When you go to the United States and many west European countries like France and Germany you see that secondary-school students are wearing jeans,T-shirts,1schools in these countries don't have uniforms.Of course,the schools have2about make-up and fashion clothes.There are,3,a few private schools that have uniforms.
It is4when you go to the United Kingdom and Australia.The girls and boys here are wearing uniforms.In the United Kingdom,some schools have the same uniforms for boys and girls5schools have separate(单独的)uniforms for boys and girls.
Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset 1 your English friends don't invite you home. 2 doesn't mean they don't like you. Dinner parties usually start 3 7 and 8 p.m. and end at about 11 p.m.
Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine 4 a gift.
Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks. If you want to be extra polite, say how much you like the room, or the 5 on the wall. But remember－it's not polite to ask how much things 6.
In many families, the husband sits at one of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll 7 meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert, followed by 8. It's polite to finish 9 on your plate and to take more if you want it.
Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, 10 write them a short "thank you" letter. British and American people like to say "thank you" all the time!
A
How do you keep cool during summer? Air conditioners or electric fans are good tools in modern society. But1that, people could only use fans.
Over 3,000 years ago, fans began to be used. They were made of feathers (羽毛), bamboo or silk. They came in different2, including round and square.
Later, with the invention of paper, folding(可折叠的) paper fans became popular during the Song Dynasty. There are usually beautiful3on fans. Some are landscapes（风景）. Others are flowers and animals. Moreover, many great people including Su Dongpo, a poet of the Song Dynasty, and Tang Yin, scholar (学者) and painter of the Ming Dynasty, once painted their masterpieces (杰作) on fans. This made fans not only4tools in daily life but also great artworks.
So, with its value ofbeauty, people take fans as a symbol of status （地位）. That's why in old China, emperors and scholars often held fans.
Today, fans are also great collectors' items (藏品) and gifts. On the opening ceremony of the2008 Beijing Olympic Games, folding fans were 5to leaders and officials (官员 ) of othercountries. While they were6fans to get cool, they were also experiencing Chinese culture.
What do you often do for your father on Father's Day? Father Day has a very 1 history and it became a state festival in 1972 in America. Because some Americans thought that if we had a Mother's Day, we should also have a Father's Day.
Father's Day is becoming very 2 in North America. People there do different kinds of things for their fathers on that day. And businessmen find it is a good way to make people buy presents for their fathers from their 3.
Except(除…以外)America, very 4countries have a Father's Day, though some have a Children's Day, or a 5 day for boys or for boys and girls. More and more countries are having Mother's Day, 6 maybe Father's Day will become popular soon.
Now what are people in North America doing on Father's Day? The newspapers, radios, and TV 7 children what they should do -buy, buy, buy Father's Day present for your father. They even want the wife to buy a Father's Day present not for her father but for her 8.
The presents they buy for their dads are often not very9, as children don't have much money. But the important thing to remember about Father's Day is that American children can show their 10 to their fathers on that day.
Life in the year 2050 will be 1 from today. Between then and now many changes will take place. But what 2 the changes be?
The population(人口)is growing fast. There will be 3 people in the world and most of them will live 4 than people live now.
Computers will be much 5 and more useful, and there will be at least one in every home. And computer studies will be one of the most important subjects in 6 then.
People will work 7 hours than they do now and they will have more free time for sports, 8 TV and traveling.9will be 10 cheaper and easier. And more people will go to other countries on 11.
12 will be changes in our food, too. More land will 13 for building new towns and houses. Then there will be less land for keeping cows and sheep, so meat will be more expensive. Maybe no one will eat it every day. Instead they will eat more fruit and vegetables. Maybe people will be healthier.
Work in the future will be different, too. Dangerous and hard work will be done 14 robots. Because of this, many people will not have enough work to do. This will be a 15.
When you are invited to a meal in Thailand（泰国），the words of the invitation mean “come and eat rice”. In fact, nearly all Thai dishes are 1 with rice, which grows there very easily 2 the climate is warm and there is much rain.
