When treating some friends to dinner, we Chinese often say, “The dishes are not good. Please forgive me.” In fact, it is a Chinese way of {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) modest. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} he really means is that all the dishes here are really wonderful! What he really hopes is compliment from the guests! But {#blank#}3{#/blank#} English would not understand it at all! Now that it is not very good, why should you present the dishes in front of us? The English would say to their guests “ Enjoy yourselves!” when eating and “hope you've enjoyed!” after eating.

    While {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (eat), we Chinese often say to the guests, “Eat slowly.” This would be very {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (puzzle) to the foreigners: Am I eating very violently? Am I eating too {#blank#}6{#/blank#} or too much?

    And now comes the end of the dinner when your guests {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (leave). The Chinese would say, “Walk slowly!” This is a very polite saying in Chinese, but will also be confusing to the foreigners: why can't I walk fast? Does it matter {#blank#}8{#/blank#} I walk slowly or not? Are you worrying that I may fall over? {#blank#}9{#/blank#} change your words {#blank#}10{#/blank#} a simple “Bye!” or “See you next time!”

    Dubai was a 6,000-person fishing village half a century ago. Since 1966, when oil was discovered there, the population of Dubai has grown to 2.6 million. Over the years, it {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (become) a well-known tourist destination .

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} attracts tourists to Dubai are tax-free shopping, dry weather, excellent accommodations, delicious food and beaches that go on for miles. In fact, some foreigners come here only {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (experience) the shopping. There are dozens of shopping malls, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (provide) every famous brand you can name. Those outdoor markets sell everything from spices (香料) to gold at fair prices.

    Choosing what places to visit in Dubai is difficult, because even the hotels there are also amazing {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (attract). The Burj A1 Arab is considered one of the world's best hotels, and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} is located on its own island, about 1,000 feet offshore from Dubai. Built in the shape of {#blank#}7{#/blank#} ship, this hotel is still {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (tall) than the Eiffel Tower and nearly as tall as the Empire State Building. Certainly, there are also other great places of interest to visit.

    Indeed, travelling around this country will {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (true) give you an amazing experience because of its interesting things {#blank#}10{#/blank#}  (offer) to all types of tourists.

    Some time ago, a friend of mine who worked in a part of the city I didn't know very well, invited me to call on him. It took me hours {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (get) there and I took great trouble finding a proper place to park my car. As I was already half an hour late, I parked my car quickly on a non-parking place. At noon, just as I {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (leave) my friend's office suddenly I had no idea {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I had parked my car. I could hardly go up to a policeman and tell him that I had lost a small green car somewhere! I had to walk down street after street and examined each car {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (close). I was very happy to see a small green car just behind an old car. But how {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (disappoint) I was to discover that though the car was exactly {#blank#}6{#/blank#} my own, it belonged to someone else! I was very tired and went off for lunch. About half an hour later, I left the restaurant,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} was nearby, and walked down the street. Turning the corner, I nearly jumped for joy: my car was right in front of me. But soon I felt down because a ticket {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(attach) to my car.

    To tell the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (true), driving in crowded cities is far from being a pleasure. So walking or cycling{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (be) a good choice.

    A teacher once told each of her students to bring a clear plastic bag and a large bag of potatoes to school. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} every person that the students refused to forgive in their life, they {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(choose) a potato, wrote on {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the name of that person and the date, and then put it in the plastic bag. Some of their bags were quite heavy.

    They were then told to carry these bags with them everywhere for one week,{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (put) them beside their beds at night, on their car seats when driving, and next to their desks at work.

    During this time,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} they carried the bags around with them, they realized what a weight they were carrying, and{#blank#}6{#/blank#}they needed to pay attention all the time, so as not to forget them or leave them in {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (embarrass) places. Of course, the potatoes were becoming {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (rot), and smelled very bad.

    This is the same as the price we pay for keeping our pain and {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (happy) with us! Forgiving others is not only a gift to them, but also a very good gift to {#blank#}10{#/blank#}！

    I am a huge fan of thrift shop (旧货店) and have several that I check out every weekend. It's how I relax and get some time to {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (I). I actually look forward to it every week.

    One of my favorite shops started discounting certain pieces of clothing by 90%. I was {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (disappoint) at first that I couldn't benefit from this, because none of them was in my or my husband's size.

    Then it {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (occur) to me that I could stock up on sweaters and jackets for the coming cold weather and donate them {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the homeless shelter! In the last couple of {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (week) I've gotten six huge bags of clothes for under $20! I try to get unisex (男女皆宜的) colors and styles in case there are women {#blank#}6{#/blank#} need clothing, too.

    I went to the shelter today to drop off the clothing. It was pouring with rain, and there were several people huddled (挤成一团) inside {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (wait) for lunch. One poor man was lying on the wet floor. I asked him {#blank#}8{#/blank#} he wanted something dry to lie on and gave him a sleeping bag. He was thrilled and said he {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (real) needed one.

    Before dropping off the clothing I put {#blank#}10{#/blank#} smile card into one of the jacket pockets!

    Going to museums has become a trendy thing to do during the holidays in China. A popular choice this Spring Festival was the Palace Museum,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}a special exhibition was staged to provide a virtual royal experience for visitors. The entire museum{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(decorate) with newly-restored ancient royal lanterns and spring couplets, including a set of the Chinese character "Fu"{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (write) by five Qing Dynasty emperors.