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    How do you keep cool during summer? Air conditioners or electric fans are good tools in modern society. But1that, people could only use fans.

    Over 3,000 years ago, fans began to be used. They were made of feathers (羽毛), bamboo or silk. They came in different2, including round and square.

    Later, with the invention of paper, folding(可折叠的) paper fans became popular during the Song Dynasty. There are usually beautiful3on fans. Some are landscapes（风景）. Others are flowers and animals. Moreover, many great people including Su Dongpo, a poet of the Song Dynasty, and Tang Yin, scholar (学者) and painter of the Ming Dynasty, once painted their masterpieces (杰作) on fans. This made fans not only4tools in daily life but also great artworks.

    So, with its value ofbeauty, people take fans as a symbol of status （地位）. That's why in old China, emperors and scholars often held fans.

    Today, fans are also great collectors' items (藏品) and gifts. On the opening ceremony of the2008 Beijing Olympic Games, folding fans were   5to leaders and officials (官员 ) of othercountries. While they were6fans to get cool, they were also experiencing Chinese culture.

    British people are famous for apologizing (道歉) in almost every situation. 1we are apologizing for asking a question, for our bad weather or we sneeze before others (打喷嚏), we are probably the number-one nation for apologies. We pride ourselves on our polite 2 in public. As a result, we use the word "sorry" quite a lot—even when we don't really 3 it! Usually, if you want to ask someone for the time, you would start by saying "Sorry to bother you. Do you know the time?" If you're five minutes late for an appointment (约会), you would generally4 the person by saying "Sorry, I'm late! We use the word "sorry" in so many different situations that the meaning of the word has slightly 5 over time. The two main dictionary definitions (定义) of "sorry" are: feeling sad for someone else because of their problems or feeling regret because you've done something wrong. Usually, when you want to ask a stranger a question, you 6 with "Sorry to disturb you." In this situation, we aren't saying sorry because we feel sad for that person or because we feel regret. So what does "sorry" really mean? Well, in the British 7, saying "sorry" is a way to be polite, especially to people who you don't know very well. It's also a very8 way to get what you want. 9, an actor asked different people on a rainy day if he could use their mobile phones. When he asked one group of strangers without apologizing first, he was only 9 per cent successful in borrowing their phones. 10, when he apologized to another group about the bad weather before asking if he could use their mobile phones, he was 47 per cent successful. So maybe saying "sorry" is not just being polite, but it is also a good method to get what you want too!

    Body language is known as the "silent language" of every culture. It can be the key to 1 communication. We point a finger or move another part of the body to show what we want 2. It is important to know the body language of every country or we may 3. In the United States, people greet each other with a handshake in a formal introduction. The handshake must be firm. If the handshake is weak, it is considered 4 or unfriendly. Space is important to Americans. People in America usually stand two and a half 5 away when talking to each other, so they don't face each other 6. Americans get uncomfortable when a person stands too 7. They will move back to have their space. If an American touches another person 8, he says "Pardon me " or "Excuse me". Americans like to look the other person in the eye when they are talking. If you don't do so, it means you are bored or 9 something. But when you stare at someone for a long time, it is considered rude. Learning a culture's body language is sometimes very 10. If you don't know what to do, the safest thing to do is smile.

    Different people have different ideas about time. People in the US think that it is1to know the time. In cities in America, there are2in stations, factories and other buildings. Most Americans also have watches with them3they go. They want to do certain(一定的) things4certain times. They don't like to be

5.

    But time is not so important to6in the world. When you visit a country in South America, you will find that people there don't like to be in a hurry. If you have an appointment(约会) with somebody, he could7be late, because he may not want to arrive8.

    In South America, 9the radio programs may not begin on time. The men on the radio may not think it is important to tell the exact time. People in South America think that clocks or watches are just machines. They think that you10a clock or a watch control(控制) your life if you do everything on time.

April Fool's Day

    April Fool's Day is a western festival. No one 1 exactly when and how April Fool's Day began. However, there are some stories about2 it came into being. One story3 like this: in the sixteenth­century France, the start of the new year was on April first. It was celebrated 4much the same way 5 it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night.

    Then in 1562, Pope (教皇) Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. There were some people,6 who hadn't heard or didn't believe the 7 in the date, so they8 to celebrate New Year's Day on April first.9played tricks on them and called them "April fools". They tried to make them believe that something false was10. In France today, April first is called "April Fish". Frenchchildren fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' 11. When the "young fool"12this trick, the prankster (恶作剧者) shouts "April Fish！" 

    Today Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the first of April. One13trick on April Fool's Day is 14 down to a friend's shoe and saying, "Your shoelaceis untied." School children might tell a classmate that school has been canceled (取消).15the trick is, if you fail for the joke the prankster shouts "April Fool！"

    In Britain today, on the first of April, even 16newspapers, radio and TV programs tell big lies. You17 read a science18 showing that doctors have found a way to cure (治愈) AIDS, 19you would probably listen to a piece of news about a UFO20on an island.