Winter solstice, as the name shows, means the coming of winter. As an important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, it is also a traditional holiday for Chinese, which is also called “冬节”， “长至节”，“亚岁”, etc. Generally, winter solstice occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, five days constitutes a pentad and three pentads constitutes a solar term. One year is divided into twelve periods and twelve climates which are regarded as twenty-four solar terms. The Winter Solstice is one of twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the Northern Hemisphere the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is longest. . In Northern China during winter solstice there is a custom of eating dumplings.

    Basketball stars become hip-hop singers. It's true. In NBA, hip-hop music is very popular. Many of the players, like Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers, write rap(说唱) words when they travel on planes from one city to another. Some of them even have rap radio shows and others perform(表演) in music video.

    When some of the younger stars play basketball, they even try to look like hip-hop singers. “Hip-hop is just part of their culture,” says one player. “All of us grew up listening to rap and playing basketball, and rappers grew up doing the same thing.”

    Master P. is a famous rap star who wants to become a basketball player. Two NBA teams have invited him to join them. They enjoy listening to his music. An NBA player has become a rapper. He has made four successful rap albums(专辑).

    NBA has a closer connection to hip-hop than any other sports league.

    In the world, soccer of football is the most popular sport. This is because many countries have wonderful teams for the World Cup. The World Cup is held every four years.

    To remember 2002 FIFA World Cup ,children from different countries and more than 60 children from Japanese schools came together and spent three weekends drawing a big picture called “Dream(梦幻) World Cups ”in Japan .The children drew animals, flowers and people playing soccer under a bule bright sky. They wished each football team good luck by drawing the flags(旗帜)of all the countries that will take part in the World Cup in Japan and South Korea. The picture was put up in a park near a playground in Yokohama .Some football teams will have games there.

    Are you a football fan(迷)？The World Cup makeds more and more people interested in football Teenagers(青少年)like playing and watching football .Many of them love some football stars so much that they get the pictures of their favourite players on the walls of their rooms. That is the way to show their love for the World Cup as children in Japan.

    Different countries and different people have different manners. We must find out their customs so that they will not think us impolite. Here are examples of the things that a person with good education does or does not do.

    If you visit a Chinese family, you should knock at the door first. When the door opens, you will not move before the host says "Come in, please." After you enter the room, you would not sit down until the host asks you to take a seat. When a cup of tea is put on a tea table before you or sent to your hand, you will say "Thank you" and receive it with two hands, not one hand, or they will think you have ill manners. Before entering a house in Japan, it is a good manner to take off your shoes. In European countries, even though shoes sometimes become very dirty, this is not done. In a Malay (马来人的) house, a visitor never finishes the food on the table.

    He leaves a little to show that he has had enough. In England, a visitor always finished a drink or the food to show that he has enjoyed it. This will make the host pleased.

    "How are you?" is a nice question. It's a friendly way that people in the United States greet each other. But "How are you?" is also a very unusual question. It's a question that often doesn't have an answer. The person who asks "How are you?" hopes to hear the answer "Fine.", even if the person's friend isn't fine. The reason is that" How are you? "isn't really a question and "Fine." isn't really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying "Hello" or "Hi".

    Sometimes, people also don't say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone asks "Do you agree?", the other person might be thinking, "No, I disagree. I think you're wrong." But it isn't very polite to disagree so strongly, so the other person might say "I'm not so sure. "It's a nicer way to say that you don't agree with someone.

    People also don't say exactly what they are thinking when they finish talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone finish when one person says "I have to go now." Often, the person who wants to hang up gives an excuse, "Someone's at the door." "Something is burning on the stove." The excuse might be real, or it might not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn't want to talk any more, but it isn't polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn't hurt the other person.

    Whether they are greeting each other, talking about an idea, or finishing a talk, people often don't say exactly that they are thinking. It's an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it's a part of the game of language.