Close contacts between Japan and the rest of the world were created in the twentieth century. In the last forty years, business contacts between Japan and the West have become very important. Many foreign companies now have offices in Japan and Japanese businessmen do business around the world. Differences between Japanese and Western ways of doing business, however, often bewilder foreign businessmen and make doing business in Japan difficult for foreigners.

    The American businessman, for example, wants to start talking business immediately. He does not want to wait. The Japanese businessman, on the other hand, likes to arrive at decisions after giving them serious thought. Another thing foreign businessmen have difficulty in understanding is when a Japanese means "Yes" or "No". This is because of cultural differences between Japanese and Western society, which make it difficult for a Japanese to say "No" directly.

    In the USA, it is easy to say "No" to something one does not want to do. But in Japan, it is very difficult to say "No". To refuse an invitation or a request with "No" is felt to be impolite. It is thought to be selfish and unfriendly. So instead of saying "No" directly, the Japanese have developed many ways to avoid saying "No". These can help them avoid hurting other people's feelings. However, this often makes their ways of doing business rather difficult for foreigners to understand and follow.

    Thang-ga(唐卡）is a special kind of painting .It was found only in Tibet,China. It started from the Tang Dynasty(唐朝). Thang-ga paintings show Tibetan people's lives. In recent years, Tang-ga paintings have caught the public's attention .At the same time,the Chinese government has also tried hard to protect the art.

    The color of Tang-ga paintings looks wonderful and special. Because of the special environment of Tibet and the excellent skills of artists, the paints(颜料) used in Thang-ga are different from other paints. They were made from minerals like gold and silver, as well as some plants. The paints were made by hand and the beautiful colors could last(持续)for hundreds of years.

    However, with the development of technology, people now use cheaper and more easily-made chemicals to make Thang-ga paints. The traditional paints used in Thang-ga paintings took a lot of work and they were made in many secret ways. Later people stopped making the paints and forgot about them. So the skills needed to make them were almost lost. The traditional Thang-ga paintings are difficult to find now.

    Now people in England, the US and many other countries celebrate Mother's Day. Mother's Day is on the second* Sunday of May*. On this day, children give flowers, cards, chocolate and other things to their mothers, but they don't give money to them. And they also make presents for their mothers. And some of them get up early to cook breakfast for their mothers. They also help their mothers do housework. They want to show their love to their mothers. They know if* they have no mothers; they can't live a happy life.

    Many people in China celebrate this festival for their mothers because they want to show* their love to their mothers too. In every Chinese family, the mother looks after* the children, does the housework and cooks meals for the family, so she is quite hard-working and she is always busy in the family. Now more and more people celebrate Mother' Day in China.

    About more than a hundred years ago，an American produced a game. He called it indoor tennis. The Americans were not interested in it at first but he sent it to his friends in London and it became very popular in Britain. The game was then played across dining-room tables，or on the floor with the net strung between two chairs. The balls were made of cork（软木）or rubber. The bats（球拍）were made of wood.

    A few years later a hollow ball like the one we use today was invented. The game then quickly spread all over the world. An Englishman once made a bat covered with rubber. He first sold the game in England and called it "Ping pong". "Ping" was the sound of the bat when it hit the ball, and" IPong" was the sound of the ball when it hit the table.

 You and your family are planning a picnic for tomorrow. But you want to 1 the weather forecast(预报) first to see whether there will be rain or not. Your father turns on the television and the family listens to the2 make the weather report.

" It will be partly cloudy tomorrow morning,3 clear by early afternoon. The highest temperature tomorrow will be 25 degrees."

As there will be no rain, the whole family feels 4 . Without the weather forecast, you would not know this, and you would just have to take your 5 . But now, you can plan your picnic 6 worrying whether it will rain or not.

The man you can 7 for this is Cleveland Abbe. He is known 8 the father of the weather bureau(局). He was the first person to publish(出版)9 weather forecasts in the United States. Abbe began his daily weather bulletins(简报) in 1869. He was the first 10 forecaster of the US Weather Service. Because he often forecast probable storms, Abbe earned the nickname of" Old Probabilities".

There are many different festivals around the world. Usually we know about some traditional ones. But here are some special festivals in the world. Have you heard of them? 

The Straw (稻草) Bear Festival

It is a traditional celebration in one small town in the UK. It runs for three days every year in January. The festival celebrates the beginning of the agricultural year. People there enjoy watching bear dances. A few men wear straw bear costumes (演出服) and dance for others.

The Cologne Carnival (狂欢节)

It is one of Europe's biggest street festivals. It starts at 11:11 a. m. on November 11 and lasts till February 14 next year. Local people call the time the "crazy"season. During the festival, people put on colorful clothes and play music to celebrate it in the street. The festival has a history of 197 years. Each year, about 1.5 million people take part in it.

Day of the Dead

It is celebrated in Mexico every year between October 31 and November 2. It's not a scary day like its name. Instead, it's a colorful holiday. People believe the spirits of their ancestors (祖先) will return to the world of the living on that day. It's believed that sharing food and drinks keeps the spirits alive and the spirits can be with them in this way.