People use their mouths for many things. They eat, talk, shout and sing. They smile and they kiss. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word mouth. But some of them are not so nice.

For example, if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest and say "Do not bad mouth me.” Sometimes, people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because hurts that personˈs feelings. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say: "I really put my foot in my mouth this time." If this should happen, the speaker might feel "down in the mouth." In other words, he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing. 

Do animals have a culture? What do we mean by “culture”? Recently social scientists have begun to ask if culture is found just in humans, or if some animals have a culture too. When we speak of culture, we mean a way of life that a group of people have in common. Culture is the forms of behavior that help people to live together. It is also the forms of behavior that make one group of people different from another group.

Human beings use tools, cooperate(合作) with one another, and communicate with language. But these aspects (方面) of human behavior, or “culture”, can also be found in the lives of certain animals. Animals can make tools, for example. We used to think that the ability to use tools was the dividing line between human beings and other animals. Lately, however, we have found that this is not the case. Chimpanzees (黑猩猩) can not only use tools but actually make tools themselves. Animals can also share knowledge with each other and use their own language to communicate. So it may be important for us to know that the line dividing us from animals is not as clear as we used to think.

The following books are about a cute dog called Clifford.

CLIFFORD VISITS THE HOSPITAL($4.20)

No Dogs Are Allowed! But Clifford, the small red puppy, visits the hospital and cheers up the patients（患者）. They all love this dog.

     CLIFFORD’S Halloween ($3.99)

Clifford loves holidays, especially（尤其）Halloween（万圣节）.What is Clifford doing for Halloween?

           CLIFFORD’S SPORTS DAY($4.25)

Clifford goes to school with Emily to take part in sports day activities（活动）.

           CLIFFORD AND THE BIG STORM($4.28)

Clifford and Emily go to her grandma’s house, and Clifford saves the house from a  big storm.

In 1834, the clock tower in London was burned down. People planned to build a new clock which would be the biggest and best in the world. So the clock had to be big andkeep very good time. The big clock was made in two years. Five more years later the tower was finished. Then people put the big clock in the tower, and made it ring out for the first time on July 11, 1859.

In order to give the big clock a good name, people held a meeting. Someone wanted to call it the Queen of Bells, and someone thought Victoria was good. At last, a man named Benjamin Hall stood up. He was a big man. Before he started to speak, someone shouted, “Why not call it Big Ben? ”Everybody laughed and agreed with him.

From then on, Big Ben became its name. And it also became a famous building of London. People all over the world write to Big Ben. They even send birthday presents—bottles of oil-to help keep Big Ben running. Big Ben is not only a clock but also a dear friend of people.

Diwali is perhaps the most well-known of the Hindu (印度人的) festivals. It is celebrated by Hindus in India and abroad. It is often called the Festival of Lights. Normally, this holiday is celebrated in October or November and it falls on a different date each year. This year, it will be celebrated on October 23.

Diwali is usually celebrated for 5 days. To prepare for Diwali, Hindus spend several weeks cleaning their homes and preparing special food in order to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth (财富女神) into their lives. They will open the windows of their homes during this time to make sure that she can enter their homes.

One of the other traditions of Diwali is to light up oil lamps (灯) in the homes. The oil lamps are used to make the goddess of wealth enter the homes. Hindus believe that she will not enter a home that is not lit up.

During Diwali, the children in India do not have to go to school. Fireworks (烟火) are a big part of the Diwali festival. They are used to scare away bad spirits (神灵).

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.

   Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Internet forum(论坛) asking what "PK" meant. "My family has been watching the 'I Am a Singer' singing competition TV programme. My little daughter asked me what 'PK' meant, but I had no idea," explained the puzzled(困惑的) father.

   To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online, it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, "PK" is short for "Player Kill", in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other. In the case of(就……来说) the "I Am a Singer" singing competition, "PK" was used to refer to the stage(舞台) where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition raking(争霸赛).

   Like this father, Chinese teachers at Middle schools have also been finding their students using Internet jargons which are difficult to understand. A teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write the compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn't understand. "My 'GG' came back this summer from college." went one composition. Here "GG" means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother).

   Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language. If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur, meaning an ugly looking female(女性)) or a Qing Wa (frog, meaning an ugly looking male ) is, you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao!

Welcome to London! Now let me tell you something about this wonderful city.London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is the biggest city in Western Europe with over 7 million people.It sits by the River Thames.London has a history of more than 2000 years.Because all over the world are familiar with the city's red double­ deck (双层的) buses and black taxis.

People

The British Empire used to rule around the world, so many people from around the world moved to London.They have brought with them their own languages and cultures.More than 300 different languages are spoken in London.

Culture

London is known for its museums.One important museum is British Museum.It is the oldest public museum in the world.There are also two main art museums in London: the National Gallery and the Tate Gallery.Besides, London is also home to arts, such as theater and music.The Globe Theater, which was popular in the late 16th and 17th centuries, was opened for performances of William Shakespeare's central London.

Tourist attractions

London has many wonderful places to visit.For example, the well­known Clock Tower, a 320­foot­high tower, was called the Big Ben.Another famous London building is Buckingham Palace.The members of royal (皇家的) family of England live there.Besides, Hyde Park is the largest open area in central London.

Going to afriend’s house is very exciting. You may spend time with a friend and get to see where he lives, but remember to be polite.21              

When to arrive

The first thing to remember is that when a friend invites you, you need to arrive on time. If your friend tells you to come “around 3:00”, that means you can arrive a little bit after 3: 00. But usually it is a good idea to arrive at the right time.

　　What to bring

Often it is alsoniceto bring something to your friend’s house. This could be a box of chocolates for you two to share, or maybe a movie that you can watch together. You can also bring some flowers. A little gift is a nice way to show that you are excited to be at his house.

How to greet

When you visit your friend’s house, you may also meet his parents. You should tell them who you are and they may tell you their names. As a child, I went to visit my friend Paul. I called his parents by their first names John and Mary. But now I know it is more polite to call them Mr. or Mrs. Smith. This will show them more respect(尊重)and then they may tell you to call them by their first names. Another way to show respect is to call them Sir or Madam.

It isa coolthing to visit a friend’s house. Be polite to your friend and your friend’s parents, and you will be invited again!