1 . Many westerners plan their schedules at the beginning of the day, or perhaps a day or two in advance. If you would like to meet with a westerner, you should generally call at least a day in advance. If you do not, the person might plan something else during that time slot (时间空档).     1    However, in western culture having a schedule is stressed as an example of good planning and organization in one’s life.

    2    Also, the person being visited has time to tidy his home, wear proper clothing, and offer drink or snacks (小吃) to the guests. Without advance notice, the westerner may not be prepared for visitors.

If you make a visit in western countries without prior (提前的) notice, the person you visit may answer the door, but not invite you in.    3    This means he is unprepared for visitors at this time. This is not generally considered rude.    4    However, sometimes you may succeed in making a visit without an appointment. Appointments are usually made over the phone, but can also be made in person.

    5     In the west, these appointments are generally made through a secretary. Appointments are also necessary for meeting professional workers, such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, barbers, hairstylists, etc.

2 . After spending a term in Spain, I have been trying to work out which common impressions on Spain have some truth in them and which don't.    1    

Spain is always warm and sunny. This is not true. The city I stayed in, which is in central Spain, often becomes colder than London in winter. However, the city receives little rain all year round and gets very hot in summer.    2    In Andalusia of southern Spain, for example, temperature can be cool but pleasant in winter, but becomes very high in summer.

The Spanish love to have fun.    3    The Spanish people I meet tend to be very warm and open. Spaniards love to celebrate life through different festivals throughout the year. As well as religious festivals, they celebrate others such as La Tomatina, a festival in Valencia where people throw tomatoes at each other.

    4    This is true. Both locals and tourists enjoy watching Flamenco shows just as much, especially in Andalusia. It is also possible to see them in Madrid and Barcelona, but they tend to be more for tourists. I recommend seeing a Flamenco show in Cadiz or Jerez de la Frontera. The flamenco in Cadiz takes on a more cheerful style. Maybe this is because the people of Cadiz live by the sea and have access to beautiful sandy beaches.

Spain is a fascinating country, in which you are sure to have lots of fun. I find that a lot of the common impressions on Spain hold some truth.    5    Spanish culture is very complex and the traditions and culture, as well as food and weather, can vary between regions.

3 . The end of British pub culture?

British beer and pubs are famous around the world. Things are changing. However,     1    

For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub. Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, since it is where the people gather to socialize and exchange news. After all, the word “pub” is actually short for “public house”. As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved.     2    

Many British pubs have old names referring to the monarchs, such as the king’s head or the queen Victoria, but of course this doesn’t mean they are only for kings and queens.     3     On a cold night, the pub’s landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire. There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drink available at an affordable price.

That’s how it used to be.     4     Economic downturns, governmental “austerity measures” (财政紧缩政策), and cultural changes are causing many pubs to go out of business. People do not have spare money to spend on beer. On top of that, in 2007 smoking was banned in all public indoor spacer including spaces, including pubs, which may also have affected the numbers of customers going to pubs since then.

To save their business, pubs are trying to diversify to attract new customers. Now there are a number of different types of pubs. Besides a “traditional pub”, a “gastro pub” serves higher-quality food than usual.     5     And a “theme pub” caters to specific types of customers, such as sports or karaoke fans.

As you can see, British pubs now offer something for everyone. And with various “save the pub” campaign, there are signs that people are regathering around these new kinds of pubs while supporting the traditional ones to back its great British custom with pride.

4 . In moving to another country it is not uncommon to experience culture shock. As a Chinese person in Britain, I am no different.

Basically, there are five stages of culture shock.

Stage one can be called the Tourist stage". If you travel a lot, you'll agree with me. Everything in a new place is very exciting to a tourist.    1    After all, tourists don't usually stay too long in one place.

The second stage is the "shock stage”.    2     I am new in the country. Will someone cheat or rob me? I don't know anybody here and I miss home. Luckily, my "shock period" was quite short. I had so many things to do every day, so I didn't have time to get depressed.

    3    You learn to deal with the difficulties and stop complaining. This period can be slow and if you fail, you have to go back to the shock stage. I am very lucky. I have a roommate who has lived here for several years. Every time I talk to her, I feel better.

    4    We feel more comfortable and can adapt to the new culture. I think this will take a long time because I don't see any trace of it in me.

The last stage is called the re-entry shock stage". This is the shock you feel when returning home. Everybody is happy to see you again, but you've changed.    5    

5 . HEY boys, attention please! If you want to go to the US, you’d better be fully prepared, because, well, you and the boys in the US are a bit different.     1    

Firstly, know how to knot a tie. In the US, every boy above school age wears suits when they go to weddings.     2     Do you know how to knot a tie? If you don’t, learn how right now!

Secondly, be a gentleman. I know in China some boys are still proud of being strong. But in the US, a good man should also be polite.     3    

The last is to learn something about football and baseball. Chinese boys like ping-pong, basketball and soccer, but American boys love football and baseball. They get very happy when they play and watch these sports.     4     But in order to watch the sports with other boys, at least learning some rules would help.

