The USA is the fourth largest country in the world in size after Russia, Canada and China. The population(人口) of the USA is the third largest in the world.

   The Mississippi River is the longest river in America. It's over 6,000 kilometers long. The Mississippi River has been called the "Father of Waters" or "Old Man River". The most important lakes in the United States are the Great Lakes. They are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. All of them are between Canada and the United States except(除了) Lake Michigan.

   Let us talk about American education(教育). There are two kinds of schools in the United States: public schools and private schools. Most children go to public schools. Their parents do not have to pay for their education. If a child goes to a private school, his parents have to pay for their schooling. Children start school when they are five years old. Most students are eighteen years old when they leave secondary(中级) schools.

A

    A dog got away from his leash（拴狗颈的皮带）one day and went for a walk in the woods. After a time, he met a wolf.

    The dog said to the wolf, "Brother Wolf, you look so thin! How can you be happy when you are so thin? You should come to live with me and my master. I eat much every day and I never worry about food."

    The wolf thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, you are right. Why should I be out here in the wild hunting for small pieces of food when someone else will give it to me? And you are so well fed. Very well, I will come to live with you."

    "Good," said the dog, "then follow me."

    As they went to the dog's home, the wolf noticed a patch (斑点) around the dog's neck where the fur had been worn off.

    "Brother Dog," asked the wolf, "why do you have that patch around your neck where there is no fur?"

    The dog slowed down, stopped and turned to the wolf with sadness in his eyes.

    "That is where they place the leash around my neck. They do this so they can control me and keep me in my place," replied the dog, sadly.

    "Never!" said the wolf as he began to go back into the forest. "I would rather be hungry and free than be fat and as a slave."

C

    A young man once went into town and bought himself a pair of trousers. When he got home, he went to his bedroom and put them on. He found that they were about two inches too long. He went to the kitchen. His mother and sisters were washing up the tea things there. "The new trousers are too long," he said. "They need shortening by about two inches. Could one of you do it for me, please?" His mother and sisters were busy and none of them said anything.
    After his mother finished washing up, she went to her son's bedroom and shortened the trousers by two inches.

    Later on, after supper, the elder sister remembered her brother's trousers. She was a kind-hearted girl, so she went quickly to his brother's bedroom without saying anything to anyone, and shortened the trousers by two inches. The younger sister went to the cinema, but when she came home, she also remembered her brother's trousers. "I nearly forgot that." She thought. Then she shortened them by two inches.
    The younger sister went to the cinema，but when she came back，she，too，remembered what her brother had said．So she ran upstairs and took two inches off the legs of the new trousers．

    Look at the boy. His English name is Frank Smith. His Chinese name is Wang Lei. He is from England. He is 12. My name is Li Dong. David is my English name. I am from Qingdao, Shandong Frank and I are in grade seven. But I am in class Four and he is in Class Five. We are good friends. He often helps me with my English.

    These are our schoolbags. They are black. You can see two pens, a ruler and four books in Frank's school bag. In my schoolbag, there are three pens, two rulers and five books

    It was very cold, Amaya was warm in her house, thinking about an article she'd read at school. The article was about kids who 1 out their communities, and she thought it would be really cool to help her own town, Harvard.

    The only2 was that she wasn't sure how to help. In the article, the kids had grown food for people who needed food, but it was winter. She couldn't start a garden. Amaya was deep in thought when her mom said it was time to go shopping.

    As they drove along the road, Amaya saw a family wearing only light jackets. The cold wind blew 3 outside. How cold they must be! That gave her an idea! She could 4  winter coats, hats and gloves for people who needed them.

    She shared her idea with her mom, who thought it was great. But how would they 5 the idea to get plenty of winter clothing? Amaya decided to talk to her teacher, because then she could share her idea with her classmates at least.

    Ms. Monroe agreed when Amaya talked about her idea. They decided to call the 6  Hats in Harvard. Then they wrote a letter explaining the project. They also met with the headmaster during lunch time. He was excited about the idea, and said he would make sure copies (复印件) of the letter went home with all the students.

    They collected enough winter clothing in only one week. Then they left the clothes around two parks, so families who needed clothes could get them there. Three days later, Amaya and her mom went shopping again. She saw the same family that had given her the7for Hats in Harvard.  This time, though, the family wore some new coats, hats and gloves. Amaya felt 8 in her heart, and was very glad she could help others.

Last night，John went to a welcome party for foreign students. In the {#blank#}1{#/blank#}something funny happened. He met a Japanese boy {#blank#}2{#/blank#}was called Sato. He didn't know {#blank#}3{#/blank#}the Japanese are supposed to greet each other. As soon as he held out his hand, the boy {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. He just stood there, embarrassed, with his hand out. But finally he {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the bow.

Last weekend, Katie met her French friend Marie for the first time. She did the {#blank#}6{#/blank#}as John did, holding out her hand. To her great surprise, Marie kissed her on {#blank#}7{#/blank#} sides of her face. She also felt embarrassed. Later she came to know that {#blank#}8{#/blank#}people are supposed to kiss when they meet each other.

Li Hua went to the Capital International Airport to meet Tony Garcia from Colombia and Julia Smith {#blank#}9{#/blank#} Britain. After Li met them and introduced {#blank#}10{#/blank#}to each other，Tony went {#blank#}11{#/blank#}to Julia, touched her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek. She stepped{#blank#}12{#/blank#} appearing surprised and put up her hands, as if in defense(防卫)!

These actions are not good {#blank#}13{#/blank#}bad, but they are simply ways that cultures have developed. Studying international customs can certainly help avoid difficulties in today's world of cultural crossroads!