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.

    Mother's Day is a holiday for mothers. It is celebrated in the United States, England, Sweden, India, Mexico and other 1. Little by little, it 2 widely celebrated.

    Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday in May. 3, many people send 4 of love to their mothers. Those whose mothers are still living 5 a pink or red rose, while those whose mothers are 6 wear a white one.

    The 7 of a day for mothers was first given by Miss Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia. As a result of her hard work, the celebration for the first American Mother's Day 8 in Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. Soon the 9 became popular all over the 10 and around the world.

    Today most people know about computers and the Internet. If I ask you "what is the most 1 thing in your life?", maybe you will say"Computers and the Internet." People made the first computer 2 1946. It was 3, but it worked slowly (慢). Today computers are becoming smaller and smaller, 4 they work faster and faster. Computers can do 5 kinds of work and they are in almost (几乎) every office. A writer said, "People can't live without computers 6".

    The Internet is an international computer network. It 7 the computers all over the world together. People can get different kinds of 8 from it. There are millions of websites on the Internet. There is a lot of useful information on the websites. You can 9 search engines (引擎) to find the information you need. Search engines 10 us to find information quickly and easily. Put in a keyword (关键词) and the search engine will give you a list of websites for you to look at.

    I'm Victor, from the United States. This is my first time in 1 .One day some new colleagues(同事) invited me to 2 . At first, I was quite happy and learned to use chopsticks, but later 3 started.

    That day, I had a 4. I felt uncomfortable with my nose, 5 I turned away from the table and blew my nose(擤鼻涕). My colleagues looked at me 6 . They explained to me that in Japan, people don't blow their noses in 7—especially at table.

    When I was trying to stick my 8 in my bowl of rice, one of my colleagues said, "Don't do that. Just leave them on the table." Later, I found that leaving your chopsticks in your rice 9 death in Japanese culture!

    The next time I 10 to blow my nose, I left the table and went to the toilet. 11 I returned, it was nearly time to leave. I noticed there were some small bowls 12 water in them on the table. It smelt good and I started 13 it before it got cold. Then I saw some of my colleagues cover their mouths. They were trying not to 14. "What's the matter?" I asked the colleague next to me. "It's for washing 15 fingers," he said. For a moment, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

    Improve your English through watching television programmes! If you have studied English for some time, you 1 know which study method works best. You may work hard and be sure to get it. You have taken 2 to learn English as a second language and you most likely 3 English at home with books and maybe even tapes. That's good! But the 4 is a great way for English language learners, too. If you do it correctly, I think programmes can help you improve your English.

    The 5 thing about TV programmes is that there are different kinds of shows and they are 6. This means you can get close to live English in many 7 subjects. One day you can watch a TV programme about natural science, and the next day you may 8 a show about the life of a teenager in New York. To be good at English, you need to be able to 9 the language used in many situations. Set aside(保留)an hour a day to watch TV programmes in English. Choose a different type of 10 each day. One day you watch and enjoy a comedy and the next day watch a show about doctors to study the expressions used in hospital. If you plan on using English in a certain field in the future, watch shows that use that special language.