The food served is 3 cut into pieces, so there is no need to use knives and forks, but, instead, special spoons and forks are used. The Thais 4to eat with their hands and now there are still some people who eat this way. There is a special 5 of doing it. First they wash their 6 hands in a bowl of water—they only eat with their right hands. They are careful not to let the food 7the palms（手掌心）of their hands. After the meal, the 8are again carefully washed.
The meal usually has several different dishes. They are all hot. They are served in bowls, which everyone shares, 9each person has their own bowl of 10. As Thailand has a long coastline（海岸线）, it is not surprising that fish and shellfish（贝类动物） play an important part in Thai cooking.
You may know the English letters A, B and C, but do you know there are people called “ABC”? You may like eating bananas, but do you know there are people called “banana persons”? If you don't know, I will tell you about it. They are some Chinese people like you and me, but they aren't in China. Why do people call them like that?
If we call somebody an ABC person, we mean he or she is a Chinese but was born (出生) in America. Sometimes, people also call them “banana persons”. A banana is yellow outside and white inside. So if somebody is a “banana person”, he or she is “white” inside and “yellow” outside. By saying that, we mean he or she has yellow skin(皮肤) but does things in an American way. “Banana persons” were born in America and they live in America for a long time, so they think like Americans and do things like Americans. However, these people still have Chinese blood(血统). Their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents are from China. They all have black eyes and black hair, so they look like us, Chinese people.
There are many famous “banana persons” in America. They do very well in America and they are really great in their own fields.
You often see people in movies celebrating a white Christmas in England or the United States. But Christmas in Australia is very different.
The holiday is on December 25. It 1at the hottest time of the year in Australia. The temperature is usually about 30℃ in most cities and can even be 240℃ There is certainly no 3 Christmas in
Australia!
Because it is so hot, the tradition is to have a lunch outside and to 4 in the pool or beach. Most people have a one - week holiday during this time. So they will travel to meet their family for Christmas 5Christmas lunch is usually a big meal of ham, turkey, salad and fresh seafood. Family members all cook 6 different to bring to the meal. 7presents from "Santa Claus" always makes children very excited. They often play 8with the other family members. The sport of cricket (板球) is very 9 in Australia and another tradition is to play a game of cricket in the garden.
It is still a very exciting and fun time of the year in Australia 10 there isn't a white Christmas.
We use body language to send messages to others. It is very 1 because others can understand you easily when you use body language. When you are talking with others, you are not just using words, but also using 2. For example, waving one's hand is to say "Goodbye". Shaking hands means welcome, and clapping hands 3 congratulations(祝贺). Nodding the head means YES, but shaking the head means NO.
Different countries have 4 body language. For example, when in 5 ， France and Arab countries, people kiss each other when they meet, 6 men in China or Australia shake hands. People in Puerto Rico like touching each other, but people in Britain do not touch each other. People in Arab countries like 7 close to one another when they are talking, but English people must keep a distance away when they are talking. It is very important 8 the meanings of gestures and movements in the foreign country 9 they will help you communicate with people and make you stay there much more 10 and comfortable.
Many people like to travel(旅行 ) on vacations. Now more and more travellers in the United States are spending nights at small houses 1inns instead of (代替) hotels. They get a2 for the night and the breakfast for the next morning.
In the past five3 ten years, these bed-and-breakfast places have become popular in the United States. Many of these America's bed-and-breakfast inns 4old historic(历史上著名的) buildings. Some bed-and-breakfast inns have only5 rooms. Others are much larger. Some inns do not provide(提供) telephones or televisions in the rooms while(而)6do.
Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is much different 7staying at a hotel. Usually the cost is much lower. Staying at an inn is like visiting 8 home. The owners are 9to tell about the interesting places to visit. Many travellers say10 enjoy the chance (机会) to meet local families.
