Dear Mike，

      I'm so glad you're coming to China! Your mother，our foreign English teacher，told me you're worried about what you should and shouldn't do as a guest in China．Here's some advice．You will probably be invited to a big meal. You may find it earlier than you expect because Chinese people eat dinner much earlier than people in the West．There will be a lot of different dishes，not just three courses．You may find it difficult to use chopsticks if you haven't tried before．It's a good idea to get some practice．When the food is served，you should take time to look at it. The preparation takes a long time and everything will look beautiful．The plates will be placed in the middle of the table，for everyone to share．Take a little of everything and then have some more of the things you like．Chinese people like to talk about food，so it's a good topic of conversation．At the end of the meal，you will usually be served with fruit．Eat your fruit，thank your friends， and go．

      I hope this is helpful．E-mail me if you have any other questions． 

                                                                                                                              Yours，

                                                                                                                                   David Zhang

    Every year in early April, thousands of people in China visit the tombs(墓) of their parents, grandparents and ancestors. It is Tomb Sweeping Day, the traditional Chinese festival to remember the dead.

    Tomb Sweeping Day falls on April 4 this year. On the day, Chinese families will clean away the grass around the tombs. Then they burn paper money and put flowers and fruit in front of the tombs. They hope the dead can enjoy them and bring the family good luck.

    However, it is not only the Chinese who remember the dead, people in other countries also have festivals for the dead.

    In Japan, O-Bon festival is one of the most important festivals. It is held from Aug.13 to 16. It is also a holiday for a family reunion(团圆). During O-bon, Japanese people return to their hometown and visit their ancestors' tombs. They also believe their ancestors' spirits return home to be with their family. People danced a dance to welcome the spirits. On the last day of O-bon, they put paper lanterns in a river to say goodbye to the spirits.

    In Russia, people remember their ancestors on the Day of Rejoicing(欣喜).  It's usually in late April or early May. The name of this festival means birth and happiness. Russians believe that people shouldn't feel sad for the dead because death means birth in another world. On the day, Russian people draw beautiful pictures on eggs and put them in front of tombs. After that they have a picnic together. They hope for a good life for both the living and the dead.

    The Mid-Autumn Festival is a very important Chinese festival. It falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of lunar calendar. A few days before the festival, everyone in the family will help to make the house clean and beautiful. Lanterns will be hung in front of the house.

    On the evening of the festival there will be a big family dinner. People who work far away from their homes will try to come back for the reunion (团聚). After dinner, people will light the lanterns which are usually bright and round. Children will play with their own toy lanterns happily.

    At night the moon is usually round and bright. People can enjoy the moon while eating mooncakes which are the special food for this festival.

Father's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June in the US and the UK. Sonora Smart Dodd, a loving daughter from Spokane, had the good idea that society must celebrate a day to honour fathers, because they make important contributions to the raising of children.

    People celebrate the festival by honouring their fathers and expressing love to them by giving popular gifts like cards, flowers, chocolate and ties. Little children often give handmade gifts to their dads.

    Comics use drawings and words to tell stories that can be funny or serious, or a little of both. Comic books grew out of comic strips in newspapers.

    One of the most successful early comic characters in America was Mickey Dugan, better-known as "the Yellow Kid". He wore a yellow coat that was too big for him. He was a character in a comic strip which provided opinions on the problems of cities. The Yellow Kid first appeared in 1895. The character became so popular that it was also used to sell products and to create plays.

    Adventure stories in comic books were very popular during the 1930s- the time known as the Golden Age of Comics. Famous characters created during that time include the science fiction hero Flash Gordon and the detective Dick Tracy.

    The 1930s also gave us a superhero who came to Earth from another planet. Superman was a newspaper reporter for Daily Planet in the big city when he lived on the Earth. Superman became a hero of comic fans as he used his ability to fly to fight for "truth and jus tice(正义)". Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were seventeen when they created Superman in 1933. They sold the rights(版权) of the character to the DC Comics Company for one hundred and thirty dollars. That might be a lot of money to them at the time. But it was nothing compared to all the money made since then from Superman comics, radio and TV shows, movies and toys. Finally, in 1975, they wanted to get more for their creation. DC Comics agreed to pay each of them twenty thousand dollars a year for life. And it agreed to put their names as the creators of Superman in all future printed materials and films.

    What is a Chinatown? Is it a town in China? Of course not! It is in a foreign country. It is a place where many overseas Chinese live together. Chinatowns are throughout the world, including those in East Asia, Southeast Asia, North America, South America, Australia and Europe. The biggest one is in New York. There are about 150, 000 people in it. It is the home of Chinese New Yorkers. And it is also a good place to go.