People use their mouths for many things. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word "mouth". But some of them are not so nice.

    Sometimes, people say something to a friend or a family member. Later they regret because it hurts that person's feelings. Or they tell the person something they didn't mean to tell. The speaker might say: "I really put my foot in my mouth this time."

    Sometimes when one person is speaking, he says the same thing that his friend is going to say. When this happens, the friend might say: "You took the words right out of my mouth!" Sometimes a person has a bad or sad experience with another person. He might say that experience "left a bad taste in my mouth." Or the person possibly has a very frightening(可怕的）experience, like having an angry dog running after him. He might say: "I had my heart in my mouth."

    Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. You might say the person "was born with a silver spoon (银勺) in his mouth". He is the opposite of a person living from "hand to mouth". This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food. 

    As we know, there are differences between Western culture and Chinese culture. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Let's look at some 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 bad meanings. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. In English, people use the dog to describe good 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 luck sometimes. To describe a person's serious illness, they say "sick as a dog". The word "dog­tired" means very tired.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. But in Western culture, "cat" is often used to describe a woman who is unkind. There are many other examples of how "cat" is used differently as well.

   {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. People think the rose stands for love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

A. However, Chinese love cats very much

B. The words about plants and animals are used in good or bad ways in different cultures

C. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used

D. However, westerners love cats very much

E. We can see similarities when we pay attention to the way words are used

F. The rose is regarded as a symbol of love in both China and some Western countries

G. But in Western countries, dogs are considered to be honest and good friends of humans

    Cinyee Chiu, an artist from Taiwan, is always happy to try something new. Her amazing works won lots of prizes. Among them, "24 Solar Terms(节气)" is the most popular.

    Ancient Chinese divided a year into 24 parts according to the changes of the weather. It's the 24 solar terms. But not everyone knows them well. Cinyee Chiu put the 24 solar terns in pictures to help people understand them better.

    Cinyee turned each solar term into an animal. But these animals are not just animals. You can also find seasonal fruits, vegetables or beautiful flowers on them.

    When spring comes, water gets warm and fish start to swim around. So Cinyee chose fish as a symbol of Start of Spring. Also, she drew spring vegetables, Chinese chives on the back of the fish.

    White Dew falls on about Sept. 8. It shows the beginning of the cool autumn. There are colorful leaves and cooler nights at this time of year. As the temperature falls, white dew(露珠) is often seen on the grass and trees at night. For White Dew, Cinyee chose a raccoon—a small animal with thick hair. She drew white spots(小圆点) on the raccoon to show dew. And she used the dragon fruit to show the rich colors in autumn.

    The young artist really gave the ancient Chinese culture a new look.

    Many of us buy things from vending machines(自动售货机). Most machines sell food and drinks. But this one is special. It sells novels.

    You can see the special vending machines in France. You can find them easily in many places such as airports, train stations and shopping malls.

    The vending machines sell lots of novels. The novels are not the same. Some are long and some are short.

    It's easy to get a novel from the vending machines. First, you need to choose your reading time: 1 minute, 3 minutes or 5 minutes. Then, a piece of paper will come out of the vending machines. Finally, take away the paper and it is the novel you want.

    Lots of young people like the special vending machines. They say the novels from the vending machines can help them pass the time. They don't want to use their mobile phones to read novels. They prefer to read novels on paper.

    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 dogs, for example, a homeless dog, a mad dog and a dog catching a mouse, have negative meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive 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 luck sometimes. 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.

    The rose is regarded as a symbol of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose means 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 how some words are used.