Different countries have different ideas about manners-how you behave when you are eating.In England,table manners are important.Good table manners in England are as follows:

★How to sit:You should sit up straight in your chair.It is not a good idea to lean(倾斜)forwards or backwards.When you eat, you should not lean towards the plate,but bring the knife,fork or spoon towards you.At the same time,do not out your elbows on the table,nor reach over someone's plate for something.

★Using your fingers:English people normally don't pick food up with their fingers when they are eating main courses.If you are not sure,the safest is to use your knife or fork.There are,however,some foods that are usually eaten with fingers.They include sanwiches,burgers,crisps and fruit.

★Your mouth:It is not polite to talk with your mouth full of food,or to eat with your mouth open.And if possible,do not make any noises.Never lick(舔)your plate after eating.

★How much to eat:It is polite to eat the food that you have been offered,so a clear plate is a good plate.It shows that you enjoyed the food.If you can't finish everything and need to leave a little,that's also okay.You could say something like“That was very nice,thank you,but I'm just too full to eat another bite.”

    In England, people often talk about the weather because they can have four seasons in one day. In the morning the weather is warm just like in spring. An hour later black clouds come and then it rains hard. The weather gets a little cold. In the late afternoon the sky will be sunny, the sun will begin to shine, and it will be summer at this time of a day.

    In England, people can also have summer in winter, or have winter in summer. So in winter they can swim sometimes, and in summer sometimes they should take warm clothes.

    When you go to England, you will see that some English people usually take an umbrella or a raincoat with them in the sunny morning, but you should not laugh at them.

    If you don't take an umbrella or a raincoat, you will regret (后悔) later in the day.

    In many parts of the world, farmers and their families live in villages or towns. In the United States, each farm family lives in its own fields. Usually their neighbors live far away. It's  hard for them to see each other on weekdays. Their children take school buses to the nearest school. These school are only for the farm families in this area. In some areas, there are small school for a few farm families, and the children can walk to school and often go home for meals.

    In Australia it is very different. Farmers live close to each other and their children can walk to school and often go home for meals.

    Life keeps changing for everyone.  Farmers keeps changing,too. Today there are cars, good roads, radios, television sets and there are modern machines for farming. All of them are changing farm life.

    In summer, it's common on the street to see many Chinese women holding parasols¹ to protect themselves from the sun.  But when Amy, an exchange student in Beijing from the US, first saw this, she found it strange, even impossible to understand.  She wrote on her blog, "Unlike Chinese women, American women like to put on their tank tops and sunglasses during summer. If you walk around an American college campus², you will probably see girls out on the grassy fields reading, but they really hope to get a head start on their summer tan³."

    This may be caused by the different standards of beauty between the US and China. Many Americans don't want white skin. They would rather be tanned³. Amy also wrote, "Having darker skin is so popular that many women and men will pay for fake⁴ tans so that they can keep their sun-kissed appearance during the winter months, too."

    Why do they like tanned skin? Michelle Louis reported in her research, "The process of tanning can help make people's skin smooth and hide marks." She further explained, "Tans make people's skin appear healthier and make them appear thinner than when they have pale skin."

    Perhaps there is no real ideal standard of beauty. In different cultures and at different times of history, the standards change. On Amy's blog, she also gave two examples: Some women carried parasols around trying to keep their white skin in the US 150 years ago; During the Tang Dynasty in China, heavy women were thought attractive. But now, Chinese women prefer to be slim.

    In a word, different standards of beauty should be respected. People may grow up with only one idea of what beauty is, but it doesn't mean that it's necessarily the correct or the best idea.

New words:

①parasol n. umbrella used to protect people from the sun 阳伞

②campus n. grounds of school, college or university校园

③tan n. the brown colour of sun-kissed skin 晒成的棕褐

④become brown by the sun 晒成棕褐色，晒黑

⑤fake adj. not real 假的