American Food Habits

Most Americans eat quickly during the day—that is, breakfast and lunch—unless it is a social, business, or family ①occasion. The evening meal, however, is usually ②leisurely and a family time. ③Racing through daytime meals is part of the“American pace”of life, for working time ④is considered ⑤precious. There is also another reason, that others in public eating places are waiting for you to finish, so that they can be served and get back to work within the ⑥allotted time .Each one hurries to make room for the next person.

    The Monkey Buffet Festival is on the last Sunday of November. It is a great day for monkeys in Thailand (泰国). The festival has a history of 25 years. People there think monkeys can bring good luck to them. So, to thank monkeys, they have this special festival.

    On that day every year, people put lots of fruit, vegetables, cakes and even drinks on the tables outside. They are all for monkeys. Many people come to see the monkeys on that day.

    During the festival, there are a lot of interesting activities about monkeys. Young people always dress like monkeys and they sing and dance and play some music on the street.

    Monkeys always live in groups. Most of them live in the trees. They are good at running and jumping. They eat fruit, vegetables, flowers and birds' eggs. Monkeys are clever. Do you think so?

    I often dreamed about Pisa when I was a boy. I read about the famous building called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But when I read the word Pisa, I was thinking of pizza. I thought this tower was a place to buy pizza. It must be the best place to buy pizza in the world, I thought.

    Many years later I finally saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I then knew that it was Pisa and not pizza. But there was still something special about it for me. The tower got its name because it really did lean to one side. Some people want to try to fix it. They are afraid it may fall down and they don't want it to lean over the city.

    I do not think it's a good idea to try to fix it. The tower probably will not fall down. It is 600 years old. Why should anything happen to it now? And, if you ask me, I like what it looks like. Nothing is perfect. It seems to say.

    And who cares? Why do people want things to be perfect? Imperfect things may be more interesting. Let's take the tower in Pisa. Why is it so famous? There are many other older, more beautiful towers in Italy. But the Leaning Tower of Pisa is the most famous. People come from all over the world to see it.

    The 2017 Fortune Global Forum (财富全球论坛) was held in Guangzhou from December 6 to 8, 2017 for the first time with the theme of "Openness and Innovation: Shaping the Global Economy". This is the fifth Fortune Global Forum held in China. Since its beginning in 1995, the Fortune Global Forum has been providing chances for CEOs of the world's most important companies and world leaders to get together and discuss matters about international business.

    There are several reasons why Guangzhou was chosen as the host city for the 2017 Fortune Global Forum. First, Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong Province which is historically an active centre for free trade. Guangdong Province is also the most populous (人口稠密的) province in China with a population of 110 million, bigger than that of any other province in China. What's more, more than half of the Fortune Global 500 companies have already set up branch offices (分公司) in Guangzhou.

    Hosting the 2017 Fortune Global Forum also brings benefits to Guangzhou. First, it will help change the city into a high-level technology centre in the future. Moreover, it will attract more companies to invest and develop in Guangzhou and Guangzhou can take the chance to encourage local companies to go global and deepen cooperation with companies from all over the world.

    Great effort was made in order to make the event a success. For example, a total of 1,200 volunteers were chosen mostly from universities to serve the 2017 Fortune Global Forum. Training courses were also carried out to prepare volunteers for their jobs. They even had a volunteer's song. The lyrics and music of the song was written by the famous lyricist Zhong Shan and composer Wang Xiaosong. The official version of the song was sung by famous singers Wang Chenrui and Wang Sulong.

    People in different countries greet each other in different ways. Here are some.

    The United States

    People shake hands when they meet for the first time. Friends and family members often hug or kiss on the cheek(脸颊)when they see each other.

    Korea(韩国)

    Men bow and shake hands to greet each other. Women do not usually shake hands. If you call someone, you use his or her full name. The family name comes first; then the first name.

    Finland(芬兰)

    Finns (芬兰人) greet each other with a handshake. Hugs and kisses are only for close friends and family members.

    The Philippines(菲律宾)

    The everyday greeting for friends is a handshake for both men and women. Men sometimes pat(轻拍) each other on the back.

    Do you think that it's possible to raise money by playing tricks on others? It is possible on Red Nose Day in the UK.

    The day was on March 15 this year. People do some funny things to make people laugh and raise money. They tell jokes. They dance in a funny way. Most importantly, they wear red noses. All the money goes to help the poor in the UK and Africa.

    Red Nose Day is not the only way to raise money for charity. Here are some other interesting ways to help people in need. Let's have a look!

Charity shops

    In the UK, some people like buying things in charity shops. This kind of shops sell used(用过的) things like clothes, shoes and books. People donate them to the shops. So things in the shops are very cheap. The money they raise goes to help sick children and homeless people.

Charity concerts

    This is a common(普通的) way for pop stars to raise money. Concerts help raise money and awareness（意识). The Live 8 concert in 2005 was one of the largest concerts of this kind. It helped make people care more