Reporting Change

From week 1 to week 5, profits __increased slightly___. Then from week 6 to week 8, profits  rose dramatically   and __peaked__ at 3.0 million at week 8. From week 8 to week 15 profits ___stabilized_____ with a _slight dip__ at week 11. Then from week 15 to week 21 profits _fluctuated wildly_ with a _maximum_ of 3.5 million at week 16 and a _minimum_ of 2.2 million at week 17. From week 21 to week 23, profits __levelled off__ at 2.8 million.

From week 24 to 28, profits ___decreased slightly___ and then from weeks 29 to week 36, profits  increased gradually _ with a __spike_ at week 33 of 4.2 million. From week 37 to week 40, profits ___dropped substantially___,  bottoming___ at 1 million at week 40. From week 40 to week 46, profits __fluctuated mildly____ with a _____maximum____ of 1.2 million and a __minimum__ of 0.8 million. 

About Calendar

 In Chinese calendar, there are 12 months per year, and there are about 29 days per month. The month measured between successive new moons. There are about 354 days per year and there are about 10 days less than calendar year (solar year). So there 7 leap months every 19 years, and the lunar calendar is synchronous to solar calendar. In fact Chinese calendar is lunisolar calendar and it is depended on both moon and sun.

There is another particular solar calendar in ancient china, called the twenty-four solar terms. In fact, it really  remarks the activities in agriculture. From the names of these solar terms, farmers can immediately know what should do during this period.

Chinese calendar is not exclusive to China, but followed by many other Asian cultures as well.

The Gregorian solar calendar is an arithmetical calendar. It counts days as the basic unit of time, grouping them into years of 365 or 366 days; and repeats completely every 146,097 days, which fill 400 years, and which also happens to be 20,871 seven-day weeks. Of these 400 years, 303 common years have 365 days and 97 leap years have 366 days. This yields a calendar mean year of exactly 365+97/400 days = 365.2425 days = 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes and 12 seconds.

Mythology about Nian

Chinese New Year is called as Spring Festival too. Spring Festival features wearing new clothing, eating dumplings, having reunion dinner, posting spring scrolls on windows and doors etc. Some picture posted on door is called door-god, which is very fearful. Why do people like to post an ugly picture on door?  There is a tale about Nian. Nian means year. For example I had studied four years in Jiangsu province. But there is another meaning. According to tales and legends, Nian is a mythical beast. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the colour red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. 

Christmas gift

Christmas gift

                        A Puppy and Her Doghouse

The Puppy in Her Doghouse

My daughter received some Christmas gifts. She was very happy and appreciated her gifts. Her favorite gift is a fluffy puppy with a doghouse which is a bag. There is a picture of the puppy's body on one side of the bag. The picture is made from fluff which is the same material as the dog. If the puppy's body is put in the bag and the toy puppy's head is out of the bag, you will see a whole puppy. It looks like that the bag is transparent. It is very interesting. I think the factory might make large sums of money from this kind of toys and a profitable product may stem from a simple idea. Some people say that an idea can make a company revive, and some people believe the technique is more important. In my opinion, good idea is important but the idea could not be realized without technique, so technique is most important for a company, and technique of company depends on talents and years accumulation.

The Concert Trip

The Concert Trip

On Tuesday, I went to Roy Thomson Hall for a noontime concert. This is my second time to downtown and I am not familiar with Roy Thomson Hall and how to get there. Following the teacher’s suggestion, I arrived at Don Mills subway station before 10:00Am, and I met my classmate there. We transferred at Sheppard-Yonge Station, and got at St Adrew station. In the train, I listened carefully the announcer who gave out the arrival station and nest station, looked the sign on the wall and referred the map, in order to know where we were. But I did not get some words such as Wellesley, Dundas from the announcer. I thought if I had not taken a map and miss the sign on the wall, I would have lost!

Before 10:00 we arrived at the Roy Thomson Hall, which is a really beautiful and special building. In front of the Hall, we met Joseph, and he led us walk around the block, and he told us some story about constructions of downtown. One of them is the famous CN tower. Standing among these buildings, I felt that I were so small. In the heart of Toronto, we saw a different Toronto from North York, and felt the modernity, bustling, beauty and crowding, of course.

The concert was start at 12:00 Am. So I thought that is why it was called as noontime concert. When the mass choir appeared, every one in the hall gave them a round of applause. The concert lasted about one hour. If I read more things about Gospel, I would enjoy it.

After the concert ended, I left the Hall alone. It was easy to find the subway station. I think everyone got something form the trip and the concert. “Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles” as the saying goes.

Some Pictures of Concert Trip

About Tramps

Homeless People and Tramps

I read an article about the homeless in Candada yesterday. It has been said that the homeless in Canada has grown in size and complexity in recent years. Women and children are growing in homeless population. The homeless are not only the crisis of city, but also the number of homeless in the suburbs are increasing. There are between 30,000 and 40,000 homeless people in Toronto (2004), and the city has not enough shelters for them. Even worse, there are over 106,000 people in GTA who spend more than half of their income on rent, and they are at risk of becoming homeless people.

Tramps are a kind of homeless people. According to Wikipedia, a tramp is a long-term homeless person. Some people say that tramps are different from beggars. They choose to lead their lives because of freedom and  it is convenient for them to hike because they have few possession. They live in simple way and are free from care. They are closer to nature because they have to sleep in the open. Yes, sometimes we may feel a little envious of their simple way of lives, but I think their freedom is the result of without skills to get enough income, and they sleep in the open  because they have not houses. Who will be homeless if he has enough money or has enough skill to get a job? Everyone has right to get shelter and food. So the city should have considered more about homelessness and poverty. Who will be the next homeless people?