An old saying goes, “When in Rome(罗马),do as the Romans do.” I learned the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} of this when I studied in Russia.

    One day I invited some of my Chinese friends to a famous local restaurant in Moscow. My guests and I were {#blank#}2{#/blank#}  from visiting Red Square and happy about our meeting. We had a warm  chat  until  the  waiter  told  me  that  we  were  being  too  loud.  We  turned  our  voices {#blank#}3{#/blank#} .But this didn't last long. The waiter came over to us two more {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  with the same message.

    How bad an impression(印象) we must have left on the local people! In China, it's {#blank#}5{#/blank#}  and important for a host to make a {#blank#}6{#/blank#}  atmosphere(气氛).However, in Russia and {#blank#}7{#/blank#}  countries, having a meal in a public place means you must keep your voice low. You need to be polite to others.

    I felt bad about this. Even though we tried our {#blank#}8{#/blank#} , it's very difficult to develop a new habit.

    Russians have their own special habits. My Russia friend, Andrey always looks around and thinks for a while before leaving home. I asked him why he did this. “Aha,” Andrey said, “in Russia, people always take about a minute {#blank#}9{#/blank#}  over things and plans in their minds before leaving. So they won't leave anything necessary behind.”

    Finding the {#blank#}10{#/blank#}  between cultures is much fun. I'd like to keep my eyes and mind open.

    There is a popular Chinese saying that “Fair skin(皮肤) will make up for three flaws(缺陷)”. This mentions the fact that in Chinese culture, it is believed that people who have fair skin are more beautiful. In Western culture, however, the opposite is true — many Westerners think tanned skin is prettier. The example shows that different cultures have different ideas of what they think is beautiful. These cultural meanings of the beauty, however, are no longer important. As more and more people travel overseas, ideas about beauty are being shared among cultures. The Internet has also made it easier for people to share different types of beauty since people are always posting pictures on social media. The result is an ever-changing idea of what is considered beautiful.

    The cultural practice of ear piercings, for example, has become a part of modern day culture.

    In Kenya, it is a tradition among Masai men and women to pierce and then make their ear

    lobes( 耳 垂 ) longer using ivory and wood or stones. They then wear colorful things on their ear lobes. This is a common practice since longer ear lobes are seen as a sigh of beauty. This tradition has now found its way into present-day culture. Nowadays, this might still seem unusual to some, but with more and more well-known actors and film stars showing off their longer ear lobes, it will finally become more fashionable.

    It is understood that different cultures around the world have different ways of showing beauty. However, since we now live in a worldwide society, people's views about beauty are always changing. With the help of the Internet, people are now able to easily borrow ideas from other cultures to help them stand out. So what new fashions can we expect to see in the future?

—At ten o'clock.

—Of course. I like the Ice and Snow World and its high l{#blank#}1{#/blank#} of service.