In almost every big university in the United States, football is a favorite sport.  {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Players sometimes kick the ball, but they also throw the ball and run with it. They try to take it to the other end of the field. They have four chances to move the ball ten yards.  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. If they move it to the end of the field, they receive six points. This is called a touch-down. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Eleven men on the team try to stop the man who has the ball. If the man does not move the ball ten yards, his team kicks the ball to the other team. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They all yell for their favorite team. They dance and jump while they yell. Each team plays ten or eleven games each season. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If a team is very good, it may play another game after the season ends. The best teams play again on January the first. Many people go to see these games and many others watch them on TV.

    Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home.You should not be upset if your English friends don't invite you home.It doesn't mean they don't like you!

    Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p. m. and end at about 11 p.m. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive.It's polite to bring flowers,chocolates or a bottle of wine as gifts.

    Usually dinners start with drinks and snacks.Do you want to be extra polite?Say how much you like the room,or the pictures on the wall.But remember－it's not polite to ask how much things cost.

    In many families,the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end.They eat with their guests.

    You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small,then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables,and the dessert.It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want.

    Did you enjoy the evening?Call your hosts the next day,or write them a short “thank you” letter.British and American people like to say “thank you,thank you,thank you” all the time.

    In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts(主人) and the worst guests in the world. They're not really bad guests, but because the guest- host relationship in China is much more different than in some Western countries, it appears they are not nice guests. And Western hosts sometimes look rude (粗鲁的) in the eyes of Chinese guests.

    In China, guests are almost likes gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese person's home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. In the West, generally the guest is not a god. Acting according to the host's way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.

    My wife's mother, a very kind elderly Chinese lady, doesn't smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house, as a non - smoker, I feel unhappy. Usually I want to stop them directly ( 直接地), but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In North American homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are not smokers, you should not smoke in their house. At the very least, you could ask, "Is it OK if I smoke?" But, don't be surprised if they say, "No, you can't smoke." In our culture, if you smoke in their home, you are a bad guest, but if they do not allow you to smoke in their house, they are not a rude host.

    Guests in China also have special habits. Some Western people may not adapt to these habits very soon. Thankfully my wife is Chinese, so whenever we visit a Chinese family she tells me to buy them a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite international guests to your house, don't be too surprised if they don't bring you a gift.

    In China, you probably won't need to change the guest -host relationship very much because you will probably only be the host, and Chinese are naturally very good hosts. If Western hosts invite you to their house, try not to be too surprised if their style of treating you is not what you have expected.

    More than forty years ago, a group of artists gathered to develop a television program. They planned to make a television show that would teach young children about subjects like reading and math in a fun way.

    Sesame Street was first shown on TV on November 10th, 1969. It was produced by a group called The Children's Television Workshop, and today it was called The Sesame Workshop. The show used cartoon characters and human actors to create funny and creative lessons for children. Some of the most famous characters on the show are Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, and Bert and Ernie. Puppet maker Jim Henson created these lovely characters.

    Research is an important part of what made Sesame Street special. The show's creators studied children very carefully to understand how to best keep them having fun and learning. When the show was first introduced to children, some of its creators were not sure whether it would last one season. But forty years later, Sesame Street is the longest running children's television program in the United States.

    As part of its fortieth anniversary (周年), Sesame Street had a special guest on its show. First Lady Michelle Obama showed a group of children and Big Bird how to plant. She explained that the seeds would grow into vegetables, which are healthy and good to eat. She also had a message to the parents who watch the show with their children. She said parents can help their children do things to have healthy lives, like getting enough exercise.

    You may know the English letters A, B and C. But do you know there are people called ABCs? Do you know there is such a thing as "a banana person"? How strange! ABC means American-born Chinese. An ABC is a Chinese, but was born in the United States. Sometimes, people call an ABC a "banana person". A banana is yellow outside. So, when a person is a "banana", he or she is white inside—thinking like a Westerner and yellow outside—looking like a Chinese.

    Usually, ABCs know little about China or the Chinese language. Some of them don't speak Chinese. But if ABCs cannot speak Chinese, can we still call them Chinese people? Yes, of course. They are overseas(海外的)Chinese. These people may be citizens(公民)of another country like the US, Canada or Singapore. But they have Chinese blood. Their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents were from China. They all have black eyes and black hair. But they are not Chinese citizens. They are people of the People's Republic of China. For example, we all know the famous scientist C. N. Yang(杨振宁). He got the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1957. Chinese people love him. But he is an American citizen.