve understanding of the Mittani Empire, one of the least-researched empires of the ancient Near East, a team of German researchers said. “The find is one of the most important archeological discoveries in the region in recent decades,” Kurdish archeologist(考古学家) Hasan Qasim said.

The palace would have originally stood just 65 feet from the river on a terrace(梯田). A terrace wall of mud bricks was later added to make the building stable. Ivana Puljiz, an archeologist from the University of Tübingen’s Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Studies, describes the palace, known as Kemune, as a carefully designed building with mud-brick walls up to 2 meters (6.6 feet) thick.

The team also found wall paintings in shades of red and blue, which were probably a common feature of palaces at the time but have rarely been found preserved. “Discovering wall paintings in Kemune is an archeological sensation,” Puljiz said in a press release, “Kemune is only the second site in the region where wall paintings of the Mittani period have been discovered.”

Ten clay tablets covered in cuneiform, an ancient system of writing, were also discovered and have been sent to Germany for translation. “From the texts we hope to gain information on the inner structure of the Mitani Empire, its economic organization, and the relationship of the Mittani capital with the administrative centers in the neighboring regions,” Puljiz added.

Archeologists first became aware of the site in 2010 when water levels in the reservoir were low, but this is the first time they have been able to dig. However, the site was submerged(淹没) shortly after the dig, Puljiz said, adding“It is unclear when it will come out of water again”.