Members of an international organization are called the Global Greeters. They offer travelers the chance to get to know a city as well as local people do.

    Unlike the professional guides(专业导游), the volunteer greeters act more like neighbours. They take visitors to visit the city–either on foot or public traffic—to discover favourite neighbourhoods, cafes and parks.

    All the programs work a little differently, but the basics(基本项目) are the same. The tours are free and last anywhere for two or four hours. Volunteers can be all ages, and their ages and interests try to match the travelers.

    New York City(USA)

    Big Apple Greeter is the pioneer “welcome visitor” program founded in 1992 by New Yorker Lynn Brooks. More than 300 volunteers now can welcome guests from all over the world in 22 languages. Greeters explain the New York City subway and bus systems and show guests around one or more of their favourite neighbourhoods. Like many greeter organizations, Big Apple accepts online donations to help with its daily costs.

    Houston(USA)

    Houston Greeters will organize activities such as golf, biking or an outing to an Astros game(太空人队的比赛). Another activity is to arrange a tour in need of a particular interest.

    Chicago(USA)

    Chicago Greeters help visitors visit one of the city's many famous neighbourhoods. The group organizes walks through Ukrainian Village on the Near North Side and Andersonville, home to Scandinavian restaurants and shops and Middle Eastern bakeries. Guides will also organize tours around themes such as fashion, film or public art.

    France

    In France, English speaking volunteers for Parisien d'un Jour lead visitors through hidden corners of Paris, often ending with a lively discussion on a café balcony. Guides in Lyon organize walks around themes such as shopping, markets and sports.

    Most elephants are grey. Only a few are white. It's difficult to see a white elephant. When people find a white elephant, they feel excited.

    Long ago, a white elephant was taken to the king. Only the king could have a white elephant. And the white elephant must be a very good one. People wanted to take a look at the animal. On its way to the king, the white elephant attracted(吸引) many people. They ran into the street and shouted, “A white elephant is coming!”

    All the people liked the cute elephant. Some gave it water to drink. Others sang songs to the elephant. A boy put a red hat on the elephant's head.

    Then the elephant came to the king. At last the king saw the white elephant. The king gave it a name himself. The elephant ate from gold dishes and it began a new life.

    Hot pot(火锅)is many Chinese people's favorite and Liu Yang is one of them.

    Three days ago, Liu Yang arrived in England . There he had three days of hamburgers, sandwiches and potatoes. Yesterday he was very excited when he heard that there was going to be a meal of hot pot to welcome the new students.

    He went into the room and sat next to an American girl. To his surprise, he saw potatoes and bread in front of him. Where was the hot pot?

    When she saw Liu Yang was very surprised , the American girl told him that hotpot is NOT hot pot. China has hot pot in two words but English hotpot is written in one word.

    Hotpot is made from meat, potatoes and onions. People put it in the oven（烤箱）all day in a heavy pot and on a low heat. It is easy to cook.

    Hot pot tastes fine. But Liu Yang still misses hot pot, two words!

    Learning a language can be useful in today's global society. Do you find it difficult to learn a foreign language successfully? Here are some tips to help you out:

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    By far the most important is how much time you are immersed in the language. The more time you spend with the language, the faster you will learn. This means listening, reading, writing, speaking and studying the language. This does not mean sitting in class looking out of the window, nor listening to other students who do not speak well.

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    Build up your vocabulary! You'll need lots. Start to notice words and how they come together as phrases. Learn these words and phrases through your listening and reading. Read online, using online dictionaries, and make your own vocabulary lists for review. Soon you will be able to use them.

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    Listen wherever you are on your MP3 player. Read what you are listening to. Listen to and read things that you like, things that you can mostly understand, or even partly understand. If you keep listening and reading, you will get used to the language. One hour of listening or reading is more effective than many hours of class time.

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    If you do want to learn the language, try to be an active learner. Choose something that you want to listen to and read. Find out the words and phrases that you need to understand in your listening and reading. Do not wait for someone else to show you the language. Discover the language by yourself, like a child growing up. Talk when you feel like it. Write when you feel like it.

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    Do not worry about what you cannot remember, or cannot yet understand, or cannot yet say. It does not matter. You are learning and improving. The language will gradually become clearer in your brain, but this will happen on a schedule that you cannot control. So sit back and enjoy. Just make sure you spend enough time with the language.