Last October, while tending her garden in Mora, Sweden, Lena Pahlsson pulled out a handful of small{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(carrot) and was about to throw them away. But something made her look closer, and she noticed a{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(shine) object. Yes, there beneath the leafy top of one tiny carrot was her long-lost wedding ring.

    Pahlsson screamed{#blank#}3{#/blank#}loudly that her daughter came running from the house. "She thought I had hurt{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(I)," says Pahlsson.

    Sixteen years {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(early), Pahlsson had removed the diamond ring{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(cook) a meal. When she wanted to put the ring back on later, it was gone. She suspected that one of her three daughters — then ten, eight, and six — had picked it up, but the girls said they hadn't. Pahlsson and her husband {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(search) the kitchen, checking every corner, but turned up nothing. "I gave up hope of finding my ring again," she says. She never replaced it.

    Pahlsson and her husband now think the ring probably got {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(sweep) into a pile of kitchen rubbish and was spread over the garden{#blank#}9{#/blank#}it remained until the carrot's leafy top accidentally sprouted (生长) through it. For Pahlsson, its return was{#blank#}10{#/blank#}wonder.

    It seems that Chinese people have always loved to discuss {#blank#}1{#/blank#}differences between northerners and southerners. Now, another difference has drawn wide attention: the way northerners and southerners shop {#blank#}2{#/blank#} food at markets.

    People from southern China normally buy {#blank#}3{#/blank#}they need for just one or two meals at a time. It's normal for them to buy just half a Chinese cabbage, two {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(potato) and 25 grams of beef at a time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, a person may be laughed at if they do this in the north. Instead, buying enough vegetables and meat for a week {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (be) normal.

    The different could be because of the different climates. Food can {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (keep) for a long time in the north, as it's {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (usual) cold and dry there. Many northerners have the habit of {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (store) food for a long time. But due to the hot and wet weather in the south, southern Chinese people prefer {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(buy) just enough food for one meal or one day. Otherwise, the food may go bad.

    Maybe these debates about different customs help us to understand each other better.

Just as I began a new job in New York, I had another important job: father. I was a businessman. At the office I had three new {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(project) and at home I had a young son who was growing fast and {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (need)me. I was puzzled and didn't know how to deal with the relationship{#blank#}3{#/blank#}job and family until one day, during my business trip in Chicago, I came across an old family friend Dan, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}was once a patient of my father. He told me something about my father. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} was my father that helped him go through the cancer. When Dan knew he got cancer, he was very upset and wanted{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (give) up, but my father, his doctor, encouraged him to go on{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (fight) against the cancer. My father said to him, "You have {#blank#}8{#/blank#} wonderful life and three fine children. Take some time with them. It is family that we live for—-not just ourselves. Think of that {#blank#}9{#/blank#} you will know life's worth the fight." His words touched me, and I {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(sudden) realized that family is the most important in the world. I should spend more time staying with them.

    China is famous for its bewildering and oftentimes confusing highway interchanges (立体交叉道), but the Qianchun interchange in {#blank#}1{#/blank#} mountainous province of Guizhou is the only one {#blank#}2{#/blank#} actually looks like a giant rollercoaster for cars and trucks.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (Construct)on the Qianchun Interchange began in 2009, but the massive road knot was only completed last year. It {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  (consist)of 18 different ramps, in 8 directions, on five different layers, with the highest one {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (stand)37 meters above ground. Like the nearby Huangjuewan Overpass, in Chongqing, this incredibly complex infrastructure project has been labelled a nightmare for {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (motorist) trying to find their way around.

    People on social media pointed {#blank#}7{#/blank#} that GPS systems would be confused by the five different layers of road, but officials claims that the directions and exits on the interchange are {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (clear)marked and that even if you make mistakes, it's always easy to turn around. Still, just looking at this thing leaves me {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (confuse).I can't imagine {#blank#}10{#/blank#} having to find my way around it must be like.

    Because deaf people can't hear, they have special ways of communicating. For example, they can learn to understand{#blank#}1{#/blank#}someone is saying by looking at the mouth of the speaker. This{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(call) lipreading. Also, speaking is very difficult for the deaf, because they can't hear{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(they) own voices. However, it is possible with special training. According to many deaf people all around the world, the most {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(practice) and popular way of communicating is with sign language.

Smiling

    Smile is a universal language, which is widely used throughout the world. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, the meaning of a smile in different cultures may be different. Depending on different cultures, smiling can express joy and {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(amuse), but it can also indicate embarrassment. The following examples show this point of view:

    In an attempt to be open and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(friend), people in the United States smile a lot. Every one smiles at each other and this nonverbal communication shows being polite in the United States. But in China, smiling is not only {#blank#}4{#/blank#} expression of happiness, but also a way to avoid {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(be) embarrassed. Chinese people like smiling when they are embarrassed in order to avoid embarrassment. Smiling is a kind of good will but not sneer(嘲笑).For example, when a child {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (fall) from a bike, the adults in China may smile, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} is a kind of gentle encouragement and may not be a kind of impolite laugh.

    Related {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the smile is the laugh. Also, different cultures have different {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (meaning)about laugh. Americans can enjoy a very heartfelt belly laugh that comes from the deepest emotions while most Chinese may think {#blank#}10{#/blank#} silly to laugh that way.