Our culture is the system we use to build our identity. All living creatures are part of a culture. Even animals have a culture! So what is culture? It's the way we behave in a group. It begins with each individual family. Within our families we do things to build relationships with each other. This can include routines for doing things. It also includes traditions. Traditions are activities that are repeated on a regular basis.

    Culture is not limited to individual family groups. The real strength of culture is in larger community （社会）groups. These larger groups are called societies. Every society makes rules for itself. It decides how people should act in different situations. Some of these rules are written down. Some are just things that are automatically expected of all members of that society. Often, cultures can be identified（识别）by what the people believe. Cultures are also known by what they choose to include in their art. Sometimes a society forms around people who speak the same language. Cultures may also be known for their customs, including the foods they make and the things they do.

    Our cultures help us understand who we are and what we believe. There are very strong emotions（情感）connecting us to our own society. Two different cultures may disagree on something, especially if they both feel strongly about it. When that happens, war is a common result. People are learning better ways to communicate with each other. The more we learn, the more we appreciate the differences in cultures.

    One day, Akbar decided to test how wise Birbal was. He took his ring off his finger and handed it to one of his courtiers (侍臣). Akbar said to him, "You must hide this ring safely with you. Make sure that no one can find it."

    As soon as Birbal came to the palace, Akbar said. "Birbal, I lost my ring this morning. It was given to me by my father. Do whatever you want, but you have to find my ring soon."

    Birbal asked Akbar to give him more information, but Akbar didn't say much. He kepp on repeating, "I don't remember anything at all. You must find my ring." Finally, Birbal said, "All right, Your Majesty (陛下)! I will find your ring soon."

    Birbal closed his eyes and pretended (假装) to think for a while. And then he said, "Your Majesty, your ring is somewhere here in this palace. It is with one of the courtiers. The courtier has a grain of rice in his beard."

    The courtier was worried. Hearing Birbal's words, he quickly moved his hand over his beard. Birbal's eyes fixed on the behaviour of the courtier. Pointing towards him, Birbal said, "Your Majesty, this courtier stole your ring."

    Akbar was surprised. He didn't understand how Birbal had succeeded in finding his ring. But once again, Akbar accepted the fact that Birbal was very wise.

    Athena was born and raised in Ukraine. Her parents wanted her to become a lawyer or a doctor. But she always knew she wanted to paint. She also realized a career in painting would not be possible if she stayed in her country.

    Even though she was painting in her whole life and it was her passion(热情)but it was only a hobby. And she never really took it to the next level because back in the country all the artists were hungry artists. So she knew for some reason she never took art as a career because she would never be able to make money and be successful in it in several years.

    So. Athena came to the United States when she was 14 years old to pursue(追求)an American Dream. She was clear on her goal. Athena first worked at a health food shop. She began to paint on the shop's menu boards. A customer praised her skill and asked if she would help paint faces at street fairs. Athena says it was a good start. Then she went to FABAIC to start body painting.

    Body painting is quite different from plain painting. And she loves it very much. She says. "With body, you work with the people factor and it's not only you. Maybe they want to talk or move, and they cannot stand still for several days while the painting will last three to four days. When I paint. I can't stop."

    One day, a little monkey and a little fox(狐狸) went out to play. They saw an apple tree on the other side of the river. There were many big and red apples on it. But there was no bridge over the river. The monkey thought(想) hard and had an idea. They pulled down(推倒) a tree and put it over the river as a bridge.

    The monkey said, "My old friend, you go there first." But after the fox went to the other side, he kicked(踢) the tree into the river and ran to the apple tree. "How can I get there without the tree?" cried the monkey. The fox laughed and said, "You just stand there and watch me eating the apples." The monkey was very angry.

    Suddenly it began to rain. The water level(水位) in the river rose（上涨） and tree flew away with the water.

    "You can eat all the apples. But you can't come back," shouted the monkey.

    The fox stopped eating and looked at the monkey sadly.

    Sally was a student. Her mother's birthday is coming. She wanted to buy her a nice and cheap present(礼物).

    She went shopping after a quick and simple lunch. After she looked for half an hour, she found a shop. It was selling cheap umbrellas, and she decided to take a black one.

    She thought, "Mom can carry it when she is wearing any clothes." So she bought a lovely black umbrella and took it to school with her.

    On her way home on the train she felt hungry because she ate little for lunch. So she went to the buffet car(餐车). She left the umbrella on her seat. But when she got back. She couldn't see the umbrella!

    Sally began to cry. The other passengers felt very sorry for her and asked what was the matter. She told them she couldn't find the black umbrella, and she had to get off at the next station. After the three passengers heard this, they asked her for her mother's address(地址)so that they could send the umbrella to her if someone took it and brought it back.

    After a week, Sally got a letter from her mother. It said "Thank you very much for your lovely gifts, but why do you send me three black umbrellas?"