【推荐1】Living in a foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be confusing (令人迷惑的). A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences. They decided that miscommunications were always possible, even over something as simple as “yes” and “no”.

On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific, Lisa thought people weren’t paying any attention to her. The day was hot. She went into a store and asked, “Do you have cold drinks?” The woman there didn’t say anything. Lisa repeated the question. Still the woman said nothing. She later learned that the woman had answered her: She had raised her eyebrows (眉毛), which in Micronesia means “yes”.

Jan remembered an experience she had in Bulgaria, a country in Europe. She went to a restaurant that was known for its cabbage. She asked the waiter, “Do you have cabbage today?” He nodded his head. Jan waited, but the cabbage never came. In that country, a nod means no.

Tom had a similar problem when he arrived in India. After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood. They answered with many different nods and shakes of the head. He thought some people had not understood, so he explained again. When he asked again, they did the same thing. He soon found out that his students did understand. In India, people nod and shake their heads in different ways depending on where they come from. You have to know where a person is from to understand whether they mean “yes” or “no”.

【推荐2】The way the mind works is heavily influenced by culture. Two people from different cultures can look at the same picture and see it in different ways. Culture also teaches people how to see and describe their experiences.

Asians think differently from Westerners because their culture teaches them to care more about society, family and historical background. Western culture, and especially American culture, probably pay more attention to individual（个人的） success and being independent（独立的） of family.

Culture makes Eastern Asians more holistic（全面的）. When trying to understand a situation, they like to see the whole picture. They trust feelings and pay attention to relationships because these are valued highly in their culture.

However, Westerners seem to be more analytic. When they try to understand something, Westerners usually prefer to think over small pieces of information first and build their knowledge piece by piece in order to understand the whole picture.

In one research, Japanese and Americans watched and reported what they saw underwater. Most of the Americans started by explaining the details（细节）, for example, saying there were large fish in the front on the right. However, the Japanese talked about the environment first. For example, “There is a blue sea. The big fish swam past the green seaweed（海草）.”

This research shows the traditional idea that Americans are less interested in social background and place importance on the individual. The Japanese, on the other hand, place more importance on social background.

【推荐3】To most people, Latin America is a land of happiness and passion (热情). The sunny islands of the Caribbean (加勒比海), the lovely moves of tango dancing, and the wildlife of the Amazon rainforest are all quite amazing.

Many Latin American countries have a tropical (热带的) climate. Therefore, food and houses aren’t life-and-death matters as they are in colder places. There are fish in the sea and fruit in the trees. This pleasant environment makes people’s lives more easy-going and cheerful.

Latin Americans know how to celebrate life. They like singing and dancing. The samba (桑巴舞), rumba (伦巴舞), cha cha (恰恰舞) and tango (探戈舞) dance styles all come from Latin America. Dancers hold each other tightly and move in a passionate way. Dancing this way brings people together. People often dance in bars, at parties and at all kinds of carnivals (狂欢节).

Late January to early March is the carnival season in Latin America. People dress in colorful costumes (服装), walk in parades (游行), and celebrate life. Brazil’s Carnival is the biggest carnival in the world. Millions of people take part in it every year.

With its culture of friendly people who are always smiling and celebrating, Latin America is the happiest place in the world.

【推荐1】The art of paper-cutting in China has a long history, which originated(起源于) from the 6th century. As paper became cheaper, paper cutting has become one of the most important types of Chinese folk art. Later, this art form spread to other parts of the world, with different areas adopting(采用) their own cultural styles. Because the paper cuts are often used to decorate(装扮) doors and windows, they are sometimes referred to as “window flowers”.

Scissors and knives are the basic tools to make a paper cut, and the subjects are different in figures, such as flowers, birds, characters, familiar folk stories and fairy tales. It’s also common to see some Chinese characters on paper cuts. The most famous paper-cutting characters in Chinese are words meaning “lucky” and “double happiness”. Even these days, Chinese people love to hang paper-cutting of these two characters at their doors.

Chinese paper cuts were used for some purposes in the past. They have been buried with the dead. At the same time, paper cuts have special meaning on festivals and holidays.

Paper cuts are made in many areas through the country; in general, the northern style is bold and free while the southern is beautiful and smooth.

People express wishes and hopes with paper cuttings. As a national non-material culture heritage(遗产), paper cut is really wonderful.

【推荐2】China has a variety of food with different tastes. Generally speaking, Chinese food can be divided into (被分成) eight cuisines (菜系). Let’s have a look at some of them.

