My grandmother is over eighty years old. She always complains about how greatly things have changed, and she often says that life used to be better.

    Families aren't families the way they used to be. If a husband and wife are having problem with their marriage, they don't stay together any more. They choose to divorce. Mothers used to stay at home and take care of their children, but now everyone is busy working; no one has time to look after children at home.

    And the cars! No one walk any more; people get richer and richer, and more and more people buy cars and drive. We used to walk five miles to school every day, even in winter. But now children don't.

    And in school, children don't have to think any more. When I was at school, I used to add, subtract, multiply and divide using my head in math class, but now, children use calculators instead.

    Most families have computers and TVs now. In the past we didn't have computers or TVs, we spent a lot of time talking with our family members. But now, people are too busy to talk to each other. If they have time, they'd watch TV or surf the Internet rather than talk to family members. They are even too busy to eat and think.

    Life used to be simple, but it isn't any more.

Information Card

    Traveling to all corners of the world gets easier and easier. We live in a global village, but this doesn't mean that we all behave in the same way.

    How should you behave when you meet someone for the first time? An American shakes your hand firmly while looking you straight in the eye. In Thailand, people greet each other by pressing both hands together at the chest.

    Many countries have rules about what you should and shouldn't wear. In Muslim countries, women should wear long blouses and skirts. In Korea, you should take off your shoes when entering a house. Remember to place them neatly together where you come in.

    In Spain, many people eat a light breakfast and a late dinner. In Mexico, lunch is the time to relax, and many people prefer not to discuss business as they eat. In Britain, it's not unusual to have a business meeting over breakfast.

Good Manners

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Welcome to our talk show, Mr Brown. You are an actor and busy every day. But you try to find much time to exercise. Could you tell us what you usually do in your free time?

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}I know you like skateboarding, little John. When did you start it? How often do you go skateboarding?

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}I know you don't need to go to work on weekends, sir. How do you usually spend your weekends?

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Fruit, vegetables and milk are good for us. They are healthy. Do you often have them, Miss Yang?

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}As a waiter, you work at night and sleep in the day. How many hours do you sleep every day, Mr. Green? Do you think it's the same as a day job?

A. I'm busy and tired on weekdays. So I want to relax myself at home on weekends. I like surfing the Internet and do it for five or six hours every Saturday and Sunday.

B. I cook at home from Monday to Friday. On weekends, I usually go out to have dinner with my husband and son. Maybe I must find a job next month.

C. Skateboarding is fun. I started to learn to skateboard when I was five years old. Now I go skateboarding four or five times a week.

D. They are really good for us. I eat lots of fruit and vegetables every day. But I hardly drink milk. I think only kids can drink lots of milk.

E. I'm really busy. I have lots of movies and TV plays to make. But I want to keep in good health. So I do some running in my free time.

F. Most of us work and have meals in the day and sleep at night. A night job is different from a day job. I usually sleep for six or seven hours in the day. But I can't have meals like people who work in the day.

    My name is Zhang Tian. There is a computer in my bedroom. I often use it to do many things. I can do my homework on it. Sometimes I go online and download some information for my lessons. It helps me a lot. Now I am good at all the subjects at school. When I have time, sometimes I watch movies on the Internet. I can also download music from the Internet. I have some good friends from different cities, so we often talk with each other at the weekend. My mother always tells me not to play computer games, because it's not good for my eyes. I don't have a printer now. My father is going to buy one for next month.

Information Card

    In Western countries, most children get pocket money by doing some chores at home. They usually start to do chores at the age of ten. School students have to do their homework and study for test, so they don't have a lot of free time on weekdays and they often do some chores on weekends.

    Young kids can only do easy chores, so they don't get much money. But many of them only want to buy candy. And candy is cheap! They do the dishes after dinner and feed the pet cat or dog. Sometimes they water flowers and other plants in the garden.

    When kids get older, they want to buy more things. They want something more expensive than candy. Then they have to work harder. They often wash the car, cut the grass of feed the dog.

    Some chores can help kids learn new things. It is important for kids to learn how to do chores and help their parents with housework.