Hello, friend!
My name is Rose. I'm an English girl. I'm twelve. I'm from London. Now I'm in Sydney. Do you know Sydney? It's a big city in Australia（澳大利亚）. I'm in No.1 Middle school. I'm in Class Two, Grade One.
There are forty students in our class--21 girls and 19 boys. My teachers are nice to me. I like drawing and running. My family are in Sydney, too. My father is a doctor. My mother is a worker in a shop. They're busy（忙）
I like China. Please write to me soon.
Yours ,

Rose

C

    Although people everywhere seem to enjoy drinking coffee, they don't all have the same coffee culture. In Europe, for example, coffee shops are common places for people to meet friends and to talk while they drink coffee. On the other hand, places like this were not as common in North America in the past. Instead, people in North America liked to drink coffee in their homes with friends. The coffee culture in the USA changed when Starbucks (星巴克) coffee shops spread across the country.

    The first Starbucks coffee shop opened in 1971 in downtown Seattle, Washington, in the USA. It was a small coffee shop that cooked its own coffee beans. The coffee shop's business did well, and by 1981 there were three Starbucks stores in Seattle.

    Things really began to change for the company in 1981. That year, Howard Schultz met the three men who ran Starbucks. Schultz worked in New York for a company that made kitchen equipment. He noticed that Starbucks ordered a large number of special coffee makers, which caused his great interest. Schultz went to Seattle to see what Starbucks did. In 1982, the original Starbucks owners hired Schultz as the company's head of marketing (市场营销).

    In 1983, Schultz traveled to Italy. The special environment of the espresso (浓咖啡) bars there caught his eyes. Back in the USA, Schultz created an environment for Starbucks coffee shops that was comfortable and casual, and customers everywhere seemed to like it. Starbucks began opening more stores across the USA. Then the company opened coffee shops in other countries as well. Today, there are more than 16,000 Starbucks coffee shops all over the world.

    However, that does not mean Starbucks has not had problems. In fact, many Starbucks stores have closed over the past few years. On the one hand, this is because there were too many coffee shops competing for business in one small area. On the other hand, stores in some countries closed because the coffee culture there did not match with the "feel the same everywhere" environment offered by Starbucks.

    One of the things to be learnt in a foreign language is guessing all the time what kind of thing to come when listening to someone talking. People do this all the time in their own language, so it is necessary (必要的) to do this in a foreign language, too. Here are some examples.

    ⒈"What's the matter?" "I went to a party last night, so I…"

    ⒉"I feel so tired these days."" I think you'd better…"

    ⒊"Of course, she never stops talking. She is one of the most…"

    You can see from the above three examples that the context (上下文) helps a lot in understanding what is being talked about. So "guessing "is very important in understanding English, especially (尤其)spoken English.

    People in different countries greet each other in different ways. Here are some.

    The United States

    People shake hands when they meet for the first time. Friends and family members often hug or kiss on the cheek(脸颊)when they see each other.

    Korea(韩国)

    Men bow and shake hands to greet each other. Women do not usually shake hands. If you call someone, you use his or her full name. The family name comes first; then the first name.

    Finland(芬兰)

    Finns (芬兰人) greet each other with a handshake. Hugs and kisses are only for close friends and family members.

    The Philippines(菲律宾)

    The everyday greeting for friends is a handshake for both men and women. Men sometimes pat(轻拍) each other on the back.

    At Christmas, different countries celebrate Christmas in different ways. Here are some interesting activities in different countries.

Australia

    ⒈Read poems and stories with Australian Christmas themes.

    ⒉List the traditional food eaten at Christmas at home.

    ⒊Ask five people what they think the meaning of Christmas is and record their answers.

Germany

    ⒈In German kitchens, lots of desserts are baked for the holidays!

    ⒉Traditionally on Christmas Eve, the father decorates the tree alone in the morning. The mother spends the morning decorating the home and cooking a small meal. Some choose to serve a salad or a potato salad with some meat.

    ⒊The family goes to church in the morning and comes home to have their Christmas dinner. Friends or relatives are often invited to join them. Those who could not be invited the day before can then come on this day to celebrate with the family.

Canada

    ⒈When you hear Christmas songs in public, smile and sing along.

    ⒉Put Christmas lights on your house. Hang mistletoe(槲寄生) and some flowers in the doorway.

    ⒊Go with your family to the local Christmas tree farm to cut down your own or buy a Christmas tree. Pick out a Christmas tree that fits your house.