1 . Different countries have different customs. How to communicate with others politely? Here are some ways.

How close do you stand when you talk to a friend? You can stand close to people in the Middle East but doesn’t stand too close to North Americans! Give them more personal space.

Do you know how to touch people correctly? Chinese girls often walk arm in arm with their friends.South Americans sometimes hold your arm when they talk to you, so you can’t move away! But in Britain many people don't like other people to contact them at all.

Do you look at people when you talk? In some places, it is polite to look at people when you talk, but in other countries it isn’t polite to look somewhere else. In Britain and the USA, people usually look at each other when they talk.

And how do you say goodbye? That’s easy, wave (挥手) to say goodbye. But be careful in Greece, it’s not at all polite! In fact, it’s very rude!

2 . Ela likes looking through the website Amazing Girl because it often has personal quizzes about personal preferences (偏好). By answering the questions and reading the explanation of your score, you can discover what kind of person you are.

The following is one of Ela’s completed quizzes. Give her 1 point for each A she chose, 2 points for each B, and 3 points for each C.

1. I prefer spending my spare time □ A. with my family  B. with my friends □ C. on my own 2. If I had trouble in daily life, I’d rather  A. talk to my parents than to my friends □ B. turn to the Internet for help □ C. sort it out on my own 3. I prefer to study □ A. at home with my family around □ B. with my classmates  C. on my own 4. For my birthday I’d prefer to □ A. be with family members □ B. have a party with lots of friends . hang out with my bestie (闺蜜)

Score 4～6       You treasure your family more than your friends. 7～9       Both your friends and family are equally important to you. 10～12       You may have one or two close friends, but you’d rather read a good book than go to a party. You depend on yourself and enjoy yourself.

4 . Is it possible for animals to raise a human child? There are many stories that suggest it is possible. Not just wolves and dogs, but also sheep, bears and even monkeys are able to look after human children, Daily Mail reported.

There is the case of Ivan Mishukov, a 6-year-old boy from Moscow. Police found him living with dogs in the city’s streets in 1998. There, he had been begging for two years. Ivan found food to feed the dogs. And in return, the dogs kept him warm and protected him while he slept. When he was saved, he could hardly speak. Luckily, he later joined the army and lived like a normal adult.

But not all children who are raised by animals can adapt to human society. In 1848, British soldier Colonel William Sleeman found a little boy living with many wolves in India. He took him to a village, taking care of him and trying to teach him to speak. But nothing worked. The boy still behaved like a wolf, eating raw(生的) meat and refusing to wear clothes, no matter how cold the weather was. About two years later, he got very sick and passed away.

Some animals are believed to have strong maternal instincts(母性本能), which guide them to care for young animals, even those of other species(物种). However, people need to know that children raised by animals may experience long-term negative effects when they enter human society, according to Daily Mail.

5 . Many people believe that you lose the ability to learn new languages as you get older. Language experts, however, will tell you that you’re never too old to learn a new language. As you get older, it can be more difficult to learn a new language, though.

Children and adults learn new languages in different ways. For children, language is their life. They study for thousands of hours every year, because they need to learn languages to become part of their communities. Adults, on the other hand, are already part of a language community. Learning a new language means becoming part of another language community, and adults rarely get the chance to practice as much as young children do.

Moreover, children learning a new language are expected to make mistakes. This gives them freedom when learning to be daring and confident. Adults, however, often feel stressed to be perfect when learning a new language. This can discourage many people and make it even harder to learn a new language.

When young children learn a new language, they come to see various(各种) languages as a “normal” part of society. This mindset(思维模式) helps them embrace learning a new language without feeling like they’re doing something unusual or “too hard”.

So if you want to learn a new language, go for it! It’s never too late to learn a new language. If you’re older, it may take more work, but it can be done. If you’re a young child, though, now is the time to step out and learn a new language!

10 . Few words are spoken more often every day on the streets of Britain than “I’m sorry.” This phrase has become such a common response（反应）that it has taken on a lot of meanings.

Saying “Sorry” means to apologize（道歉）. This is simple and easy to understand. We learn it both as a native speaker and as a student of foreign languages.

But in Britain, it takes on another meaning. It is a cultural expression. Imagine this: a man walks down the street, looking down at his phone. A woman is walking in the opposite direction, towards the man. She sees him, but she can’t get out of the way in time. The man knocks into the woman. Who should say sorry? Naturally, the man should say sorry because it was he who wasn’t looking where he was going. Yet in Britain, it is common for both to apologize.

It is known that British people, like most people, do not enjoy fight. So to quickly calm the situation, British people will apologize to each other.

Other times it may sound funny to hear “sorry”. Some of my friends say it at restaurants, as they ask the waiter, “Sorry, but can I order another drink?” It is not to apologize, but just to express that we need the waiter. In Britain, sorry doesn’t always mean exactly what you think.