One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese girl student ,"You speak very good English. "But the girl answered, "No, no. My English is very poor". The foreigner was quite1at the answer. Thinking he had not made2understood or the girl had not3him clearly, he said, "Yes, indeed, you speak very well. "4the girl still kept saying,

    "No. "In the end, the American boy could not understand and didn't know 5to say.

    What's wrong with the girl's answer? She didn't6a compliment (恭维)in the same way as the American people do. She should answer, "Thank you" instead of "No". She7 understood what the American boy had said, but she thought she should be modest(谦虚的).

    In the8,people will feel proud and 9when they are praised(表扬).So if someone says the 10you have cooked are very delicious, you shou ld say , "Thank you. "

    In our country we think being modest is a virtue(美德)and being proud is a bad thing.

    But in my opinion, being confident does not 11 being proud, so sometimes you should be confident 12being modest.

     13you are modest and say, "No , I'm afraid I can't do it well" ,while working in a western country, the others may think that you really cannot do it. If you often s ay "No", you will certainly be looked down upon by 14. When asking for a job, if one says something  like "Yes, I can certainly do it" instead of "Let me have a try" ,he or she will 15 to get it.

    So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence.

    You often see people in movies celebrating a white Christmas in England or the United States. But Christmas in Australia is very different.

    The holiday is on December 25. It 1at the hottest time of the year in Australia. The temperature is usually about 30℃ in most cities and can even be 240℃ There is certainly no 3  Christmas in

Australia!

    Because it is so hot, the tradition is to have a lunch outside and to   4 in the pool or beach. Most people have a one - week holiday during this time. So they will travel to meet their family for Christmas 5Christmas lunch is usually a big meal of ham, turkey, salad and fresh seafood. Family members all cook 6 different to bring to the meal.   7presents from "Santa Claus" always makes children very excited. They often play 8with the other family members. The sport of cricket (板球) is very 9 in Australia and another tradition is to play a game of cricket in the garden.

    It is still a very exciting and fun time of the year in Australia 10 there isn't a white Christmas.

    Have you ever watched the dragon dance? How much do you know about the dragon dance? Today we will say something about it.

    Dragon are a (n) 1 of China and the dragon dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture. In the dance, a team of people 2 the dragon and perform wonderful dances. 3 the lion dance, this traditional dance has spread all over China and to the whole world.

    Traditionally, dragons are made of wood, bamboo and a special kind of cloth. So they are always quite4However, in modern times, dragons are much lighter5 they are made of much lighter materials. A dragon can be of different lengths. It can be from 25 to 35 metres long for quite large parades because people 6 that the longer the dragon is, the more luck it will bring. A small group cannot control a very long dragon because it7great strength and special skills.

    The dragon dance itself 8 during the Han Dynasty and it was started by the Chinese who had great respect for the dragon. The dragon dance was already a popular event by the Song Dynasty. At that time, people could 9see it during important festivals. In the Qing Dynasty, the Dragon Dance Team of Fuzhou was invited to give a 10 in Beijing.  And the emperor spoke highly of it!

    Ask your foreign friends or teachers whether they experienced" culture shock" upon moving to China. 1 are, they did.

    According to a survey, eighty-five percent of international students have had culture shock. Culture shock is a broad term for the series of personal difficulties that people go through in new places, for the surrounding environment is so different from that where they grow up. It's usually most extreme for those who can't speak the language of the place to which they have 2 or for those who aren't familiar with the social rules, such as what you should do if you meet people for the first time. Both of these things happened to me in China when I moved there in 2011.

    So as you can imagine, naturally, I went through the four well-known3 of culture shock: honeymoon, distress, re-integration and autonomy.

    When I arrived at first, I was 4 and. optimistic, I thought I was well-prepared for this new life in the new country, and I was eager to find out what I was going to experience later. But quickly I became upset by the cultural differences I encountered, missing how things5 back home.

    By the end of my first year, I had totally lost my self-confidence; I was a bitter, clumsy and sensitive person, and I blamed China for making me that way.

    Then, in my second year, I started to6 some language skills, and I found fun activities to do in my spare time, I made great foreign and Chinese friends, and with their help, I tried hard to learn to appreciate the beauty of Chinese history and culture, which was the thing I always wanted to achieve. To my delight, I succeeded in 7 an interest in them. And afterwards, I learned to consider myself a confident and happy laowai.

    Today I'm back in the US, where I'm pursuing a PhD at a university in my hometown. It's been a little 8to readjust to life in my home country, I suffered at first from "reverse" culture shock, experiencing the four stages in the opposite order.

    I started out feeling independent and self-confident, before slowly realizing that I knew my country much less well than I used to. I'd complain loudly about little things, like how I could no longer shout "fuwuyuan!" to get waiters'9 to let them know that I was ready to order in a restaurant.

    But eventually, I came to realize that what I had thought was my "home" had become an entirely new place while I'd been away. That, by itself, was exciting.

    The 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar (农历) in China is the Lantern Festival.

    It's an important 1 in China. Chinese people celebrate it in many ways. In the evening there are different 2 shows in parks and streets. Lanterns are often red 3 the Chinese think red stands for (代表) happiness and good luck. People 4 different lanterns out of paper and other things. Some are in the 5 of rabbits, birds and boats. Some are in the shapes of dragons and cartoon stars. There are 6 lanterns here and there. In some cities, such as Suzhou, there is 7 a big lantern show at night, and many people come to enjoy it every year.

    8 are special food for the festival. Families always get together and 9 a big meal. After that, people go out to 10. They often sing and dance happily late until midnight.