While you are travelling abroad，cultural mistakes are more serious than linguistic mistakes，which can lead to serious misunderstanding and even ill—feeling between individuals．{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Touching Someone{#blank#}2{#/blank#}In Mediterranean countries，if you don't touch someone's arm when talking to them or if you don't greet them with kisses or a warm hug，you'll be considered cold．But backslap(拍背)someone who isn't a family member or a good friend in Korea，and you'll make them uncomfortable．In Thailand，the head is considered sacred—never even pat a child on the head．

Talking Over Dinner

    In some countries，like China，Japan and some African nations，the food's the thing，so don't start chatting about your day's adventures while everyone else is digging into dinner．{#blank#}3{#/blank#} It's not because your group is unfriendly，but because meal times are for eating，not talking．

Removing Your Shoes or Not

    Take off your shoes when arriving at the door of a London dinner party and the hostess will find you uncivilized，but fail to remove your shoes before entering a home in Asia，Hawaii，or the Pacific Islands and you'll be considered disrespectful．So，if you see a row of shoes at the door，start undoing your laces．{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Once you are on the ground of a different country，remain highly sensitive to native behavior．{#blank#}5{#/blank#}And don't feel offended if something seems offensive—like queue jumping．After all，this is a global village，and we are all very different．

A．Personal space varies as you travel the globe．

B．Asians consider removing shoes impolite at home．

C．Never be completely surprised by anything．

D．The linguistic mistake means that someone is not fully expressing his idea．

E．Look out for the following cultural mistakes and try to avoid them．

F．If not，keep the shoes on．

G．You'll likely be met with silence．

    How to Make Small Talk

    There's nothing small about small talk. Many great friendships and relationships have started with small talk. Small talk helps you build a meaningful relationship with a person.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}If you want to know how to master small talk, just follow these steps.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}If you want to make a person feel comfortable, the best thing to do is to have an ＂open attitude＂ and to direct your body toward that person without being too forceful. Just make eye contact, don't cross your arms, and face your shoulders toward that person. This will make the person feel like you're giving him all of your attention.

    Put away your phone. There's nothing more annoying than talking to a person who is constantly checking his cellphone.

    Though you should look eager to talk to the person, don't look too eager. Don't lean(倚靠) so close that you scare him away.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Give a friendly greeting. If you're seeing someone you already know, just say hello and greet her by her name, ＂Hi, Jen, it's good to see you.＂{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you don't know the person, introduce yourself first so you feel more confident and in control of the conversation.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Just a simple ＂I love your shoes — where did you get them?＂ can get you into a fun conversation about shoe shopping. Even if the praise(称赞) doesn't lead anywhere, it will still make the person feel more appreciated before you start discussing other subjects.

A. Have friendly body language.

B. Start with a small compliment.

C. Focus your attention on their shoes.

D. Many people are turned off by a close-talker.

E. It also benefits you in the professional world.

F. You will feel uncomfortable when close to others.

G. This is simple and direct and lets the person know you're excited to talk.

    Asking for a raise can be a discouraging prospect for any employee.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}If you're a female employee seeking a raise, it matters to approach that conversation strategically. Here are a few tips for pulling it off successfully.

    Do your research.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}So if you're making a case for a pay increase, you'll need to gather some data on what others in similar positions are earning. To that end, do some research on sites like Salary.com.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Remember to collect the average earnings for all workers in your position and make your case for why you deserve to be paid similarly.

    Don't get emotional.

    Women are often accused of getting emotional on the job. In fact, it's that so-called sensitive nature that causes some people to claim they're uncomfortable working with and promoting female employees. That's why it's extremely important to keep you cool during a salary negotiation. Be specific and present hard evidence of your value to the company. Try to focus on your positive contributions, rather than the negative feelings. And although the discussion might get heated, be sure not to yell or, worse yet, cry while it's going down.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Given many news stories about how men out-earn women, you may tend to draw on some of that data as a reason for getting a raise. But be very careful about using that argument, because unless you have definitive proof that your male colleagues—with the same exact titles, experience, and responsibilities — are making more money than you, you're better off avoiding that angle.

