When you are invited to a meal in Thailand（泰国），the words of the invitation mean "come and eat rice". In fact, nearly all Thai dishes are 1 with rice, which grows there very easily 2 the climate is warm and there is much rain.

    The food served is 3 cut into pieces, so there is no need to use knives and forks, but, instead, special spoons and forks are used. The Thais 4to eat with their hands and now there are still some people who eat this way. There is a special 5 of doing it. First they wash their 6 hands in a bowl of water—they only eat with their right hands. They are careful not to let the food 7the palms（手掌心）of their hands. After the meal, the 8are again carefully washed.

    The meal usually has several different dishes. They are all hot. They are served in bowls, which everyone shares, 9each person has their own bowl of 10. As Thailand has a long coastline（海岸线）, it is not surprising that fish and shellfish（贝类动物） play an important part in Thai cooking.

    One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese girl student ,"You speak very good English. "But the girl answered, "No, no. My English is very poor". The foreigner was quite1at the answer. Thinking he had not made2understood or the girl had not3him clearly, he said, "Yes, indeed, you speak very well. "4the girl still kept saying,

    "No. "In the end, the American boy could not understand and didn't know 5to say.

    What's wrong with the girl's answer? She didn't6a compliment (恭维)in the same way as the American people do. She should answer, "Thank you" instead of "No". She7 understood what the American boy had said, but she thought she should be modest(谦虚的).

    In the8,people will feel proud and 9when they are praised(表扬).So if someone says the 10you have cooked are very delicious, you shou ld say , "Thank you. "

    In our country we think being modest is a virtue(美德)and being proud is a bad thing.

    But in my opinion, being confident does not 11 being proud, so sometimes you should be confident 12being modest.

     13you are modest and say, "No , I'm afraid I can't do it well" ,while working in a western country, the others may think that you really cannot do it. If you often s ay "No", you will certainly be looked down upon by 14. When asking for a job, if one says something  like "Yes, I can certainly do it" instead of "Let me have a try" ,he or she will 15 to get it.

    So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence.

    Mother's Day is a holiday for mothers. It is celebrated in the United States, England, Sweden, India, Mexico and other 1. Little by little, it 2 widely celebrated.

    Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday in May. 3, many people send 4 of love to their mothers. Those whose mothers are still living 5 a pink or red rose, while those whose mothers are 6 wear a white one.

    The 7 of a day for mothers was first given by Miss Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia. As a result of her hard work, the celebration for the first American Mother's Day 8 in Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. Soon the 9 became popular all over the 10 and around the world.

    Can you cut an apple with a playing card (扑克牌)? Can you write with one hand and draw with 1? Well, some people can, and they all show their2 talents on the television program, China's Got Talent.

    The TV program is getting more and more3 in China. Many people watch it every week4 they wonder how talented one can be.

    Talent shows 5 in Britain. And now there are similar shows in lots of countries 6the world. China's Got Talent is the newest, but it7others. When people show their special talents, they also 8 their most touching or funniest stories. Most of them don't want to be famous. They9 want to make their family laugh and want to make others laugh, too.

    We all have a10. It may be big or small. What's your talent? Maybe you can be the next star on China's Got Talent!

April Fool's Day

    April Fool's Day is a western festival. No one 1 exactly when and how April Fool's Day began. However, there are some stories about2 it came into being. One story3 like this: in the sixteenth­century France, the start of the new year was on April first. It was celebrated 4much the same way 5 it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night.

    Then in 1562, Pope (教皇) Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. There were some people,6 who hadn't heard or didn't believe the 7 in the date, so they8 to celebrate New Year's Day on April first.9played tricks on them and called them "April fools". They tried to make them believe that something false was10. In France today, April first is called "April Fish". Frenchchildren fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' 11. When the "young fool"12this trick, the prankster (恶作剧者) shouts "April Fish！" 

    Today Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the first of April. One13trick on April Fool's Day is 14 down to a friend's shoe and saying, "Your shoelaceis untied." School children might tell a classmate that school has been canceled (取消).15the trick is, if you fail for the joke the prankster shouts "April Fool！"

    In Britain today, on the first of April, even 16newspapers, radio and TV programs tell big lies. You17 read a science18 showing that doctors have found a way to cure (治愈) AIDS, 19you would probably listen to a piece of news about a UFO20on an island.