Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is an important traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the first day of the year of the Chinese calendar. In China, it is also known as the Spring Festival, the literal translation of the modern Chinese name. Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Year's Eve, the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar. Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the "Lunar New Year".
The source of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Traditionally, the festival was a time to honor deities as well as ancestors. Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore,  Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius,  Philippines,  and also in Chinatowns elsewhere. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the lunar new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors.
Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. Often, the evening preceding Chinese New Year's Day is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly cleanse the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of "good fortune" or "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity." Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes.

Why would you like to celebrate it or not? Write advantages and disadvantages. 200words.

Europe in ashes, Africa an oasis

The year is 2063. By now, all of Europe's volcanoes have come to life and erupted, spewing out thick plumes of ash into the atmosphere. Dense black clouds of dust envelop the murky sky, plunging the entire continent into total darkness. The whole of Europe lies in a pile of rubble. There is no sun here, the air is polluted, unbreathable, and chaos has descended -- to survive, one must flee south, to the only place where the sun continues to shine: Africa.

Set five decades from now, Usoni is a Kenya-based TV production that turns the issue of migration to Europe upside down. The futuristic show depicts Africa as mankind's last cradle of hope in the wake of a series of natural disasters.

Usoni follows the compelling story of Ophelia and Ulysse, a young couple who are desperately trying to escape Europe's terrible conditions and head to Africa, the land of the sun that holds the promise of a better future for them and their unborn child.

Setting off from Lampedusa, the Mediterranean port serving as the gateway to the African oasis, the two protagonists embark on an arduous journey fraught with peril and sacrifice as they try to reach Lake Turkana in east Africa.

Would you please follow the story in 200words?

People without kids are happier

When it comes to who is happier -- parents or child-free people -- most of the research up until now has concluded that it is the childless who are more satisfied with their overall lives.

As a married mom of two, I always find myself reacting a bit defensively to that research.

"I'm happy," I say to myself. I may be stressed, sleep-deprived and sorely in need of "me" time, but I am very satisfied with my life. Isn't it possible that I could be just as happy as someone without kids -- even if they have more time to sleep and take care of themselves?

According to two new studies, the answer might be yes and no.
 

But...what do you think? Write 200 words about it, advantages and disadvantages.
 

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/14/living/parents-happiness-child-free-studies/index.html?hpt=hp_mid
 

A film or a book?

We all know that both have advantages and disadvantages, can we know your point of view? Write 200 words.

Snow storm

What would you do if we had a snow storm in Seville? Write 200 words.

Video games

Social Effects

• Playing video games over an extensive period of time may cause social withdrawal outside of the gaming realm. Although this does not always occur, it is possible if you do not occupy your time with other hobbies and activities outside of the home or where you play video games. On a positive note, playing video games online with gamers around the world will allow you to socialize and communicate with various cultures with ease (although this method is not personal). You will have the ability to meet new gamers each day using online multiplayer gaming systems.

Team-Building Skills

• Many video games focus on team-building exercises and efforts to complete or pass a level. Playing team-building games online will increase your communication skills while teaching you to effectively problem-solve in a group of people. You will learn to direct and to take orders and guidance from other teammates while advancing through various levels and realms with a new set of gamers each round.

Health and Excercise

• A lack of exercise is a great health risk to which video games often contribute, depending on the types of games you are playing as well as the length you play each time. Taking breaks in between playing video games to complete a physical activity or exercise will dramatically improve your health if you are not currently getting working your body out. Purchase fitness games for your gaming system that allows you to track your body's progress over time -- motivating you if you can't seem to tear yourself away from the console.

Cost

• Over time, the cost of gaming systems, equipment and the games themselves add up to a hefty amount for dedicated gamers or collectors of games. Some game systems will require repairs throughout their use, adding to the original price of the console when you first purchased it. For those interested in online game play -- all online games must be purchased to prevent thievery or unlawful gamers using online gaming services for which they have not paid. This eliminates a less expensive route, such as renting online games -- meaning the full cost of the game is required to play.

Are you a video game player? In that case, which is your favourite game? and Why? Or... Why don´t you play computer games? Write 200 words.

25 of mankind's greatest engineering achievements

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/04/travel/engineering-feats/index.html?hpt=travel_hp_blogroll
 Have a look at this article and write 200 words about why you would  like to vist or explore one of these achievements.