Living in a foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be confusing (令人迷惑的). A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences. They decided that miscommunications (沟通误解) were always possible, even Over something as simple as "yes" and "no".

   On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific (太平洋), Lisa thought people weren't paying any attention to her. The day was hot. She went into a store and asked, "Do you have cold drinks?" The woman there didn't say anything. Lisa repeated the question. Still the woman said nothing. She later learned that the woman had answered her: She had raised her eyebrows (眉毛), which in Micronesia means "yes".

   Jan remembered an experience she had in Bulgaria, a country in Europe. She went to a restaurant that was famous for its cabbage. She asked the waiter, "Do you have cabbage today?" He nodded his head. Jan waited, but the cabbage never came. In that country, a nod means "no".

   Tom had a similar problem when arrived in India. After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood. They answered with many different nods and shakes of the head. He thought some people had not understood, so he explained again. When he asked again, they did the same thing. He soon found out that his students did understand. In India, people nod and shake their heads in different ways depending on where they come from. You have to know where a person is from to understand whether they mean "yes" or "no".

 On Thanksgiving Day, about 88 percent of Americans will eat turkey（火鸡）. But one lucky turkey not only will not be eaten but also will become famous! Every year, turkey farmers present a turkey to the U. S. president（总统）. But instead of eating this turkey, the president gives it a "pardon". The turkey is flown to Florida for a Thanksgiving Parade (游行). Then it lives on a farm for the rest of its life.

      Turkeyscome fromNorth Americaand have been part of American culture for centuries. Benjamin Franklin even wanted the turkey to be America's national bird.

     Turkeys living on farms are large birds that cannot fly. But wild turkeys are quite fast. They can fly at a speed up to 88 kilometres per hour. They can also run as fast as 40 kilometres per hour.

     Turkeys don't have ears. They hear with a snood above their beaks (尖喙). But their hearing is five times better than human hearing（人类的听力）.

      Turkeysare such interesting bird——no wonder Benjamin Franklin wanted them to be America's national bird!

The inventions that changed the world.

The compass(指南针)

Ancient mariners(水手) knew their position and found their way by the stars. However, that method didn’t work during the day or on cloudy nights. And it was unsafe to voyage far from land.

 The Chinese invented the first compass between the 9th and 11th century. It was made of lodestone(天然磁石).Soon after, the technology passed to Europeans and Arabs. The compass enabled mariners to sail safely far from land. It also improved sea trade and contributed to the Age of Discovery.

The printing press(印刷机)

The German Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press around 1440. The printing press increased the speed with which book copies could be made. Thus, it led to(使得) the quick and wide spread of knowledge for the first time in history. Twenty million volumes (册) of books had been printed in Western Europe by 1500.

  Different countries have different customs in giving presents.

   In China you must never give a clock to a Chinese person, because the sound of the word for "clock" is similar to the sound of "death". Also, don't wrap (用……包裹) a present in white, black, or blue paper, because they are the colors for funerals(葬礼). Don't give a knife, because something sharp can cut a friendship.

   In Russia if you give flowers as presents, you have to give an odd number of them (one, three, five, etc.) because even numbers of flowers are for funerals.

   In Germany if you are invited to dinner, flowers are good presents to take to your dinner hostess(女主人), but don't take her red roses because it means you are in love with her. Don't take thirteen of anything because it's an unlucky number. Don't take an even number of anything, either. Don't wrap your presents in white, brown, or black paper.

Tea bag drinking is most westerners’ favorite way of drinking tea. Do you know how it came about?

 The tea bag was invented in 1908 by Thomas Sullivan, an American tea seller. He was sending out free tea in silk (丝绸) bags for people to try. People put the bags together with the tea leaves into the cup and added hot water. The tea tasted good, and people thought it was easy to clean the cup. They were not happy when Sullivan started sending them loose (散的) tea again.

  Sullivan realized that he had a hot new thing in his hands, and he built a machine to pack the bags. Of As tea bags became popular, they were changed from silk to gauze (薄纱) and later paper. In 1952, Lipton Tea made the tea bag even more popular with its invention of the four-sided tea bag. Tea bags were soon a hit in the UK, and today 85% of the tea in the UK is packed in paper bags. However, many people still prefer loose tea. This is because some tea companies put not very good tea in their tea bags. But for most people, tea bags are still the easy, tasty way to go.

It is said that as the population of a city grows, so do its problems. Pollution, too many cars, and crowded streets are just a few of the problems. One way to deal with these problems is city trains. Traveling to different parts of a city by train means fewer cars and buses on our roads, cleaner air and more open streets. In recent years, cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai have all built city train lines.

The first city train line in China was built in Beijing. The oldest part of the train line, from Beijing Zhan to Ping Guo Yuan was opened in 1969. Its length was 23.6 kilometers. With the development of the city after 1980, more trains are needed. A new train line was built to help move people around the city center. The 16-kilometer-long “circle line” was finished in 1987. Since that time even more train stations have been built and today the train lines in the city are over 50 kilometers long.

For the 2008 Olympic Games, the trains of Beijing was very important. Most of the people who went to watch the different sports games during the Olympic Games traveled by train.

Beijing Opera is also called Peking Opera. It came into being after 1790 when the famous four Anhui opera troupes(戏班) came to Beijing. Its music and singing(唱腔) come from Xipi and Erhuang in Anhui and Hubei. Its costumes are all fascinating and artistic. It is the highest expression of the Chinese culture. It’s full of famous stories, beautiful facial paintings, and wonderful gestures and fighting. This kind of opera is very popular with Chinese people.

There are four main roles in Beijing Opera: Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou. Sheng is the leading male(男性) actor. For example, a Wusheng is a soldier or fighter. A Xiaosheng is a young man. A Laosheng is an old man. Dan is the female(女性) role. Jing, mostly male, is the face-painted role and Chou is the comedy actor or clown.

Stories in Beijing Opera are very interesting. Some of them are from the history book, but most of them are from the literature, especially famous novels. The people in the story usually have some disagreements. They become angry and unhappy. They are sad and lonely. Sometimes they are nervous and worried. Then they find a way to make peace. The stories usually end with happiness and laughter and people are all happy in the end.

   It’s not easy to get used to another country’s customs（风俗）, but before you visit a country, you'd better learn how to behave properly（表现地得体） at table.

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