Florida is celebrating a big anniversary this year. Five hundred years ago, on April 2,1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce arrived on the east coast of what is now Florida. Native Americans had been living there for centuries, but Ponce was the first European to set foot in what would become the United States.

    According to legend, Ponce may have landed in Florida by mistake. He is said to have been looking for an island called Bimini and its Fountain (喷泉) of Youth. The magical fountain could supposedly make old people young again. Instead, Ponce landed on Florida and claimed it for Spain. He named it La Florida, or "flowery place".

    Ponce explored more of Florida's coasts over the next few months. He later returned to Spain but went back to Florida in 1521 to attempt to set up a colony. However, native Americans attacked him and his friends, and Ponce was killed. It wasn't until 1565 that Spain set up a successful colony at St. Augustine on Florida's east coast. It is the oldest European settlement in the U. S.

    Florida didn't belong to the U. S. until Spain lost control. It was admitted to the U. S. as the 27th state in 1845.

    Today, Florida has one of the fastest-growing populations of any state. More than 19 million people call it home.

    It's also popular with tourists. Last year, 89 million people visited the Sunshine State. These days, most visitors come in search of fun in the sun on its sandy beaches and its theme parks, such as Disney World and Sea World.

A burial site (埋葬地) at 22,000 feet is giving scientists the best look at horrible Incan (印加) sacrificial (祭祀) ceremonies．By modern standards, the dangerous peak of Mount Llullaillaco, in the Argentine Andes, is no place for kids．The ancient Inca saw things differently though, some 500 years ago．three children arrived at the slopes of the 22,000 feet peak．The three had spent time at the

17,000 feet level, taking part in some ceremonies that can only be guessed at．Then, accompanied by a group of adults, they moved steadily upward．They would not return．Once at the peak, the children two girls and a boy, between eight and 15 years old—would be ceremonially sacrificed and buried beneath 5 feet of broken rocks．They may even have been buried alive．

    And there the story might have ended but for the tireless efforts of Johan Reinhard, an independent archaeologist (考古学家) funded by the National Geographic Society．Reinhard's specialty (特长) is climbing up the Andes in search of sacrificial remains; he had already located 15 bodies, including the famed ice maid he found in

1995．But these three, whose discovery he announced last week, are by far the most impressive．They were frozen solid within hours of

their burial．Two of the bodies are almost perfectly preserved; the third was damaged by lightning．The children's inside organs are not only undamaged but also still contain blood．Craig Morris, an expert

at New York City's American Museum of Natural History, said, "It is truly a fantastic discovery．"

    What makes it so fantastic is not just the bodies themselves, but also the wealth of works of art that were buried along with theme36 gold and silver statues, small woven bags, pottery, a small camel figure and seashell necklaces．Reinhard said, "One of the girls has a beautiful yellow, geometrically designed cover !aid over her．" Her

head wears a feather and a golden mask．Some of the bodies were surrounded with food wrapped in camel skin．which indicates that the children came from the Incan social leadership—not surprising, since only people of high status would have been considered worthy of sacrifice．Little is known about the sacrificial ceremony itself; these objects, along with others found at the lower camp, should toil archaeologists plenty．

    The preserved bodies, meanwhile, will give scientists a look at Incan physiology (生理) firstly．The Argentine military took them away to the nearby town of Salta．There, experts will analyze their organs for information about their diet and their DNA to try and establish their relationship to other racial groups．Reinhard will head back into the mountains, There is no telling how many more bodies remain to be found．

When you are traveling, it’s vital to know about the customs and etiquette（礼仪，礼节）of the global village. What we consider polite behavior at home isn’t always accepted outside our borders.

    ● Etiquette of Gift Giving

    Gift giving should be a happy, positive experience. When selecting a present for someone in Netherlands, don’t purchase fancy kitchen knives or scissors. Giving sharp, pointy objects as gifts is considered unlucky. Be careful when presenting flowers to a friend or a business partner in Russia. Yellow blooms suggest cheat or a relationship break up. Traditionally, red carnations are placed on the tombs of the dead. Writing cards or notes while visiting South Korea, be mindful of your pen’s ink color. Writing a person’s name in red ink traditionally suggests that the person has passed away—an important point to remember when giving a birthday card.

    ● Eating Customs

    Being early or on time is viewed as being rude, too eager or even greedy in Venezuela. If you are invited to someone’s home for a meal, it’s recommended that you arrive 10 minutes later than the requested time. When having a meal in Egypt, don’t use the salt shaker（盐瓶）. It’s insulting to your host to spread salt on your food, which means that you find the meal terrible. Japan is a very polite nation, and their fondness for etiquette extends to the use of chopsticks. According to Japanese custom, if you’re in the middle of eating, use the opposite end of your chopsticks to secure food from a shared plate. When doing business in Turkey, it’s the custom for your host to pay for your meal. Requests to split the bill won’t be accepted. If you would like to pay your fair share, Turks recommend inviting your host to a follow-up meal.

Time talks. It speaks more plainly than words. Time  __  (1)  _   in many ways.

Consider the different parts of the day, for example. The time of the day when something is done can give a   __  (2)  __ _  meaning to the event. It is not a  _   (3)  ___  to telephone someone very early in the morning. If you telephone him early in the day,  _  (4)  ___   he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that something is urgent and __  (5)  __   immediate attention.

The same meaning is   _  (6)  _____  telephone calls made after 11:00 pm. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he may think it is a  __  (7)  _____ of life or death. The time chosen for the call  ___  (8)  __   its importance.

In social life, time plays a very   ___  (9)  __ _  part. In the United States, guests tend to feel they are not highly regarded if the ___  (10)  ___  to a dinner party is extended only three or four days before the party date. But this is not   _  (11)  _____  in all countries. In other areas of the world, it may be considered foolish to make an appointment too far   (12)  ____  because plans which are made for a date more than a week away tend to be   __  (13)  ___ .

The meaning of time  __  (14)  ___  from place to place in the world. _  (15)  ______, misunderstandings often arise between people from different cultures that __  (16)  ___ _  time differently. For example, promptness (准时) is  __  (17)  ____ greatly in American life. If people are not prompt, they may be regarded as  _  (18)  _____  or not fully responsible. In the US, no one would think of keeping a business partner  __  (19)  ____  for an hour; it would be too rude. A person who is five minutes late is ____  (20)  ​__  to make a short apology.

The Winter Olympics is also called the White Olympics．At this time, many colorful stamps are published to mark the great Games．The first stamps marking the opening came out on January 25, 1932 in the United States for the 3rd White Olympics．From then on, publishing stamps during the White Olympics became a rule．

During the 4th Winter Olympic Games a group of stamps were published in Germany in November 1936．The five rings of Olympics were drawn on the front of the sportswear．It was the first time that the rings appeared on the stamps of the White Olympics．

In the 1950s, the stamps of this kind became more colorful．When the White Olympics came, the host countries as well as the non-host countries published stamps to mark those Games．China also published four stamps in February 1980, when the Chinese sportsmen began to take part in the White Olympics．

Japan is an Asian country that has ever held the White Olympics．Altogether 14,500 million stamps were sold to raise money for this sports meet．

Different kinds of sports were drawn on these small stamps．People can enjoy the beauty of the wonderful movements of some sportsmen．

The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.

In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an enough working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.

The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.