【推荐1】Chinese ancient poetry was the heart and soul of Chinese ancient literature. Poems and songs have been the means of entertainment of men from the earliest times. Chinese ancient poetry was primarily written to be chanted or sung.

The poetic persona (表面形象) is a feature of classical Chinese poetry. The persona appears when the poem is written from the viewpoint of some other person. Some poems are comments on the contemporary society and life. Chinese ancient poems, although apparently simple in the first reading, have deeper and greater meanings when read intensively.

The earliest Chinese ancient poetry begins with The Book of Songs which is a collection of 305 poems. It was the first comprehensive compilation(辑)of Chinese ancient poems. Each poem in The Book of Songs was set to music and could be sung. Folk songs made up the most part of the book! Confucius, the great ancient philosopher, was fond of this book. It was also the accepted textbook of the Confucian school.

Chinese poetic history is extremely long and colorful. The Tang dynasty, the golden age of Chinese ancient poetry, produced many famous poems. Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty, was compiled by Heng Tang Tui Shi(蘅塘退士) of the Qing dynasty. This was used for very many years to teach primary students.

Almost everything is the subject of Chinese ancient poetry including marriage, agriculture, courtship(求爱), sorrow and joys, romance, heroic deeds and so on. Generally, each poem is usually composed of lines of four, five or seven syllables. Translations of Chinese ancient poems are available in books and also online. Now these beautiful poems have attracted readers all over the world.

【推荐2】Culture can affect not just language and customs, but also how people experience the world on surprisingly basic levels.

Researchers, with the help of brain scans, have a shocking differences in perception (感知) between Westerners and Asians, what they see when they look at a city street, for example, or even how they perceive a simple line in a square, according to findings published in a leading science journal.

In Western countries, culture makes people think of themselves as highly independent individuals. When looking at scenes, Westerners tend to focus more on central objects than on their surroundings. East Asian cultures, however, emphasize inter-dependence. When Easterners look at a scene, they tend to focus on the surroundings as well as the object.

Using an experiment involving two tasks, Dr. Hedden asked subjects to look at a line simply to estimate its length, a task that played to American’s strengths. In another, they estimated the line’s length relative to the size of a square, an easier task for the Asians.

The level of brain activity, by tracking blood flow, was then measured by Brain Scanners. The experiment found that although there was no difference in performance, and the tasks were very easy, the levels of activity in the subjects’ brain were different. For the Americans, areas linked to attention were more, when they worked on the task they tended to find more difficult — estimating the line’s size relative to the square. For the Asians, the attention areas lit up more during the harder task also—estimating the line’s length without comparing it to the square. The findings are a reflection of more than ten years of previous experimental research into East-West differences.

In one study, for instance researchers offered people a choice among five pens; four red and one green. Easterners were more likely to choose a red pen while Westerners were more likely to choose the green one.

Culture is not affecting how you see the world, but how you choose to understand and internalize(使内化) it.

But such habits can be changed. Some psychological studies suggest that when an Easterner goes to the West or vice versa, habits of thought and perception also begin to change. Such research gives us clues to how our brain works and is hopeful for us to develop programs to improve our memory, memory techniques and enhance and accelerate our learning skills.

【推荐3】When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Here are some British etiquette(礼仪) and customs international students ought to know.

Visiting

In most houses in Britain, the doors are usually kept closed. It is customary to visit people at a pre-arranged time and day. Usually, people are not comfortable if you just drop in. Nevertheless, if someone says to drop in at any time, feel free to do so as long as it is not in the middle of the night. When you go into someone's house, do take your hat off (men only). It is impolite for men to wear hats indoors especially in churches.

Greeting

In Britain, the handshake is a common form of greeting. When you meet people for the first time, it is normal to shake hands. A firm handshake is the norm(标准); there are no issues over gender in Britain. The usual formal greeting is ''How do you do? '' and a firm hand shake, but with a lighter touch between men and women. In Britain, unlike some other European countries, it is unusual to embrace or kiss the other person (unless they are family or a very close friend).

Gifts

During birthday and Christmas celebrations, it is common for the British to exchange gifts between family members and close friends. The gift doesn’t need to be expensive, but it should usually show an attempt to find something that is related to the recipient's(接受者) interests. When invited to someone's home, it is normal to take along a box of good chocolates, a bottle of good wine or a bunch of beautiful flowers. Note that gifts are opened when received.

Punctuality

The British are generally punctual(守时的), especially the scots. The British consider it impolite if you turn up late for an appointment. In most cases, the people you are meeting will be on time, call even if you will be 5 minutes later than you've promised. If you have been late or fail to keep your appointment, make an effort to contact the person to let them know. It is a good idea to telephone and offer your apologies.