1 . If you ask a group of people to name a November holiday, most of them would probably say Thanksgiving. However, it is not the only holiday that happens during the eleventh month of the year. Here are some more November holidays.

National Men Make Dinner Day

Date: the first Thursday of November

This special holiday tests the cooking skills of men who don’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen. In the evening, the man of the house needs to prepare dinner for others. The man also needs to buy all of the ingredients (原材料) by himself and does the dishes at the end of the meal.

World Kindness Day

Date: November thirteenth

World Kindness Day began in 1997. People can perform kind acts such as giving hugs (拥抱), showing honor (敬意), or writing loving notes to friends and family members. These actions can bring smiles to people’s faces.

I Love to Write Day

Date: November fifteenth

I Love to Write Day was started by John Riddle. Riddle’s goal was to encourage people of all ages to start writing. People just need to sit down and express their ideas. They can record anything—a poem, a traveling diary, or a short story.

World Hello Day

Date: November twenty-first

World Hello Day was created by two brothers in 1973. They believed that communication was important to achieve (实现) peace, and the easiest way to communicate is to say hello. Though “hello” is just one word, it shows the other person that you are friendly and open. To take part in World Hello Day, just say hello to 10 people. It will bring happiness to others and make you feel better as well.

2 . In Switzerland, it’s very important to be on time. We’re the capital of     1     (watch) after all! If someone invites you to meet him or her at noon, then you’re expected to be there at noon. If you’re even 15 minutes late, your friend may     2     (get) mad. So I make an effort to be on time when I meet my friends. I always leave the house early     3     (avoid) heavy traffic because I think it isn’t polite to keep others waiting. Also, we never visit a friend’s house without calling     4     (one). We almost always make plans to see friends. We usually plan to do something interesting together.

4 . In America, it is not polite to telephone someone very early in the morning. The time of the call shows that the matter is very _________ and requires quick reply. It is the same to _________ telephone calls after 11 p.m. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he thinks it’s a matter of life and _______. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.

In social life, time ________ a very important part. In America, guests may ________ that they are not highly respected (尊重) if they get the invitation to a dinner party only three or four days before the party date. But it is not the _______ in all countries. In other parts of the world, it maybe ________ foolish to make an appointment too early because it is easy to be forgotten.

The ________ of time is different in different parts of the world. So misunderstandings happen between people from cultures that treat time differently. To be on time is valued ________ in American life. For example, if people are not on time, others may think they are impolite. In the United States, no one would keep a business partner ________ an hour because it would be too impolite. A person who is five minutes late will say a few words of explanation to show his apology.

Britons are well known for the amount (量) of tea that they drink. Each person in the UK drinks around 1.9 kg of tea every year. That’s around 876 cups of tea. Tea is drunk by all sections of society. But tea is not native to Britain. Most tea is grown in India and China. So, how did it become an important part of British culture?

Tea arrived in London in the 1600s. At this time, Britons were exploring the world and came across the drink in China. It was not long before green tea was available in Britain to buy.

At the beginning of the 1700s, the amount of tea arriving in Britain increased gradually. Black tea arrived at this time. At first, people drank this tea exactly as it was drunk in China. They soon discovered that it mixed really well with a little milk and sugar, giving the drink a special British characteristic (特色).

In the 1800s, tea was still a product enjoyed only by rich people. At this time, they began to have afternoon tea. People drink tea with a snack around 4 p. m. to avoid feeling hungry between lunch and dinner. In the late 1800s, the price of tea decreased heavily as more tea began to arrive on ships. It was no longer a drink just for rich people. Tearooms and shops where you could buy and drink tea started to appear across the country. People enjoyed drinking tea and socializing (社交) in these places. At the start of the 20th century, Britons began to make tea in their homes whenever they felt like it.

In some western countries, some people don’t like the number 13 because they think 13 is     1     unlucky number. For example, they don’t like to live on the thirteenth floor.

One evening, Mr. Smith asked some friends to get together. When all of     2     friends arrived, he asked them to sit at the table for dinner. He began to count the people. Suddenly, he cried out, “Oh,     3     are thirteen people here!” Everyone’s face looked pale except Mr. Brown. He said     4     a smile, “Don’t worry, my friends. My wife Mrs. Brown will have a baby in a few weeks.     5     we have fourteen people here.” All of the friends became happy again. “Congratulations!” they said to Mr. Brown. They all had a good time that evening.

7 . Naturally, American schoolchildren love holidays.     1    

Besides having national holidays such as Thanksgiving and Presidents’ Day off from school, students get longer breaks in the spring and during the summer holidays. In fact, kids in US only go to school for about 180 days a year.     2     However, parents think there are advantages and disadvantages.

On the one hand, school holidays allow families to spend time together. Many American parents take time off from work during June, July or August to travel with their children on vacation either in US or a foreign country.     3     This means that parents with young children may have to pay more in babysitting or daycare costs. As well, the long summer holidays mean that students sometimes get bored.

    4     For example, some kids enjoy summer camps and outdoor adventure (冒险) holidays. Such trips are great for adventurous students. They also have a lot to offer students who aren’t usually interested in traditional PE activities. You can do courses in survival (生存) skills, for example.

Students who are not excited about summer camps and outdoor adventure may take part in courses in computer game design, film making and photography during the holidays.     5     Students can practice their foreign language skills and experience everyday life in a different culture.

8 . People in different countries usually use different body language. Now let’s talk about some body language in Japan.

Can you guess what the woman asks you to do? To move to her or go away? When you see this, you can walk to her. The woman may have something to talk to you.

How many is this? You are right in most countries. In Japan, it also means “four”.

The Japanese usually do not say “no”. When you ask a man to do something, and he puts his hand on his head, it means that he cannot or does not want to do that.

What does this man mean? He is putting his finger on his nose. Does it mean there is food on your face? No. He is talking about himself. This is a way of saying “I”.

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In Germany, most children learn to ride their bikes when they are young. But if they want to ride bikes by     1     on the road, they have to pass a test. The test is quite like our driving test.

First, the students must learn how to ride bikes     2     on the road. They’ll have about 30 classes.     3     finishing the classes, the students will have two written     4    . Then, they will practice     5     at school. During that time, some policemen will come to     6     them how to ride properly. At last, the students will have a riding test on the road. Then the policemen will give grades. If the students pass the test, they will     7     a bike license (牌照). Then they     8     ready the road!

We all know German people are very careful. We can see this from their riding test for school students. The students learn     9     riding skills. And at the same time, they learn the     10     of their country!

Every time a new year is coming, people set out to better themselves. They promise they will lose weight, find a new job, or maybe even take that vacation they’ve always talked about. But why do we make these promises to ourselves, and where did this tradition come from? And why does this tradition live on when so many people fail to keep the resolutions (决心) they make? Well, it can start from the ancient Babylonians (巴比伦人).

Around 4,000 years ago in Babylon, the earliest recorded celebration honoring the coming of a new year was held. Calendars weren’t as they are today, so the Babylonians celebrated in late March during the first new moon after the Spring Equinox (春分). The ceremony were known as the Akitu Festival, which lasted 11 days. The festival was in memory of the rebirth of the sun god Marduk, but the Babylonians made promises in order to get on the right side of all of their gods. They felt this would help them start the new year off on the right foot.

To this day, the traditions of the ancient Babylonians continue on around the world. Google launched a Resolution Map in 2012 where people could add resolutions and see others adding theirs in real time. However, no matter how many people take in Google’s project, those who can keep their resolutions at last are rare. Only 9.2 percent of people are successful in sticking them out.