My Study Blog by heavenliu | English, baby! Blogs

Halloween

heavenliu — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:08:30 GMT

Halloween

Halloween falls every October 31. Halloween has roots in an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. Samhain is a celebration and the end of harvest season marking the Celtic New Year. The ancient Celts believed that on October 31 the boundary between the living and dead dissolved and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing illness or damaging crops. On the day of Halloween the ancient Celts would place a skeleton on their windowsill to represent the dead. Since the head is the most important part of the body, the head of any vegetable such as a pumpkin can be used to frighten off any superstitions. Today’s Halloween is marked by children and adults alike wearing costumes which are either scary like ghosts or mummies, or dressing up like another person like George W. Bush. Children then go house to house ringing the doorbell saying, “Trick-or-Treat,” meaning if don’t give me candy I will play a trick on you. For Halloween the traditional foods are candied apples and roasted pumpkin seeds. There are many great movies about Halloween such as ‘Halloween’ and ‘Donnie Darko.’ The colors associate with Halloween are orange and black. On Halloween night unmarried women sit in a darkened room and look into a mirror. If a man’s face appears it is the face of her future husband, but if a skull appears the woman is destined to die before marriage.

Solar eclipse(Reprint)

heavenliu — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:39:51 GMT

Solar eclipse(Reprint)

There are four types of solar eclipses:

A total eclipse occurs when the Sun is completely obscured by the Moon. The intensely bright disk of the Sun is replaced by the dark silhouette of the Moon, and the much fainter corona is visible. During any one eclipse, totality is visible only from at most a narrow track on the surface of the Earth.
An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are exactly in line, but the apparent size of the Moon is smaller than that of the Sun. Hence the Sun appears as a very bright ring, or annulus, surrounding the outline of the Moon.
A hybrid eclipse (also called annular/total eclipse) transitions between a total and annular eclipse. At some points on the surface of the Earth it is visible as a total eclipse, whereas at others it is annular. Hybrid eclipses are comparatively rare.
A partial eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are not exactly in line and the Moon only partially obscures the Sun. This phenomenon can usually be seen from a large part of the Earth outside of the track of an annular or total eclipse. However, some eclipses can only be seen as a partial eclipse, because the umbra never intersects the Earth's surface.

The match between the apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon during a total eclipse is considered coincidental. The Sun's distance from the Earth is about 400 times the Moon's distance, and the Sun's diameter is about 400 times the Moon's diameter. Because these ratios are approximately the same, the sizes of the Sun and the Moon as seen from Earth appear to be approximately the same: about 0.5 degree of arc in angular measure.

The Moon transiting in front of the Sun as seen from STEREO-B on February, 25 2007 at 4.4 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.^[2]

The Moon's orbit around the Earth is an ellipse, as is the Earth's orbit around the Sun; the apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon therefore vary.^[3]^[4] The magnitude of an eclipse is the ratio of the apparent size of the Moon to the apparent size of the Sun during an eclipse. An eclipse when the Moon is near its closest distance from the Earth (i.e., near its perigee) can be a total eclipse because the Moon will appear to be large enough to cover completely the Sun's bright disk, or photosphere; a total eclipse has a magnitude greater than 1. Conversely, an eclipse when the Moon is near its farthest distance from the Earth (i.e., near its apogee) can only be an annular eclipse because the Moon will appear to be slightly smaller than the Sun; the magnitude of an annular eclipse is less than 1. Slightly more solar eclipses are annular than total because, on average, the Moon lies too far from Earth to cover the Sun completely. A hybrid eclipse occurs when the magnitude of an eclipse transitions during the event from smaller than one to larger than one—or vice versa—so the eclipse appears to be total at some locations on Earth and annular at other locations.

The Earth's orbit around the Sun is also elliptical, so the Earth's distance from the Sun varies throughout the year. This also affects the apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon, but not so much as the Moon's varying distance from the Earth. When the Earth approaches its farthest distance from the Sun (the aphelion) in July, this tends to favor a total eclipse. As the Earth approaches its closest distance from the Sun (the perihelion) in January, this tends to favor an annular eclipse.

My Safe Child

heavenliu — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 10:08:16 GMT

My Safe Child

This is a beautiful composition,so I reprint it to share with everybody.

