With the Year of the Snake practically upon us, and with the solar New Year fast fading into distant memory, I have been ruminating（反刍，沉思） over the habit that so many people have of making new year resolutions ... and then breaking them just months/weeks/days/hours/minutes after making them.
January 1 became the beginning of the New Year in 46 BC, when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would more accurately reflect the seasons than previous calendars had.
The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new.
In the Middle Ages, Christians changed New Year's Day to December 25, the birth of Jesus. Then they changed it to March 25 - the Annunciation holiday. In the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar, and the celebration of the New Year was returned to January 1.
But what of Chinese New Year? Friends of mine that I have asked appear to be in two minds
High on the wish list of practically every expat here is a determination to improve their Chinese language skills. Whether it is a case of doing as I do – switching on my MP3 player whenever I travel on the bus or subway, and listening to a Chinese language lesson - or signing up to a proper language course; determining to go down to the local vegetable market and learning the name of a new vegetable on every visit; or trying to make conversation with a taxi driver, it is all too easy to make excuses and not make the required progress.
I used to face this problem when I lived in the Middle East, since most people I tried to practice my Arabic on insisted on replying in English. In the event I taught myself to learn to read the Arabic alphabet instead – a particularly useful skill, it turned out, as in my work I used to lay out magazines and put together web sites. So now I am slowly starting to learn some of the Chinese ideograms, not only with the help of a book I downloaded off the Internet, but also by going through the names of the various Beijing subway stations , noting commonly used "syllables" and getting to recognize the way they are written.
Another "essential" resolution we all share is to get to know Beijing better. The majority of expats I know do this by going out with other like-minded expats and going to the well known tourist spots and then slowly widening their experience. While this may be fine for some people, I prefer to leave all my Western friends behind and just take off for the day, armed only with a good map and having thoroughly researched some of the more esoteric things in the vicinity to which I am going. Having a Chinese friend accompany me adds an extra level of interest as they can explain things that foreigners simply wouldn't know.
When I tell my Western friends where I have been, they look at me in astonishment; but I find this is the only way to get to know a place better. Soon to be visited places on my Beijing list are the Eunuch Museum in the west of the capital, and a Museum of Tap Water near Dongzhimen. It's not that I expect them to be outstanding in any way (though if they are, then that is definitely a bonus), but as they are (as far as I am aware) the only such museums of their kind, I feel that my horizons can be suitably widened while at the same time it sure makes for interesting conversations at a later date.
Finally, one resolution I will certainly try to keep on keeping is to carry on recording my observations in a personal blog. The thing is that at some point in the future, everything that appears new and exciting now will start to feel normal. The "wow" factor you get when discovering some thing new will have disappeared and it won't be until much later that you'll wish you had kept better notes.
相关单词：practically
practically解释：adv.差不多；几乎；实际地，从实际角度
practically例句：
He solved the problem very practically.他很实事求是地解决了这个问题。
She's practically always late for school.她上学几乎总是迟到。
相关单词：ruminating
ruminating解释：v.沉思( ruminate的现在分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼
ruminating例句：
He sat there ruminating and picking at the tablecloth. 他坐在那儿沉思，轻轻地抚弄着桌布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
He is ruminating on what had happened the day before. 他在沉思前一天发生的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：accurately
accurately解释：adv.准确地，精确地
accurately例句：
It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。
相关单词：guardian
guardian解释：n.监护人；守卫者，保护者
guardian例句：
The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。
相关单词：depicted
depicted解释：描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述
depicted例句：
Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。
相关单词：Christians
Christians解释：n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )
Christians例句：
Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
His novel
相关单词：pope
pope解释：n.（罗马天主教的）教皇
pope例句：
The Pope is the spiritual leader of many Christians.教皇是众多基督徒的宗教领袖。
The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
相关单词：abode
abode解释：n.住处，住所
abode例句：
It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。
Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！
相关单词：learning
learning解释：n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词
learning例句：
When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
相关单词：syllables
syllables解释：n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )
syllables例句：
a word with two syllables 双音节单词
'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓，它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
相关单词：widening
widening解释：n.扩展，加宽
widening例句：
They have ordered the widening of the road where the incident took place.他们已下令拓宽出事路段。
相关单词：thoroughly
thoroughly解释：adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地
thoroughly例句：
The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
相关单词：vicinity
vicinity解释：n.邻近，附近地区
vicinity例句：
He told us there was no hotel in the vicinity.他告诉我们说附近没有旅馆。
There's a factory in the vicinity of the school.学校邻近有个工厂。
相关单词：astonishment
astonishment解释：n.惊奇，惊异
astonishment例句：
They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
相关单词：definitely
definitely解释：adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地
definitely例句：
The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。
相关单词：widened
widened解释：放宽，加宽， （使）变宽( widen的过去式和过去分词 )
widened例句：
Her eyes widened in surprise. 她惊讶地睁大了眼睛。
The geographical scope of product markets has widened since the war. 战后产品市场的地理范围扩大了。
相关单词：recording
recording解释：n.录音，记录
recording例句：
How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
