Traveling to every part of the world gets easier, but how well do we know and understand each other. Here's a simple test. Imagine you are planning to hold a meeting at four o'clock. What time should you expect your foreign business friends to arrive? If they are Germans, they'll arrive on time. If they are Americans, they'll probably be 15 minutes early. If they are Englishmen, they'll be 15 minutes late, and you should allow up to an hour for the Italians.

    The British seemed to think since the English language was widely used in the world, people would always understand what they do. However, they found they were completely wrong. For example, the British are happy to have a business lunch and discuss business matters and have a drink during the meal. The Japanese prefer not to work while eating. Lunch is a time for them to relax and get to know each other and they don't drink at lunchtime. The Germans like to talk business before dinner. The French like to eat first and talk afterwards. They have to be well fed and watered before they discuss anything.

    Who wants to eat food that is thrown away as waste? Believe it or not, that's exactly what world leaders did at a lunch held by the United Nations in 2015.

    During the meal, the world leaders enjoyed dishes like salads and burgers made with thrown-away vegetables and fruits. Chef Dan Barber, who helped create the meal, hoped that the experience would make the leaders pay more attention to the issue of food waste.

    It is a huge problem. One out of nine people on Earth does not get enough food. Yet every year over one third of the food produced worldwide goes to waste!

    Why is so much food wasted? Firstly, food is often thrown away before it reaches customers because too much of it is produced, or because it is not kept properly in farms. Secondly, shops and supermarkets usually throw away unsold food. Finally, customers often buy more food than they need, so a lot of uneaten food is wasted.

    How can you waste less food? When eating out, you may ask for less food and take home what is left. Visit fast food restaurant less often, since they usually more wasteful. Encourage your favorite restaurants to give unsold food to food banks.

    You can also waste less food at home. Use smaller rice bowls so that you serve less rice.

    Encourage family members to use unfinished rice to make rice puddings. Tell family members to make a shopping list and buy only what is on the list when shopping for food.

    Food waste is a growing problem and we, either farmers or food sellers or customers, must take this problem more seriously and do what we can to help.

    February 14 is a day for people who have fallen in love. On this day, these men and women give gifts (presents)and cards to each other for Valentine's Day(情人节).This day has been popular with people in love  for a long time. At first，this holiday was called Lupercalia. Then the name of the day was changed to Saint Valentine's Day. The man named Saint Valentine was killed on February 14，270 AD, because he was a Christian (基督教徒).

    Before Saint Valentine was killed，February 14 was the old Roman holiday，Lupercalia. The church wanted people to think of a Christian holiday on this day，so the church changed the name of the holiday.

    This change did not stop people in love from giving gifts to each other. People usually gave gloves, handkerchiefs, or even underwear was gifts. Sometimes people also put hearts and flowers on the presents before giving it to the other persons.

    Valentine cards did not become popular until the 1750s. The first Valentine cards were made by hand. People wrote their own words on the cards. These words were usually funny.

    Now, every year around February 14，cards and chocolates fill shops for people in love.

    The Vieira family moved to the United States in 1981. At that time, they decided to stop speaking Spanish at home and only communicate in English. This was because they were now living in an English-speaking country.

    Now the Vieira children are adults, and they sometimes travel to Spain to visit their family and friends. But they cannot communicate with them. Unfortunately this is common. When people move to new countries, they often leave their own customs and mother language behind. This is a mistake because there are many benefits to knowing more than one language.

    One advantage of speaking more than one language is that you can communicate directly with more people around the world. You do not have to depend on others to talk for you, so you're more independent. People who know only one language must use others to help them communicate.

    Furthermore, speaking a second language also allows people to experience other cultures and customs more effectively. Local expressions, vocabulary, and even jokes can have a powerful effect on a person's understanding of another culture. So, knowing more than one language increases your knowledge of other cultures.

    Finally, having more multi-language speakers improves relationships between countries. If people from different countries can communicate well, the world can become closer. Countries will then have more respect for each other and better understand each other's problems.

    The benefits of knowing more than one language are clear. In fact, there are no disadvantages. It is very sad that many people don't try to learn another language. It is even worse when people let themselves forget their mother language and become silenced.