Britons may like to complain a lot, but they rarely do so right now, explains BBC writer Ruth Margolis. They would rather grumble (发牢骚) afterward. This is because Britons hate to put someone out and cause any embarrassment. Margolis writes, “For instance, I'm much more comfortable just leaving that piece of raw chicken on my plate instead of complaining to restaurant staff. But beware: if this kind of thing happens when you're dining with an American, they will most likely speak up on your behalf and not understand why you find this ashamed.”

    In a BBC blog post comparing cultural differences between the UK and the US, Margolis mentions a few other things that Americans like to do that are offensive to Britons.

● Not making introductions

    Margolis says most Britons dislike this approach because “talking to strangers without being introduced gives them a stomachache”. Americans rarely introduce a new friend to their friends at parties. Strangers are supposed to introduce themselves.

● “Quite” good

    Using “quite” to mean “very” happens a lot in the US. But if you are invited to a dinner party in Britain, don't describe the meal as “quite good” if you want to express high praise. To Britons' ears, “quite” detracts from the “good”: the meal was OK but could have been better.

● Money Talk

    Americans can talk about money subjects for hours without feeling uncomfortable. For Britons, says Margolis, “Talking about how much we make is unthinkable — even 1ess so than discussing our feelings.”

● Over-politeness

    “It's not that I want shop assistants to be actively rude. But neither do I want to expend energy responding to someone who's been paid to ask: ‘How are you today?'” says Margolis. In the US, it is not unusual to be greeted by a perfect stranger as “honey” or “sweetie”. But Margolis says Britons find put-on friendliness, especially in stores, deeply irritating.

    Do you want to get home from work knowing you have made a real difference in someone's life?

    If yes，don't care about sex or age! Come and join us, then you'll make it!

    Position: Volunteer Social Care Assistant

    (No Pay with Free Meals)

    Place: Manchester

    Hours: Part Time

    We are now looking for volunteers to support people with learning disabilities to live active lives! Only 4 days left. Don't miss the chance of lending your warm hands to help others!

    Role:

    You will provide people with learning disabilities with all aspects of their daily lives. You will help them to develop new skills. You will help them to protect their rights and their safety. But your primary concern is to let them know they are valued.

    Skills and Experience Required:

    You will have the right values and great listening skills. You will be honest and patient. You will have the ability to drive a car and to communicate in fluent written and spoken English since you'll have to help those people with different learning disabilities. Previous care-related experience will be a great advantage for you.

    How do you get a man to do his share of the housework? If you are like most women, you've faced this question the hard way.

    A man will enjoy a clean, orderly house, but he usually won't make the effort to clean or organise it. This doesn't mean that a woman has to do all the housework; she may have to manage many of the household duties, and request her partner's participation(参与). A woman can often say that men and women should take equal responsibility(责任) for housework.

    Very few men are raised to be fully responsible for housework, and many men look on housework as women's work. On the other hand, most men will readily work around the yard, make repairs and complete projects on weekends or evenings, and it's important that you give your man appreciation(欣赏) for those things, too. Most men will take on a little housework around the house if asked politely. They are even more likely to do housework if they can choose what they want to do, and do it without being monitored(监视).

    Here's the key: men want to feel that they are doing housework either because they want to do a task, or because they simply want to please their women. Men are much less likely to take on household tasks they consider uninteresting and unimportant. In other words, men are likely to do a household task just for the good of the house.

    Life is a process. It is said that it doesn't come the same again; it is glad that the same doesn't have to come back again.

    In this life, what did you miss?

    The wife asked the husband when she was 25. Worried, the husband replied, "I missed a new job opportunity."

    When she was 35, the husband angrily told her that he had just missed the bus.

    At 45, the husband sadly said, "I missed the opportunity seeing my close relative before his last breath."

    At 55, the husband said disappointedly, "I missed a good chance to retire."

    At 65, the husband hurriedly replied, "I missed an appointment with the dentist."

    At 75, the wife did not ask the husband anymore, the husband was kneeling in front of the very sick wife. Remembering the question the wife used to ask him, this time he asked the wife the same question. The wife, with a smile and peaceful look, replied, "In this life, I did not miss having you!"

    The husband was full of tears. He always thought that they could be together forever. He was always busy with work and something unimportant. So much had he never been thoughtful to his wife. The husband hugged the wife tightly and said, "Over 50 years, how I had allowed myself to miss your deep love for me."

    In the busy city life, there are many people who are always busy with work. These people are busy with their jobs, and sacrifice all their time and health to meet the social expectations. They are unwilling to spend time on health care. They miss the opportunity to be with their children in their growing up. They neglect the loved ones who care for them, and also their health.

