As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let's look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse”, have negative(消极的)meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of people. In English, people use the dog to describe positive(积极的)actions. For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day” means each person has good 1uck one day. To describe a person's serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog-tired” means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel(冷酷的). There are many other examples of how “cat” is used differently as well.
The rose(玫瑰)is thought of as a symbol of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose stands for(代表)love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.
The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing(比较)how some words are used.

     As the years go by, the Italian community has found its place in Australia. One of the main reasons is the birth of a second generation(代). The children of migrants(移民) have grown up as Australians.

    Lucy's family is an example.

    Lucy's parents came from Italy in the1950s. Lucy was born in Sydney soon after her parents arrived in Australia. Lucy's parents were both workers. They spoke Italian at home. When Lucy went to school she had to learn English. Her mum and dad could speak just a little English. Athome it was always Italian. When she got a bit older, her mum and dad would askher to help them out when they didn't understand something in English.

    When she was growing up, her parentsdidn't allow her to do as much as her Australian friends. Her friends didn't understand why she couldn't go out and do things with them, or why she alwaysdid what her parents wanted! Lucy's parents spent a lot of time with otherItalians, mainly because it was much easier for them to communicate in Italian. Because of this, she spent more time with kids from Italian background.

     Things have changed since Lucy had children of her own. Lucy is not as strict as her parents were, so her own kids have more freedom(自由). They can move between the different cultures and feel easier in both cultures. They haven't had so many problems about their identities(身份). They see themselves as Australians with an Italian background and they're proud of their traditions.

    TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It is a set of meetings, held in various (不同的) cities around the world every year. TED meetings invite speakers to give reports on different topics. The speakers are from different parts of the world. They are usually experts in their fields and talk about new ideas and recent developments that are important to their work. The speakers are often also well-known with people such as Microsoft giant Bill Gates and the world-famous expert, Jane Good all, having given talks. There are many talks on environment and international development, aid work, and how to help poor people with all kinds of new ideas. There are also a number of talks about education and education reform (改革).

    As the talks cover a wide variety of topics, all speakers have a strict time limit — each report must last no longer than 18 minutes.

    Like all organizations, however, TED has had its downs as well as ups. Some people think the organization is turning intelligent members of the scientific and other communities into entertainers (表演者). What else, those who attend must be very privileged (有特权的) with tickets for TED events costing about $ 6,000 (or more).

    However, www.ted.com, the organization's website can make many great talks become accessible to everybody who has an Internet connection. Every weekday, a new video is uploaded (更新) from a TED event, allowing people around the world to listen to the talks for free. At only 18 minutes, even if the video is not that interesting, you know you are not going to waste too much time.

Most TED talks are in English but there are talks available in other languages, too. As a result, the site is excellent for practicing English and learning new vocabulary, especially in a topic that you find interesting and enjoyable.