The tallest building in the United States, the One World Trade Center, opened on November 3, 2014 in New York. The building is 1,776 feet tall, making it the 3rd tallest building in the world. It has 104 floors. The building stands in the area where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. On September 11, 2001, a group of terrorists destroyed these twin towers and killed nearly 3,000 people. It took 8 years to build the new One World Trade Center. Does the height of the building in feet reminds you of something in history? The number is the year when the United States declared(宣布) its independence (独立)from Great Britain.

 One problem with such a tall building is how to clean the windows. Well, a platform(平台) hangs from ropes, and workers on the platform clean windows. On November 12, while two men were busy cleaning windows, a rope of the platform broke near the 68th floor. The two men were saved by cutting a hole in the glass window.

 The two tallest buildings in the world are the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE and the Makkah Royal Clock Tower in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

    There are many TV programs on Chinese cuisines(烹饪)now.  A Bite of China(舌尖上的中国)is a new program and it's very popular．The CCTV Channel One show began to play on May 14th，2012．It was held by the award-winning documentary maker Chen Xiaoqing．The program tries to bring something new by presenting more cultural elements related to dishes，such as eating habits and the ethics(道德)of eating．It also offers insights into the geographical，historical and cultural dimensions of what Chinese eat．It can teach us how to make the food．So the program is sure to attract both food buffs and ordinary audiences．

    A Bite of China has seven episodes(片段)．Each episode lasts 50 minutes．Themes range from ingredients to preserved food．

    Food is always connected with people．To get enough good stories，the  production team spent three months doing research and interviews in about 60 cities before they started shooting．Filming lasted about nine months．

    A Bite of China captures social changes while presenting food cultures，such as，many families leave old people in their hometowns while other members work outside，the food of their hometown can remind them of happy times．

     Chen says the seven episodes might not be enough to capture the glory of Chinese food culture．

    Good morning. The program today is about music. The word "music" comes from the Greek word "muse". The Muses are the goddesses of the arts. The Music is only one of the arts. It is like the spoken language, but it uses sounds. Today's program brings together music from different concerts of the world. Who invented music? Who sang the first song? No one knows exactly the answers to these questions. But we know that music plays an important part in almost everyone's life. Babies and young children love to hear people singing to them. When they are a little older, they like to sing the songs they have heard. When children go to school, their world of music grows. In the middle grades, students take music lessons. When they reach high school, they become interested in listening to pop music.

    The records we have chosen for you today are from American country music, Indian music, pop music and so on. Music has meaning for everyone. It can make people happy or it can make them sad. In this program we shall study the language of music. We shall be trying to find out more about how music works. We shall try to find out how music says what people feel.

    Now, here comes the music today, I shall explain why they are all good music.

    In America, drivers' education is part of the regular high school curriculum. Every student in his or her second year of high school is required to take a class in driver's education. However, unlike other courses, it is not given during the regular school year. Instead it is a summer course.

    The course is divided into two parts: class time for learning laws and rules and driving time to practice driving. Class time is not unlike any other class. The students study the basic traffic laws from a text to pass the written driving test that is given to anyone who wants to get a driver's license.

    Driving time is a chance for the students to get behind the wheel and practice starting. Each student is required to drive a total of six hours. The students are divided into groups of four. The students and the instructor go out driving for two hours each time. So each student gets half an hour driving time per outing.

    Drivers Ed cars are unlike other cars in which they have two sets of brakes(刹车), one on the driver's side and one on the other side where the instructor sits. So if the student driver should run into difficulties, the instructor can take over. The car also has another special feature. On the top of the car is a sign that reads: STUDENT DRIVER. That lets nearby drivers know that they should use extra caution because the student driver is a beginning driver, not very experienced.

    After the student has passed the driver's education course and reached the suitable age to drive (this age differs in every state but in most cases the person must be 16 years old), they can go to a the state office to take their driver's test, which is made up of an eye examination, a written test, and a road test. The person must pass all the three tests in order to be given a driver's license.

    Oxford is a city in the UK. It's in the west of the UK and it's famous for the University of Oxford. It's an old university--about 900 years old. It has a longer history than Cambridge University. It's the oldest university in the English speaking world.

    There are about 21,000 students and they are from all over the world. Many students go to school by bike. There are 38 colleges in the University of Oxford, but Cambridge University has only 31 colleges. There are 104 libraries in the University of Oxford. Bodleian Library is the second largest library in the UK. Stephen Hawking was a student of the University of Oxford. He's a great scientist. Clinton, the 42nd American President, was also a student of the university.

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

In China, guests are almost like 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 non­smoker, I feel unhappy. Usually I want to stop them directly, but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In most 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 guest­host 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.