Every previous year on Thanksgiving Day I’d woken up early, filled with excitement, unable to wait for the turkey, pumpkin pie with pecans, and my grandma’s famous cheesecake. But I would never forget the lesson that my mother taught me when I was 14 years old. That Thanksgiving, I couldn’t find the magic anymore. For some reason the holiday seemed fake (假的). I suddenly felt like Thanksgiving was a big lie. I saw no reason to celebrate.

As my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandma started to arrive carrying plates of food, baskets of bread, and pitchers of egg nog, I grew more and more angry and frustrated. None of them were really thankful, I realized. The whole thing was a lie!

When my mom called for everyone to take their seats for dinner, I left. I ran into the guest room where no one would look, crying. I was defiant (反抗的) because I wanted to be an honest person but 1 was realizing that Thanksgiving was fake. It didn’t feel right to join in the tradition---say something beautiful one by one around the table.

My mom, worried that 1 was absent from the table, came to see what was wrong, “No one is really thankful!” I sobbed, “They just pretend for one day because that’s what you’re supposed to do!"

My mom sat down next to me and listened wisely. Then she nodded. “You’re right,” she told me, “it’s fake until you find the truth for yourself.” She said Thanksgiving was a time to reflect because we don’t always get a chance to see loved ones and eat a good meal. Then she left. I didn’t listen to her. I was convinced that I could never find joy celebrating again.

But I was also starving and I had to eat something.

At her words, I realized they wanted me to be a part of the tradition.

Living in a foreign country probably sounds exciting and romantic to you. Just imagine the noises from the local market or the smell of strange flowers when you leave the house in the morning. But this doesn't mean that life abroad is easy. When people set foot in a foreign land，they tend to keep to what is familiar. Becoming a part of the local culture can be the hardest part of life abroad．

However, in order to get the most of their life abroad, people need to break out of their comfortable routines and explore. The moment you let go of false ideas and stereotypes, you are ready to take your first major step. And more often than not, living in a foreign country can be a truly life-changing experience．

Even for experienced travellers, it is not as easy as it seems to get used to life abroad. Making the transition from living like a visiting holidaymaker to living like a local takes time. Culture shock is part of living abroad and hits everyone eventually. The key is not to let it get the better of you．You have to accept that things are not the same as they are at home and，until you get to that point, try to respectful, patient and humble．

Another problem is that the charm of a foreign life could wear off as time passes by. For most people, a foreign culture appears strange and exciting at first. After all, the main reason for moving broad is of ten the wish to explore foreign cultures. However, after living in a foreign country for a while, little things that you once thought were charming begin to annoy you. You remember how everything ran on schedule back home, how beautiful your hometown was and how much more relaxed and friendly everyone seemed to be.

So, you'd better understand issues with the local food, or problems with adjusting to the pace of life as you live abroad someday in the future.

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A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.

—Tenneva Jordan

I knew I was not supposed to be quite so excited. I was too old for that. At age eleven, the oldest and my mom's "grown up" girl, I had to keep my cool. I was in middle school after all. But every chance I got, when I was alone, I checked each present under the tree. I read every tag and felt every package, guessing at the contents within. I had examined each gift so often that I could tell which present went to which person without even looking at the tags.

It had been a tough year for my family. Whenever my mom looked over at the tree and scattered（撒）presents, she would sigh and warn us, "There won't be as much for Christmas this year. Try not to be disappointed." Christmas had traditionally been a time for my parents to spoil us. In years past, the presents would pile up and spill out from under the tree, taking over the living room. I had heard the phrase "giving is better than receiving," but thought that whoever had said that must have been out of their mind. Getting presents was the whole point! It was the reason I couldn't get to sleep on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas morning, we eagerly waited in the hallway until Dad told us everything was ready. We rushed into the living room and let the wrapping paper fly. We made weak attempts to wait and watch while other family members opened their presents, but as the time passed we lost our self-control.

"Here's another one for you,” said Mom as she handed me a package. I looked at it, confused. Having spent so much time examining the presents before Christmas, I recognized this one. But it had not been mine. It was my mom's. A new label had been put on it, with my name written in my mother's handwriting.

"Mom, I can't...”

I was stopped by my mother's eager, joyful look.

I have always remembered that Christmas fondly.

7 . China Daily∣Updated:2016-12-26 07:44

THE COMPOUND surrounding Dayun Temple in Shangluo, Northwest China’s Shaanxi province, has been encroached (侵犯) upon by the urban regeneration process. This has caused damage to several relics including an ancient mulberry tree and four houses built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 — 1644). Beijing News commented on Saturday.

The construction work endangering a cultural and historical site on the provincial cultural heritage protection list stopped when the Shangluo museum published an open letter calling for official involvement. However, damage had already been done to the temple, which has a history of more than 600 years. An old tree and a decorated archway were relocated and four houses torn down. There are also cracks in the walls and gates.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 27(Xinhua) — Two key UN agencies and some countries on Sunday joined Interpol (国际刑警) to launch a major new program to strengthen the protection of cultural heritage targeted by terrorists and illegal sales against a background of a sharp rise of terrorist attacks and destruction of cultural heritage in armed conflict.

“Culture is on the frontline of conflict — we must place it at the heart of peace-building,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.

For his part, the executive director of UNODC, Yury Fedotov, said it was important to address sales and the destruction of cultural property as “crimes that strike at the key of our civilization and heritage.”

[写作内容]

1. 用约30个单词写出上文概要；

2. 用约120个单词发表你的观点，内容包括：

(1)保护文化遗产的重要性（至少两点原因）；

(2)如何有效保护文化遗产（至少两点措施）。

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Have you heard an old saying “The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence”? It means other places often look better, more interesting than the place where you live. “Let’s go to KFC for dinner and then watch some Japanese cartoons!” We all know it: more and more Chinese kids love American and Japanese food and movies. Some people worry that young Chinese are beginning to feel that way. They see young Chinese ignoring（忽视）Chinese culture and, instead, buying Japanese cartoon books, watching Korean soap operas and even celebrating western holidays.

Foreign books and soap operas are good, but Chinese writers and actors are just as good. As for holidays, Christmas is nice, but it can never have the meaning for Chinese that Spring Festival has, and the West has nothing to compare with the Mid-Autumn Festival. China has lots of cool things in its culture: calligraphy, Beijing Opera, quick meals on the streets, and even Jay Chou! And let’s not forget the part of Chinese culture I like best: its friendliness. Not all countries are as warm as China.

It’s good to enjoy other cultures and learn from them, but they can never replace your own culture. It’s good to look on the other side of the fence, but make sure you take a good long look. You will find that the grass isn’t always greener.

Although some people become worried about that, I don’t think they should. Will we get more powerful without learning from other countries? Will Chinese people live more happily without American fast food? Besides, it’s fun to learn about different cultures. Chinese kids can learn about other cultures and have fun, but they also need to learn more about their own culture. Be proud of Chinese culture and of being Chinese!

Recently, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) issued a guidance to open cultural heritage buildings to the public, encouraging local governments, cultural heritage departments and organizations using or managing such buildings to better bring these buildings’ cultural and social value into play, on the precondition of full protection. The SACH is clear that, no matter what their current conditions are, heritage buildings should be opened as much as possible.

In the past, due to insufficient preserving technologies and lack of funds, repairing work was seen as a major hassle, and thus opening the buildings to the public was difficult. Even famous heritage places like the Palace Museum in Beijing were plagued by such difficulties.

Today, China has dramatically increased its input into cultural heritage protection, and archaeological protection technologies are improving. The time is ripe for heritage buildings to be opened up.