Close contacts between Japan and the rest of the world were created in the twentieth century. In the last forty years, business contacts between Japan and the West have become very important. Many foreign companies now have offices in Japan and Japanese businessmen do business around the world. Differences between Japanese and Western ways of doing business, however, often bewilder foreign businessmen and make doing business in Japan difficult for foreigners.

    The American businessman, for example, wants to start talking business immediately. He does not want to wait. The Japanese businessman, on the other hand, likes to arrive at decisions after giving them serious thought. Another thing foreign businessmen have difficulty in understanding is when a Japanese means "Yes" or "No". This is because of cultural differences between Japanese and Western society, which make it difficult for a Japanese to say "No" directly.

    In the USA, it is easy to say "No" to something one does not want to do. But in Japan, it is very difficult to say "No". To refuse an invitation or a request with "No" is felt to be impolite. It is thought to be selfish and unfriendly. So instead of saying "No" directly, the Japanese have developed many ways to avoid saying "No". These can help them avoid hurting other people's feelings. However, this often makes their ways of doing business rather difficult for foreigners to understand and follow.

    Do you have a nickname (昵称) ? Most of us do by our looks, clothing, or personality. But for cities, the meaning of their nicknames has much more than that.

    Many big cities have nicknames, such as New York--The Big Apple, London--The Great Smog, and Rome--The Eternal( 永恒的) City. Why do cities have such nicknames?

    In the 1920s, there were many races in New York. People called the prizes of these races apples. Writer John J. Fitz Gerald first called New York the Big Apple, because New York is the place that many people dreamed of going to for the biggest prize of all.

    For Rome, as the name suggests, the answer is simple. Romans believed that no matter what happened to the world, Rome would go on forever. Rome has been an important center of power for more than 2,000 years.

    As for London, in the Victorian period, it had problems with its air. Later in 1952, serious air pollution made 10,000 people fall ill. But now the air of London has become better.

    Does that sound interesting? Does your city have a nickname?

Celebrate :庆祝  Lunar:农历  Lantern:灯  Riddles:谜

    England is the biggest of the four countries in the United Kingdom. Together with Scotland and Wales, these three countries make up the island of Great Britain. When you include Northern Ireland (the country in the northeastern part of Ireland) we call it the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). Over 50 million people live in England. That's around 80 percent of the UK's total population. It is a multicultural (多元文化的) country where more than 250 languages are spoken in the capital city of London. Outside of the big cities, England is a very green country and has many beautiful rural areas, such as the Lake District in the north and the New Forest, a big area of forest in the southern part of the country.

Music

    English people love music. In the summer, there are music festivals all over the country. Glastonbury (格拉斯顿堡) is a five-day festival of music, dance, comedy, theatre and circus (马戏). About 175,000 people go to it each year. 

    People in England listen to all types of music, especially pop and rock. England has produced many international groups and singers like the Beatles, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and Adele.

Sport

    The most popular sports in England are football, rugby (橄榄球) and cricket (板球). Most towns have at least one field where teams can play. English football teams like Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are world-famous. Cricket is a traditional sport played with a bat (球拍) and ball. It began in England and is now played all over the world.

Food

    England is a very multicultural country and this has a big influence on the food people eat. Indian, Chinese and Italian cuisines (饭菜) are popular besides traditional English food like fish and chips, roast beef or sausage and mashed potatoes (土豆泥). Many English people drink several cups of tea each day, usually with milk.