Welcome to England! The weather of England is very changeable. It can be rainy, sunny, windy, warm, foggy or cold at any time of year. If it's raining when you get up in the morning, it can be hot and dry by the afternoon. The west of England is wetter than the east, and the north is cooler than the south. Just be ready for any kind of weather.

    In England, shops are usually open from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm. On Sundays, some shops are open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. But a lot of shops are closed. Banks, museums of other places are open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. You can go to the parks at anytime.

All the cities have buses, trains and taxis. People wait in line for buses and they are unhappy if you push in at the front. Don't forget this—traffic goes on the left. Be careful!

Notice to the Tourists

★Just be ready for any kind of {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, it's changeable.

★Shops are usually open from {#blank#}2{#/blank#} to 5:30 pm. On Sundays most of them are closed.

★At any time you can go to the {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

★Please wait in line for buses, or others will be {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

★Make sure to drive on the {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, or it will be very dangerous.

Dear Wang Fang,

    Thank you for your letter. You wrote to ask me about American social customs(风俗) in their dinner party. You are asking the right person. I once lived in America for five years. Now I'll tell you something about it.

    It's a good idea to bring a small present when you go to a dinner party. Flowers are always nice, or you may bring a bottle of wine if you know that your friends drink it.

    You should arrive(到达) on time or five minutes late. Don't get there early. If you're going to be more than fifteen minutes late, you should call before.

    Try to be free at the dinner table. If you don't know about choosing(选择) the right fork or knife, just watch the other people, and follow them. If you still have no idea of what to do, ask the person beside you .

    If you like the food, say so. Of course, you'll thank them for the meal and for their kindness. It's also a good idea to send a card to thank them the day after.

Rose

Answer the following questions with No More Than 5 Words

    Helen has always been interested in helping her community (社区). Her first volunteer experience was for the American Red Cross when she was in high school. When she was a school teacher, she also found time to volunteer.

    After she retired (退休), she started volunteering to help the old. When her father was older, he was not able to see as well as he used to, which made her sad because he had always enjoyed reading. She decided it would be fun to read to elderly people in her community.

    She also helped one woman write her stories. Ann was almost 100 years old, and Helen wrote down information about her life when she visited her. She put the information in a book and got it published (出版), Ann was very excited to share her life story with her children and grandchildren.

    After a strong storm hit some southern cities, Helen volunteered again for the American Red Cross. She prepared food and answered phones in a care centre.

    One day Helen read an article in the newspaper about refugees (难民) who needed to learn English. She met once a week with Sahra, a 38-year-old woman from Somalia. Helen gave Sahra a camera and asked her to take pictures of her daily life. In the end, they wrote a book together and used the photos in the book. This helped Sahra learn many new words about her everyday life.

    Helen says, "The real value of my volunteer work is becoming friends with the people I help. They enrich my life as well as I enrich theirs."

    Country music is very popular in America. It is a traditional kind of music from the southern states of America. At first, people played country music only at family parties. When people in the countryside moved to towns and cities to look for jobs, they took their music with them. With country music continuing to change, it became popular throughout America. John Denver was one of the most famous country singers in America 50 years ago. His song Take Me Home, Country Roads is well-known and people still play in today.

    Pop music is another kind of musical style. Pop music can make people feel happy and comfortable. Pop music has been popular since the 1950s. In China, Jay Chou is liked by a large number of fans of all ages. He sang many songs about the world we live in. One of them is Dao Xiang, which encourages people not to give up even when life is difficult.