Living in the foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be confusing. A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences. They discussed that miscommunications were always possible, even over something as simple as “yes”and“no”.
     On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific, Lisa thought the waitress wasn't paying any attention to her. The day was hot she went into a store and asked, "Do you have any cold drinks?" The woman there didn't say anything. Lisa repeated the question again. Still the woman said nothing. She later learned that the woman had answered her: She has raised her eyebrows, which in Micronesia, it means, "yes".
     Jan remembered an experience she had in Bulgaria, a country in Europe. She went to a restaurant that was known for its cabbage. She asked the writer,“Do you have cabbage today?”He nodded his head. Jan waited, but the cabbage never came. In that country, a nod means "no".
     Tom had a similar problem when he arrived in India. After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood. They answered with different nods and shakes of heads. He thought some people hadn't understood, so he explained again. When he asked again, they did the same thing. He soon found out that his students did understand. In India, people nod and shake heads in different ways. It depends on where they come from.

    It was coming up on Marty's birthday. His mom had asked him what he wanted as a gift this year. He thought maybe a new bicycle, or maybe a new camera, a new basketball, or a telescope (望远镜)."Any of those gifts would be great," he said. Secretly, he hoped for the telescope. Marty loved space, stars, and learning about the planets.

    Marty's mom and dad talked about the gifts one night after Marty went to sleep." I think we should get Marty the telescope," said dad." He's so interested in space and the planets, he would like that the best." "Sounds good," said mom. Dad told her he would pick out a telescope for Marty the next day after work.

    Marty's dad had the telescope in his car. He waited until Marty was asleep and brought it into the house. "Wow!" said Marty's mom after dad put it together. "This is wonderful." " Now where are we going to hide it until Sunday？" "How about in the attic(阁楼)?" "Marty won't find it there."

    Sunday morning came and Marty ran down the stairs into the kitchen. His gift was usually near his chair at the table, but this year he didn't see anything. "Happy Birthday!" shouted mom and dad from the next room. They came into the kitchen and saw Marty was looking around for a gift. "I guess you think we forgot to get you a gift," said mom. Marty looked confused. "Well, you usually put my gift in the kitchen," Marty said. Dad told Marty to follow him outside the house in the yard. "This is fantastic!" shouted Marty. "I don't take many pictures, and I probably wouldn't use the basketball much, and my bike is okay for now. But I will use the telescope! Thanks so much." "You're welcome," said mom and dad. All that night, Marty saw many beautiful stars and even the planet Mars. Marty would remember his tenth birthday for the rest of his life!

To My Best Friend

On a sunny morning, I am listening to the music. The soft music reminds me of my best friend, Sarah. There are many things I want to say to her.

Thank you for being there for me throughout all of the seasons of my life — the ups and downs, the beautiful and the ugly. You have offered me a shoulder to cry on whenever life has become hard. You have helped me in ways I didn't even know.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Whether it's been sending me the funniest pictures on the Internet or singing with me my favourite singers' songs, you have given me some of the best laughs of my life.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Whenever I have doubts about myself, you remind me of who I am and why I should be proud to have grown into the person I am. And thank you for always being honest with me. Whenever I make a stupid mistake, you always bring me around to face reality.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Without your encouragement, I wouldn't have applied for(申请) and landed the well-paying job that I now have.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}You have taught me what it means to be a loving friend and what it means to receive love. There is something special about our friendship that cannot be found in any other relationship I've ever had.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}No words could ever describe how thankful I am to have you in my life. And I'll always try my best to be the best friend for you.

Lang Zheng touched (感动) people's hearts after the Wenchuan earthquake (地震) in 2008. He saluted (敬礼) the soldiers who saved him. He would go to Peking University {#blank#}1{#/blank#} he has done well in the gaokao.

On May 12, 2008, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} earthquake hit Wenchuan. The soldiers saved him from his fallen house. When the soldiers carried him on a stretcher (担架), he gave them a salute. A man took the picture of the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (move) moment and it touched the hearts of people across the country.

On Saturday, Lang knew he got 637 points. He was in the top 30 of hundreds of thousands of liberal arts exam participants (文科考生) in Sichuan. Lang has {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (receive) the admission notice (录取通知书) of Peking University.

Since 2008, Lang has been famous {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the salute. And then he was {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(call）the "Salute Boy". The name has given him much encouragement, rather than placing him under {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (press). "The special name encourages me {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (keep) studying and not to slow down," he said, "Going to university is just a new {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (begin). I should study {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (hard), and get more skills to give back to our country."

Are you nervous when you stand in front of the public? Are you afraid to make a speech?

Li Jun, a middle school boy felt shy when he was making a speech the other day. Before that, Li had thought it would be quite easy to speak in front of 1 classmates. 

"I was wrong. It was very different and much 2 than talking to my classmates during playtime," Li said. "I tried, but it was really difficult to speak. I felt like a mute (哑巴) and wanted to leave the classroom 3 ."

Li is not alone. Many middle school students now have the same 4 : they can talk about their ideas freely 5 their best friends after class, but can't speak in public. According to Zhou Hong, a teacher from a university, the main reason is that schools in China pay more attention to writing instead of 6 . 

Zhou hopes schools can give students more chances to open their 7 , such as speech competitions, English corners and class discussions. Students can join in any one they want. 8 he also gives some advice to students. "During your free time you should 9 more. When you're speaking in public, take it easy. Just imagine you're talking to nobody and speak up your ideas clearly," Zhou said. "That 10 a fine public speech and you'll feel confident."

Rick is fifteen years old. He is from England and he is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} good boy. He {#blank#}2{#/blank#} up at 6:30 every morning, and then he cleans the house. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} about 7:00, he eats breakfast and then goes to school. He has four classes in the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} and three in the afternoon. Of all the {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, he likes English best because he thinks it's very useful. In the afternoon, Rick goes {#blank#}6{#/blank#}. He helps his mother buy food or wash the car for his {#blank#}7{#/blank#}. His little sister sometimes helps {#blank#}8{#/blank#} do some things. He feels a little {#blank#}9{#/blank#} because he does lots of things every day. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} he is very happy because he can do something for his family.