FAVORITE FOOD
Every country has1favorite food. Italians（意大利人）like to eat2. Indians（印度人）like to eat hot food. 3like to eat fish. Often they don't cook it.
In England, one of the most popular4food is fish and chips. People usually buy it in5shop. They put it in6, and take it home, or to their workplace.
Sometimes they eat it in the park or on the road.
But the7favorite food isn't English, Italian, Indian or Japanese. It seems that American fast food is the most popular in the world. In New York, Moscow. Paris, London, and even in some big cities in China, you can find people8hamburgers and chips.
Chinese food is9very popular in the world. In many cities you can find Chinese restaurants. People10Chinese food because it has different tastes and is usually very delicious!
People use body language to send messages to others. It is very1because others can understand you easily when you use body language. When you are talking with others, you are not just using words, but also using2. For example, waving one's hand is to say "Goodbye". Shaking hands means welcome, and clapping hands3congratulations(祝贺). Nodding the head means yes, but shaking the head means no.
Different countries have4body languages. For example, when in5, France and Arab countries kiss each other when they meet, 6men in China or Australia shake hands. People in Puerto Rico like touching each other, but people in Britain do not touch each other. People in Arab countries like7close to one another when they are talking, but English people must keep a distance away when they are talking. It is very important8the meanings of gestures and movements in the foreign country9they will help you communicate with people and make you stay there much more 10and comfortable.
You may know the English letters A, B and C. But do you know there are 1 called ABC? You may like eating bananas. But do you know there is such a thing as a "banana person"? How 2 ! Are these people from "another earth"? No, they are just Chinese people 3 you and me.
ABC means(意思是) American-born-Chinese. 4 ABC is a Chinese, but was born in the United States. Sometimes, people 5 an ABC a "banana person". A banana is yellow outside and white inside. 6, when a person is a banana, he or she is white inside—living like a Westerner and yellow outside—7 like a Chinese.
Do you know why? Usually, ABCs know 8 about China or the Chinese language(语言). Some of them don't 9 Chinese. But if ABCs can't speak Chinese, can we still call them Chinese people? Yes, of course. They are Chinese. They are overseas(海外的) Chinese. These people may be citizens(公民) of another 10 like the USA, Canada or Singapore. But they have Chinese blood(血统). Their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents were from China. They all have black eyes and black hair. But they are not Chinese citizens. For example, we all know the famous scientist Ding Zhaozhong. He got the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1976. Chinese people love him. But he is an American citizen.
Improve your English through watching television programmes! If you have studied English for some time, you 1 know which study method works best. You may work hard and be sure to get it. You have taken 2 to learn English as a second language and you most likely 3 English at home with books and maybe even tapes. That's good! But the 4 is a great way for English language learners, too. If you do it correctly, I think programmes can help you improve your English.
The 5 thing about TV programmes is that there are different kinds of shows and they are 6. This means you can get close to live English in many 7 subjects. One day you can watch a TV programme about natural science, and the next day you may 8 a show about the life of a teenager in New York. To be good at English, you need to be able to 9 the language used in many situations. Set aside(保留)an hour a day to watch TV programmes in English. Choose a different type of 10 each day. One day you watch and enjoy a comedy and the next day watch a show about doctors to study the expressions used in hospital. If you plan on using English in a certain field in the future, watch shows that use that special language.
Big schoolbags have been a serious problem for students for a long time. Maybe your schoolbag is too1to carry, and it troubles you a lot2you want to find a book out to read. Now an e textbook will3you.
It is said that e textbooks are going to be4in Chinese middle schools. An e textbook, in fact，is a small5for students. It is much6than a usual schoolbag and easy to carry. Though it is as small as a book, it can7all the materials(材料) for study. The students can read the text page by page on the8 ， take notes with the pointer (屏写笔). Or even"9" their homework to their teachers by sending e mails. All they have to do is to press a button.
Some people say e textbooks are good, but some say they may be10for the students eyes. What do you think of it?
