Many, many years ago most people did not have beautiful books. Some families did not have books at all. The people 1 did have books had only a few.

    Instead of 2 books, people told stories. They would remember things 3 happened to them and would retell these tales to friends.

    Some stories you read in books today 4 to children many years ago by their fathers and mothers. 5 those girls and boys grew up, they, in turn, told their children the same tales.

    Sometimes the stories changed as one man told 6. That is why today there are different beginnings and different endings to the same folk tales. You 7 different names for all kinds of characters in the different versions(版本) of the tales. In this way the stories almost seem 8 different ones and not your favorite tales at all.

    Some people 9 stories. They would suppose 10 things which had happened could not really have happened. Such people became 11 as storytellers.

    In many of the tales, animals did the talking. In others, good men came to help bad men.

    Strange, exciting things 12. The different ideas made interesting stories.

    Some of the early tales, 13 them Mother Goose verses were told in rhyme. The poems were learned by boys and girls at home and at school.

    What Mother Goose rhymes do you know and remember? Do you think there was 14 a Mother Goose? Mother Goose stories and rhymes are 15 good ones that we read and enjoy them today, years after they were first told.

    One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese girl student ,"You speak very good English. "But the girl answered, "No, no. My English is very poor". The foreigner was quite1at the answer. Thinking he had not made2understood or the girl had not3him clearly, he said, "Yes, indeed, you speak very well. "4the girl still kept saying,

    "No. "In the end, the American boy could not understand and didn't know 5to say.

    What's wrong with the girl's answer? She didn't6a compliment (恭维)in the same way as the American people do. She should answer, "Thank you" instead of "No". She7 understood what the American boy had said, but she thought she should be modest(谦虚的).

    In the8,people will feel proud and 9when they are praised(表扬).So if someone says the 10you have cooked are very delicious, you shou ld say , "Thank you. "

    In our country we think being modest is a virtue(美德)and being proud is a bad thing.

    But in my opinion, being confident does not 11 being proud, so sometimes you should be confident 12being modest.

     13you are modest and say, "No , I'm afraid I can't do it well" ,while working in a western country, the others may think that you really cannot do it. If you often s ay "No", you will certainly be looked down upon by 14. When asking for a job, if one says something  like "Yes, I can certainly do it" instead of "Let me have a try" ,he or she will 15 to get it.

    So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence.

    You may know the English letters A, B and C. But do you know there are 1 called ABC? You may like eating bananas. But do you know there is such a thing as a "banana person"? How 2 ! Are these people from "another earth"? No, they are just Chinese people 3 you and me.

    ABC means(意思是) American-born-Chinese. 4 ABC is a Chinese, but was born in the United States. Sometimes, people 5 an ABC a "banana person". A banana is yellow outside and white inside. 6, when a person is a banana, he or she is white inside—living like a Westerner and yellow outside—7 like a Chinese.

    Do you know why? Usually, ABCs know 8 about China or the Chinese language(语言). Some of them don't 9 Chinese. But if ABCs can't speak Chinese, can we still call them Chinese people? Yes, of course. They are Chinese. They are overseas(海外的) Chinese. These people may be citizens(公民) of another 10 like the USA, Canada or Singapore. But they have Chinese blood(血统). Their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents were from China. They all have black eyes and black hair. But they are not Chinese citizens. For example, we all know the famous scientist Ding Zhaozhong. He got the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1976. Chinese people love him. But he is an American citizen.

    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.

    We call Chinese New Year Spring Festival. There is a name 1each Chinese year. We may call it the Year of the 2, the Year of the Monkey, the Year of the Dog...

    Before Chinese New Year, people are 3 shopping and 4 their houses. On Chinese New Year's Eve, there is a big family dimmer. After" dinner, all the family members stay up late to 5 the new year. On the 6 day of the new year people put on their 7 clothes and go to visit their friends and relatives. They say "8" and some other greetings to one another. People 9 have a very good time 10 the festival.

    Dinner customs (习俗) are different around the world. If you are a guest in Ghana (加纳), these pieces of1will help you a lot.

    In Ghana, dinner is usually from four to six in the afternoon. But there are no2rules (规则) about time. Whenever a guest arrives, a family3food. When you go to a home, the person4receives guests takes you to the living room first. At this time5welcomes you. Then you go to the dining room. There you wash your hands in a bowl of water. All the food is on the table.

    In Ghana you usually eat with your fingers. You eat6the same dish as everyone else. But you can only eat from one7of the dish. It is impolite to get food from8side of the dish. After dinner, you wash your hands again in a bowl of water.

    Most meals in Ghana contain a dish called fufu. People in Ghana9fufu from the powder (粉末) of some plants. Sometimes they cut fufu with a saw(锯子) 10 it is very hard. You must chew(咀嚼) fufu well, or you may get sick. You should only eat fufu with the fingers of your right hand.