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“Keep calm and carry on”—You can see this message written on many T-shirts and other tourist souvenirs (纪念品) in London and the UK. It has become so famous that there are many expressions of it: “keep calm and drink tea”; “keep calm and love dogs”; “keep calm and learn English”. As you can see, you can substitute (替换) the “carry on” part for anything you want, really!

But where does the original (最初的) phrase come from? Well, it comes from World War II. It was a message used for a poster (海报) created by the British government to calm people down and encourage them during the war when London was being attacked (攻击). The idea was to carry on with life as normal, as if there was no war.

Staying calm when you’re in trouble is known as a very British thing to do. British people are famous for keeping a “stiff upper lip”. This means your lips don’t shake when you are excited or frightened: you stay calm and don’t show people how you are really feeling.

Are British people still like this today? Do they still keep a “stiff upper lip”? Modern Britain is very different from how it was 60 years ago and British people probably show their emotions (情绪) more than they used to. But if “keep calm and carry on” is still so famous today, then it must be something that British people still think and care about, and something they are still famous for. So next time you are frightened or in danger, just keep calm and carry on!

Tea to the Chinese is like coffee to the Americans. It’s something that they can’t live without. Today, China has many kinds of tea: white, yellow, green, oolong, black, and dark tea.

When we talk about tea culture, we can’t miss an important person Lu Yu. He was the first person to be called “Tea Doctor”, because he wrote the first book about tea—The Classic of Tea.

Lu was born in 733 and lived in the Tang Dynasty. As a homeless child, he lived in Longgai Temple (寺庙) and studied there including boiling (煮) tea. When he was thirteen, Jingling Perfect (太守) Liu Qiwu not only gave him books but also led him to learn from a famous teacher. He learned a lot about tea there. At the age of 21, Lu started to study different kinds of tea so he travelled around to look for tea. To study tea picking and making skills well, Lu Yu lived in a temple to collect, check, study and read books about tea. Finally, he wrote a great book—The Classic of Tea with the help of his friend.

When is your birthday? What would you like     1     (eat) and what do you usually do on your birthday? People in different countries would answer     2     (different). In many countries, people have birthday cakes     3     candles. The number of candles     4     (be) the person’s age. Before they eat the cake, the birthday person usually     5     (make) a wish. The wish will come true if he or she blows out all the candles in one go. In the UK, people sometimes     6     (put) a candy in a birthday cake. They think it is     7     (luck) to find a candy in the cake.

Now, it’s getting popular for Chinese people     8     (have) cake on their birthday,       9     many still eat very long noodles as a symbol of long life. In some other places, Chinese people also eat     10     (egg) as a symbol of life and good luck.

7 . Sixty-eight cultural relics (文物) that were recently returned to China were warmly welcomed by Chinese people.

The relics, which were smuggled (走私) to the United Kingdom in the past.     1    . Dating back to a time lasting from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qing Dynasty (朝代), they come from many different provinces, including Fujian, Hebei and Guizhou.

Back in 1995, British police found these relics while investigating (调查) an international relic-smuggling group.     2    .

However, a local buyer of the relics didn’t agree to return them, so British police held the relics for 25 years. But communication between the Chinese and British governments never stopped.

In January, the British police told China that the local buyer was missing and that the relics therefore had no owner.     3    .

    4    , but this time it was successful. The return is a successful example of cooperation (合作) between China and the UK in fighting cultural relic smuggling under the 1970 Convention (公约) which requires its members to take action to protect relics.

    5    . Over the past 20 years, China has worked to protect and recover cultural relics. In recent years, it has become more common for people to purchase cultural relics and give them to museums for free. For example, a famous Chinese businessman Stanley Ho purchased Qing Dynasty bronze statues in 2003 and 2007 and then donated them to the National Museum of China.

8 . “Are you cold?” This is a question I’ve heard many times since I came to China. I often wear a light jacket and T-shirt during winter, when most other people are wearing heavy clothing. I understand that people are sometimes confused (困惑的) or worried when I wear so little clothing during winter. But when my Chinese friends refuse to eat or drink cold things, even during the heat of summer, I become the one who is confused. They believe that cold food and drinks might harm their health. Where does this belief (信仰) come from?

My friends said their parents taught them that cold food and drinks are bad for your body. One friend even told me that cold liquids, such as ice water, can cause the fat in your stomach to become solid (固体) .

But after doing some research of my own, I wasn’t sure if this was truly the case. According to an article I read on Snopes, a website, the food that you eat will quickly match your own internal temperature. This means that it doesn’t matter if you eat something hot or cold. The temperature of the food or drinks will match your own temperature anyway.

But on the other hand, when I get sick, my Chinese friends often tell me “drink some hot water and have a good rest”. And I have to say, following this advice often does make me feel better.