Living in the foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be confusing. A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences. They discussed that miscommunications were always possible, even over something as simple as “yes”and“no”.
     On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific, Lisa thought the waitress wasn't paying any attention to her. The day was hot she went into a store and asked, "Do you have any cold drinks?" The woman there didn't say anything. Lisa repeated the question again. Still the woman said nothing. She later learned that the woman had answered her: She has raised her eyebrows, which in Micronesia, it means, "yes".
     Jan remembered an experience she had in Bulgaria, a country in Europe. She went to a restaurant that was known for its cabbage. She asked the writer,“Do you have cabbage today?”He nodded his head. Jan waited, but the cabbage never came. In that country, a nod means "no".
     Tom had a similar problem when he arrived in India. After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood. They answered with different nods and shakes of heads. He thought some people hadn't understood, so he explained again. When he asked again, they did the same thing. He soon found out that his students did understand. In India, people nod and shake heads in different ways. It depends on where they come from.

    Harvard University is the oldest of all the colleges and universities in the United States. Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth all came after Harvard.

In the early years, these schools were nearly the same. Only young men went to college. All the students studied the same subjects, and everyone learned Latin and Greek. At that time, people knew little about science, and one kind of school could teach everything about the world. When the students graduated, most of them became ministers or teachers.

    In 1782, Harvard started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors. Later, lawyers could study in Harvard's law school. In 1825, besides Latin and Greek, Harvard began to teach modern languages, such as French and German. Soon it began to teach American history.

    As knowledge increased, Harvard and other colleges began to teach many new subjects. Students could choose the subjects that interested them.

Today, there am many different kinds of colleges and universities. Most of them are made up of smaller schools that deal with special fields of learning. There's so much to learn that one kind of school can't offer all.

    Long long ago，the youngest daughter of Emperor Yan went boating on the Eastern Sea. At first she had a good time，but later on she was too tired to swim when a strong wind rose on the sea and turned her boat upside down. She was thus drowned, but her spirit turned into a beautiful bird crying sadly in the sound “Jingwei, Jingwei”.

    Because she wanted to see her beloved father again and hated the sea so much，she put some stones into the sea day after day, without a rest, in order to change the sea into the land. From this story comes the saying “The bird Jingwei trying to fill the sea”. The story was a little sad. But it tells us something important. When we do anything, we have to work hard. Learning English is difficult but if you study hard, you can learn it well.

    Many people go to different countries and live in different places in their lifetime. In different countries, they may meet with different manners. Sometimes they are puzzled by the different manners, and perhaps they may make a joke about those manners. So when we go to a strange country, we should pay attention to something new or dissimilar. For example, most Westerners are not concerned about protocol(礼仪) in social matters. But there are a few table manners the Easterners should try to observe(遵守)at all times.

    To start with, put the napkin on your lap. It protects your clothes from food or is used to wipe your hands or mouth when necessary.

    Hold the knife in your right hand and the fork in your left hand, and cut the meat or fish into pieces as you eat. Always use your fork to put food into your mouth. Use your spoon only for soup or other liquids.

    Do not put your own utensils (fork, knife, spoon) into the serving bowl. Use the utensil in the bowl to put some of the food on your own plate. And then return the serving utensil to the bowl.

    Do not spit food anywhere. If you have hones in your mouth, take them out with your fingers and place them on the edge of your plate, never on the table or floor.

    Do not reach across the table or in front of another person. Ask someone to pass whatever you want.

    Do not sneeze, cough or blow your nose anywhere except into a handkerchief or Kleenex (纸巾). Then you throw it into a waste paper basket or garbage can. If you cough, try to cover your mouth with your hand.