Part 1
Do you like to watch the sky?
Yes, but only at night, I like watching the stars, the movements of the stars. However, it becomes more and more difficult to watch the stars clearly at night nowadays, because the air pollution is getting more and more serious. This situation is not good, maybe we should highly remind our public citizens to protect the environment to make sure that we can still enjoy the beautiful stars and the sky in the future.
Did your teacher in school teach you anything about the stars?
Well, I only took one science course at the university, and it was the Mysterious Universe. But it wasn’t really about the stars. I think it’s quite necessary for the teachers in school to teach us some knowledge about the stars, the universe and so on. It can help us better understanding how to protect the most natural things.
Where is the best place to watch the sky?
No doubt that it’s out of the country, away from the city. The city lights glaring and the serious air pollution, all disturb a clear vision of the sky. There is no question that in the countryside where you have some perfect darkness, near clear darkness without all the interruption in the city.
Do you like reading?
Not really. I’m a quite fickle person, so hardly can I calm down and enjoy the tedious reading. I find reading is quite monotonous and I keep dozing off whenever I open a book. Actually, it’s a shame to admit that I can’t even remember the last time when I finished reading a whole book.
Who is your favorite author?
I guess it would be Zhongshu Qian who is one of the most renowned writers in China. I first read his book when I was 18 years ago and from then on I have become a big fan of his works. The reason why I adore him so much is perhaps because of his writing style, I mean, he’s really good at using sarcasm and irony in his writing to strike out the personality of characters.
Do you ever buy books as presents for family or friends?
Sure! I believe giving book as a gift is always a safe choice. I mean, whenever I have no idea what should be given to those who are dear and near to me, I can never go wrong with a book. Besides, I can buy different types and genres of books based on my friends’ personality and interests.
If you wanted to write a book, what would you write about?
I’m not sure. But I guess my choice would be a fantasy novel or sci-fi as these types of book are gaining great popularity among adolescents. You know, nowadays when you enter into a book store, the first thing come to your sight is those fantasy novels displayed on the best-seller book shelves. I find most juveniles are intrigued by fantasy fictions and the Hollywood has made a lot of big-budget movies adapted from these types of books.
What kind of books do children like to read?
Fairy tales, I assume, especially those with colorful cartoon illustrations. Children are so into fairy tales is perhaps due to the fact that they tend to believe the world depicted in these beautifully-written tales is actually the one they live in. You know, a wonderful world with Santa, tooth fairy
Do boys and girls enjoy different kinds of books?
I guess not. You can’t pigeonhole the preference based on the gender. There is a stereotypical view that boys often fancy adventurous or military genres while girls prefer reading trashy romantic fictions. As a matter of fact, I think both boys and girls now enjoy more mature, sophisticated books.
How should parents and teachers encourage children to read more?
During school hours, teachers can encourage students to read by setting a goal of reading tasks to be done. For instance, students must read a number of books during a period of time and write book reviews after the reading has been completed. Students who improve their reading skills will increase their vocabulary and literacy. In order to get children interested in reading, parents should try reading them books that might be above their reading level but that have an interesting or engaging story or games to get them interested on a regular basis. For example, find books that have tactile pages, play audio-books on MP3. It is said that fostering reading habit in children is very important for their brain development and promotes family bonding.
How have people’s reading habits changed in the last 30 years?
Compared to traditional paper reading habits, nowadays portable and multi-functional devices such as iPhone, Android devices etc, have changed people’s book reading habits in various ways. Majority of people utilize these devices to read e-Books because they found they are handy and economical, which are ideal for time-filling while traveling, or waiting for someone. In addition, the digital format of e-Books provides a variety of secondary benefits that enhance the e-Book experience including adjust text size, make notes or highlight text, bookmark pages, search within a text and read easily on the backlit screen.
Do young people and old people like to read the same types of things?
Absolutely not, young people are reading differently than old people, they prefer to read more e-books and audio-books for the pleasure of the mind. Secondly, they usually enjoy comic books and fantasy novels which are beneficial to creative thinking. On the other side, elders enjoy reading historical and political books to enhance their knowledge of social problems.
Do you think sleep is very important?
Yes. Sleep is a good way to refresh ourselves in that it provides us with necessary energy we need the next day. We benefit from it both mentally and physically. As pointed out in a book I once read, our liver, spleen and some other organs work massively during sleep so that the poison accumulated in our body in the day can be carried out. I have a colleague who sleeps only 4 to 5 hours every night， hence having a gaunt face. Doctors advise her to sleep for at least 7 hours every night so that she will get a bright appearance and be physically fit. I myself once had to sleep for only 5 hours every night for 1 month. Bad temper haunted me those days. I experienced a kind of fatigue both physically and mentally which almost killed me. Now I always make sure that I can sleep for 7 hours or more everyday no matter how busy I am.
Do you ever have a nap during the day?
Yes, I did when I was a student. You know, students in China are required by school to have a nap for about 30 to 45 minutes every day because we are too busy in study and can’t ensure 8 hours’ sleep ever night which is considered to be a threshold to health. In this situation, napping comes as a supplement to the loss of sleep time at night. But when I go to work, I don’t have napping time in the schedule so I just skip it and I don’t feel wierd at all. I once read in an article which said that as long as you have enough sleep in the night it is a choice for you to have a nap or not. I can coordinate working and relaxing so that I have enough sleep at night. I no longer have a nap during the day now.
When is your birthday?
My birthday is on December 6th. I was born in the afternoon of a cold winter day some 20 years ago. So there is a “dong” in my name which means “winter”.
How do the members of your family celebrate birthdays?
Birthday celebration in my family is quite fixed. My family members celebrate their birthday every decade because we think ten years mean a great leap both in physical characteristics and in mental development. Birthday celebration in China always includes a big birthday cake, family getting together, birthday presents, a big feast and people singing happy birthday together. Such kind of birthday celebration I had two. I still can remember the excitement I had when opening the presents.
Are some birthdays more important than others?
YES, such as the birthday of leaders who died in the past and the birthday of our nation. For the birthday of our nation which is called national day, we don’t have to work. It is quite precious for us to be off from work for up to 7 days. As for the birthdays of past leaders, its importance stems from the contributions they made to the whole nation. So we celebrate their birthday just to memorize them and for our generations to come to memorize them.
What is the most popular means of transportation in your hometown?
Well, as I know so far, people all across the city are more likely to ride on the tube.The reason why citizens are prone to take metro is that Beijing ,as a international metropolis in China,has a cutting-edged ransportation system,speacially the subway lines.
How often do you take buses?
Um, honestly, I rarely ride on the bus unless I am in the bad mood. Let me explain it. Beijing has been deeply landscaped.So when something eat my heart out,I prefer to ease off via relishing those lawns and blooming flowers.
Can you compare the advantages of planes and trains?
For long hauls such as transoceanic flights, air travel is ,of course the fastest way to get to your destination but plane crashes are ill-fated events that can result in hundreds of deaths. Traveling by train ,you can get to observe the countryside as you steam through it but it is going to take long time to reach your journey's end.