I am thirty-three years old, and I am so happy that I am not a mother. I do not hear a biological clock ticking, only the nerve wrecking ticks of bombs yet to explode. My friends are leaping whenever their cell phones ring. "Where are you? No, you can’t go out. No, I don’t care if all the other children are going". How naïve children are when they tell lies. What mother in Israel now would believe that "all the children are going" anywhere?

And where are the children going? Where will their fears take them? In many places in the world children are afraid of the unknown, of the unreal. You know that you live in a war zone when you realize that the greatest fears of the children are of what they know only too well.

Two years ago, when my younger brother was ten, he came home from school, and as he opened the door he heard the familiar sound of explosion rising from the street he just left behind him. Sitting in front of the television five minutes later, he could see his friend wandering blindly in the street, which was covered with body parts and injured people. The friend’s father, who picked him up from school and took him for a pizza, was killed in front of his eyes. My brother refused to talk about it. "This kid wasn’t really a friend of mine," is all he would say, "I don’t really know him that well". That evening he told my father that he is afraid of Freddy Kruger, a monstrous murderer from a common horror film. My father didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but I suspect he felt some relief. How good it is to caress your child’s hair and to tell him that Kruger doesn’t really exist.

But the man who exploded himself in the centre of a busy street did exist. And the man who will explode himself in another one of our busy streets in a few years is now my brother’s age. His mother doesn’t have to worry about the dangers which lurk on the way to school. There are no schools anymore. We have demolished them all, when we crushed the infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority. His younger brother was killed when our soldiers exploded their home. Our soldiers exploded their home because his older brother was a "wanted person". Exploding his family’s home was our way to insure that he will soon turn from a wanted person into an unwanted body, torn to a thousand pieces, surrounded by his victims.

The young terrorist to be sleeps now in a tent provided by UNRWA. What is he afraid of? Not much to fear anymore. The worst already took place. But the bulldozers are still around, demolishing the neighbours’ homes. Every day a few new tents join the raw. His mother tells him how they were deported from their home in Latrun in 1967. His grandmother tells him it was nothing compared to what she had to go through when she was driven away from Jaffa in 1948, carrying his screaming mother, then a newborn, in her arms.

My grandmother doesn’t understand her plight. It had never occurred to her to go back to her home in Poland, which she had to flee as a refugee, haunted by the rise of Nazism in Europe. The fact that the Palestinians still talk about Jaffa, she says, just proves that they want to exterminate us. Whenever a suicide bombing strikes our cities, my grandmother calls me and tells me of her secret plan. "I am an old woman, and I have nothing to loose," she says in a conspiratorial tone. "I will wear rags like their women, and go and explode myself in the centre of Nablus. This will teach them a lesson. I will show them what it’s like." I am trying to tell her that they already know what it is like, that the number of their dead is three times bigger than ours, that the fear and terror we spread in their lives is much bigger than ours. But my grandmother doesn’t hear me, because she is crying. "They are not human beings," she says. "What people can do such things, kill children like this?" De-humanised people, I want to answer, but I keep my mouth shut, and think about the child that I don’t want to have.

The child I won’t have will never feel the guilt of being an occupier, or the fear of becoming a victim. I will never tell him not to be scared, when fear is the only rational thing to feel. I will not have to teach him that the Palestinian child is a human being just like him, while everybody else will tell him that it is not so. The child I won’t have will keep sleeping, curled in a secret corner of my mind. The child I will never have is going to be the only safe child in the Middle East.

Article about my impressions of the play

heavenliu — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:33:29 GMT

Article about my impressions of the play

Today, I saw a move names <The Perfect Man>.Hilary duff played the lead.

I like it.Maybe it looks like my family.My home has two kids and a singel mother too.To us,moving from place to place is all in the day's work.I often change schools.Sometimes when I make friends,we move.I'm alone and lonely.I don't make friends because I'm afraid of part.I like alone,because I'm always alone.

I hope that one day I can have a settled house.

