Beijing Opera is my favourite. Bao Zheng always has a black face and Guan Yu has a red face in Beijing Opera. But many people don't know why.

    I come from America and I have lived in China for six years. I like Beijing Opera very much. I think Beijing Opera is very interesting. I can learn a lot about Chinese history. Now let me tell you the art of Beijing Opera facial(脸部的) paintings(画).

    In Beijing Opera facial paintings, different colours and patterns（图案） are for different roles. For example, a black face for fair (公正的) people. A red face is for brave(勇敢的) people. A white face is for bad people. Blue and green faces are for heroes(英雄). The gold face is for gods.

    In Britain, people usually begin their talks with weather. For example, they will say“It's a fine day, isn't it?”“Do you think it will rain?”

    Many people believe that they are able to tell what the weather will be like. But they never agree with each other. One man may say, “How cloudy (阴的) it is now! It's going to rain.” Another man will say, “No, it's going to be fine later.”

    People always hope the weather they want. For example, when a farmer needs water, he looks for something to tell him it's going to rain. When a man wants to travel, he is sure the weather will be fine quickly.

    Now almost everyone listens to the weather report. It doesn't always tell us the weather we want, it only tells us what the weather will be like. But sometimes it makes mistakes(错误).

根据短文内容，选择正确答案。

    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

    A city without cars would be very strange, right? But Venice is such a city.

    Venice is in the north-east of Italy. It wasn't built on land, like Beijing or Shanghai, but on more than 110 islands. Seawater is everywhere around the city.

    Even so, travel isn't difficult. The waterways have always been the best way to get around. There are 177 waterways and more than 400 bridges that can guide you where you want to go. People in Venice move from place to place by boat. They like to enjoy the scenery and the cool summer night while taking boat trips. They can talk to other people as they go along.

    Venice grew out of small islands in saltwater lakes when some Italians escaped from a war over 1, 500 years ago, and built homes there.

    Water makes the city special, but it is also a big problem. Sometimes tourists will have such strange experiences. One moment they walk across the Rialto Bridge, and there's nothing special but when they come back to the bridge an hour later, it's underwater and everyone is wearing rain shoes.

    Once, people used too much underground water. This made the city get lower little by little. Now the city has gone down by 23 centimetres. Another problem is the rising seawater. The temperature has risen over the years. This has made the ice of the Arctic Ocean (北冰洋) melt (融化).

    Every year, high waters hit the city in autumn and winter. When a lot of water comes, more than half of the city is underwater.

    Scientists are trying different ways to stop the city from getting even lower. The Italian government has asked some of Italy's biggest companies to build the MOST project, which was planned to be built under the seawater to stop the rising water. Anyway, this project is helping solve the problem.

    People in different countries have different ways of doing things. Something that is polite in one country may be quite impolite in another. In Britain, you mustn't lift your bowl to your mouth when you are having some liquid (液体) food. But it's different in China. And in Japan you even needn't worry about making noises when you have it. It shows that you are enjoying it. But it is regarded as bad manners in Britain. If you are a visitor in Mongolia, what manners do they wish you to have? They wish you to give a loud "burp" (打嗝) after you finish eating. Burping shows that you like the food.

    In Britain, you should try not to put your hands on the table when you're having a meal. In Mexico, however, guests are expected to keep their hands on the table during a meal. But in Arab countries you must be very careful with your hands. You mustn't eat with your left hand. Arabs consider it very bad manners to eat with left hands. So, what should you do if you are on a visit in another country? Well, just do in Rome as the Romans do. You can ask the native (本土的) people to help you or just watch carefully and follow them.