1 . Italy is shaped like a boot. Ancient Rome was one of the world's most powerful empires more than 2 000 years ago. The Romans’ ideas about roads，laws，government and buildings still influence us today.

The Colosseum in Rome was built during the time of the Roman Empire，in the first century A.D.     1    It is a popular tourist attraction today.

Italy is well--known for its designers，who create cars，handbags，clothes，shoes and other items that are in demand for their style and fine workmanship.

Today, the economy of Italy is stronger than in the past.     2    Today，manufacturing and tourism are the main sources of income. There are some big companies，but  Italy  has  many smaller companies，too.

    3    The southern part does not offer as many manufacturing jobs，so it is not as prosperous.

Italy is a member of the European Union，a group of countries that join together for better trade. The currency，or money，they use is called the“euro”.

Food and eating good meals are important to Italians. Popular foods include pasta，risotto，minestrone and pizza.     4    

Many families still eat their main meal in the middle of the day.     5    Families spend a lot of time together.

2 . Natural sites and historic buildings, when left alone, can slowly be in bad condition.     1    For these reasons we must protect them.

“World Heritage" is the title given to places chosen from natural sites and buildings around the world. These places are considered special, valuable and require protection. They may be places of nature or cultural heritages that are the pride of the people in the country.     2     Each is a treasure of our planet that must be protected for us and our future generations.

Even extremely beautiful natural environments can be in bad condition if they are left alone.     3    For instance, the Galapagos Islands are now protected by rules that stop people from bringing or removing plants and animals to or from the islands, moving rocks and touching the animals. In the US, people are not allowed to visit Grand Canyon National Park by vehicle. It aims to protect the park's environment from the gas produced by cars.     4     Australia is making stricter laws to prevent agricultural chemicals from flowing into the ocean near the Great Barrier Reef. Efforts are also being made to protect Natural Heritage sites in Japan. In Shiretoko, only a small number of people are allowed to walk on its nature path at the same time.     5    

3 . The “Chong Yang Festival” is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, which is also known as the Double Ninth Festival.     1    

Climbing Mountains

People like to climb mountains on this festival, so Double Ninth Festival is also called “Mountain-climbing Festival”.

The 9th lunar month, with clear autumn sky and bracing air, is a good time for sightseeing.     2    . It is really refreshing to climb mountains and enjoy the beauty of nature at this bright and clear time in autumn.

Climbing mounting also indicates “climbing to a higher position”. Another reason why climbing mountains are valued by people, especially by the elderly is that it has a meaning of “climbing to ligneous life”. Climbing mountains on Double Ninth Festival was already popular in the Tang Dynasty.    3    

Drinking Chrysanthemum Flower(菊花) Wine

The chrysanthemum flower wine is unique in brewing. In ancient times, people usually picked fresh chrysanthemum flowers and leaves on the 9th of the 9th lunar month, and brewed the mixture of them and grains into the wine.     4    . The wine is said to have wholesome effects on sharpness of the eye, drop of high blood pressure, reduction of weight and removal of stomach trouble, thus contributing to longevity.

    5    

The Double Ninth cake is also known as “flower cake”. It dates back to the Zhou Dynasty. It is said that the cake was originally prepared after autumn harvests for farmers to have a taste of what was just in season, and it gradually grew into the present cake for people to eat on the Double Ninth Day.

4 . Every year, about 600 monkeys are invited to eat fruits and vegetables during an annual feast (盛宴) in Thailand.     1    It is said that Rama once rewarded his friend Hanuman, the Monkey King, with some land. Organizers of the annual Monkey Buffet use more than 3,000 kg of fruits and vegetables to prepare for the feast.

This event is held in England. Though it might sound very gentle, it is actually very dangerous. Running down a very steep hill behind a 7-pound wheel of cheese can be very dangerous. In fact, the police have attempted to ban the event, but participants have refused to carry out the ban. Men and their cheese wheels cannot be separated so easily.     2     Simple: the cheese is set rolling down the hill, and the racers run down the hill after the cheese. However, as the cheese can reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, it rarely happens that someone catches the cheese.     3    

In this festival, grown men jump over newborns, with their parents’ permission.     4     This custom has been observed since 1620; any onlookers who seem to be in need of “cleaning” also get involved in the event.

    5     This Naked (裸的) Festival is held in dozens of places throughout Japan every year, usually in summer or winter. Hidden somewhere in these men is one fully naked man, and touching him is believed to bring good luck.

Culture shock refers to the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, uncertainty, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within a different and unknown cultural or social environment, such as a foreign country.

Generally speaking, we could say that there are four stages of culture shock. The first stage is called “the honeymoon”. In this stage, you are excited about living in a different place.    1    

The next stage is “the hostility (敌意) stage”. In this stage, you begin to notice not everything is as good as you originally thought it was.    2    Moreover, people don’t treat you like a guest anymore.

Then you come to the third stage called “recovery”. In this stage, you start to feel more positive.    3    The whole situation starts to become more favorable and you begin to learn to adapt yourself to it.

The last stage of culture shock is called “adjustment”. In this stage, you have reached a point where you actually feel good.    4    The things that originally made you feel uncomfortable or strange are now things that you understand. Now you have adjusted to the new culture and you feel comfortable.

