【推荐3】In today's Ireland, it seems hard to imagine the grim(令人沮丧的) days of the 19^th century when so many of the population starved, or that, in those days, many poor people had no clue how to prepare any food other than boil a potato.     1    

Tourism has made a vast difference to the standards of cooking in Ireland. Until recently there was hardly any tradition of eating out in many districts, except perhaps on very few occasions at a local hotel. Patterns of diet were old-styled, based firmly on 'meat and two vegetables' (somewhat overcooked), potatoes (of course) and large quantities of dairy produce.     2     Tourist demands for predictable, inexpensive fast-food are met, as everywhere, with hamburgers and pizzas - a better bet being fish and chips. But more sophisticated tastes have introduced whole foods and vegetarian restaurants (almost unheard of before), and a vast number of new restaurants, often French in style, have opened in the main tourist centres. Food 'events' such as Kinsale's Gourmet festival or Galway's Oyster Festival attract large numbers of visitors and reflect the new interest in food.

Whatever Irish cooking lacks in finesse（精细）, it nearly always makes up for in plenty, and ingredients(成分) are of a high quality.     3    . One of its great specialities is soda bread. It is made with buttermilk and is served fresh and warm with every meal. Recently there has been a return to simple Irish foods such as stews（炖菜）and potato dishes.

    4    A 'traditional Irish breakfast' is a plateful of bacon and eggs with soda and potato breads. Accommodation rates are nearly always quoted(报价) with a full breakfast included.     5    

【推荐1】For years it is assumed that ”eating local“ is one of the best ways to shrink your carbon footprint. This is because food miles are a measure for overall sustainability, as transporting harvests across the planet is a key driver of carbon emissions.

Well, it is indeed true that the food sector uses a lot of energy, contributing 20 to 30 percent of all greenhouse gases. But how much of this is directly connected to moving food from farm to fork? Perhaps less than you might think.

In one of the most comprehensive studies, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have reported that the shipment of food around the world only contributes around 4 percent of global carbon emissions. The report echoes another research, which suggests that transportation only generates between 4 to 6 percent of the food system’s carbon footprint. In fact, considering all aspects of our food system—whether farming, processing, packaging, transport, retail, food services, and households—it was the end consumer that used by far the most energy. Transport? The least.

One UK study found that tomatoes trucked hundreds of kilometres from sunny Spain had a carbon footprint less than a third of that of those grown in heated glasshouses in chilly UK. In contrast to the simple ”local=more ecofriendly“ narrative, the authors therefore concluded that: ”A single indicator based on total food kilometres travelled would not be a valid indicator of sustainability.”

When it comes to our carbon footprint, transport methods vary enormously too. For example, as air freight produces more than 75 times more emissions than sea freight, shipping food to the UK all the way from Southeast Asia would involve far less carbon than the same product popped on a short flight from Italy. In this context, the emissions that come from shipping food by air freight one mile, is equal to the emissions from shipping food for more than 9 miles by road, and 75 miles by sea.

So is eating local really a better option? It depends. When we look at the evidence, one thing is clear: food miles alone really aren’t a good proxy(指标)for sustainability. In fact, sometimes they are incredibly misleading. While we can’t discount them entirely, we should view them in the context of other factors, recognising that they often make up a small part of food’s carbon impact.

【推荐2】There is an old saying in China that goes, “The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days.” “Sanjiu period”, which is in minor Cold (小寒), refers to the third nine-day period (the 19th to the 27th day) after the day of the Winter Solstice (冬至). There are many different customs related to Minor Cold in China.

Eating hotpot

During Minor Cold people should cat some hot food to benefit the body and defend against the cold weather. Winter is the best lime to have hotpot and braised mutton (炖肉) with soy sauce. But it is important to notice that too much spicy food may cause health problems.

Eating huangyacai

In Tianjin, there is a custom to have huangyacai. a kind of Chinese cabbage, during Minor Cold. There are large amounts of vitamins A and B in huangyacai. As huangyacai is fresh and tender, it is fit for frying, roasting and braising.

Eating glusinous rice (糯米饭)

According to tradition, the Cantonese eat glusinous rice in the morning during Minor Cold. Cantonese people add some fried preserved (腌制的) pork, sausage and peanuts and mix them into the rice.

Eating vegetable rice

In ancient times, people in Nanjing took Minor Cold quite seriously, but as time went by, the celebration of Minor Cold gradually disappeared. However, the custom of eating vegetable rice is still followed today. The rice is steamed and is unspeakably delicious. Among the ingredients, aijiaohuang(a kind of green vegetable), sausage and salted duck are the specialties in Nanjing.

【推荐3】Food acts as a form of communication in two fundamental ways. Sharing bread or other foods is a common human tradition that can promote unity and trust. Food can also have a specific meaning, and play a significant role in a family or culture’s celebrations or traditions. The foods we eat—and when and how we eat them—are often unique to a particular culture or may even differ between rural and urban areas within one country.

