The tradition of birthday parties started a long time ago. There are some traditions that you can find almost anywhere, anytime, such as sending birthday cards, blowing out the candles on a birthday cake and singing the “Happy Birthday” song. Others are only found for certain ages and in certain countries.

In China, on a child’s second birthday, family members put many things on the floor around the child. They believe that the first thing that the child picks up tells them what profession (职业) the child will choose later in life.

For Japanese children, the third, fifth and seventh birthdays are especially important. At these ages, there is a special celebration Shichi-Go-San (seven, five, three in Japanese) when children go to the temple wearing a new kimono (和服). They are given special sweets, and the parents usually organize a party in their home.

In Argentina, Mexico and several other Latin American countries, girls have a special birthday celebration when they reach the age of fifteen. After a special ceremony, the girls dance a waltz with their father and other boys.

In many English-speaking countries, a twenty-first birthday cake often has a key on top, or the cake itself sometimes looks like a key. The key means that the young person is now old enough to leave and enter the family home at any time they want to!

Do you have any foreign friends? Do you know their characteristics (性格)?

The Germans are very quiet and they always keep calm.​     1     ​They look very serious. The Germans are very hard-working. They like tidiness (整洁), especially the women, so they always keep their houses clean.

    2     ​They are very quiet and never talk too much with the strangers. They are really polite, so we often hear they say “Thank you” or “Sorry”. The gentlemen are also the Englishmen.

Holidays are very long in France. Frenchmen like travelling and usually spend their long time staying in other countries.     3     It is very easy to make friends with them.

    4     And they are even opener than all of the Europeans. They don’t like to depend on others.     5     And in Americans’ eyes, success is an important part in their life.

4 . Different countries have different customs. When you travel to other countries, please follow their customs, just as the saying goes, “________.”

Very often people who travel to the United States forget to tip (付小费). It is usual to tip porters who help carry your bags, taxi drivers and waiters. Waiters expect to get a 15% tip on the cost of your meal. Taxi drivers expect the same amount.

In England, make sure to stand in a line even if there are only two of you. It’s important to respect lines there. It’s a good idea to talk about the weather. It’s a favourite subject of conversations with the British.

In Spain, it’s a good idea to have a light meal in the afternoon if someone invites you to dinner. People have dinner very late, and restaurants generally do not open until 9 p.m.

In Arab countries, men kiss one another on the cheek (脸颊). Your host may welcome you with a kiss on both cheeks. It is polite of you to do the same.

In Japan, people usually give personal or business cards to each other when they meet for the first time. When a person gives you a card, don’t put it into your pocket right away. The person expects you to read it.

Don’t forget to be careful of your body language to express something in conversations. A kind of body language that is acceptable in one culture may be impolite in another.

Every country has its typical animals. Some animals can even stand for (代表) the country.     1     Maybe you would say the panda because it is Chinese national treasure. But there is another animal that can really stand for China and even Chinese culture — the dragon. Although nobody knows if there is a dragon in the world, it has been regarded as the symbol of China for thousands of years.     2    

The dragon is the symbol of emperor in ancient times, and the dragon is great, because it gets the respect of all the Chinese people. In China, the dragon is an amazing animal. Even now we call ourselves descendants of the dragon, and we are proud of it.     3     It is a terrible animal like a huge snake, and it’s not positive and beautiful.

    4     Dogs are humans’ good friends. But there are many bad common sayings about dogs in China, for example, “A dog looks down on other people”. But in western countries, people praise the bravery and loyalty of dogs.

Both Chinese and western people should pay attention to this cultural difference.     5     Having a full understanding of the differences between Chinese and Western culture is important for cultural exchange.

7 . I had my first job at the age of thirteen. I was very ________ to make my own pocket money. My parents ________ interfered (干涉) with how I spent it, even when I was spending it foolishly. They ________ that by making money, spending it, and learning from the mistakes, I would grow up and become more responsible.

Like many ________ parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things although they worried a great deal. When I was sixteen, I wanted to spend the summer months ________ around Europe. My mother was ________ the idea that I went for a trip alone at such a young age. But my father felt that it would be a great ________ for me. In the end, my mother agreed that I could only travel to France, ________ it was my mother’s home. And I had many uncles, aunts who could ________ help if I need them.

Three years later, my younger brother decided to take a ________ off after his first year in university. Again my mother was very worried and not happy to see my brother leave his ________. But my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n) ________ year working his way on trains and ships to different places.

These kinds of experiences are probably impossible for children in many countries, but in the US they are quite ________. Most parents start pushing their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time ________ have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs and traveled on their own. Maybe they have chosen the university and even ________ their future job and so on.

Important Things to Know When Dining Out

Cultural dining etiquette (礼节) might surprise you with some of its important rules. Don’t get caught making an embarrassing mistake at a restaurant no matter where you are in the world.     1    

The way you use chopsticks is important to avoid making your friends angry. When you put them down between bites (咬), always put them down together to keep parallel (平行的) with the edge of the table.     2    

In India and the Middle East, it’s considered very rude to eat with your left hand. People in France expect you to eat with a utensil in each hand. Mexicans consider it unsuitable to eat with utensils.     3     In Chile, you may never touch any food with your fingers. People in Thailand generally use their forks only to push food onto their spoons.

    4    

It may seem like a simple request to ask for salt and pepper at a meal. In Portugal, this would be a serious mistake, because it shows the chef that you don’t like their skills. Similarly, in Italy, never ask for extra cheese to add to your food.

Some of these cultural dining etiquette rules may seem strange.     5     The more time you spend in any given country, the more comfortable you’ll begin to feel with its foreign cultural practices.

9 . If you ask people from different countries “Could you tell me the way     1     the post office?”, you will get different answers.

In Japan, people use landmarks (路标) instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Please     2       (go) straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is     3     (cross) from the bus stop. ”

Sometimes if a person, like a New York, doesn’t know the answer to your question, he or she     4     (say), “Sorry, I have no idea.”

But one thing will help you everywhere. You might not understand a     5     (person) words, but maybe you can understand his or her body language. He or she will usually point to the correct direction. Go on in that direction and you may find the post office!

At the dinner table, Westerners use knives and forks     1     the Chinese use chopsticks. Since at least 3, 000 years ago, chopsticks     2     (be) the eating tool for the Chinese people. Ancient Chinese used pottery pots to cook food during the Pottery Age. And they used branches or bamboo sticks to pick up the food.

Later on, they developed the habit of using the chopsticks. In general, the material of chopsticks can     3     (divide) into five groups: bamboo and wood, metal, jade, bone and chemical plastics. In modern Chinese family life, people prefer     4     (use) the bamboo or     5     (wood) chopsticks because they are good for the environment and cost a little.

Using knives and forks or chopsticks     6     (bring) about a difference not only in lifestyle. For example, the use of knives and forks makes it common for people to eat individually (分别地). And the use of chopsticks makes     7     possible for the family members to have meals together. As the Westerners prefer to cat individually, they have the idea and habit of not     8     (depend) on others after they grow into adults. The way that Chinese people use chopsticks and eat with others around the table is connected with the lifestyle of the Chinese family. Nowadays,     9     increasing number of foreign students are coming to China. They are happy to learn to use chopsticks and enjoy the     10     (please) of eating with fiends around the table.