I had always found     1     interesting to talk to foreigners and learn about the cultural differences between countries. Last Saturday, I     2     (meet) a man from France who explained to me     3     the French greeted each other. Now I know the French usually shake hands when they meet. If they know each other well, they kiss each other on the cheek. When     4     (say) goodbye, they shake hands again. So it is not     5     (usual) for a Frenchman who you greeted several minutes ago     6     (come) and shake hands with you again.

Every culture in the world has its own taboos (禁忌). It is necessary that we     7     (be) aware of them because breaking a taboo may be an     8     (annoy) experience. For example, in Japan, “4” and “9” are considered to be     9     (number) that are unlucky. We should know this in order not to cause     10     (offend).

5 . The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups. Silences may be thoughtful, or they may be empty when a person has nothing to say. A silence in conversation may also show stubbornness, uneasiness, or worry. Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable; therefore attempts may be made to fill every gap（间隙）with conversation. Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a person's needs.

Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people, just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do. Therefore, when a person one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops, what may be implied（暗示）is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing. In these cultures, silence is a call for reflection.

Other cultures may use silence in other ways, particularly when dealing with different conflicts among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power. For example, Russian, French, and Spanish persons may use silence to show agreement between parties about the topic under discussion. However, Mexicans may use silence when instructions are given by a person in authority rather than be rude to that person by arguing with him or her. In still another use, persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect, particularly to an elder or a person in authority.

Nurses and other care-givers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be experiencing. Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patient's silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily. A nurse who understands the healing（治愈）value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.

6 . If ever we have to wait for something in the UK一for the bus, to get into a concert, or to get into a shop, we form a queue. Everybody knows that when you roll up, you join the back of the queue.     1    It is an absolutely fair system and we all agree with it. British people would never dream of “jumping the queue”!

    2     If you are seen to push in, it is considered very rude. People think pushing in is unfair to other people who have been waiting. So, if you see a line of people and you are not sure about it, then ask: “Is this the back of the queue?”    3     You might even get chatting! Brits are happy to chat while queuing.

If ever somebody pushes in, you can almost feel others upset about him or her! People will be silently angry! However, rarely will anybody say anything.    4     If somebody does say something to the rule breaker， the rest of the people in the queue will be very embarrassed and they will look away.

    5    For example, they may give bad looks to the transgressor (违规者). They may also turn around and talk about the transgressor in a whisper with the person next to them in the queue. You would need a skin as thick as a rhinoceros (犀牛皮) to miss these signals that you have transgressed a sacred British rule. So, if you come to the UK, get used to queuing.

8 . If Confucius(孔子)were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.

While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.

But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.

In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually include Chinese art, history and

philosophy(哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks(缺陷)of Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.

So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.

Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.

As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.

9 . We all love bank holidays. In the UK, we only get eight bank holidays in one year, and at least five of those occur around Christmas time and Easter time! A bank holiday is a British English term. This is an official day that is decided by the government, when banks, shops and offices close for the day even though it’s a weekday-usually a Monday, and a lot of people have a day off work.

Bank holidays are different in Colombia-firstly, they are called “festivos”. There are twenty festivos for the whole country in one year! In Britain, people get more holiday allowances(津贴)than Colombians but fewer bank holidays. There can be even more festivos in Colombia, depending on which region of Colombia you live in. This is because different regions have their own holidays. For example, some regions have a patron saint (守护神), so they have an extra festivo to celebrate that saint.

However, there are some days that are national holidays for historical reasons. There is an Independence Day celebration on July 20 every year. This is just like Bastille Day in France on July 14, or Independence Day in the United States on July 4th. Other important festivos in Colombia are: Labour Day on May 1, and Columbus Day on October 12. Columbus Day is a historical bank holiday that almost every county on the continent of America celebrates. This includes Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Mexico and the United States. It is memorialization of the day when the Italian sailor, Christopher Columbus, first reached land on the continent in the year 1492. Many people criticize this day and say it is not something to celebrate because of the way Columbus and his team treated the people that were already living there.

Yours,

Li Hua