Not all individuals visiting another country will experience all these four stages.    5    It also occurs within cultures as individuals move from place to place or from one setting to another (e.g., from high school to college).

China is making great effort to protect its cultural relics. In early May, State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) added 1,943 unmovable cultural relics sites to the list. So the number of these sites on this list will increase to 4,295.    1    The newly added sites were reviewed(评审) by more than 130 experts. They spread around Shanxi, Henan, Hunan, Hebei and Jiangsu provinces, including 795 pieces of ancient architecture and 516 ancient ruins.    2    In an interview, the head of the SACH said that new types of cultural relics sites have been newly listed to get protection at first, including industrial relics, rural architecture and cultural landscapes.    3    For example, some are in the north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.Despite great achievements during the years of effort, problems still exist.    4    Historic relics get stolen and antiques are taken abroad secretly.The head of the SACH said that people has faced a challenge to the protection of cultural relics for a long time. So, balancing the relationship between economic development and protection of history is important.     5     He also used good examples of protection, describing how some cultural relics sites have become education bases for young people and popular tourist places, where a lot of people spend their holiday.

7 . While you are traveling abroad, cultural mistakes are more serious than linguistic mistakes, which can lead to serious misunderstanding and even ill-feeling between individuals.    1    

    2     In Mediterranean countries, if you don’t touch someone’s arm when talking to them or if you don’t greet them with kisses or a warm hug, you’ll be considered cold. But backslap(拍背) someone who isn’t a family member or a good friend in Korea, and you'll make them uncomfortable. In Thailand, the head is considered sacred—never even pat a child on the head.

In some countries, like China,Japan and some African nations, the food’s the thing, so don’t start chatting about your day's adventures while everyone else is digging into dinner.    3     It’s not because your group is unfriendly, but because meal times are for eating, not talking.

Take off your shoes when arriving at the door of a London dinner party and the hostess will find you uncivilized, but fail to remove your shoes before entering a home in Asia, Hawaii, or the Pacific Islands and you'll be considered disrespectful. So, if you see a row of shoes at the door, start undoing your laces.    4    

Once you are on the ground of a different country, remain highly sensitive to native behavior.    5     And don’t feel offended if something seems offensive—like queue jumping. After all, this is a global village, and we are all very different.

8 . Culture means any human behavior that is learned in human society. All of the meaningful parts of a culture are passed on to different generations through tradition or social learning.     1     Culture exists in agricultural as well as industrialized societies.

Culture is necessary for the survival and existence of human beings. Practically everything humans know, think, value, feel, and do is learned through taking part in a sociocultural system.     2     Here is one of the cases of children growing up apart from human society. In the province of Midnapore in India, the director of a children’s home was told by local villagers that there were “ghost” in the forest. Upon looking into the case, the director found that two children, one about eight years old and the other about six years old, appeared to have been living with a pack of wolves in the forest.     3     In his diary, the director describes his first view of Kamala (as the older child was named) and Amala (the name given to the younger child): Kamala was a terrible-looking being, the head, a big ball of something covering the shoulders.     4     Their eyes were bright and sharp, unlike human eyes. They were very fond of raw meat and raw milk. Gradually, as they got stronger, they began going on all fours, and afterwards began to run on all fours, just like squirrels.

Children learn human language in the same way they learn other kinds of human behavior—by taking part in a cultural community.     5    

9 .

Holidays with friends can be great fun and a good way of getting to know each other better.Once you are on holiday，the trip can be full of fantastic memories if it's planned correctly.

·Choose a destination

    1     Going abroad will cost more but be a more exciting experience.Going to a different place in your own country can also be fun and will be cheaper.

·Collect your friends

Find out how much interest there is from people to go on the trip，and work out your maximum and invite those who you get on well with.

·Meet up

Everyone will have their own idea of what the trip is to be like，so meet up at a local café or restaurant，and share your ideas and concerns.    2     Don't try to overpower others.Once you've all shared ideas you'll have a much better idea of how to start organizing the trip.

·Look for accommodation

    3     When you are searching for a place to stay in，read reviews and ratings(等级)．Book it as soon as possible because leaving it too late is going to make things harder.

·Book transport

Once you have accommodation，you'll know the dates of your stay and be able to book transport，coach，bus，airplane，etc.    4    

·Choose things you want to do there

When you are on your trip it will be more relaxing if you have a good idea of what kind of things you want to do.Research the area on the Internet and book some activities you want to join in.    5     Don't book a load of things which you can't afford.

10 . Informal conversation is an important part of any business relationship.     1    Latin Americans enjoy sharing information about their local history, art, and customs. They expect questions about their family and are sure to show pictures of their children. The French think of conversation as an art form.     2    For them, arguments can be interesting---and they can cover pretty much or any topic---as long as they occur in a respectful and intelligent manner.

In the United States, business people like to discuss a wide range of topics, including opinions about work, family, hobbies, and politics.     3    They do not share much about their thoughts, feelings, or emotions because they feel that doing so might take away from the harmonious business relationship they’re trying to build. Middle Easterners are also private about their personal lives and family matters. It is considered rude, for example, to ask a businessman from Saudi Arabia about his wife or children.

    4    This can get you into trouble, even in the United States, where people hold different views. Sports is typically a friendly subject in most parts of the world, although be careful not to criticize a national sport.    5