The Yi’s New Year is a popular festival for the Yi ethnic group (彝族) in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi. It     1     (fall) on a day around November 20th every year. There are many traditional practices (惯例) of the festival.

When the festival comes near, the Yi people will start house cleaning. They think that cleaning can help them wash away bad things in the house and bring good luck     2     them. They also put firewood in front of their houses. They believe that     3     height of the firewood is a symbol of a happy life in the new year. It also shows the hard work they     4     (do) in the past year.

On the eve of the Yi’s New Year, family members come together     5     (enjoy) a big dinner. On the day of the festival, the young Yi people wear     6     (they) ethnic dresses and go to a mountainside. They join in many activities of the local New Year. Moerqin, a seesaw-like (像跷跷板一样的) swing activity, is one of     7     (popular) games among the Yi people.

New Year’s activities would not be complete without visiting     8     (relative) and friends. The Yi people usually prepare gifts such as meat, drinks, and other things when they go for a visit.

The Yi people love these practices     9     (deep) and have been trying to pass them down (世代相传). These practices show the Yi people’s way of life     10     their good wishes for a better life.

Gift-giving is an important part of all human societies. Gifts can express how we feel, but they can also pass on messages that we didn’t plan to give. So gift-giving manners in any culture should be dealt with carefully.

In some cultures that think highly of gift-giving, there is a ritual (仪式) in the giving and receiving of gifts. In Japan, for example, gifts are both given and received using both hands. The giver says something like “It isn’t much, but I want to show my appreciation (感激)”.     1     Then the receiver will accept the gift and put it away to be opened later.

The choice of gifts is important, naturally, and in some cultures it’s easy to offend (冒犯) a person by giving the wrong gift.     2     For example, a gift of a knife in Brazil or an umbrella in China might be seen as the ending of a relationship.

The relationship between the giver and the receiver can also tell us what kind of gift is suitable. For example, in the United States, gifts such as perfume (香水) are only given to women by boyfriends or husbands.     3    

Although the culture of gift-giving is different from one society to another, they all have an idea in common: In any country, when choosing gifts we must always consider the message we wish to show with the gift and think about whether or not it is suitable for the receiver.    4     Your gift will be valued if it shows consideration and respect for the receiver’s culture.

6 . Different countries have different body language. ________ you go to another country, it is a great help if you know the language and some of the customs (习俗) of the country.

When people ________ each other for the first time in Britain, they ________ “Hello!” or “Nice to meet you!”, and shake hands. Usually they do not shake hands when they just meet or say goodbye. ________ they shake hands after they haven’t met ________ a long time or when they will be away from each other for a long time.

Last year a group of German ________ went to England for a holiday. Their teacher ________ them that English people hardly (几乎不) shake hands. So when they met their English friends at the station, they kept their ________ behind their backs (背). The English students ________ that the Germans shake hands often, so they put ________ hands in front and got ready to shake hands with them. It made both of them laugh (笑).

How do people greet one another in countries around the world? A kiss, a hug, a handshake, or a bow (鞠躬)? It depends on the country and culture. In the USA, as in most places around the world, the handshake is a ________ greeting to show friendliness and trust.

In many places in ________, people prefer kisses to greeting, and some of them have very ________ rules about how many times may kiss someone’s cheeks (脸颊) and on ________ cheek to start. Parisians (巴黎人) kiss four times from cheek to cheek, always with the left cheek first. If you are in Brittany, a city in the northwest of France, kiss three times; and in ________ parts of France, keep it to two. Two kisses is ________ the rule in Spain, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. In the Netherlands, people usually kiss three times; more kisses are for the elderly and close family members. ________ is also a factor (因素) for Belgians, who kiss once for people as old as themselves, and three times for people ten years older.

________, handshake and kissing are not the only ways to say hello around the world. In Japan, people usually ________ to greet each other. The different greetings around the world may ________ you puzzled. But don’t worry. When you are not sure, remember that a firm (坚定的) but gentle handshake, a smile, and an open mind won’t be wrong.

We are going to hold a talk on good table manners. The purpose of the talk is to teach students some     1     for eating.

It will take place at 10 a. m. on the     2     of May at the school hall. There will be a lot of     3     on table manners. We hope you will find the importance of them. Above all, you should sit     4     at the table. And you should not start eating     5     everyone is ready. Even when eating with families and close friends, it is     6     to make noise while eating or drinking. You should not eat loudly     7     your mouth open. Also do not reach over someone’s plate for something. If you finish eating     8     than others, wait for others to finish.

I think we’d better     9     these. They warn us against rude behavior. We should     10     that both guests and hosts are comfortable at the table.

9 . Around the world, people have different ideas about what good manners are.

When you go to restaurants in different parts of the world, it’s important to know the right and wrong things to do.     1     In fact, if a restaurant is not noisy and lively, you may think there is something wrong with it. However, in many Western countries, restaurants are quiet places.     2    

Paying the bill is also different from country to country.     3     In western countries, one person pays if he or she is entertaining clients (宴请宾客). When friends gat together, they usually share the cost. This is “going Dutch”. Also, when westerners pay the bill, they usually leave some money for the waiter. This is called “leaving a tip”.     4     In the US, it is common to leave tips of 10%, 15%, or 20% of the bill. It is decided by how good the service is. Good waiters can make a lot of money!

The way people eat food is different all over the world.     5     Chinese and Indian food, for example, are popular all over the world.