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 different than in some western counties, it appears they are not nice guests. And western guests sometimes look rude (粗鲁的) in the eyes of Chinese guests.

    In China, guests are almost like 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, but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In most North America 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 don't allow you to smoke in their house, they are not a rude guest.

    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 home, 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.

    John and Tina come from different countries. They are interested in Chinese food. They usually eat Chinese food in restaurants and often talk about it.

It's Saturday today and it's sunny. John asks Tina to have dinner at Ms. Brown's House. It's the first time that Tina goes there for dinner.

    "Hi, John. Are there different kinds of food at Ms. Brown's House?" Tina asks.

"Of course. There're all kinds of noodles  such as chicken and cabbage noodles, mutton and potato noodles, tomato and egg noodles and beef and carrot noodles," John says.

    "Sounds great! I like tomato and egg noodles very much," said Tina.

"Me, too. There are also delicious dumplings and specials. After dinner, we can have ice- cream and fruit. They are on sale."

    "Ice-cream? I know a new kind of ice-cream. It is delicious. And you can keep it for an hour."

    "Great! But there isn't any at Ms. Brown's House."

    "I know where to buy it. Let's go after dinner."

    "OK."

Dear Joe,

Thank you for your letter. I know something about your family from your letter. You have a small family, and there are only three people in your family. Your parents are doctors. Your family like western (西方的) food, like bread, hamburgers and chicken. The chicken is your favorite food. 

Now let me tell you something about my family. My family is big. You can see it in the photo. They are my grandparents, my parents, my brother and me. We live in Shanghai, China. My parents are high school teachers. My brother, Zhao Peng, studies at Tsinghua University (清华大学). My grandparents are old and rest (休养) at home. They live with us. They usually play Taijiquan in the morning. My grandma is a good cook, and she cooks breakfast and dinner for us. You can see we are all strong. I love my family very much. 

Yours, 

Zhao Jie

National (国家的) parks give a safe home to plants and animals. They help keep the air and water clean. They also give us the best trips. Today, there are nearly 7,000 national parks around the world. A famous magazine showed us 12 of the most beautiful ones in the world. They will surprise you with their amazing natural wonders and

colourful plants and animals. 

The Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. It is famous for its size and depth. It is 446 kilometres long, up to 29 kilometres wide and 1. 83 kilometres deep. Every year, about 5 million people visit the Grand Canyon National Park of US. When taking a trip in the south of the park, visitors can see the park's full views. In the north of the park, visitors can enjoy beautiful wild flowers. 

If you love animals, you'll like the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The "Big Five" live there. They are the African lion, African elephant, African leopard, black rhinocero and African buffalo. The name "Big Five" comes from the five animals that are the hardest to catch. Now people most want to see them in the wild. If you visit the park, you should never miss the migration( 迁徙)of over1. 5 million wildebeests( 角马) every year. This is the most famous site of the park. 

A horse fair is an interesting place. There is always a lot to see. There are young horses from the country, little Welsh ponies, like Merry legs, and many beautiful horses too. But there are also a lot of poor, thin horses, worn out from hard work. I was very sad to see them. 

 At the horse fair there was a man with a gentle voice and kind grey eyes. He offered twenty-three pounds for me, but he was refused, then he walked away. Later, a man with a very loud voice came. I was ▲ he was going to buy me, but luckily, he walked off. Then the grey-eyed man came back again and said, "I' ll give twenty-four for him. "

"Done, " said the salesman. "He' s a quality horse and if you want him for cab work, he' s a bargain. "

 Half an hour later, we set off for London until we came to that great city. There were streets to the right, and streets to the left. We went into one of the small streets, and then into a very narrow street, with small and old houses on one side, and stables(马厩) on the other. 

 My new owner stopped at a house and whistled. The door opened, and a young woman, a little girl and boy, came out. 

 They all looked at me. 

"Is he gentle, father?"

"Yes, Dolly, as gentle as a kitten. You can pat him. "

 Dolly, the little girl, patted my shoulder without fear. It felt so good! They led me into a clean stable, with plenty of dry straw. After a delicious meal, I lay down to sleep and think"I'm going to be very happy here. "

—— Adapted from Black Beautyby Anna Sewell