Canberra is the capital of Australia. It is a modern and lively city with a population of over 345,000.

    Thang-ga(唐卡）is a special kind of painting .It was found only in Tibet,China. It started from the Tang Dynasty(唐朝). Thang-ga paintings show Tibetan people's lives. In recent years, Tang-ga paintings have caught the public's attention .At the same time,the Chinese government has also tried hard to protect the art.

    The color of Tang-ga paintings looks wonderful and special. Because of the special environment of Tibet and the excellent skills of artists, the paints(颜料) used in Thang-ga are different from other paints. They were made from minerals like gold and silver, as well as some plants. The paints were made by hand and the beautiful colors could last(持续)for hundreds of years.

    However, with the development of technology, people now use cheaper and more easily-made chemicals to make Thang-ga paints. The traditional paints used in Thang-ga paintings took a lot of work and they were made in many secret ways. Later people stopped making the paints and forgot about them. So the skills needed to make them were almost lost. The traditional Thang-ga paintings are difficult to find now.

    As we know, there are differences between Western culture and Chinese culture. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Let's look at some words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, "a homeless dog", "a mad dog", "a running dog" and "a dog catching a mouse", have bad meanings. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. In English, people use the dog to describe good actions. For example, "you are a lucky dog" means you are a lucky person. And "every dog has its day" means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person's serious illness, they say "sick as a dog". The word "dog­tired" means very tired.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. But in Western culture, "cat" is often used to describe a woman who is unkind. There are many other examples of how "cat" is used differently as well.

   {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. People think the rose stands for love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

A. However, Chinese love cats very much

B. The words about plants and animals are used in good or bad ways in different cultures

C. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used

D. However, westerners love cats very much

E. We can see similarities when we pay attention to the way words are used

F. The rose is regarded as a symbol of love in both China and some Western countries

G. But in Western countries, dogs are considered to be honest and good friends of humans

    Birthdays are celebrated all over the world. Some traditions are rather similar from one country to another: candles, cakes and birthday wishes. But there are also different ways to celebrate birthdays.

    Here are a few:

    Argentina (阿根廷): In Argentina, as in many Latin American countries, one of the most important birthday parties is a girl's fifteenth. When girls turn 15, they have a huge party and dance first with their fathers, and then the boys at the part.

    China: The birthday child receives presents from the parents. Friends and family members are invited to dinner, and noodles are served to wish the birthday child a long life.

    Denmark (丹麦): A flag is flown outside a window to show that someone who lives in that house is celebrating the birthday. Presents are placed around the child's bed while he is sleeping so he can see them immediately when he wakes up.

    Holland (荷兰): The birthday child receives an especially large present. The family also put flowers or balloons on the birthday child's chair to make it beautiful.

    India: Usually Indian children wear white to school. However, the birthday child wears colored clothes to school and gives out chocolates to everyone in the class. His /Her best friend helps do this.

    Japan: The birthday child wears new clothes to mark the special time. Certain birthdays are more important than others and these are celebrated with a visit to the shrine (神殿). These are the third and seventh birthdays for girls and the fifth for boys.