Welcome back to the hot topic of studying abroad！ Last time, we talked about the general "soft- ware" needed to havea{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(success)  studying experience overseas, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}refers to the ability to understand western culture,  and problem solving skills when {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(face)  critical situations, etc.

      Now,1 will dig deeper into the concept of software".Everyone is talking about culture shock nowa-days, but you may wonder what itactually {#blank#}4{#/blank#}_(mean). Simplyput:  culture shock is the diffi-cultypeople may experience when being exposed and adjusting to a {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (remarkable) different new culture. Usually, people often go._{#blank#}6{#/blank#} four distinct phases: the honeymoon phase, thene-gotiation phase, the adjustment phase and the mastery phase. Culture shock can happen immediately upon your {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(arrive) in the country.

For international students, perhaps the most direct impact of culture shock is the variety of accents, especially in multicultural countries {#blank#}8{#/blank#}the U.S. Canada or Australia.There are two main reasons: Firstly, these countries have highly diversifiedgroups of residents from different cultural{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(background). Secondly,  there are many international students fromall around the world every year studying in these countries, so you shouldn'tbe surprised {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(find) allkinds of unfamiliar accents around the university campus.

    There was a man who had four sons. He hoped his sons could learn not to judge things too quickly. So he gave them a task in turn,{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (ask) them to go to see a pear tree at a distance{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(separate).

    The first son set out in winter, the second in spring, the third in summer, and the{#blank#}3{#/blank#}young)in autumn.

    When all of them returned home, they were called together{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(describe) what they had seen. The first son complained the tree was{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (bend) and ugly. The second son said the tree was covered with buds(花蕾)and full of hope. The third son said it was full of flowers{#blank#}6{#/blank#}smelled so sweet and that he had{#blank#}7{#/blank#}seen such beautiful scenery. The last son disagreed{#blank#}8{#/blank#}all or them, saying it was filled with fruits, full of life and content.

    The man told his four sons that they were all correct, but they only saw the tree in{#blank#}9{#/blank#}season, He taught them that the value of a person could only be measure when all the seasons were over.

    If you give up in winter, you{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(miss) the hope of spring, the beauty of summer, and the harvest of autumn in your life.

    The following is just a short story but it really brought home to me how very small acts of kindness and even polite behavior have {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (big) effects than we realize.

    I have a bad back {#blank#}2{#/blank#} flares up (发作) from time to time. Yesterday I was out walking in the street while {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (carry) shopping bags and my keys. My keys {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (sudden) slipped from my hand and fell to the ground. The problem was that because of my back I couldn't bend down {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (get) them. I was just thinking of how to get around this {#blank#}6{#/blank#} two teenage girls came up beside me. Without even speaking to me, one of the {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (girl) just reached down, picked up my keys, handed them {#blank#}8{#/blank#}me and went on her way.

    While it was {#blank#}9{#/blank#} small gesture and she couldn't have known that I was in too much pain to bend down, it {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (mean) a great deal to me at that moment

    As is known to all, art {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (influence) by the customs and faith of a people. Styles in Western art have changed many times.

    In the 5th century, the art of the Middle Ages came into being and the main aim of {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (paint) was to represent religious themes. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} a result, some pictures at this time were full of religious symbols, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (create) a feeling of respect and love for God. During the Renaissance, people began to concentrate {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (little) on religious themes and adopt a more humanistic attitude {#blank#}6{#/blank#} life. In the late 19th century, some painters became the Impressionists. And they were the first painters {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (paint) outdoors. Paintings can reflect the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (develop) of civilization, and it is interesting to predict {#blank#}9{#/blank#} styles of paintings there will be in the future. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} not try to visit some art galleries to appreciate different styles of paintings?

    The Palace Museum, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (know)as the Forbidden City, welcomed {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (it)17 millionth visitor on December 13, becoming the museum with the most visitors in the world. The number of visitors has continued growing since it {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (reach)the milestone with 10 million in 2009. There is {#blank#}4{#/blank#} increase of 6.25％from last year in the number of visitors. Although the Palace Museum has limited daily visitors {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (protect)the ancient architecture, the number of off-season visitors has grown {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (steady)this year. Over the last decade, the museum has produced more than 10, 000 cultural items {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (range) from notebooks to lipsticks.

    The official Weibo account of the Palace Museum, with more than 6 million followers, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} keeps showing the palace's charm of four seasons by posting beautiful {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (photo) regularly, plays all important role in interacting with the young people and promoting the museum. The fundamental reason why the Palace Museum has become so popular among young people is that it strikes the right balance between preserving history {#blank#}10{#/blank#} providing many interesting interactive displays.

    An Israeli woman accidentally stepped on a garden snail (蜗牛). Rather than simply ignoring the snail, she picked up all the pieces of {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(it) broken shell and took it to Halclinica, a local animal clinic. She was lucky enough {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(find) a committed medical worker who, instead of refusing her request for help, spent hours {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(glue) the snail's shell back together.

    "For the broken shell, we need a {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(combine) of patience and skill with the glue," the clinic wrote in a post {#blank#}5{#/blank#} its Facebook page. "We make sure the glue stays outside the shell {#blank#}6{#/blank#} does not harm the snail's body."

    {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(lucky), their hard work paid off and they were able to not only fix the snail's shell, but also put it back on the slimy owner. The operation was a success, {#blank#}8{#/blank#}.

The snail will still need a few weeks, or even months, to fully recover. So far the staff of Halclinica {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(have) a liking for their tiny patient. They have even named it Chevy. "I am happy to see Chevy is getting {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (strong) day by day," one of the staff said. He'll remain under their care as he recovers and animal lovers are welcome to visit him during his stay at the clinic.