Just 28 years ago, Berlin was a city divided into two by the Berlin Wall. How excitedpeople were as the Berlin Wall came down. Since then, Berlin has become one of the coolest cities in Europe. Here are the main reasons why I think Berlin is cool.

    First, Berlin has cheap hotels and everyday objects (物品). You needn't worry aboutspending too much money when visiting Berlin.

    Second, Berlin knows how to give parties, and there is a festival here every month ofthe year. Perhaps the most famous is the Berlin International Film Festival (the BIFF).

Third, Berlin has beautiful buildings of its own. The Brandenburg Gate is one of thecity's most famous buildings. It's the symbol (象征) of more than 200 years of history. The TV Tower is as good as the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the London Eye.

Lastly, Berlin is a city of living art. Artists can create works of art on the sides ofbuildings.

If you want to visit a European city with culture, cheap objects and lots of colours,Berlin is the place to be. What are you waiting for? Get to Europe's coolest city before anyone else discovers it

    When my family moved to America from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.

    I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.

    In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.

    However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn't want to hear.

    After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don't respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don't show my feelings through words.

By Jack

    Different countries have different customs. When you are in different countries, you should follow their customs.

    In China, it's impolite to talk when eating dinner. And you're not supposed to start eating first if there are older people at the table.

Very often people who travel to the United States forget to tip(付小费）. It is usual to tip waiters, taxi drivers and porters who help carry your bags. Waiters expect to get a 15% tip on the cost of your meal. Taxi drivers expect about the same amount.

    In England, make sure to stand in line even if there are only two of you. It's important to respect lines there. It's a good idea to talk about the weather. It's a favorite subject of conversation with the British.

    In Spain, it's a good idea to have a light meal in the afternoon if someone invites you for dinner. People have dinner very late, and restaurants are not generally open until after 9:00 pm.

    In Saudi Arabia（沙特阿拉伯）， men kiss one another on the cheek(脸颊）. Your host may welcome you with a kiss on both cheeks. It is polite for you to do the same.

    In Japan, people usually give personal or business cards to each other when they meet for the first time. When a person gives you a card, don't put it into your pocket as soon as you get it. The person expects you to read it.

    Don't forget to be careful of your body language to express something in conversations. A kind of body language that is acceptable in one culture may be impolite in another.

    Many of us buy things from vending machines(自动售货机). Most machines sell food and drinks. But this one is special. It sells novels.

    You can see the special vending machines in France. You can find them easily in many places such as airports, train stations and shopping malls.

    The vending machines sell lots of novels. The novels are not the same. Some are long and some are short.

    It's easy to get a novel from the vending machines. First, you need to choose your reading time: 1 minute, 3 minutes or 5 minutes. Then, a piece of paper will come out of the vending machines. Finally, take away the paper and it is the novel you want.

    Lots of young people like the special vending machines. They say the novels from the vending machines can help them pass the time. They don't want to use their mobile phones to read novels. They prefer to read novels on paper.

    In 99% of human history, people took their food from the world around them. They ate all that they could find, and then moved on. Then about 10,000 years ago, or in 1% of human history, people learned to farm the land.

    The kind of food we eat depends on which part of the world we live in, or which part of our country we live in, For example, in the south of China they eat rice, but in the north they eat noodles. In European countries near the sea, people eat a lot of fish. In central Europe, away from the sea, people don't eat so much fish. They eat more meat. In Germany and Poland there are hundreds of different kinds of sausages.

    In North America, Australia, and Europe, people eat with knives and forks. In China, people eat with chopsticks. In parts of India and the Middle East people use their fingers to pick up food.

    Nowadays it is possible to transport(运 输) food easily from one part of the world to the other. We can eat what we like, when we like, at any time of the year. In Britain, bananas come from Africa; rice comes from India or the USA; strawberries come from Chile or Spain. Food is very big business. But people in poor countries are still hungry, and people in rich countries eat too much.