3 . Several years ago, Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of the famous BBC television programme ‘Top Gear’, discovered that one of his guests was half German and half Irish. Immediately, he said, “That’s quite a strange combination. It’s like, ‘this must be done absolutely perfectly… tomorrow’ ”.

This joke played on stereotypes of the Germans as efficient and the Irish as lazy. Many people could understandably be offended by these kinds of assertions(断言). We do not know every Irish person, so how can we then conclude that every Irish person is lazy?

I recently read on a website that Irish business people were described as being “generally rather casual” and “more outwardly friendly than many European countries”. German business people, on the other hand, are considered to be very direct and according to the website, they “do not need a personal relationship in order to do business”. Once you hear advice like this, it becomes easier to understand where jokes like the one in the first paragraph come from.

So why do some people disapprove of the kind of stereotypes as seen in Clarkson’s joke, but not batting an eyelid(眨眼) when it comes to generalizations. What is the difference between the two?

By definition, a stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. A cultural characteristic, on the other hand, is a pattern of behaviour that is typical of a certain group.

So what does this really mean? Stereotypes are simply overstated assumptions about groups of people. Imagine if a tourist visited a small town in Switzerland and saw a number of locals playing the alphorn instrument, and then claimed that Swiss people can play the alphorn. This would be a stereotype! This is an overstated image of the Swiss which is based on one tourist’s experience.

If, however, this tourist were to say that the Swiss are very punctual, this could be seen as a cultural characteristic. This is because it is a pattern of behaviour which is very typical in Switzerland: from their transport system to their business meetings. In this way, some people argue that generalizing another culture is not just useful, but important. Politicians always have to be mindful of the cultural characteristics of different countries. By becoming aware of different cultural characteristics, they can avoid causing offence in those cultures. However, others argue that generalizing cultures will always lead to offensive stereotypes. They argue that the best thing we can do is to stop generalizing cultures and start treating people as individuals.

All this raises important questions: can making generalizations about groups of people be a positive thing? Or should we always avoid making broad assumptions about different groups?

If you study British history, you may find the country went through several different names.The first name England now     1     (refer) to England and Wales, but when the two countries joined Scotland in the     2     (seventeen) century, the name Great Britain was given to represent the country.With the joining of Northern Ireland, the country got the name the United Kingdom,     3     was shown to the world in a new flag     4     (call) the Union Jack.

Of the four countries, England is the     5     (large) and is divided roughly     6     three zones: the South, the North and the Midlands. Although the cities here are not as large     7     those in China, they have their own world-famous football teams. The country’s capital is London.The oldest castle in London     8     ( construct) by later Norman rulers.

    9     you are going to make your trip to the United Kingdom     10     (enjoy) and worthwhile, you must keep your eyes open.

As a Chinese citizen (中国公民), I’m proud to experience how my motherland took actions to protect her citizens. I never thought Chinese citizenship     1     (save) our lives until I saw the government try everything it could to save overseas Chinese citizens. In 2011, the situation in Libya was tense. When the government learned of this situation, one warship, twenty civil aircraft and four military aircraft were sent there immediately and all 35,860 Chinese citizens     2     (move) out of Libya within a week. These actions have been highly praised around the world. The world isn’t peaceful. It’s just someone     3     carries the burden for you!

10 . Is traffic a big problem where you live? Increased cycling may be the answer. Where are the best places to live and cycle? A new report lists the best bike-friendly cities around the world.

Top of the list is Amsterdam, the bike capital of the world. An incredible 40% of all traffic movements are by bicycle. There’s an extensive network of safe, fast and comfortable cycle routes. Copenhagen, the city of bikes, is a city where 32% of workers cycle to work because it’s fast and easy. Berlin is another European city that’s great for cycling. The city has about 80 kilometers of bike lanes, and 50 kilometers of pavement paths. Cycling accounts for 12% of total street traffic.

Barcelona has been praised for its cycle service “Bicing”. This was introduced in March 2007. It’s a bicycle service that allows users to take bicycles from any of the 100 stations spread around the city. Later, they can leave them at any other bike station inside the urban area of the city. The city has created a “green ring” that surrounds the city area of Barcelona with a bike path. There are 3,250 parking spaces for bikes at street level at present. Barcelona City is also building a new underground car park for bicycles.

The UK has its cycle-friendly cities too. Bristol is the birthplace of “Sustrans” —the cycle-route charity which was formed 30 years ago. One of their projects was turning an old rail line between Bristol and Bath into a bike route. Other bike-friendly cities in the UK include Cambridge and York Cambridge is an old city but has still managed to build good cycle infrastructure (基础设施), and cyclists are considered at every stage of any new developments.

Bicycle is a most popular means of transportation in China. Nowadays, riding a bicycle is also a good way to support low-carbon living. Beijing can be one of the best bike-friendly cities in China. There are many riding routes in Beijing for outdoor-lovers to explore. Cyclists can get close enough to experience the history and culture of Beijing, including the Forbidden City, Drum Tower, the Water Cube, the Bird’s Nest, Hutong etc.