Among human activities, coal mining and the combustion of fossil fuels are important sources of mercury in the environment. Research on mercury pollution in coal mining areas and surrounding cities, especially in densely populated areas, has always been at the forefront of this research field. In order to study the characteristics of environmental mercury pollution in small and medium-sized coal mining areas and surrounding towns in China, this study selected the main urban area of Jiutai District, a typical mining town in the Changchun City circle industrial base in northeast China, as the research object. In this study, the geo-accumulation index (I_geo) was used to study the soil mercury pollution degree in Jiutai District, the potential ecological risk index (Er) was used to evaluate the potential ecological risk of soil mercury in the study area, and the human exposure risk assessment model was used to evaluate the non-carcinogenic risk of soil mercury to the human body. The results showed that 32% of the soil samples in the study area had a higher mercury content than the regional soil background value of Jilin Province (0.04 mg·kg⁻¹). According to the I_geo, 19% of the sample sites in the study area were polluted (index > 0). In general, the soil mercury pollution level in Jiutai District is low, and the polluted areas are mainly concentrated in the northeast of the study area. The Er of the soil mercury in the study area ranged from 7.2 to 522.0, with 32% of the sampling sites having a moderate or above potential ecological risk (Er > 40), and the potential ecological risk level of the soil mercury was higher in the northeast of the study area. The non-carcinogenic risk index (HQ) and total non-carcinogenic risk value (HI) of the soil mercury were all far less than 1, indicating that soil mercury pollution in the study area did not harm the health of local adults. The oral ingestion of soil mercury is the main form of human exposure to mercury.

In order to understand the characteristics and influencing factors of surface release fluxes in the typical agro-pastoral mosaic region of the Songnen grasslands of northern China, this study selected two sample plots to, respectively, represent the L. chinensis covered grassland (L), and the Z. mays covered fields (Z) in the Waizi area of Changling County, with western Jilin Province as the study area. This study investigated the atmospheric mercury (Total Gaseous Mercury (TGM)) concentrations, surface soil mercury concentrations, the gaseous elemental mercury exchange fluxes, and related environmental factors. The results showed that the TGM concentrations in two sample plots in the study area were basically the same during the summer and autumn months, but were higher in summer than in autumn, and there was a clear diurnal pattern. The average mercury concentrations in the surface soil were also higher in summer than in autumn. Furthermore, the surface soil has a clear mercury release process, and the mercury release were higher in the sheep grass field than the maize field during the same season. The mercury release fluxes in each site within the ecotone were related to the solar radiation and soil temperature values, and the effects of them on the soil mercury release were independent from one another.

The fundamental task of cultivating foreign language talents in the new era is to cultivate talents. English major students are supposed to have solid Chinese language skills and cultural knowledge, to be able to skillfully apply language teaching skills related to foreign languages, and have the competence to adopt foreign languages for cross-cultural communication. This article aims to study the “global village” as a unique language practice base of Jilin International Studies University and integrate it into the instruction of higher education to nurture talents for international communication. Based on exploring the connotation of cultural signs that highlights the “global village” and their application of them in cultivating English major students’ foreign language competence, we intend to improve English major students’ humanistic and cultural literacy to nurture their sense of self-national identity under the internationality of globalization. Thus, they are prepared to possess the comprehensive language competence constituted mainly by the broad vision, international consciousness, global village outlook, and cross-culture consciousness and competence, etc. which will necessarily help them to actively and effectively participate in international communication and eventually dedicate themselves to constructing a global community with a shared future for mankind, which essentially makes up the core of cross-cultural competence.

This paper probes into F. Scott Fitzgerald’s inheritance and transcendence of the artistic heritage of 19th century British romantic poet John Keats in his literary creation, especially focusing on Fitzgerald’s absorption and innovation of Keats’s literary elements in Tender is the Night and The Great Gatsby. By comparing and analyzing the similarities and differences between the two literary giants in nature depiction, aesthetic pursuit, chivalry reproduction and social reality criticism, this paper reveals how Fitzgerald inherited Keats’s romantic feelings and artistic expression techniques, combined with the unique social background of the “Jazz Age” in the United States in the 20th century to achieve a profound insight and unique expression of American reality writing. In nature depiction, Keats, with his delicate emotion and rich imagination, integrates natural elements into his poems to create a unique atmosphere. Fitzgerald also uses this technique, but his depiction of nature is more complex and multidimensional, which not only shows the beauty of nature, but also profoundly reflects the changes in the inner world of the characters and the hypocrisy of social reality. In aesthetic pursuit, Fitzgerald inherited Keats’s persistent pursuit of beauty and transformed it into the emotion and behavioral motivation of the characters in the novel. On the reappearance of chivalry, Fitzgerald reconstructed and criticized the knight image in Keats’s works. Finally, in the aspect of social reality criticism, Fitzgerald analyzed materialism and consumerism in capitalist society more directly and profoundly than Keats. Through Tender Is the Night and The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald exposed the social impetuosity and moral decay behind the economic prosperity of the “Jazz Age” in the United States in the 1920s, and criticized the social phenomenon of materialism and spiritual emptiness. This kind of profound realistic criticism not only surpasses Keats’s obscure social satire, but also provides valuable ideological resources for later literature. To sum up, this paper holds that while inheriting the literary tradition of Keats, Fitzgerald, with his keen insight and unique artistic talent, successfully realized the innovation and transcendence of American reality writing, and contributed a series of landmark works to American literature and even world literature.

At the beginning of the 20th century, an American boy arriving in China for the first time views Chinese social phenomena through the lens of American individual heroism, which leads to both conflict and fusion of ideas. After an in-depth understanding of China, there is both praise for the excellent traditional Chinese thought such as Chinese traditional humanistic thought, and a one-sided understanding of the image of Chinese women and Chinese religious culture. The author’s task is to explore in detail the American’s understanding of Chinese cultural thought in Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, hoping to help more foreigners reshape the image of China.