Having Fun "Growing" and "Stealing"？
Recently, an Internet game has become a new fashion among young office workers and students．People can "farm" on a piece of "land" and "grow", "sell" or even "steal" "vegetables", "flowers" and "fruits" on the Net. They can earn some e-money and buy more "seeds", "pets" and even"houses".
Joyce interviewed some young people. Here are their opinions．
Harold：I don't quite understand why they are so mad about the childish game; maybe they are just not confident enough to face the real world.
Allan：I enjoy putting some "bugs" in my friends' gardens and we've become closer because of the game．Having fun together is the most exciting thing about it．
Laura：You know, people in the city are longing for(渴望) the life in the countryside．It reduces my work pressure(压力)；besides, it gives me the exciting experience of being a "thief"．
Ivy：  Well. it's just a waste of time．Teenagers playing the game spend so many hours on it that they can not focus on (专注于)their study.

      Reality TV (真人秀电视节目 ) is very popular in the UK. These programmes give us a good look into the lives of different people in Britain. Also they are a very cheap way to make programmes. Here are some of them.

Strictly Come Dancing

In the show some famous people learn to dance with a professional dancer. Four professional dance experts give them scores and comments (评论) about their dances. After that, the public vote(投票) for their favourite couple. The two least favourite have to dance again and the judges decide who stays in the competition and who leaves. This show is very popular with people of all ages in the UK.

Come Dine with Me

      Each week four people prepare dinner in their home for the other players. Each player then gives the cook a grade out of 10 for the food. The winner gets￡1,000. Sometimes the food is terrible and the players are very rude to each other.

World's Strictest Parents

      Badly behaved British teens are sent abroad to live with a super strict family for a week. The teenagers have to follow the rules of their host family and go to the local school. After seven days the teenagers return home and their parents tell us whether their behaviour is better or not. There is often a lot of cries and shouts in this show but it can be worth watching too.

    December 25 is Christmas Day(圣诞节). Christmas is an important holiday in many countries. On Christmas Day, most families get together for a big dinner. They give presents to each other and visit friends. The Christmas tree is an important part of the Christmas holiday. Most families buy trees. The families decorate(装饰) the tree together. Parents usually tell their children that Father Christmas comes during the night and brings presents to good children. Of course, Father Christmas isn't real. The parents of the children are really "Father Christmas". They put the presents under the tree or into their children's stocking(长统袜) after the children go to sleep.

    In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts(主人) and the worst guests in the world. They're not really bad guests, but because the guest- host relationship in China is much more different than in some Western countries, it appears they are not nice guests. And Western hosts sometimes look rude (粗鲁的) in the eyes of Chinese guests.

    In China, guests are almost likes gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese person's home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. In the West, generally the guest is not a god. Acting according to the host's way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.

    My wife's mother, a very kind elderly Chinese lady, doesn't smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house, as a non - smoker, I feel unhappy. Usually I want to stop them directly ( 直接地), but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In North American homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are not smokers, you should not smoke in their house. At the very least, you could ask, "Is it OK if I smoke?" But, don't be surprised if they say, "No, you can't smoke." In our culture, if you smoke in their home, you are a bad guest, but if they do not allow you to smoke in their house, they are not a rude host.

    Guests in China also have special habits. Some Western people may not adapt to these habits very soon. Thankfully my wife is Chinese, so whenever we visit a Chinese family she tells me to buy them a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite international guests to your house, don't be too surprised if they don't bring you a gift.

    In China, you probably won't need to change the guest -host relationship very much because you will probably only be the host, and Chinese are naturally very good hosts. If Western hosts invite you to their house, try not to be too surprised if their style of treating you is not what you have expected.