Birthdays are celebrated（庆祝）all over the world. Some ways to celebrate birthdays are rather similar from county to country：candles，cakes，and birthday wishes. But there are also different ways to celebrate birthdays. Here are a few：

    We all have ideas about what kinds of foods are good or bad to eat. As a result, people from one culture often think the foods that people from another culture eat are not accepted. Many people would find it terrible to eat mice, but there are forty-two different cultures whose people regard mice as proper food.

     Food likes and dislikes do not always seem related to nutrition. For example, broccoli is first on a list of the most nutritious common vegetables, but it is twenty-first on a list of vegetables that Americans like most to eat. Tomatoes are sixteenth on the list of most nutritious vegetables, but they are first on the list of vegetables that Americans like most to eat.

    But dislikes is not the only reason why some cultures will not eat a certain food. In some cultures, certain foods are taboo Taboo is a word from the language of the Fiji Islands that is used to describe something that is not allowed. We do not usually think about why certain things are taboo in our culture.

    One example is that Americans do not eat dogs, although people from some other cultures regard them as good food. In the United States, dogs are very important to people as pets. They are usually regarded as part of the family, almost like a child in some cases. What's more, dogs have value as protection against criminals. In fact, the dog's place in society as a company makes the dog taboo as food.Scientists believe that most food likes and dislikes are a result of the ways of life of different people. People will not eat pets such as dogs. Americans drink milk or eat a lot of beef because there is thousands of land for raising cows and their milk or meat can be shipped cheaply far away by train.

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China has been famous around the world since ancient times. In the past, we had the Four Great Inventions. Nowadays, more inventions and creations have made China stronger and greater in the world.

On May 5^th, 2017, at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China's first large homemade jet airliner(喷气式客机), the C919, took off successfully for the first time. It has taken about ten years for the scientists and researchers to make this Chinese dream come true, It's a pride of the whole nation. So far, more than 23 companies have already ordered 570 C919 planes from China. But we still have a long way to go before the C919 carries passengers by 2020. It also faces the challenge of competing with the Airbus A320 and the new Boeing B737.

What's more, China is working on the new high-speed trains with the highest speed of 400 km/h. It will be ready by 2020. The new trains are expected to push area cooperation(合作) and create new business for China and foreign countries. Many countries, especially the ones in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, are planning to build high-speed rail lines or to improve their railways with the help of China. They'd like to get support in technology from China.

China has made great progress in both science and technology. And it makes a great contribution(贡献) to human, too. All of these are changing the daily life of Chinese people, even of the people around the world.

    The great fire of London started in the very early hours of September 2, 1666. In four days, it burnt most of the old city. Many houses were wooden and close together, so they were burnt down. One hundred thousand people lost their homes.

    The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King's baker. But the baker, with his wife and family, got out through a window. A strong wind blew the fire from the baker's house into a small hotel next door. Then it was on fire everywhere. But that was only the beginning.

    By eight o'clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometre of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire burnt many well-known buildings. Old St. Paul's and the (Guildhall were among them.

    Samuel Pepys, a famous writer, wrote about the fire: People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until they died. Birds died because of the hot air.

    The fire didn't stop until the King asked people to push down hundreds of building in the way of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became small and died out at last.

    Many lives and things were lost after the fire, but London became a better place many years later.

    Table manners are how to behave when you eat a meal. They include how to handle knives, forks and spoons and how to eat in polite manners. To behave well abroad, you are to know some table manners.

    Eating manners

    Japan: It is "perfectly" okay to slurp when you eat noodles. Unlike making big noises, slurping slightly is not rude. Japanese also say it tastes better if you slurp.

    Russia: Your wrists should be placed on the edge of the table while eating, a fork in the left hand, and a knife in the right hand. It is not good manners to rest them on your lap. Keep your elbows of the table. Leave some food on your plate to show that the host has given you enough to eat.

    France: Never discuss money or religion over dinner. What is different from the manners in Russia is that finishing everything on your plate is considered good manners.

    Mexico: Whenever you catch the eye of someone who's eating, even a stranger, its good manners to say "provecho" which means enjoy. In Mexico, dining is more than a meal. It's a social occasion-lunches are seldom quick and suppers can last for hours. Where you sit matters in the country. Before you get seated, look for place cards, or wait until the host seats you. And you must say"enjoy your meal"before you leave the table.

    Drinking manners

    America: If you empty a bottle into someone's glass, it obliges that person to buy the next bottle. It's polite to put the last drops into your own glass.

    Australia: In a pub it's usual to buy a round of drinks for everyone in your group. When it's your turn, say "It's my round. "When it's their round, they will buy it for you. Don't leave before you' ve bought a round.

    Japan: Don't fill your own glass of alcohol. Instead, you should pour for others and wait for them to do it for you.