As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let's look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse”, have negative(消极的)meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of people. In English, people use the dog to describe positive(积极的)actions. For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day” means each person has good 1uck one day. To describe a person's serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog-tired” means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel(冷酷的). There are many other examples of how “cat” is used differently as well.
The rose(玫瑰)is thought of as a symbol of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose stands for(代表)love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.
The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing(比较)how some words are used.

    Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning oi a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.

    In Western countries, people usually celebrate the New Year at midnight on December 31st--January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal clothes, and they may drink champagne (香槟) at midnight. During the first minutes of the New Year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead.  But some cultures prefer to celebrate the New Year by waking up early to watch the sunrise. They welcome the New Year with the first light of the sunrise.

Many cultures also do special things to get rid of (摆脱) bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, In Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh (重新). Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the New Year.

    Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year.  One widespread Spanish tradition for good tuck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at the New Year. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas for good luck--but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them!

    English has become a world language. So which country, except English-speaking countries, speaks English best? And where does China rank(排名)?

    The Netherlands(荷兰) ranked first, followed by Denmark and Sweden. The rankings are based on English reading and listening test results of 950, 000 people from 72 countries and areas.

    The English level in China is still low, ranking 39^th. In China, people in Shanghai are the best English speakers. They speak better English than Italians and French. Hong Kong and Beijing follow Shanghai as China's next best English-speaking cities.

    Shanghai and Beijing rank high because they are international cities. However, across China, English level is different from east to west. China has 400 million English learners, reported China Daily. However, the teaching of English in some areas is not very good. According to the People's Daily Online, there are seventy primary schools in Shetianqiao town in Hunan, but only one English teacher. Many students still learn English by rote memorizaton(死记硬背).

    Sebastian Magnusson, an officer at the Swedish embassy(瑞典大使馆) in Beijing, gave some advice. Swedish people speak English well and Magnusson himself is also fluent in Chinese. He said TV programs, movies and even computer games could be learning tools. “Do not limit(限制) it to textbooks. What matters most is to use what you've learned,” Magnusson said.

    According to this passage, which country can speak English best not including

The first computer came out in 1946. It was very1 and it worked slowly. Today computers are much smaller and2 faster. What can computers do? A writer said, "People can't live3 computers today."

The4 came a little later than computers. It is about 25 years5 than computers. But now it is almost6 . We use it to read books, do some shopping, play computer games or make friends. Many students use the Internet quite often. They7 online and maybe they never know these people. They don't know their8 names, ages and work. They are so interested in making the "unreal friends" that they can't put their hearts into9 . Many of them become poorer (更糟糕) in subjects than before10 that.

Computers and the Internet let us learn more about the world, but we should remember that they can't do anything.