    Nobody knows what is going to happen one year from now. Life is not permanent, so always live in the now.

    When I heard the piano, I walked to Mrs. Windsor's house and waited outside as I always did. That meant she was working with another student, and I was not supposed to bother them by ringing the bell. I stood against the wall and daydreamed what I'd rather be doing. "Almost anything", I sighed dejectedly. I had been tutored enough to read, understand, and even write some musical compositions, but I just didn't have a gift for it. It didn't come to me naturally. I thought back to happier times when I was writing stories and acting them out with my friends, cutting up old clothes to make dresses that performers wear in plays, and building scenery out of old things we found. But Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lessons for free, so I felt my duty to try.

    The door opened and Wendy Barton came out. I walked in, sat down on the piano bench and began to sort through my sheet music.

    "Hello," I heard a voice behind me say softly. I turned around to see a little girl standing behind me, eating an apple. But before I could make any response, Mrs. Windsor walked into the room in her usual urgent manner and announced, "Jennifer, this is my niece, Pasha. Pasha, this is Jennifer. Pasha will be giving you your lesson today. I'm up to my ears in something else!" she then exited to the kitchen.

Pasha set her apple down on the side table and slid beside me on the piano bench.

    "What piece do you like best?" she asked.

    "What do you mean?" I asked. "They're all the same to me. I don't know.

    "You mean you don't have a favorite?"

    "No, not really."

    Pasha looked at me, rather puzzled, then opened my sheet music to the beginning page and asked me to play. I arranged my fingers on the keys and studied the notes on the page for a moment. Then I frowned and concentrated to make the notes on the page match the finger movements. I have to admit I was a rather mechanical pianist.

    After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. There was a long pause. "What are you hearing in the music?" I looked at her rather strangely and admitted I didn't know what she meant.

    "Like a story. What story is being playing out within the music?"

    "I guess I've never thought about it before. I don't know."

    "Here, let me try and you listen," Pasha advised.

    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her fingers dance lightly over the keys. Then, she began to play. "See, it begins here beside some kind of river. Hear the water flowing beside you?"

    Her fingers rose and fell gently on the keys. "Now the princess appears and she's picking flowers from the water's edge." A carefree, happy piece of music filled the air in time to Pasha's dancing fingers. "Oh, but she slips!" The music changed. "And our princess is being carried off by the fast-flowing stream. Quickly, the princess's horse sees her plight (困境)," Pasha continued, "and races to the river's edge where he swims out to let her catch hold of him. They make it to the bank and she hugs her faithful horse and swears she will never again wear princess skirts that weigh her down." Pasha finished with a big smile and then looked at me.

"Aren't you the girl who tells the stories?" she asked.

    "I guess. I do tell a lot of stories."

    "Oh, yes! All the kids talk about them. I've heard about you. Well, all you have to do is learn to hear the stories in the music. That's all there is to it."

    "I've never thought it that way."

    "Let's try another one, shall we?" Pasha smiled and together we played that afternoon, finding the stories in the music and learning that sometimes it takes a friend to pull you out of the river onto dry land again.

    With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most controversial issue across the United States today is the death penalty. Many argue that it is an effective deterrent (威慑) to murder, while others maintain there is no convincing evidence that the death penalty reduces the number of murders.

    The principal argument advanced by those opposed to the death penalty, basically, is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment, which is the mark of a brutal society, and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent to crime anyway.

    In our opinion, the death penalty is a necessary evil. Throughout recorded history there have always been those extreme individuals in every society who were capable of terribly violent crimes such as murder. But some are more extreme than others.

    For example, it is one thing to take the life of another in a fit of blind rage, but quite another to coldly plot and carry out the murder of one or more people in the style of a butcher. Thus, murder, like all other crimes, is a matter of relative degree. While it could be argued with some conviction that the criminal in the first instance should be merely separated from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type murderer.

    The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to debate. But the overwhelming majority of citizens believe that the death penalty protects them. Their belief is strengthened by evidence which shows that the death penalty deters murder. For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was consistently imposed in California, the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100,000 population. Since 1964 the death penalty has been carried out only once, and the murder rate has risen to 10.4 murders for each 100,000 population. The sharp climb in the state's murder rate, which began when executions stopped, is no coincidence. It is convincing evidence that the death penalty does deter many murderers. If the bill reestablishing the death penalty is banned, innocent people will be murdered—some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is literally a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of innocent people must be protected.