We all know about this famous Kitty. She has no mouth, and she wasn't born out of a TV show or a video game. So how did this cute character become popular? How did she change the world?

    Hello Kitty was created (创造) in Japan in 1974.Sanrio, a company in Japan, was working for a new character to put on their new purse. The first picture of Hello Kitty was introduced on November 1. She was so cute that it became popular soon in Japan and all over the world.

    Hello Kitty is only a character, but she has a story of her own. Her full name is Kitty White, and she's even not a Japanese. She lives in the countryside outside London with her family—George White, Mary White and her twin sister Mimmy. Hello Kitty wears a red bow  (蝴蝶结) on her left ear while Mimmy wears a yellow bow on her right ear.

    Kitty loves goldfish and baking cookies, but her favourite thing is to eat her mum's apple pie! She also loves stars and candies, too. She is in the 3rd grade and she weighs as much as three apples but is five apples tall. She even had a blood (血.) type, which is A.

    Hello Kitty's appearance hasn't changed much, though she turned 40 on November 1, 2014.

      The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Grain Rain (谷雨), as the last term in spring, starts on April 19 and ends on May 4.

      Grain Rain comes from the old saying, “Rain brings up the growth of hundreds of grains”, which shows that this period of rainfall is very important for the growth of crops. Here's something that you may not know about the Grain Rain.

    One day, an American man Simon went to London to visit his friend, Rick. Rick told him that his flat(公寓) was on the first floor. When he arrived, Simon went straight to the first floor of the building. But a man told him that there was no Rick on that floor. Do you know why?

    In fact, the British (英国人) call the first floor of a building the ground floor. The floor above the ground floor is the first floor, but Americans would call it the second floor.

    The story shows that there are a few culture differences between Britain and America, though the British and Americans both speak English.

    The British don't like showing their feelings. They hardly start a small talk with strangers. For example, on the train the British often spend their time reading newspapers or books. But Americans are quite different. They're more active and easier to talk with.

    The British and Americans may use different terms for the same things. The British usually use "football" "holiday" and "lift", but Americans like to use "soccer" "vacation" and "elevator".

B

    These days, we see a lot of shopping festivals(节日). Singles' Day is a big one for Chinese shoppers. It's on November 11^th(11月11日). In the US, Black Friday is the most well-known one.

    Black Friday is always on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday(感恩节). On this day, stores(商店) give special deals(特价). Shoppers get up very early. They wait in line in front of the stores at 2 or 3 am before the stores open. Sometimes there are too many people. They can't get inside the store. Black Friday is not the only shopping festival in the US. Another one is CyberMonday(网络星期一). This day is always on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

    Personally, I don't like these holidays, because they put too much importance（重要性）on buying things. And that's a trend of over-consumption(过度消费). What do you think of these holidays?