参考词汇: flower bed花坛, main主要的

This is a map of my school. Now let me show you around it.

In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese people are the best hosts and the worst guests. And Western hosts sometimes look rude (粗鲁的) in the eyes of Chinese guests too. That's because the guest-host relationship in China is{#blank#}1{#/blank#}from that in some Western countries.

Whenever I enter a Chinese home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and there is always someone bringing me a{#blank#}2{#/blank#}of tea or water.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} in the West, the hosts always do things in their own way. 

My wife's mother is Chinese and she doesn't smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house, as a non-smoker, I {#blank#}4{#/blank#}unhappy. Usually I want to {#blank#}5{#/blank#}them directly, but in China, a good host does not do that. In most North American homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are non-smokers, you should not smoke in their house. At the very least, you should ask, "Is it OK if I smoke here?" But, don't be {#blank#}6{#/blank#}if they say, "No, you can't smoke here," In our culture, if you smoke in the host's house, you are a bad guest. But if the hosts don't allow you to {#blank#}7{#/blank#}in their house, it doesn't mean they are rude hosts.

Guests in China also {#blank#}8{#/blank#}special habits. Some Western people may not adapt to (适应) these habits very soon. Thankfully, my wife is Chinese, so whenever we visit a Chinese family, she {#blank#}9{#/blank#}me to buy the host a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite international guests to your house, don't be too surprised if they don't bring you a(n){#blank#}10{#/blank#}.

In a word, no matter where you are, the best way to be a good guest is to adapt to the habits of your hosts.

Did you know that the Beijing Winter Olympic Village had a rooftop (屋项) farm? It covered 4, 620 square meters. To relax, athletes and coaches could try growing vegetables there.

It shows just how much Chinese people love growing vegetables.

China has a lot of available land for planting things. For centuries, Chinese people made a living through farming. The Book of Songs(《诗经》), written 2, 500 years ago, records many kinds of vegetables.

Nowadays, even though some Chinese people no longer have a lot of land, they still grow vegetables where they can.

Xue Ling, 35, is one of them. Since 2010, she has been planting vegetables on the balcony (阳台) of her apartment in Jinan, Shandong province. "It's the only way to keep my food, at least the vegetables, clean and safe," she told China Daily.

Caroline Ma from Hong Kong grows vegetables as a hobby. In 2020, Ma started farming on her rooftop and began planting seeds collected during her trips. For Ma, farming is a great experience.

"I am in my own little world and I can forget about the world's problems," she said.

It seems that planting vegetables brings more than just food for Chinese people.

The Chinese language has a history of 6,000 years. But Pinyin, which tells {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (we) how to read Chinese words correctly, is still young.

In 1958, Chinese linguist Zhou Youguang and his team made Pinyin. Before that, Chinese people used many other ways to show how to pronounce Chinese characters, but these ways couldn't be used as {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (easy) as Pinyin. Because of Pinyin, more people learn how to read. It is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} helpful system that improves Chinese language learning for all.

 This year, Pinyin turns 66 years old. It {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (use) everywhere in our daily life. We learn to speak Putonghua with the help of Pinyin. We write Chinese words on {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (computer) by using Pinyin. It is also becoming a bridge {#blank#}6{#/blank#} China and the world. Many people around the world start to learn Chinese by learning Pinyi {#blank#}7{#/blank#} you may say "nihao" to mean "hello" to a foreign friend.

Now, many people in other countries are {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (interested) in using Pinyin than before. For example, fewer foreigners use "dumplings". They prefer to say "jiaozi". The Oxford English Dictionary has {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (hundred) of Chinese words in Pinyin, such as wanggou for "shopping online". Maybe one day, Pinyin will play a key role in {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (spread) the Chinese language.

If you are writing or studying, it makes very much difference where the light comes from. People who use books and pens every day have to be especially careful about the way the light shines on their work.

Every house gets its light either from daylight through the windows—which is the very best to use—or from lamps or electricity (电器); but whichever kind of light it is, the way it shines towards our books or work is a matter of great importance to the eyes.

Take a book, sit with your back towards the window, and try to read. Your shadow (影子) falls all over the page and makes it almost as bad for your eyes as if you were in a dark room.

Now turn around and face the window. The page is in the shadow again, while the bright light is in your eyes.

Try sitting with your right side towards the window. This is very good for reading, but if you were writing, the shadow of your hand would fall across the page and bother (烦扰) you a little.

There is just one other way: sit with your left side to the window. Now everything is good for reading and for writing, too.

Whatever kind of light is in the room, the rule about the right to sit is always the same.