Sharing bread, whether during a special occasion or at the family dinner table, is a common symbol of togetherness. Many cultures also celebrate birthdays and marriages with cakes that are cut and shared among the guests. Early forms of cake were simply a kind of bread, so this tradition has its roots in the custom of sharing bread.

   Food also plays an important role in many New Year celebrations. In the southern United States, pieces of corn bread represent blocks of gold for prosperity (兴旺) in the New Year. In Greece, people share a special cake called vasilopita. A coin is put into the cake, which signifies success in the New Year for the person who receives it.

Many cultures have ceremonies to celebrate the birth of a child, and food can play a significant role. In China, when a baby is one month old, families name and welcome their child in a celebration that includes giving red-colored eggs to guests. In many cultures, round foods such as grapes, bread, and mooncakes are eaten at welcome celebrations to represent family unity.

Nutrition is necessary for life, so it is not surprising that food is such an important part of different cultures around the world.

【推荐2】There are usually few people who want to do housework. But a new study has found it is important to our general health and happiness to wash the dishes, dust the shelves and do troublesome things alike.

Actually, scientists now believe cleaning up the house is more important to mental and physical health than other factors (因素), such as the area you live in or how much you earn. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University say doing housework is helpful because of the exercise it takes to get the daily job done, which in turn affects mental health.

Dr. Kathy Wright and a research team at the university’s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing wanted to find out how property (财产), education, environment and health behaviors, like smoking, affect an older person’s health. The study’s 337 participants (参与者), from 65 to 90 years old, had at least one chronic (慢性的) illness which prevented them from doing at least one basic daily task, such as bathing and dressing.

Dr. Wright said she was surprised to learn that doing housework and keeping their property affected the participants’ mental and physical health more than other factors. “House cleaning kept them up and moving,” said Dr. Wright. “A clean environment is helpful in treating some illnesses. And poverty (贫穷) did not directly affect mental or physical health.”

The study proved what Dr. Wright had observed in her visits: people living in a dirty environment seemed less satisfied than those in a place that was neat and tidy. Dr. Wright hopes the study shows how important it is for older people with chronic illnesses to continue physical activities, such as doing reaching exercises while sitting, standing up and sitting down in a chair.

【推荐2】A good joke can be the hardest thing to understand when people are studying a foreign language. As a recent article in The Guardian noted, “There’s more to understanding a joke in a foreign language than understanding vocabulary and grammar.”

Being able to understand local jokes is often seen as an unbelievable icebreaker for a language learner eager to form friendships with native speakers. “I always felt that humor was a ceiling that I could never break through,” Hannah Ashley, a public relations account manager in London, who once studied Spanish in Madrid, told The Guardian. “I could never speak to people on the same level as I would speak to a native English speaker. I almost came across as quite a boring person because all I could talk about was facts.”

In fact, most of the time, jokes are only funny for people who share a cultural background or understand humor in the same way. Chinese-American comedian Joe Wong found this out first-hand. He had achieved huge success in the US, but when he returned to China in 2008 for his first live show in Beijing, he discovered that people didn't think his Chinese jokes were as funny as his English ones.

In Australia, meanwhile many foreigners find understanding jokes about sports to be the biggest headache. “The hardest jokes are related to rugby because I know nothing about rugby,” said Melody Cao, who was once a student in Australia. “When I heard jokes I didn’t get, I just laughed along.”

In the other two major English-speaking countries, the sense of humor is also different. British comedian Simon Pegg believes that while British people use irony(反话)——basically, saying something they don’t mean to make a joke—every day, people in the US don't see the point of using it so often. “British jokes tend to be more subtle and dark, while American jokes are more obvious with their meanings, a bit like Americans themselves,” he wrote in The Guardian.

【推荐3】My first week in the United States was a cultural shock. Everything felt new to me, including the style of conversation, the community I lived in and even the type of food people ate.

In our community back home, people eat mutton and chicken. Pork and beef are also common among other communities, but eating beef is taken as an illegal act. Unlike Nepal, eating beef is common in the West where most of the people follow religions other than Hinduism.

Food is just an example. When people move from one part of the world to another, they should adapt themselves to the new culture. For example, going to the bars or getting drunk is not acceptable in my community, but it is common in the US after a certain age.

I was raised in a traditional Hindu family in Nepal. We have a conservative opinion towards the marriage. Arranged marriages are common in which families decide whether the two should get married. Free love marriages are not allowed and are seldom seen. Same-sex marriage is also considered impossible.

To me, culture is a matter of habit. The culture is so deep-rooted in people's minds that most people are against changes. It is always easy for them to do what they have been doing throughout their life. It may be difficult for anyone to adapt to a new culture.

However, with travel being an unavoidable thing for modern people, one always conies across different cultures. In such cases, one should be respectful and adaptive to the culture other people follow. The world is always a better place to live in when we have spaces for people of all cultures.