Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset  1 your English friends don't invite you home. 2 doesn't mean they don't like you. Dinner parties usually start 3 7 and 8 p.m. and end at about 11 p.m.

    Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine 4 a gift.

    Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks. If you want to be extra polite, say how much you like the room, or the 5 on the wall. But remember－it's not polite to ask how much things 6.

    In many families, the husband sits at one of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.

    You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll 7 meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert, followed by 8. It's polite to finish 9 on your plate and to take more if you want it.

    Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, 10 write them a short "thank you" letter. British and American people like to say "thank you" all the time!

    November 21 is World Hello Day. At school, we learned that "How do you do?" and "How are you?" are standard ways to say hello when 1 others. But do you know how to respond (回答) them? Do native (本土的) speakers still use them today? As we learned, "How do you do?" is for greeting someone we meet for the 2 time. And it can be responded with the same " 3 ". "How are you?" is often used to greet someone we are 4 with. It usually follows with a response of "I'm fine, and you?" or "I'm well, and you?".

    But English is a casual (随意的) language. The formal "How do you do?" is seldom said by native speakers. It is 5 old-fashioned. Yet they greet each other in many other 6.

    You may hear a 7 between British people: "You all right?" "Yeah, you?" "I'm good. Any plans for the weekend?" or "How's it going?" "Yeah, fine, and you?" These ways of greeting are 8 for young people to say hello to friends.

    Americans like saying "What's up?" or "What's good?" to friends. Don't be confused (混乱的). It doesn't mean "What's wrong?". It is just one way of saying 9 And people usually respond "Not much." 10"Nothing.". "Hey, man." is also popular. But it is only used among males. What do females say? You guess it. They often say "Hey, 11.".

    If you 12 an Australian, you may hear "G'day, mate." It means " 13 " You can respond with the same "G'day."

    However, there is no 14 to say hello to each other. If you can't remember all of the above, just choose "How are you?". This is the15 common and standard way for people of all ages. You can reply with "Pretty good." "Same as usual." or "I'm hanging in there."

    There are many different traditional festivals in China. The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated 1 the fifth day of the fifth lunar month by 2zongzi and having dragon boat races.

    The festival began in the Warring States Period(战国时期), and has a3 of more than 2,000 years. The date of the festival is said to be the date 4 Qu Yuan died. He was a wise and upright(正直的) man, and was loved 5 people. He wanted the emperor of Chu6against the State of Qin by cooperating with the State of Qi,_7 he was refused and sent to the border area. During his stay there, he wrote8 poems to express his strong9 for Chu. On the day when Chu was defeated by Qin, Qu Yuan10into the Miluo River to express his strong love for his native land.

    After the11 of Qu Yuan, people of Chu went to the Miluo River to mourn(哀悼) for the  great12 they loved so much. Some threw rice wrapped in leaves into the river to feed the fish13 keep them away from Qu Yuan's body. Some doctors poured realgar (雄黄) wine14 the river to drive away snakes and other animals that might try to eat Qu Yuan.

    Now the Dragon Boat Festival has become a(n) 15 festival for Chinese people.