People use their mouths for many things. They eat, talk, shout and sing. They smile and they kiss. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word “mouth.”

    For example, if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest and say “Do not bad mouth me.” Sometimes, people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because it hurts that person's feelings. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say: “I really put my foot in my mouth this time.” If this should happen, the speaker might fee l down in the mouth. In other words, he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing.

    Another situation is when someone falsely claims another person said something. The other person might protest: “I did not say that. Do not put words in my mouth.”

    Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. There is an expression for this, too. You might say such a person, “was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.”

    This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives from hand to mouth. This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food.

    Parents might sometimes withhold sweet food from a child as a form of punishment for saying bad things. For example, if a child says things she should not say to her parents, she might be described as a mouthy child. The parents might even tell the child to stop mouthing off.

    But enough of all this talk. I have been running my mouth long enough.

    The game of telephone is a classic ice breaker and party game. It's easy to set up and a lot of fun to play. You and your friends will try to pick a word or phrase, “pass it on” by whispering(耳语) it to someone next to you, and have fun seeing how much it changed during the game. All you will need to play is a couple of friends, a word or phrase, and a whisper.

Get everyone in place.

    Although the game of telephone is simple to play, you will need to arrange(安排) the players in a way that supports the game. Have everyone stand in either a line or a circle. Players should be spaced far enough apart that they won't overhear the word when it isn't their turn. Proper position is important when playing telephone.

Start the game.

    Choose a person to start the game. Make the person think of a word or give a certain word to him or her. And he or she should whisper it to the person next to them. The pronunciation of the word should sound like many others' as the idea is to see how much it changes by the game's end. Once the word has been told to the next person, they will whisper it to the person next to them.

Continue whispering the word.

    Players continue listening to the word and repeating what they think they heard to the person next to them. This is done until the last person in the line or circle is told the word. Every person should have heard the word or phrase by the end of the game.

See how much the word changed.

    Once the last person hears the word or phrase, they will say what they think they heard out-loud. This is compared to the original word that the game started with. This is the moment when all the players get to learn just how much the word or phrase changed through their “telephone line”.

Do as the Romans Do

    The customs in different countries are rather different. If I have dinner with a Chinese host, he always puts more food onto my plates as soon as I have emptied it. That often discomforts me greatly. I have to eat the food even if I don't want to, because it is considered bad manners in the West to leave one's food on the plate. I have already noticed that when a Chinese sits at an American's dinner party, he very often refuses the offer of food or drink though he is in fact still hungry or thirsty. This might be good manners in China, but it is not in the West at all. In the United States, it is impolite to keep asking someone again and again or insist on his accepting something. Americans have a direct way of speaking. If they want something, they will ask for it. If not, they will say, “No, thanks.” When an American is fed with beer by the host, for example, he might say, “No, thanks. I'll take some diet, Pepsi-Cola（百事可乐）if you have it. ”That is what an American will do. So when you go to the United States, you had better remember the famous saying: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

B

    If you're invited to your British or American friend's home for a meal at home, you should learn some table manners about their countries.

    Their dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p. m. and end at about 11 p.m. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a gift.

    Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks（小吃）. If you want to be more polite, say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall. But remember-it's not polite to ask how much things cost.

    In many families, the husband sits at one side of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests. You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert（甜点心）, followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.

    Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short "thank you" letter. British and American people like to say "thank you, thank you" all the time!