A. Don't accuse your employer.

B. Slaying calm will only help your case.

C. Take advantage of how much men colleagues earn.

D. It's never a good idea to go into a salary negotiation blindly.

E. You are often paid less salary than your workmates in similar positions.

F. But women face unique challenges when it comes to requesting more money.

G. They allow you to search for compensation info based on industry and geographic region.

    Everyone knows that fish is good for health.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}But it seems that many people don't cook fish at home. Americans eat only about fifteen pounds of fish per person per year, but we eat twice as much fish in restaurants as at home. Buying, storing, and cooking fish isn't difficult. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}This text is about how to buy and cook fish in an easy way.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Fresh fish should smell sweet: you should feel that you're standing at the ocean's edge. Any fishy or strong smell means the fish isn't fresh.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}When you have bought a fish and arrive home, you'd better store the fish in the refrigerator if you don't cook it immediately, but fresh fish should be stored in your fridge for only a day or two. Frozen fish isn't as tasty as the fresh one.

    There are many common methods used to cook fish.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} First, lean it and season it with your choice of spices. Put the whole fish on a plate and steam it in a steam pot for 8 to 10 minutes if it weighs about one pound. (A larger one will take more time). Then, it's ready to serve.

A. Do not buy it.

B. This is how you can do it.

C. The easiest is to steam it.

D. The fish will go bad within hours.

E. It just requires a little knowledge.

F. When buying fish, you should first smell it.

G. The fats in fish are thought to help prevent heart disease.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}It is a new term in today's tourism industry. But in an age of growing environmental awareness, it is not too difficult for us to imagine and understand this new form of holiday.

    Ecotourism, which is considered as a kind of responsible tourism, is typically defined as travel to places where special and unusual plants, animals and cultural heritages are the main attractions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Therefore, some natural and cultural spots also form a part of ecotourism.

    Ecotourism is developing at great speed. According to a recent report by the World Tourism Organization, ecotourism in recent years has enjoyed an annual growth of about 5% worldwide. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}They included bird watching, hiking, diving, photography and taking part in various kinds of local cultural events.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}However, it looks like some smaller towns and country areas may well become the new destinations for people to visit tomorrow because they are rich in ecological, cultural and historical resource.

    Ecotourism has been gaining increasing recognition and popularity mainly for the relaxing, natural and vivid experience it offers to tourists. People are attracted to nature and long to be close to it. However, a conflict between nature and human beings is unavoidable.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. The definition of ecotourism is beyond words.

B. It takes ecology and culture into consideration.

C. You may not be very familiar with “ecotourism”.

D. More than 80 activities have been listed for ecotourism.

E. People can have great fun enjoying nature through ecotourism.

F. Big cities are still the major places that attract tourists in our society today.

G How to protect natural resources while taking advantage of them is of great importance.

    Last summer over 12,000 fans were at Wembley Arena in London, shouting and cheering. Thousands more were watching online. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It was esports, or competitive computer gaming.

    Millions of people in the UK play computer games for fun. Some of them have become professional gamers, playing games as their full-time job. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They practice for ten or more hours a day, five or six days a week. They do exercises like typing something and trying to type it faster and faster. They also study videos of other players and plan ways to beat them.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Are players athletes? Some say no. Esports players don't need to run, jump, throw or do big physical actions. At the moment, the UK government classifies esports as kinds of games, not as sports.

    But others say yes: esports are sports. Players do need some physical skills, especially hand-eye coordination, reflexes, accuracy and timing. If darts, snooker and shooting are classified as sports, then perhaps esports should be too.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} And they will be an official medal sport in the Asian Games starting from 2022. Next step: the Olympics?

    For many esports fans and players, though, the most important thing is that esports are growing in popularity and importance. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}