Friendship is love without his wings

heavenliu — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:35:44 GMT

Friendship is love without his wings

1. Suspicion is the poison of friendship.——St.Augustine

2. He that sips of many arts, drinks none.——Thomas Fuller, British clergyman

3. Friendship is love without his wings.——George Gordon Byron, British poet

4. The best proof of love is trust. ——Joyce Brothers

5. People need to know one another to be at their honest best.

6. But headlong joy is ever on the wing.——John Milton,British poet

7. All men are poets at heart.——Ralph Waldo Emerson, American thinker

8. Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall not be disap-pointed.——Alexander Pope. British Poet

9. To believe with certainty,we must begin with doubting.—— Stanislaus

10. Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.——Benjamin franklin, American president

11. Age is a matter of feeling, not of years.——George William Crutis, American witer

proverb

heavenliu — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:44:15 GMT

proverb

1. Nothing succeeds like success.

2. Reckless youth makes rueful age.

3. Spend money like water.

4. Love lives in cottages as well as in courts.

5. So many countries, so many customs.

6. Readies is all.

7. Use a book as a bee does flowers.

8. No rule without an exception.

9. Sorrow is at parting if at meeting there be laughter.

10. One's mantle falls on somebody.

11. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

12. A man is known by the company he keeps.

13. Vain glory blossoms but never bears.

14. Venture a small fish to catch a great one.

15. Dying is as natural as living.

16. One foot is better than two crutches.

Celebrity well-known saying

heavenliu — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:43:40 GMT

Celebrity well-known saying

1. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.------Caxton

2. When angry,count four ;when very angry ,swear.-------Mark Twain

3. No tears in the writer,no tears in the reader. -------Robert Frost

4. he most exhausting thing in life is being insincere.-------Anne Morrow Lindbergh

5. The highest art is to conceal art. ------Bohn

6. What's in a name?That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.-------William Shakespeare

7. It is as easy to dream a book as it is hard to write one .------Honore de Balzac

8. One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don't come home at night.--------Margaret Mead

9. The supreme governmental power is to be thought.-----Victor Hugo

10. Education is not the filling of a pail,but the lighting of a fire.-------William Allen White

11. Great thoughts come from the heart.-----Vauvenar Gues

12. A wise man's question contains half the answer.-----Soloman Ibn Gabirol

（REPRINT)Don't Quit!

heavenliu — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:31:02 GMT

（REPRINT)Don't Quit!

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

When….

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint in the clouds of doubt.

And you never can tell how close you are.

It may be near when it seems afar.

So, stick to the fight when you are hardest hit.

It's when things go wrong that you mustn't quit.

Ideas are like the stars

heavenliu — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:20:25 GMT

Ideas are like the stars

1. Mutual forgiveness of each vice, such are the gates of Paradise. (William Black, British poet)

2. Work banishes those three great evils: boredom, v-ice, and poverty. (Voltaire, French philosopher)

3. A hard-working day makes one have a good sleep at night; All one’s life of working hard makes one die a happy death. (Da Vinci)

4. He that seeks finds. (Heywood)

5. Life is just a series of trying to make up your mind. (富勒)

6. Ideas are like the stars --- we never reach them, but like mariners, we chart our course by them. ( C. Schurz )

7. Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the gods; desired by those who have no part in him , and precious to those who have the better part in him. (Plato)

8. Despite all the life danger, with one selfless act from one common person, someone is saved, A hero is made.(Norman Stephens, USA writer)

9. God was constructed out of mankind's need for hope, for purpose, for meaning:an invisible protector and conscientious father.(Howards Mel. USA　　 writer)

10. It is not enough to do good; one must do it the right way.(John Morley, British statesman)

The Value of Love

heavenliu — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:46:10 GMT

The Value of Love

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,

"Richness, can you take me with you?"

Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"

"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat", Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."

"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you". It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"

"It was Time", Knowledge answered.

"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is".

NEVER STOP SMILING

heavenliu — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:30:56 GMT

NEVER STOP SMILING

An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity ; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.

　
An optimist sees the rose; a pessimist the thorn.

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.

There will always be people who'll hurt you, so you need to continue trusting,just be careful.

Never stop smiling, not even when you are sad, someone might fall in love with your smile.

Man is a born child, his power is the power of growth.

Don't cry because it came to an end. Smile because it happened.

I expect to pass through this life but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

The value of life lies not length of days, but in the use of we making of them.

