1 . Living in a different culture can be a both exciting and challenging (挑战性的) experience. You have to learn different cultures and try to get used to them. Let’s share some cult differences between China and the US to help understand each other.

Privacy (隐私)—-Chinese people talk about subjects such as ages and income (收入), which Americans think is not polite.

Families—-In China, elders are traditionally treated with respect (尊重) and they often live with their children. In America, the goal of the family is to encourage independence (独立), especially that of the children. Unlike the Chinese, few elder Americans live with their children.

Money—-The Chinese like saving money. They are always careful when they are planning to spend money. It is different in America. Far fewer American families are saving money.

Education—Chinese people value education and jobs more than Americans do, who pay more attention to good nature instead.

What would people like to eat on their birthday? The answer would be different in different countries.

In many countries, people have birthday cakes with     1    . The number of candles is the person’s age. The birthday person must make a     2     and blow out the candles. If he or she blows out all the candles in one go, the wish will come true. In the UK, people sometimes put a candy in a birthday cake. The child with the candy is     3    .

In China, it is getting popular to have cake on your birthday. But many people still eat very long noodles for their birthday. They never cut up the noodles because the     4     noodles are a symbol of long life. In some places, Chinese people also eat eggs on their birthday. They are a symbol of life and good luck.

All of these birthday foods may be different, but the ideas are the same. They     5     good luck to the birthday person.

What would people like to eat on their birthday? The answer would be d    1     in different countries.

In m    2     countries, people have birthday cakes with candles. The number of candles is the person’s a    3    . The birthday person (人) must make a wish (许愿) and blow out (吹灭) the candles. If he or she blows out all the candles in one go (一口气), the wish will c    4     true. In the UK, people s    5     put a candy in a birthday cake. The child with the candy is lucky.

In China, it is getting popular to have cake on your birthday. But many people still e    6     very long noodles f    7     their birthday.

They never cut up the noodles b    8     the long noodles are a symbol (象征) of long life. In some places Chinese people also eat eggs on their birthday. They are a symbol of life and good l    9    .

All of these birthday foods may be different, but the ideas are the s    10    . They bring good luck to the birthday person.

When your birthday comes, you may have a party with your friends. Some of them bring     1     for you. Do you know how to     2     and get gifts in other countries?

People in different countries give gifts in different ways. If     3     know them, you can know what to do.

You should know the right time to give a gift. Gifts are not only for birthdays or holidays. In Russia (俄罗斯), you must always bring gifts with you when you     4     people’s houses, but in Canada no one wants a gift.

The thing that you give is also important. When you give flowers to an English man, don’t give 13 flowers.

There are some ways for getting gifts,     5    .

We Chinese people don’t open gifts when we get them,     6     things are different in some other countries. People there usually open the gifts when they get them. They also thank their friends     7     thank-you cards.

In Japan, you should always take a gift with two hands. In India, one hand is OK, but it should always be your     8     hand because Indian people think left hand is not clean. But there is one common custom around the world. That’s saying thank you.

5 . How quickly can you count from one to ten? Do you use ten different words to do it? Can you do it in English or do you have to use your first language? Do you count on your fingers? Many people think that numbers and math are the same all over the world. But scientists have discovered that it is not true.

People in different parts of the world use different ways to count on their fingers. In the United States, people begin counting with their first finger. They then extend (伸出) the rest of their fingers and finally the thumb to count to five. Then they repeat this with the other hand to get to ten. In China, people count by using different finger positions. In this way, a Chinese person can easily count to ten on only one hand.

Besides ways of finger counting, scientists have found that cultures and languages are also different when it comes to numbers. Some languages have only a few words for numbers, and others have no words for numbers. For example, the aboriginal people (原住居民) in Australia don’t have hand movements to stand for numbers. They don’t even have words for numbers. However, they are still able to understand different ideas about numbers. Similarly, people of the Piraha tribe (皮拉哈部落) in northwestern Brazil don’t have words for numbers such as “one” or “three”. They are not able to say “five trees” or “ten trees” but can say “some trees”, “more trees” or “many trees”.

Professor Edward Gibson from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said that most people believe that everyone knows how to count, “But here is a group that does not count. They could learn, but it’s not useful in their culture, so they’ve never picked it up.”

There are different traditions in different places, when naming a child.

In many European cultures, parents choose their child’s name according to the names of relatives within their families. For example, in Italy, children are traditionally named after their grandparents. The parents generally use the father’s parents’ names first. If they have more children, then they will use the mother’s parents’ names.

Traditionally in some Asian countries, a child’s grandfather chooses the child’s name. The child’s name is chosen to affect (影响) the child’s character (性格). For example, names may be based on a connection to certain things such as fire, water, earth, wood, or metal.

In certain African cultures, when a child is born plays a large part in choosing the child’s name. In Ghana’s Akan culture, the day a child is born decides the child’s name. But each day has different names for boys and girls. For example, a boy born on Friday is named Kofi, while a girl born on the same day is named Afua.

No matter where the name comes from, it is the child’s first gift in life. The name reflects (反映) something about a child’s culture. For that reason, all names should be valued and respected.