Different countries have different customs. When you are in different countries, you should follow their customs.

In China, it's impolite to talk when eating dinner. And you`re not supposed to start eating first if there are older people at the table.

Very often people who travel to the United States forget to tip(付小费). It is usual to tip waiters, taxi drivers and porters who help carry your bags. Waiters expect to get a 15% tip on the cost of your meal. Taxi drivers expect about the same amount.

In England, make sure to stand in line even if there are only two of you. It's important to respect(尊重) lines there. It's a good idea to talk about the weather. It's favorite subject of conversation with the British.

In Spain(西班牙)，it's a good idea to have a light meal in the afternoon if someone invites you for dinner. People have dinner very late ,and restaurants do not generally open until after 9:00 pm.

 In Saudi Arabia(沙特阿拉伯)，men kiss one another on the cheek(脸颊).Your  host may welcome you with a kiss on both cheeks. It is polite for you to do the same.

In Japan, people usually give personal or business cards to each other when they meet for the first time. When a person gives you a card, don't put it into your pocket(口袋) as soon as you get it. The person expects you to read it.

Don't forget to be careful of your body language to express something in conversations. A kind of body language that is acceptable in one culture may be impolite in another.

    Winter solstice, as the name shows, means the coming of winter. As an important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, it is also a traditional holiday for Chinese, which is also called “冬节”， “长至节”，“亚岁”, etc. Generally, winter solstice occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, five days constitutes a pentad and three pentads constitutes a solar term. One year is divided into twelve periods and twelve climates which are regarded as twenty-four solar terms. The Winter Solstice is one of twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the Northern Hemisphere the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is longest. . In Northern China during winter solstice there is a custom of eating dumplings.

    Do you know what couch-potato means? Well, in America, the word is now often used. The American couch-potato becomes maybe even a part of American tradition. You see, in America, many people often spend their free time sitting on a couch（沙发）watching TV. As there are many programs to choose, the TV can be quite interesting and very addictive（上瘾的）. One may sit and watch TV for hour and hour without stop. They do nothing else but watch TV. These people are called couch-potatoes.

    In America, when one watches TV, he is most often sitting on a couch. While watching TV, most of these people look so frozen that they almost look dead. Everyone is sitting still（安静地） with eyes looking right into the same black box. Also because these people are addictive to TV, they don't exercise and usually get very fat. So in many ways, they look like real potatoes. Well, because they look so still and fat, and watch TV on a couch, they are all called couch-potatoes.

    Now you know what couch-potatoes means. The next time if you see someone watching TV too long, just say, "What a couch-potato!"