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Lantern Festival

heavenliu — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:15:49 GMT

Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival comes after Spring Festival.The Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese festival. With a big and red lantern hanging at the door, it presents a festival scene for celebrating the New Year.Going to the streets and seeing the lanterns is a traditional custom of every year's Chinese Lantern Festival.In the Lantern Festival, all the Chinese eat sweet dumplings made of glutinous flour, because they symbolize unity and happiness.

30 SECONDS

heavenliu — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:22:39 GMT

30 SECONDS

Attitude is foundational to success. A generous person with a positive attitude will thrive. If you change your attitude, you change your perception, change your actions, and change your life. As every life changes, you change the world. Over at Lorelle On Wordpress she challenges bloggers to create a list of 30 things that can each be done in only 30 seconds. Imagine if millions or billions of people each did one of these-how would the world be different? In keeping with the theme of personal development, I have put together ways to improve yourself or others and create a better you in 30 seconds or less. Imagine if everyone did just a few of these at once? Here is my list.

1. Change your tone of voice.For 30 seconds, speak softer, calmer, or just more pleasantly. You might be surprised at the results. Did you know, for example, that a softer voice giving clear instructions commands more authority with children than a yell? If frustrated in a business dealing, try a more peaceful tone, even if only for 30 seconds, and see if it leads to a quicker resolution.

Choose one idea you gave up and re-visit it. For 30 seconds, consider giving it one more try. Was there an invention, a project, or some task that just seemed too daunting or frustrating? Choose one and decide to try it one more time. Imagine if everyone mustered up the courage to use their God-given ingenuity in whatever their giftings. What new things would the world see created?

3. For 30 seconds, give someone another chance. Listen for just one more time, re-evaluate a first impression, or give one more opportunity to see if they have changed. You may be surprised.

4. Tell your children “I love you” or “I am proud of you”. Make it meaningful, look them in the eye, and show how you value them. It will mean the world. Imagine if every parent said affirming words to every child, for 30 seconds, everyday.

5. The next time you find yourself wanting instant gratification, impatiently wanting something you cannot have at that moment, give thanks to God for what you already do have for 30 seconds. It may change your attitude.

6. For 30 seconds, stand up straighter and with your head held high. Look others in the eye and walk with confidence. See how great it feels?

7. Choose one thing you were putting off for another time that could be done today, and decide to do it! It only takes 30 seconds to make a decision to act. Be sure you value keeping your promise to yourself, and then know that this will lead to action.

8. Clean up someone else’s mess.

9. Compliment someone with a genuine comment on what you appreciate or respect about them.

10. Stand up for someone or something you believe in. A quick sentence of support can do wonders and expand your influence.

11. Find a way to authentically encourage someone in their efforts with a “you can do it!” comment. Believe in them and show it.

12. Invite someone over (or a group of someones) that you would like to get to know: set a specific time and day for a dinner together. The world could use more socializing. What about you? Take the initiative and make the invitation to a new friendship.

13. Give your spouse a physical sign of affection for 30 seconds in public. Brush your hand softly on her cheek, run your fingers through his hair, give a soft hug, a gentle squeeze of the hand, or a quick kiss. It is good for children to see their parents comfortable with quick displays of affection, and great for strengthening intimacy in marriage. Imagine how closeness might grow in marriages if every couple deliberately showed affection for 30 seconds? Better yet, do it several times a day.

14. Learn 1 new word (preferably from a different language than you already know) or learn a quick and wonderful fact about another culture or country.

15. Write a check for 10% of your monthly income and place it in the mailbox. Send it to your church, a charity, or a worthy cause, but give it away.

16. Pray every morning for 30 seconds to conquer your fear and courageously face all your opportunities, keep your mind open in setting goals and keep your attitude positive. Quickly judge your plan for the day against your priorities (be sure your choices fit with your focus- remember in business and for your family, time is one of your most valuable assets). After the 30 seconds, you may be inspired to make a change.

17. Ask someone “how are you doing?” and then be ready to truly listen.

18. Put $20 in an envelope (or $50 or $100), write “from anonymous”, and secretly (and quickly, to fit in 30 seconds) leave it with someone you know could use it. Doing good deeds without public recognition feels great.. Try it and see!

19. Do something quick for the environment: refuse food in styrofoam, tear apart those plastic things that go around cans and choke birds, or help an animal in distress break free, etc.

