Americans think much about time. From children they learn to value(珍惜) time. As children they are taught to be on time to go to school, to work and to do everything. When they are having a good time, they say that time flies. When a person is dying(垂死的) , they say he is living on borrowed time.

    Time is money. Time is knowledge(知识). Time is everything in America. A working American has to work hard for eight hours a day or forty hours a week. This is the working time. In his spare(空闲的) time, he also works hard for more money. Even on Saturday or Sunday he also works hard as usual. In the street you can not see that a man walks slowly. They walk very fast. In fact, they are running. They love time because time can bring them money and a lot of things. But sometimes they also hate time, because they feel that they have become servants(仆人) of the clock.

The power of nature

    There are some things in nature that we cannot stop from happening. We cannot stop the power of nature. A flood comes when there is too much water on the land. Sometimes， it is after a big storm when too much rain falls on the land. Sometimes it is after a big storm at sea， when too much sea water comes onto the land. The fast flood water can hurt us and can hurt our homes. We cannot stop a flood from coming， but we can try to stop the water from coming into our homes. We can try to stop the water by making a wall. We can use sandbags to make the wall.

    An earthquake comes when the land moves. The land goes up and down and in different directions. Then land can crack（断裂）. An earthquake can hurt us. We can get hurt by things that fall down in an earthquake. Falling things can start fires. We cannot stop an earthquake from coming， but we can try to make our homes strong so that they will not fall down in an earthquake.

    A tornado（龙卷风）is fast air that goes around and around over the land. A tornado can pick up anything. It can break anything that is in the way. A hurricane（飓风）is a big storm with fast winds and strong rain. It begins at the sea and can come onto the land. Its fast winds can hurt us and our homes. We cannot stop a tornado or a hurricane from coming， but we can get out of its way. We cannot stop the power of nature， but we can go to places where we can be safe.

    We live in different places. For example, some people live in the mountains; some people live on plains; some people live near water.

    Mary lives near the sea. The sea is blue. She likes to play on the beach with her friends.

    Tom lives by a lake. The lake is very big. The water is clear. He often goes boating with his family on fine days.

    Jack lives in the mountains. The mountains are very high. In the summer, it's very cool there. In the winter, the mountains are all white. Jack likes to play in the snow with his sister.

    Jim lives on a plain (平原). He likes flying kites when the weather is fine.

    Tony lives in the desert (沙漠). It is very hot and dry. It doesn't get much rain. Tony likes to ride his camel all around.

    David lives in a forest. The forest has many trees. It rains a lot there. David likes to climb the trees and play in his tree house.

根据短文内容，完成表格。

    Table manners are different from country to country. If you visit a friend's home for a meal, it's good to know about certain customs.

    Morocco

    In many homes, people often sit on the floor to eat a meal. Often, everyone eats from the same plate. It is in the center of the table. Only eat the food in front of you. Don't reach across someone for food. It is common to use your fingers and small pieces of bread to eat food. Use only your right hand to eat. Don't say "no" to food. If the host offers you food or drink, take some and try a little.

    Also remember: In many homes, it is common to take off your shoes.

The United States

    In most homes, people usually sit on chairs when they eat a meal. People eat from their own plate or bowl, but sometimes people share desserts. If you want something (for example, the water), ask for it. Reaching across someone is rude. It's OK to eat things like sandwiches, fruit, French fries, pizza, and some kinds of meat with your fingers. It's OK to say "no" to food if you don't like it.

    Also remember: People often talk when they eat a meal together.

    Once, a student complained to his teacher about his unhappy life. The teacher decided to teach him a lesson.

    One day, he asked the student to get some salt and a glass of water.

The student returned with a glass of clean water and a handful of salt. The teacher asked the young man to put the salt into the glass and drink it.

    "How does it taste?" the teacher asked.

    "It tastes bitter (味苦的)," the student replied.

    The teacher didn't say anything else, but asked the young man to get the same amount (数量) of salt and follow the teacher to a nearby lake.

    "Put the salt into the lake," the teacher said. The young man did what the teacher said.

    "Now, taste the water from the lake," the teacher said.

    As the water dropped down the young man's chin, the teacher asked, "How does it taste?"

    "Fresh and a bit sweet," the student said.

    "Do you taste the salt?" the teacher asked.

    "No," the young man shook his head.

    The teacher sat beside the young man and said, "The pain of life is like salt — no more, no less. However, the amount of bitterness you taste depends on the container (容器) you put the pain in." The amount of pain in life stays exactly the same. So when you are in pain, the only thing to do is to open up the mind. Stop being a glass, become a lake.

    This is a photo of my family. There are six people in my family.

Those are my parents. My mother's name is Alice. My father is Jackie Brown.

    These are my grandparents. My grandmother's name is Maria and my grandfather's name is Frank.

    Look at that boy. He is my brother, Mike. What's the girl's name? Oh, her name is Linda. Ha! Ha! It's me.