To understand how Americans think about things, it is necessary to understand "the point". Americans mention it often: "Let's get right to the point." They will say, "My point is…" "What's the point of all this?"

    The "point" is the idea or piece of information that Americans suppose is, or should be, at the center of people's thinking, writings, and spoken comments. Speakers and writers are supposed to "make their points clear", meaning that they are supposed to say or write clearly the idea or piece of information they wish to express.

    People from many other cultures have different ideas about the point. Africans traditionally tell stories that express the thoughts they have in mind, rather than stating the point clearly. Japanese traditionally speak indirectly, leaving the listener to figure out what the point is. Thus, while an American might say to a friend, "I don't think that coat goes very well with the rest of your outfit," a Japanese might say, "Maybe another coat would look even better than the one you have on." Americans value a person who "gets right to the point". Japanese are likely to consider such a person insensitive if not rude.

    The Chinese and Japanese languages are characterized by vagueness and ambiguity. The precision and directness Americans associate with "the point" cannot be achieved, at least not with any grace, in Chinese and Japanese. Speakers of those languages thus have to learn a new way of reasoning and expressing their ideas if they are going to communicate satisfactorily with Americans.

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    Art is considered by many people to be no more than a decorative means of giving pleasure. This is not always the case, however, at times, art may be seen to have a purely functional side as well. Such could be said of the sandpaintings of the Navaho Indians of the American Southwest; these have a medicinal as well as an artistic purpose.

    According to Navaho traditions, one who suffers from either a mental or a physical illness has in some way disturbed or get in touch with the supernatural—perhaps a certain animal, a ghost, or the dead. To break away from this, the ill person or one of his relatives will employ a medical man called a "singer" to perform a curing ceremony which will attract a powerful supernatural being. During the ceremony, which may last from 2 to 9 days, the "singer" will produce a sandpainting on the floor. On the last day of the ceremony, the patient will sit on this sandpainting and the "singer" will rub the sick or injured parts of the patient's body with sand from a specific figure in the sandpainting. In this way the patient absorbs the power of that particular supernatural being and becomes strong. After the ceremony, the sandpainting is destroyed so its power won't harm anyone.

    The art of sandpainting is handed down from old "singers". The materials used are easily found where the Navaho settle: brown, red, yellow, and white sandstone, which is ground（研磨）much as corn is made into flour. The "singer" holds a small amount of this sand in his hand and lets it flow between his fingers onto a clean, flat surface on the floor, with a steady hand and great patience. He is thus able to create designs of stylized people, snakes and other creatures that have power in the Navaho belief system. The traditional Navaho doesn't allow copying sandpaintings, since he believes the supernatural powers that taught him the craft have forbidden this; however, such reproductions can in fact be purchased today in tourist shops in Arizona and New Mexico. These are done by either Navaho Indians or by other people who wish to preserve this craft.

    As a Chinese saying goes, “Taste is actually a memory of childhood”. Local specialty food may not be popular among all people, but it offers outsiders a glimpse of local culture and history.

    Gongcheng “oil tea” is such a kind of food that would be considered “weird” by many first-time visitors to the remote county in the north of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Many people dislike its bitter and astringent（涩的）flavor when they take a sip.

    “It felt like drinking Chinese herbal medicine. I never expected that I would gradually accept it afterwards, and even become addicted to it,” said a traveler surnamed Zhang who comes from Shijiazhuang in northern China's Hebei province.

    Langshan village is said to be birthplace of Gongcheng “oil tea” whose ideal ingredients are green tea and fermented（发酵）tea. The village has preserved well its buildings and roads dating back to late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), as well as its traditional way of making the special tea.

    Lin Fengyou, 60, introduced the cooking process. She looks younger than her age, and attributes this to the benefits of drinking “oil tea” throughout the year.

    The first procedure is to use a wooden hammer to pound the tea while heating it in an iron pot, and then add edible（可食用的）oil and boiled water afterwards. She filters off the solid residues（余渣）, and pours the glue-like green tea soup into bowls. Then, she adds salt, caraway seed（葛缕子籽）, green onion, dried rice, fried groundnuts, sliced taro（芋头）and fried beans.