20. Choose a great breakfast (your best energy starts with a 30 second decision). Choose to eat no sugar and foods low in starch. Eat more protein and fruit. Start your day right to be more productive.

21. If you have been indoors, get out and feel the sunshine on your face for 30 seconds- it will elevate your mood quickly (if it is 100 degrees outside then feel the sunshine from a more comfortable temperature if possible).

22. Say yes to giving a charitable donation at your local merchant when asked (give one more time than you had planned to give).

23. Register to vote. Just fill out a 30 second card! As you follow this or any registration process of your country, determine to take advantage of the opportunity to vote when it comes, if you are able to do so.

24. Plant a seed (or plant a plant or tree if you have the skills to do so this quickly). Imagine if millions did this at once.

25. Turn off the lights in a room where you are not (turn off the water when not in use, etc.). Every 30 seconds matters.

26. Place a bag by your trash and put a recyclable item inside it. Congratulations, you have now started recycling!

27. Stop any bad habit in 30 seconds. Then keep repeating at 30 second intervals.

28. Seek out laughter and laugh for 30 seconds. Repeat as needed to release tension.

29. Drink water.

30. Imagine for 30 seconds being content with everything you have. Then imagine balancing contentment with striving to continue God’s purpose in you, take an attitude of perseverance, and determine to go for it!

Joke

heavenliu — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 15:24:10 GMT

Joke

The Things Kids Say

One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small boy into bed．She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice，“Mommy，will you sleep with me tonight ？”

The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug． “I can' t，dear．” She said．“I have to sleep in Daddy's room．”

Along silence was broken at last by his shaky little voice：“The big sissy．”

heavenliu — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 15:21:20 GMT

Am I ok here?
I think you ought to know this
Another day not unlike any other
It’s been like this so long

Are you ok dear?
I know I should have noticed
A quiet day not unlike any other
It’s been like this so long

Whatever you want from me
Whoever I try to be
I will never be there
I can never be her in your society

Am I ok dear?
I think you want to know this
Duties I leave not to take on another
And if I don’t fall this night
I will have to go along
Unless something strange will happen
There’s still someting to be done
This story will go on for long

Whatever you want from me
Whoever I try to be
I will never be there
I can never be her in your society

Whatever you want from me
Whoever I try to be
I will never be there
I can never be her in your society

《Stray Birds》

heavenliu — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:27:12 GMT

《Stray Birds》

１
Stray birds of summer come to my window to sing and fly away.
And yellow leaves of autumn, which have no songs, flutter and fall there with a sign.

２
O Troupe of little vagrants of the world, leave your footprints in my words.

３
The world puts off its mask of vastness to its lover.
It becomes small as one song, as one kiss of the eternal.

４
It is the tears of the earth that keep here smiles in bloom.

５
The mighty desert is burning for the love of a bladeof grass who shakes her head and laughs and flies away.

６
If you shed tears when you miss the sun, you also miss the stars.

７
The sands in your way beg for your song and your movement, dancing water. Will you carry the burden of their lameness?

８
Her wishful face haunts my dreams like the rain at night.

９
Once we dreamt that we were strangers.
We wake up to find that we were dear to each other.

１０
Sorrow is hushed into peace in my heart like the evening among the silent trees.

１１
Some unseen fingers, like an idle breeze, are playing upon my heart the music of the ripples.

１２
What language is thine, O sea?
The language of eternal question.
What language is thy answer, O sky?
The language of eternal silence.

１３
Listen, my heart, to the whispers of the world with which it makes love to you.

１４
The mystery of creation is like the darkness of night--it is great.
Delusions of knowledge are like the fog of the morning.

１５
Do not seat your love upon a precipice because it is high.

１６
I sit at my window this morning where the world like a passer-by stops for a moment, nods to me and goes.

１７
There little thoughts are the rustle of leaves; they have their whisper of joy in my mind.

１８
What you are you do not see, what you see is your shadow.

１９
My wishes are fools, they shout across thy song, my Master.
Let me but listen.

２０
I cannot choose the best.
The best chooses me.

joyous

heavenliu — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:58:28 GMT

joyous

To make friends make me happy,so I like to make friends with person who come from different countries.

I am not be good at English,but I like it very much.

I need somebody's help. Who can help me?

If you want to make friends with me please write to me .

E-mail:505653125@qq.com