Look at the foods around you. From grapes and wainuts (核桃)to cucumbers and spinach(菠菜), they make our diets special. But did you know that none of the foods above are native to China？They came to China through the Silk Road hundreds of years ago. Are there any foods that are native to China？Of course there are. Rice, soy beans, chestnuts (栗子), Chinese cabbage and hawthorns(山植)were all grown in China first.

    Where are these foods from？

    It's very interesting to study names of different countries. Chinese names are different1foreign names. Once an English lady came to2me. When I was introduced to her, she said, "Glad to meet you, Miss Ping." Then she gave me her name card with three words on it: "Betty J. Black". So I said "Thank you, Miss Betty." We looked at each other and laughed heartily. Later I found that the English people3their family names last and the given names first, while their middle names were not used very much. I explained to her that the Chinese put family names first, the given names last, so she should4call me Miss Ping. She asked if we Chinese had a middle name. I told her we didn't.5people may often find three words on a Chinese name card. In this case, the family name still comes first, the other words after it was a two-word given name. It is quite usual in China. My sister is Li Xiaofang. She has two words in her given name instead of just one6   mine.

    A gift is necessary when one is invited to visit friends in China. After greetings, the gift should be passed immediately to the host. Remember that usually Chinese people will not open the gift in front of the person who gives  1. To show the respect, it may be  2 to explain what the gift is. Bringing some nutrients and tonics (营养品、补品) to the elders in the family is a good idea. You can 3 prepare some small gifts for the spouse (配偶) or kids of the host. The host usually makes full  4 by carefully tidying up the house and  5  a lot of delicious dishes.  6 the meal is well prepared, the host may say to the guest politely, "My preparation is not enough, please excuse me for my poor treat." As a guest, you should make the host believe that there is plenty to eat by praising the food.

    While eating, the elders will use chopsticks to  7 food for guests as a tradition and ask them to eat  8 . As a guest, you should accept their goodwill readily.  But nowadays, the younger people do the traditional way less.

    After dinner, tea and fruit are usually served. When the guests are to leave, the host may still politely ask them to stay. They don't have to take it 9 and they can try to find a good time to leave. This doesn't mean that leaving early is always a good idea as the host may feel that the guests are not satisfied with the treat. Finding the right time to leave  10  the situation.

    Every year, more than 26,000 children arrive in Britain. We ask some new arrivals what they like best about their new lives and what's different from home.

    People all over the world celebrate the new year. However, not all countries celebrate in the same way, and in some countries, the new year doesn't begin on the 1 day every year.

    In many countries, the new year begins on January 1^st, but people 2 celebrating on December 31^st, New Year's Eve. In New York many people go to celebrate in Times Square. 3 they're waiting for the new year, they listen to music, sing traditional songs and have fun. Just before 12 o'clock, everyone 4 down from 10:10, 9, 8…As soon as it's 12 o'clock, everyone shouts very 5, "Happy New Year!"

    New Year's Day is often a family day. Some families get together for a 6 meal, when the weather is fine, many families go out for a  7.

    On New Year's Day, many people make 8 for the new year. They write down a list of things, such as "I will help out more 9the housework." "I will work10 at school than others. "or" I won't 11so much time playing video games." When they have made12resolutions, they read them to their family or friends and promise to13them.

    It doesn't matter 14people all over the world celebrate.15all of them, it's a time to say goodbye to the old year, and to welcome the year.

    Jazz is a type of music. Some people say that jazz is America's only true art form. That's because it began here. Hundreds of years ago, black people worked as slaves (奴隶) and made up songs to pass the time. It wasn't called jazz then, but the way the slaves were playing and singing music was special.

    The music of America's black people began to be called jazz in the early 1900s.

    What makes jazz special is improvisation (即兴创作). That means making the music up on the spot (当场). No music in front of you. No long discussion with other people in your band.

    "It's free. It's beautiful," says Geoffrey, a sixth-grader at Stratford Landing Elementary School. Geoffrey is such a good musician that he has performed at the Kennedy Center.

    Geoffrey says, "It's easy to express your feelings through jazz. You are more focused on being creative and using your imagination in jazz. "

    Washington DC is a very important place in the history of jazz. It has a famous jazz piano player: Duke Ellington.

    Born in Washington in 1899, Ellington as a child wanted to play baseball instead of the piano. But his parents played the piano, so he started playing the piano when he was seven years old.

    In 1920, he played small shows at the Howard Theatre. When he was 24, he moved to New York, but he didn't forget his hometown. He called his band the Washingtonians and later he returned to perform at the Lincoln Theatre.

    We call Chinese New Year Spring Festival. There is a name 1each Chinese year. We may call it the Year of the 2, the Year of the Monkey, the Year of the Dog...

    Before Chinese New Year, people are 3 shopping and 4 their houses. On Chinese New Year's Eve, there is a big family dimmer. After" dinner, all the family members stay up late to 5 the new year. On the 6 day of the new year people put on their 7 clothes and go to visit their friends and relatives. They say "8" and some other greetings to one another. People 9 have a very good time 10 the festival.

    Do you know "One Belt, One Road"? We also call it the Modern Silk Road. And Zhang Qian was an early traveller of the Ancient Silk Road. He was probably the first1to bring back good information about the central Asian lands to China.

    In 139 BC, Han Wudi sent Zhang Qian to the Yue-zhi people to ask for their2against the Xiongnu people who often infringed(侵犯) them.3, on the way to the Western Regions, he was caught by the Xiongnu people. