When we are talking about animals in China, the most precious (珍贵的) animal we would think of is the panda. In fact, we have one kind of bird as precious as the panda,1many people don't know much about it. The bird is called crested ibis (朱鹮) . It is as2as snow with a red face and looks very beautiful. It is also in danger like the panda.

Crested ibises3in tall trees by small rivers or rice fields. They look for small fish and4small animals for food. About one hundred years ago,5crested ibises lived in China, Russia and Japan. Later, as they lost their homes,6them was getting smaller and smaller. Between 1965 and 1980, people didn't see any of them living in the wild. Luckily, on May 23, 1981, scientists7seven of them in the south of Shanxi Province. 8protect crested ibises in the wild, the Chinese government is setting up nature parks and developing other plans. Now scientists are doing a lot of research to help them to9more babies. Today there are about 1,500 crested ibises living in the wild. Zoos and research centres10after about 500 crested ibises.

    In traditional Chinese medicine, food is divided (划分) into two types; hot and cold. Both kinds of food affect (影响) your body {#blank#}1{#/blank#} different ways, So, having 57. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} balanced diet is safe and {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (health) for your body.

    Some examples of hot food {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (be) berries, mutton, and ginger (生姜) . If you eat too much of them, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (certainly) things might happen to your body. You may start to sweat a lot and feel pain in your back, or even grow gray hair! If these things happen to you, you should avoid (避免) spicy food, coffee, or sugar.

    On  {#blank#}6{#/blank#} other hand, too much cold food like tomatoes and potatoes can also cause problems. It may make your hands and  {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (foot) cold. It also makes your body temperature lower.

    Besides what we eat, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} we eat is also important. You should always sit down and chew (咀嚼) carefully. Don't make {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (you) busy with other things, such as watching TV or {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (read) a newspaper. Finally, it's best to eat three meals a day at regular times.

    In America, the school day usually starts at 9 a.m. and finishes at about 4 p.m. The school subjects are different from1. In China, we always2Chinese, math, English, P.E. and so on. But in America, students have more3, such as cooking and driving lessons. Their school life isn't just4study. They also have more things to do than（比）Chinese students. There are many clubs（俱乐部） in American schools, 5. If the students are interested in sports, they6join different sports clubs. American students also have art clubs, language clubs and some7clubs. From 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., they do8things in these clubs.

    Maybe you think English is very popular in the world, so American students don't need to 9any other language.10that's not true. American children from the age of seven have to learn a foreign language. For example, they learn French or Chinese.

    Don't be too surprised if you see a car going down the road without a driver in Beijing these days. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Last month, Baidu began to test its self-driving cars on open roads in Beijing.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Since then, companies like Tesla, Uber and Baidu have been working to produce and test their own self—driving cars.

    Self-driving cars are safer than regular cars. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}They can remove the stress of driving and allow disabled or blind people to get around more easily.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}In one test, researchers pointed a laser pointer (激光棒) at the car's sensors (传感器) while it was moving. The car mistakenly thought that the laser beam was in its way and slowed down or changed the direction.

    The software that is used to direct the cars may not be safe enough. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}When we use our computers or smartphones, they sometimes crash (崩溃) without any reason. But if this happened to a self-driving car, the result could be deadly. Improvements to the software could be a solution to this problem.

Animals

    Corona viruses are common in animals. Sometimes, animals get infected (感染的) with these viruses which may then spread to human beings. To protect yourself, you should not visit live animal markets or have direct contact with wild animals. Stay away from raw meat, animal organs and other undercooked animal products.

    When an infectious pet was found in Hong Kong, some may wonder if one can get virus from their pets. Until today, there is no evidence that a dog, cat or any pet can transmit (传播) COVID-19. Please do not kill or give up pets!

Touching surface with virus

    Studies suggest that COVID-19 virus may stay on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. However, the number may change under different conditions such as type of surface, temperature or the environment.

    If you think a surface may be infected, clean it with ethyl alcohol (酒精). After touching it, clean your hands with alcohol or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose.

Package (包裹)

    Before delivering to your home, a package has been moved, travelled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature. Therefore, the possibility of being infectious because of your package from COVID-19-reported areas is rather low. There is no need to send your package back.

Smoking

    An article posted on Wechat recently says that cigarette can protect smokers from COVID-19 and thus make cigarettes sell very well. It is an online rumor (谣言)! As has been known, smoking harms people's health. It weakens the immune system and worsens diabetes and blood pressure. No smoking is still a must!

Transportation

    According to Feng Luzhao, an expert from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the major routes of transmission are still through respiratory droplets and direct contact. In order to protect yourself in underground station, wearing a mask and keeping your hands clean are good ways. People are also encouraged to use a personal transportation card or pay for the ticket via an app. After taking public transportation, washing hands is necessary.

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

　　In China guests are almost like 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 behaviour for a guest. 

　　My wife's mother is a very kind elderly Chinese lady who 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 but I must realize that she must not do that. In most North America 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 don't allow you to smoke in their house they are not a rude guest.

　　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 home 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.