There are many differences between Chinese eating habits and Western eating habits. In the West, everyone has their own _______ of food. But in China the dishes are _______ on the table and everyone shares. If you are being treated by a Chinese host, there must be _______ food prepared for you. Chinese are very _______ of their culture and will do their best to show their hospitality (好客). And sometimes the Chinese host uses their _______ to put food in your bowl or plate.

This is a sign of politeness. The proper thing to do would be to eat the whatever-it-is and say how _______ it is. If you feel uncomfortable with this, you can just say a polite “Thanks” and leave the food there. Don’t _______ your chopsticks upright (直立) into the rice bowl. Instead, lay them on your dish. The reason for this is that when somebody _______, the shrine to them has a bowl of sand or rice with two chopsticks which are stuck upright in it. It is impolite to set the teapot down where the spout (壶嘴) is facing _______ somebody. The spout should always be directed to where nobody is sitting, usually just outward from the table. Don’t hit on your bowl with your chopsticks. Beggars hit on their bowls, so this is ________.

Inventions make our life easier and more interesting than before. Let’s take a look at some of the interesting inventions.

China is famous for tea. Drinking tea is very popular in China and even around the world. It’s said that a Chinese ruler called Shennong was the first to discover tea as a drink. A few thousand years later, Lu Yu, “the saint of tea” mentioned Shennong in his book The Classic of Tea. The book describes how tea plants are grown and used to make tea.

Nowadays, there are many kinds of Chinese tea, such as green tea, black tea, Oolong tea and scented tea (花茶). Without fermentation (发酵), green tea keeps the original color of the tea. Black tea is fully fermented. Oolong tea is partially fermented. And if fragrant flowers are put in tea in the process of making tea, scented tea will be made.

Tea is produced in many different areas in China. For example, Anxi and Hangzhou are widely known for their tea. Tea plants are grown on the sides of mountains. When the leaves are ready, they are picked by hand and then are sent for processing. Later, the tea is packed and sent to many places in China and many different countries.

There is a saying that honesty is the best policy. Tell the truth and good things will happen. This is just the way it is.

Long ago, a homeless man was walking in a busy market. On the ground in front of him, he saw a wallet, and inside the wallet he found 100 gold coins. The homeless man was hungry. He had no home. He even wanted to keep the money. Suddenly, he heard the cry of a rich man. “I have lost my wallet. I will give some money as a big reward (酬谢) to anyone who finds it and returns it to me.” The homeless man gave the wallet to the rich man.

However, the rich man had other plans. He opened the wallet and shouted, “There are only 100 gold coins. You must have stolen the rest. The wallet I lost had 200 gold coins.” The rich man and the homeless man went to the court (法庭).

A wise judge (法官) said, “Rich man, you say you lost a wallet with 200 gold coins. However, the homeless man found a wallet with 100 gold coins. I’m sure that this wallet can’t be the one you lost.” So the judge gave the wallet to the homeless man. And that is why, in the end, honesty truly is the best.