In America, the school dayusually starts at 9 a.m. and finishes at about 4 p.m. The school subjects aredifferent from1. In China, we always2Chinese, math, English, P.E.and so on. But in America, students have more3, such as cooking anddriving lessons. Their school life isn't just4study. They also have morethings to do than（比）Chinese students. There are many clubs（俱乐部） in American schools,5. If the students areinterested in sports, they6join different sports clubs.American students also have art clubs, language clubs and some7clubs. From 2:30 p.m. to 4p.m., they do8things in these clubs.

    Maybe you think English isvery popular in the world, so American students don't need to9any other language.10that's not true. American children from the ageof seven have to learn a foreign language. For example, they learn French orChinese.

Do You Want to Be a Writer?

Here are some tips on becoming a writer.

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Most writers read whatever books they can find because they love to lose themselves in them. They like the sounds of language and the way that reading a good description can feel as satisfying as a baseball game or eating a banana split.

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It's easy to forget a good idea if you do not write it down immediately. If you get in the habit of carrying a notebook with you everywhere you go, you can write down anything you want to remember. When you are talking to friends in the cafe or waiting for the bus, something might spark an idea for a character or scene in a story.

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Nearly all writers agree that writers must write. It doesn't matter if you feel like you have nothing to say; the important thing is that you write every single day. Sometimes, you need to give yourself permission to write things which won't be your best work.

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Do you have any friends who enjoy writing? Think about starting a writing group with other people who have similar interests. It helps to have the support of other writers. You will also receive valuable feedback, or suggestions, about how to make you work better.

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If you decide that you would like to send your work for publication, make sure to do your research. If you are sending your writing to a magazine, look through old ones. Does it seem like your writing fits in with the other stories or articles? That's the homework for you after writing.

The Spring Festival is celebrated not only in China but also in other parts of the world. The traditional holiday is the most important to Chinese both at home and abroad. 

The United Kingdom

Celebrations for the Spring Festival in the UK started in 1980, with the first evening party held in 2002. Every New Year, people get together and have a lot of activities. They sing songs, dance to music, share photos with friends or enjoy films in a cinema. 

The United States

The Spring Festival has become a key time for Chinese living or working in the US. They join in a large evening party to welcome the traditional New Year. It is a good chance for people to build a circle of friends and feel that they are not alone because they share the same culture and values. 

Australia

The Chinese New Year will be welcomed with three weeks of celebrations across Australia. Many people come to Sydney's Chinatown or Lite Bourke Street in Melbourne. They enjoy fireworks (烟花), lion dances and dragon boat races. The celebrations are also a bridge towards better understanding between Chinese and non-Chinese. 

Singapore

The family dinner on New Year's Eve is an important tradition for Chinese whether they were born in Singapore or moved there from China. They place traditional food on a table as an act of remembering their past. Then the whole family enjoy the dinner together. They usually hold it at home because having it in a restaurant takes away the meaning of the tradition. 

For thousands of years, tea is loved by many people around the world. It has finally received top-level global recognition as a shared cultural treasure of our humans. On November 29, 2022, traditional tea processing techniques and their related social customs in China were added to UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity（联合国教科文组织人类非物质文化遗产名录）. Following "Wangchuan Ceremony（送王船）" in 2020,this project is the 43rd one to be successfully added to the list and there are 44 sub-projects in total belonging to this main project.

Chinese tea culture began as early as over 5,000 years ago. It's said the ruler Shen Nong was the first to discover tea as a drink by accident. But during the Three-Kingdom Period, people paid more attention to its medical value. In the Tang Dynasty, tea-tasting became an important part for poets' life. Bai Juyi wrote 64 poems about tea in his lifetime.

 According to UNESCO, in China traditional tea processing techniques are closely connected to location and natural environment. The area of tea planting in China is about between 18°-37°N and 94°-122°E. Tea-related customs are not only found across the country, but also influenced the rest of the world through the ancient Silk Road. In western countries, tea firstly became popular in Britain in the 17th century, and then the whole of Europe. When it came to the late 18th and 19th centuries, 10% of a British person's income（money made from work） at the time was spent on tea, making it one of the most important expensive goods.

A．Xiaomeisha Sea World is one of the largest marine theme parks in China. You can see sea lions and dolphin shows and experience the beauty of the underwater world.

B．Shenzhen Wildlife Park has animals from all over the world. Many of them are among the world's rare animals and the first and second-class protected animals in China.

C．OCT East is a large-scale ecological resort with beautiful scenery. You can play different kinds of thrilling adventures and enjoy the world of water parks.

D．Shenzhen Happy Valley is famous for thrill rides. There are more than 100 rides for all ages, rich and colourful, along with lively performances.

E．The Splendid China Folk Village allows you to "see China in a day". You can experience folk customs, as well as folk performances of fifty-six nationalities.

F．Window of the World shows a window of world attractions. There are also performances from around the world, such as a Japanese tea ceremony, an African style song and dance show, etc.

Gestures are used to replace words in many countries. They usually have different meanings in different cultures. Let's look at some of the gestures. 

◎What does the "O" gesture mean?

If you are an English speaker or diving(潜水) under the sea, it means "OK" or "good". In fact, it's believed that this gesture is popular used by divers. The Japanese read it as "money". The French read it as "zero" or "no value". 

◎What does the "thumb-up" gesture mean? 

This gesture also means differently in different countries. English speakers use it to stand for "OK", which is the same meaning as the "O" gesture. To most people, it stands for the number "1", since they count from 1 to 5, beginning with the thumb for 1 and ending with the little finger for the number 5. 

Although Americans and British people usually ask for a ride with their thumbs raised, the gesture will not make a Greek(希腊)driver stop to give them a ride. 

◎What does it mean to extend (伸出) your index finger (食指)?

Extending the index finger means different things in different countries. The Chinese extend their index finger upward to show the number. They can refer to the number, such as "one", "one hundred", "one thousand", etc. In Japan, the index finger up means only one or once. This gesture means the first in order. In the United States of America, use this gesture when asking the other person to wait. In Australia, in bars and restaurants, the index finger is extended upward, saying, "A glass of beer, please. " But pay attention, in the Middle East, it is impolite to point at something with your index finger.