Dear Mike，

      I'm so glad you're coming to China! Your mother，our foreign English teacher，told me you're worried about what you should and shouldn't do as a guest in China．Here's some advice．You will probably be invited to a big meal. You may find it earlier than you expect because Chinese people eat dinner much earlier than people in the West．There will be a lot of different dishes，not just three courses．You may find it difficult to use chopsticks if you haven't tried before．It's a good idea to get some practice．When the food is served，you should take time to look at it. The preparation takes a long time and everything will look beautiful．The plates will be placed in the middle of the table，for everyone to share．Take a little of everything and then have some more of the things you like．Chinese people like to talk about food，so it's a good topic of conversation．At the end of the meal，you will usually be served with fruit．Eat your fruit，thank your friends， and go．

      I hope this is helpful．E-mail me if you have any other questions． 

                                                                                                                              Yours，

                                                                                                                                   David Zhang

    My favorite holiday is the Spring Festival. It's usually in February, but sometimes in January. Before the Spring Festival, we always clean the house to sweep away bad luck. In my family, my mother and I spend one or two days cleaning the house. My grandparents are busy shopping. They go to markets to buy food, fireworks and many other things.

    On the eve of the Spring Festival, my family celebrates with a traditional big family dinner. There's so much delicious food that my mother cooks for us. Jiaozi is the most important. It means saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new year. We also watch the Spring Festival Gala as we wear our new clothes. Children are very happy when they get their lucky red packets with money. I am very lucky to have many relatives because I always get a lot of lucky money!

    I love the Spring Festival and enjoy it very much.

    Today, with the development of society, people all over the world almost have the same hobbies That is to say, we are not very different in some way. However, cultures are still quite different. In the East and in the West, social rules are not the same.

    In the East, it takes a long time to become someone's friend. People are very close to their friends. When people from the West meet you, they will call you a friend right away. That doesn't mean they are close to you.

    When people from the East meet you, they want to know about your age, your salary (薪水) and whether you are married or not. For people from the West, these are not polite questions. They think such kind of questions violates their privacy (隐私).

    Family is important for everyone. However, in the East, kids live with their parents for a long time. They still listen to them after they grow up.

    In the West, independence is very important. After their kids grow up, they leave home. They don't have to listen to their parents.

    In the East and in the West, people think differently, too. People in the West think less and act more. In the East, people notice relationships between things, and they often keep their opinions quiet.