    5     We sometimes need to know the importance of another culture, but don’t feel you have to know that if it makes you uncomfortable. Have fun along the way!

6 . International tourism is becoming interestingly popular, and large numbers of people from all over the world come to visit famous places such as the Great Wall of China and the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.     1     They've thrown rubbish everywhere, brought more traffic and even done serious damage to ancient relics.

As for the damage, there are many different causes. For example, the paintings in the Sistine Chapel are being damaged by people breathing onto them when they visit.     2     That may raise the humidity (湿气) of the air and damage the paintings. Damage in other places such as the Great Wall is because of tourists climbing on delicate (脆弱的) areas. Besides, roads have also been built to help visitors climb the Wall easily. These activities can cause a lot of damage to the area.

    3     Firstly, we have to cut down tourist numbers, because fewer visitors will result in less damage. Secondly, we should make strict rules about which areas people can visit and what they can do when they get there.     4     People will not be allowed to walk off the paths. Visitors to indoor places can be asked to wear masks to protect the paintings.

In short, it is necessary to control tourism at famous places.     5     And people who live hundreds of years later will have no chance to see these great places.

7 . Chinese New Year, also called Lunar New Year or the Chinese Spring Festival, holds the most significant position among all Chinese festivals and holidays.     1    , there are many things you can do to join the festivities(庆祝活动）and to pay respects to Chinese traditions.

    2    . If you have traditional Chinese clothing, this is the perfect time to wear it.

Outfits can be purchased in Chinatown, including beautiful silk clothing. Connected with joy, happiness, good luck, wealth and good fortune, red clothes will ensure that you're fully participating in the spirit of the celebrations.

Clean your home. This tradition is founded in the belief that cleaning the house at this time of the year will “sweep away the bad luck” that has accumulated(积聚）inside over the past year.     3    

Give gifts of money in red envelopes. Adults give lucky envelopes of money to children during this holiday.    4    .

Watch a parade on television or online.     5    . In China, the national China Central Television broadcaster (CCTV) attracts hundreds of millions of viewers with its annual Spring Festival Gala(春节联欢晚会).

8 . Is it true that British people have a different sense of humor than people in other countries? Let’s have a look at what we laugh at in Britain.

    1     It’s not just politicians who make us laugh, but anyone whose job is to tell other people what to do and who takes themselves too seriously.

We laugh at authority, but also sympathetically laugh with anyone who we think is treated badly.     2     Our clowns are often silly people doing silly things—Mr Bean, for example—while in America, they are often clever people doing clever things and winning.

The fact that we laugh when other people might feel hopeless is one of the oddest things to appreciate about British humor. We do have a strong sense of irony (反讽). “Not very pleasant,” we might say after some terrible experience.     3     “It’s a bit windy today” we might say in the middle of a typhoon, or “There’s a slight problem,” when something has gone very seriously wrong.     4    

Another thing that can make it difficult to understand British humor is that we don’t always laugh or even smile when we say something funny.     5    

Do you think the British sense of humor is unique?

9 . Filial piety(孝心) is China's most important morality and involves strong deference(顺从) to one's parents. Thus, filial piety is an important value when it comes to treating one's immediate family, elders and superiors in general.

Origins

Filial piety was originally mentioned in the Western Zhou,     1    .

Meaning

Filial piety is a general attitude of offering love, respect, support, and deference to one's parents and other elders in the family, such as grandparents or older siblings.    2    ．Besides, it involves working hard in order to provide material comforts for parents.

The idea stems from the fact that parents give life to their children, and subsequently support them throughout their developing years in terms of providing food, education, and material needs.    3    ．

Chinese character

Boy looking at the Chinese character for filial piety, you will learn a lot about the term's definition.

    4    . The character is a combination of the character lao, which means “old” and zi, which means son. The top half of the character lao forms the top half of the character xiao, whereas the character that represents son forms the bottom half of the character.

    5    ．The character xiao shows that the older person or generation is being supported by the son, or children in general.

10 . Last Sunday was a special day for mothers. It was Mother’s Day, a time for children, young and old, to show how much they appreciate their mothers.

Mother’s Day started in the US, where it’s celebrated on the second Sunday in May.     1    

It became an official US holiday in 1915. It was the result of the love of one girl, Anna Jarvis of West Virginia.     2     As a girl, Anna helped her mother take care of the garden and filled it with white carnations (康乃馨), her mother’s favorite flower.

When Mrs Jarvis died on May 5, 1905, Anna was determined to honor her.     3     On the same Sunday in Philadelphia, a minister honored Mrs Jarvis and all mothers with a special Mother’s Day service. Anna Jarvis began writing to the government, asking them to set aside a day to honor all mothers. In 1910, the governor of West Virginia made the second Sunday in May Mother’s Day.

    4     Other children give their mothers gifts that they’ve made themselves or bought from stores. Adults give their mothers red carnations, the official Mother’s Day flower. White carnations are placed on the graves of mothers who are no longer alive.

Mother’s Day is now celebrated in more than 40 countries, including Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey and Australia.     5     In France, Mother’s Day is the last Sunday in May. A cake in the shape of flowers is presented to mothers at a family dinner.