In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts(主人) and the worst guests in the world. They're not really bad guests, but because the guest- host relationship in China is much more different than in some Western countries, it appears they are not nice guests. And Western hosts sometimes look rude (粗鲁的) in the eyes of Chinese guests.

    In China, guests are almost likes gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese person's home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. In the West, generally the guest is not a god. Acting according to the host's way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.

    My wife's mother, a very kind elderly Chinese lady, doesn't smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house, as a non - smoker, I feel unhappy. Usually I want to stop them directly ( 直接地), but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In North American homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are not smokers, you should not smoke in their house. At the very least, you could ask, "Is it OK if I smoke?" But, don't be surprised if they say, "No, you can't smoke." In our culture, if you smoke in their home, you are a bad guest, but if they do not allow you to smoke in their house, they are not a rude host.

    Guests in China also have special habits. Some Western people may not adapt to these habits very soon. Thankfully my wife is Chinese, so whenever we visit a Chinese family she tells me to buy them a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite international guests to your house, don't be too surprised if they don't bring you a gift.

    In China, you probably won't need to change the guest -host relationship very much because you will probably only be the host, and Chinese are naturally very good hosts. If Western hosts invite you to their house, try not to be too surprised if their style of treating you is not what you have expected.

Store Guide         Here's a list that shows what is on each floor of a department store.

At thirteen, I was diagnosed (诊断)with a kind of attention problems. It made school difficult for me. When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I could not.

In my first literature class, Mrs. Smith asked us to read a story and then write on it, all within 45 minutes. I raised my hand right away and said, "Mrs. Smith, you see, the doctor said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it. "

She glanced down at me through her glasses, "You are no different from your classmates, young man. "

I tried, but I didn't finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it home.

In the quietness of my bedroom, the story suddenly all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn't get much education. But Louis didn't give up. Instead, he invented a reading system of raised dots (点) ,which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.

Wasn't I the "blind" in my class, being made to learn like the "sighted" students? My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was no different from others; I just needed a quieter place. If Louis could find his way out of his problems, why should I ever give up?

I didn't expect anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs. Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day--with an "A"on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words: "See what you can do when you keep trying?"

One day, little Mike's mother went to the river to do some washing. Before she left, she said to him, "Mike, while I am away, stay near the door and watch it all the time!" She said this because she was afraid of the thieves. 

Mike sat down beside the door. After an hour, one of his uncles came. He asked Mike, "Where is your mother?" "She has gone to the river to do some washing, " Mike answered. "Well, " said his uncle, "Now it is a quarter to two. Three hours later we are going to visit your family. Go and tell your mother. For I'm busy, I have to go now. "

After his uncle had gone away, Mike began to think: "Mother had asked me to watch the door all the time and my uncle told me to go and tell my mother. "What shall I do?" he thought and thought. Finally, he pulled down the door, put it on his back and went to the river with it. 

 Rudolph plays football for Florida State University. When he was visiting a middle school in Florida one Tuesday, he noticed sixth-grader Leo eating his lunch alone. Rudolph took a couple pieces of pizza and joined Leo at his table.

 Leo has autism, a condition that can make it hard to communicate with other people. His mother always worries about him. Two days later, she saw a picture of Rudolph and Leo eating together and it made her so happy that she cried. Then, she shared the picture on the Internet, along with a message about how thankful she was. The story became popular very quickly.

"We just had a great conversation. He started off telling me his name is Leo, telling me how much he loves Florida State. We went from there," said Rudolph. "It was really easy. He had a nice smile on his face. Just a really warm person."

 Leo's mother said that middle school can be hard, and she worries about how other kids will treat her son. "Sometimes I'm thankful for his autism. That may sound like a terrible thing to say, but in some ways I think—I hope— it protects him." she said.

"He doesn't seem to notice when people look at him when he flaps(拍打) his hands," she said. "He doesn't seem to notice that he doesn't get invited to birthday parties. And he doesn't seem to mind if he eats lunch alone."

 The mother said the photo of Rudolph and Leo's lunch date helped teach people about autism. "The picture speaks more than a thousand words. You can see how far away the rest of the students are, but you can see how engaged Rudolph is with Leo," she added.

"I just wanted to go say hi to the kid, because I saw him eating alone. I didn't even know anybody took a photo of it." Rudolph said he was glad that the story was helping others.

 Leo is excited that Rudolph signed his lunch box, and is enjoying all of the attention. "It's been awesome. Everyone was so proud of me," Leo said.