On Christmas Eve─the night before Christmas Day─children all over Britain put a stocking at the end of their beds before they go to sleep. Their parents usually tell them that Father Christmas will come during the night.

    Father Christmas is very kind and hearted. He gets to the top of each house and climbs down the chimney into the fireplace. He fills each of the stockings with Christmas presents.

    Of course, Father Christmas isn't real. In Jim and Kate's house, "Father Christmas" is really Mr Green. Mr Green doesn't climb down the chimney. He waits until the children are asleep. Then he quietly goes into their bedrooms and fills their stockings with small presents. When they were very young, Mr Green sometimes wore a red coat. But he doesn't do that now. The children are no longer young, and they know who "Father Christmas" really is. But they still put their stockings at the end of their beds.

    If someone asks me "Do you like music?" I'm sure I will answer him or her, "Of course, I do." Because I think music is an important part of our lives.

    Different people have different ideas about music. For me, I like rock music because it's so exciting. And my favourite rock band "the Foxy Ladies" is one of the most famous rock bands in the world. I also like pop music. My classmate Li Lan loves dance music, because she enjoys dancing. My best friend Jane likes jazz music. She thinks jazz is really cool.

    "I like dance music and rock music very much, "says my brother, "because they are amazing."

    But my mother thinks rock music is boring. "I like some relaxing music, "she says. That's why she likes country music, I think.

    All through the winter, the Esquimaux（爱斯摩）live in houses made of snow. These small houses are very clean and white when they are new. They can soon turn dirty, but pieces of fresh snow make them new again.

    Sometimes the Esquimaux build their small houses with the wood that they find along the seaside. However, they aren't always so lucky. When they can't get wood, they use the snow. It is so cold that the snow becomes very hard, so the small houses are strong enough in the whole winter. The windows of these houses are not made of glass, but of ice.

When the warm weather comes, the houses become water slowly. The Esquimaux get wet as they lie in bed, and often catch a cold. They are glad to get away from the small snow houses and live in their tents during the summer.

    In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts and the worst guests in the world. They are not really bad guests, but because the guest-host relationship in China is different from that in some western countries, it appears they are not nice guests. And Western hosts sometimes look rude in the eyes of Chinese guests.

    In China, guests are the most important people. Whenever I enter a Chinese person's home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. But in the west, acting according to the host's way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.

    My wife's mother, a very kind elderly Chinese lady, doesn't smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house, as a non-smoker, I feel unhappy. I usually want to stop them directly, but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In most North American homes, if you are a guest, and the host are not smokers, you should not smoke in their house. At the very least, you could ask, "Is it Ok if I smoke here?" But, don't be surprised if they say, "No, you can't smoke." In our culture, if you smoke in their house, you are a bad guest, but if they don't allow you to smoke in their house, they are not a rude host.

    Guests in China also have special habits. Some Western people may not adapt to these habits very soon. Thankfully my wife is Chinese, so whenever we visit a Chinese family she tells me to buy them a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite international guests to your house, don't be too surprised if they don't bring you a gift.

    In China, you probably won't need to change the guest-host relationship very much because you will probably only be the host, and Chinese are naturally very good hosts. If Western hosts invite you to their house, try not to be too surprised if their style of treating you is not what you have expected.