    The taste of the “oil tea” is a mixture of the distinctive（特有的）flavors of all its ingredients. Local people usually eat it together with glutinous rice（糯米）balls, rice dumplings and glutinous rice cake.

    The villagers consume “oil tea” three times a day. The tea soup is a healthy and refreshing food. “The tea soup to us is coffee to Westerners”, said Lin. “But it is tastier.”

    Leaving a good impression can be done in different ways, from clothing to posture, and from talking style to body language. Below are several tips for you to begin with:

    ●Physical appearance matters. We're visual creatures after all.

    Physical appearance is the first clue one relies on to judge who we are. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It also means the person means something to us by dressing properly. If it is a business setting, be aware of the dress rule or culture. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} A thumbs-up here does not mean the same elsewhere. So do the research! Details from any little areas will affect the impression on the whole.

    ●{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    A fake (假的) smile can potentially do more harm than good in our attempts to leave a good impression. It is understandable that sometimes it is hard to suddenly force a smile. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Remember being positive plays an important part in shaping our first impression.

    ●Look into people's eyes until you see the colors of their iris (虹膜).

    Keeping eye contact delivers a sense of friendship to the people we interact with. Consequently, they feel more connected to us and tend to be more positive toward the interaction. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Well, try to identify the color of the others' irises. Get it? That makes a good eye contact example.

    Are these the impression we want to leave? Stop staring at the ground and look at people in the eye then!

Animals are humans' best friends. Here we will know about some of those interesting friends.
       Gouldian Finch

Native to Australia, the Gouldian finch has special green, yellow, red and black markings. For the males (雄性), the part between the neck and the stomach is bright purple, while for females, this part is pale purple. We all Have to agree that nature has created some really great animals with the smallest of details.

Keel-Billed Toucan

It is the very same crazy bird from the movie Rio, also known to be the "rainbow billed toucan". The bird has a black body and a yellow face. The color of its bill (喙) is a combination of green, yellow, orange and red, and that's how the name rainbow billed toucan came from. It is rarely seen alone. It travels in small groups of about six to twelve individuals.

The Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher

It is a great tiny bird commonly found in South Asia. This bird is the most brightly colored and the smallest kingfisher species. Its special feature is the orange with bluish-purple head, which can be easily recognized. The throat is white with bright orange colored lines at the bottom. It is a pretty and small bird.

Poison (毒) Dart Frog

It is a kind of very beautiful creature. The bright colors of the poison dart frog send a warning to its natural enemies about its poison. Found in South America, with some of the brightest shades of yellow, copper, red, green and blue, this frog is among those very animals that you have to watch out in the Amazon Rainforest.

Book Restorers Touch History

—Keeping ancient manuscripts in tip-top condition requires expertise and passion—

Whenever Song Jing visits a museum, she makes a point of checking out the section on ancient books. In addition to appreciating the wisdom {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (hide) in those historical volumes, she focuses on how they are bound and presented.

Song works in the restoration division for ancient books at the National Library of China which is home to about 3 million ancient manuscripts, many of which require restoration before they can see {#blank#}2{#/blank#} light of day again. Some books have suffered great loss. Take, for example, a 16th-century copy of Yongle Dadian. Only 3.5 percent of the total publication are known to exist.

The process of {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (repair) ancient books is complex. Day after day, Song and her colleagues are fully immersed in the duty of handling and healing the old books. Thanks {#blank#}4{#/blank#} cutting-edge technology, restorers can create paper {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (incredible) similar to the original version. However, the old-fashioned techniques still come in handy sometimes. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (fear) the chemicals in commercially produced paste might harm the books, restorers have to make the glues by themselves. The paste needs to be mixed right before the repair, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} it will go bad because of sitting for too long.

The valuable cultural heritage that restorers have preserved {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (serve) as the best evidence of Chinese civilization. Recently, the library has sent {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (it) specialists like Song to deliver speeches in colleges and on TV. "I'm glad to see such {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (arrange) and I hope to inspire people to find their passion in the preservation of our traditional culture," Song says.