Though chopsticks are used in many Asian countries, they have their beginning in China. Chinese history says that the Chinese had chopsticks as far as the Xia Dynasty(朝代)(about 4, 00 years ago). In the Spring and Autumn Period(时期) copper and iron chopsticks appeared. With the Han Dynasty lacquered(上漆) chopsticks came, followed by gold and silver chopsticks still later. Today we have chopsticks made of plastics. The most expensive are made of part of tusks of elephants and hard green stone.

    Chopsticks tell Chinese tradition in their way. In ancient (古代的) times the rich used hard green stone or gold chop-sticks to show their wealth(富有). In history many kings used silver chopsticks to take their food to see if it was poisonous(有毒的). It was said that if it was, the silver chopsticks would turn colour. Chopsticks are traditionally given to a daughter when she marries to show that they should have a son very soon, for “Chopsticks” in Chinese is pronounced like “quick a son”!

    Tianzhu chopsticks from Hangzhou, wooden chopsticks from Shanyang of Shanxi Province, and Beijing's chopsticks are well-known.

    Many westerners, businessmen, tourists put aside(一边) their knives and forks in favour(爱好) of chopsticks in China. Chopsticks appeared in the old Chinese story: an old man teaches his sons a lesson by showing how he could easily break a single chopstick but not a number of them. In China, chopsticks are connected with good luck. So on the country's New Year's Eve many families will lay out new chopsticks at dinners as a way of making requests for luck.

    In American schools there is something called Homecoming Day. Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a homecoming game. This can be the most important thing of the year except graduation of commencement day(毕业典礼日).Students plan Homecoming Day for many weeks in advance(预先).

    Several days before Homecoming，students start to decorate the school. There are signs to wish luck to the team，and many other signs to welcome all the graduates. Many people still come to Homecoming twenty or thirty years after their graduation.

    The members of school clubs build booths(摊位)and sell lemonade，apples and sandwiches. Some clubs help to welcome the visitors.

    During the day people like to look for teachers that they remember from long ago. Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school.

    Everyone soon comes to watch the football game. When the game is half over，the band comes onto the field and plays school songs. Another important moment is when the Homecoming Queen or King appears. All the students vote a most popular student as Homecoming Queen or King. It is a great honor(荣誉)to be chosen.

    Homecoming is a happy day，but it is not perfect unless the football team wins the game. Even if the team loses，the students still enjoy Homecoming Day. Some stay at the school to dance，and others go to a party. For everyone it is a day worth remembering.

    February 14th, Valentine's Day, is a complicated but interesting occasion. First of all, Valentine's Day is not a holiday from work. No one gets a day off. In many countries it is observed by sending cards to your friends and candies or flowers to your husband or wife if you're married, or to your boyfriend or girlfriend if you're not married. In Japan, some girls even give their fathers chocolates.

    Why is this holiday for people in love called Valentine's Day?

    One explanation comes from a Christian man whose name was something like "Valentine". He lived at a time when the Roman Emperor refused to allow any Roman soldiers to get married for any reason. Many couples came to Valentine to be married. So he would secretly marry them in a Christian ceremony. He was discovered and put in prison by the Emperor. One tradition says that he wrote notes to his friends by marking on leaves and then throwing them out of the window of his prison. The leaves were shaped like a heart. Valentine was killed on February 14th and Valentine's Day recalls his tragic death.

    On Valentine's Day, American elementary school children make or buy Valentine cards, write the name of a classmate on them, and take them to school and put them in a special Valentine's Day box. And then on that day the box is opened, the cards are taken out and given out.

    We use emojis in our talks all the time. Do you know about their meanings? Let's have a look.

    But some emojis may have different meanings in China. Here are two examples.

    It looks friendly to us, but it can be someone laughing at you.

    People sometimes use this emoji to show that they don't want to talk to you anymore.

    People all over the world can understand the emojis, but in different countries they may have more meanings, we should be careful about how we use them.

    Many people like to travel by plane because it's fast, but I don't like it. An airport is usually far from the city. You have to get there early and wait for hours for the plane to take off and it is often late. You can't open the windows. You can't choose the food. Planes are fast, but they still take hours to go out of the airport and into the city.

    I like traveling by train. I think trains are safe. Railway stations are usually in cities. When you are late for a train, you can catch another one. You can walk around in the train and open the windows. You can see many interesting things on your way. I know it takes a little more time.

    I also like cars. You can start your journey（旅程） when you want to, and you don't need to get to a railway station or a bus stop. Also you can carry many things with you in a car. But sometimes there are too many cars on the road.