◆Sichuan cuisine is hot, spicy and sour. It has something to do with the wet weather of that area and people need hot food to stay away from the wet. There are many popular dishes that stand for Sichuan cuisine like Kung Pao Chicken.

◆Zhejiang cuisine is from the local dishes of Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shaoxing. Food in Zhejiang has a pleasant smell and it tastes fresh. And most of the dishes are perfectly made. If you visit Zhejiang, you must taste Dongpo Pork.

◆Fujian cuisine often uses materials from the sea to cook. It tastes light and the color is beautiful. You can enjoy different kinds of soup in Fujian, because many dishes of Fujian cuisine are served in soup, like Fo Tiao Qiang.

◆Shandong cuisine is very famous in northern China. It includes much seafood which tastes light and fresh. It is also the symbol of cooking culture along the Yellow River. Its most famous dish is Sweet and Sour Carp (酸甜鲤鱼).

【推荐3】①Have you ever visited any traditional Chinese gardens? They look like more natural sights than some Western Gardens. They have a long history. As early as 1500, there were two main types of gardens: imperial gardens and private gardens. Imperial gardens were for the use of the emperor and his family. Private gardens were built by important officials or wealthy businessmen. Both types of gardens were built for hunting and resting.

②The Summer Palace in Beijing is China’s most famous imperial garden. It covers about 3,000,000 m². Kunming Lake takes up almost three-fourths of the garden’s total area. There are over 3,000 ancient buildings and more than 400,000 plants in the garden. You can also see more than 40,000 valuable works from each ancient period. With such a rich collection, the garden is known as the “Imperial Garden Museum.”

③As for private gardens, the most famous one is the Humble Administrator’s Garden (拙政园) in Suzhou. It has an area of only 41,000 m². It is quite small compared to imperial gardens, but it’s beautiful. When you are standing in any corner of the garden, it all looks like a lifelike picture. And the whole garden looks different in different seasons.

④The traditional Chinese gardens have been designed (设计) to look naturally formed. Mountains and waters, trees and flowers, houses and towers are well-organized. They don’t look crowded together at all. In fact, Chinese gardens are in some ways very much like traditional Chinese sight paintings. The two have influenced and developed alongside one another. Both of them show the importance of nature in Chinese culture.

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【推荐1】①The 12th lunar month in China is called layue. The character “la” in the Chinese language means to respect ancestors and gods and give best wishes to them. In Chinese tradition, such activities were held at the end of a year in the Chinese lunar calendar.

②There are two important dates in layue. The first is the Laba Festival on the 8th day of the lunar month. The Laba Festival was a time for the ancient Chinese to wish a good harvest and good luck in the coming year. Laba porridge is the main dish on that day.

③The other important date is the Kitchen God Worshipping(祭拜) on the 23rd or 24th of the month. People offer food to the Kitchen God, who manage things for the whole family.

④It is said that the god returns to heaven that day to report to the Jade Emperor (the ruler of heaven in Chinese stories) about the family activities over the past year. So people usually offer him delicious dishes so that he will give a good report and the family will have a good luck throughout the next year.

⑤After this day, people start to sweep up the house and put up couplets(对联) and paper cuttings. Once these things are finished, people will wait for the Spring Festival.

【推荐2】If you’re ready to (为……做准备) get more physical activities in your everyday life, here are some tips (建议).

Make physical activities (体育活动) as part of your life, like washing your face or going to work. Try riding a bike to work at least once a week, climbing the stairs (楼梯) more often, or walking to some places near home.

Walking is one of the best healthy activities. You can walk with your family or friends. If you don’t have time for a 30-minute walk every day, break it into three 10-minute walks.

Find an activity that you enjoy, and stay with it. Change it with other activities and you won’t get bored (厌烦的). For example, walk three days a week, and swim or ride a bike on the other days. Play baseball, football or basketball with your friends for fun and exercise. By finding more activities you enjoy, you’ll have a better chance for success (成功).

【推荐3】It’s hard when a best friend isn’t around — maybe because you move to a different school or a different class. You may feel lonely at break (课间) or lunchtime. You want to have new friends, but how do you make them?

Start by looking around your classroom. Think about which kids you’d like to play with at break. Say hi to them, smile, and be friendly. Ask them to enjoy something or talk with them about something they may be interested in. Invite someone to play with you or ask “Do you want to sit here?” in the lunchroom. When you’re at break, walk to kids you want to play with, and say “Hi, can I play, too?” or just join in.

If you are feeling shy (害羞), ask your teacher to help you make new friends. Teachers are usually good at matching up friends. The best way to make friends is to be a friend. Be kind, be friendly, say nice things and help others —soon you’ll have one, or two, or even more new friends.