We have known for a long time that flowers of different plants open and close at different time of day. This is so familiar that there seems to be no need to ask the reason for it. Yet no one really understands why flowers open and close like this at particular times. The process (过程) is not as simple as we might think, as recent experiments have shown. In one study, flowers were kept in constant (连续的) darkness. We might expect that the flowers, without any information about the time of day, did not open as they normally do. In fact, they continued to open at their usual time. This suggests that they have some mysterious (神秘的) way of knowing the time. Their sense of time does not depend on information from the outside world; it is, so to speak, inside them, a kind of “inner clock”.

This discovery (发现) may not seem to be very important. However, it was later found that not just plants but also animals —including man —have this “inner clock” which controls the working of their bodies and influences (影响) their activities. Men, then, are also influenced by this mysterious power. Whether we wish it or not, it affects such things in our life as our need for sleep, our need for food.

In the past, this did not matter very much because people lived in natural condition. In the modern world, things are different; now there are spacemen, airplane pilots and, in ordinary life, a lot of people who have to work at night. It would be very useful, then, to know more about the “inner clock”. Such ordinary things as flowers might help us understand more about ourselves.

There are so many new things going on in China, maybe it’s a good idea to share with you some buzzwords (热词) which you will know what is going on in China, 【小题1】 and what they are doing.

The first buzzword is人民至上、生命至上or people first, life first. This phrase was from China’s fight against the pandemic. When COVID-19 hit China, the whole country was united as one, with no place left behind and no life given up. From a 30-hour-old baby to senior citizens of over 100 years old, all the treatment was free, 【小题2】.

Second, 凡尔赛or Versailles, 【小题3】 On social media, it is used to describe those who pretend (假装) to sound modest (谦虚) when they show off their rich lifestyle. For example, “I will save my tears for Paris next time.”

Third, 内卷or involution. A latest buzzword, it means involuntary competition. Because of it, people think success is more important than personal growth. With competition between students and between parents, 【小题4】 So tiger parents would keep pushing their kids to learn more and take more after-school classes. Training schools have grown wildly. Some primary students are busier than high school students. In such an environment, 【小题5】 parents’ wallets empty.

Hello, everyone. Today we come to Hangzhou to meet some new friends. This boy in blue is Chenchen. He’s a mascot (吉祥物) of the 19th Asian Games (第19届亚运会). He has two good friends, Congcong and Lianlian. They are the mascots, too. They have the same birthday. Congcong is a boy. He likes yellow, so he is always in yellow. The girl in green is Lianlian. Her favorite color is green. The three mascots like sports very much. They love watching sports games and they can play sports very well.

They need to eat well because they do sports every day. Look! Here is their menu on Wednesday. In the morning, they have eggs, some bread and milk for breakfast. Then they have some fruit at about 10:00 a. m. For lunch, they eat rice, chicken and vegetable salad. In the evening, they have carrots, some chicken and bread for dinner. They all think ice-cream is delicious (美味的), but they don’t eat it because it’s unhealthy.

Welcome to Hangzhou and meet them! Let’s eat well and play sports well together.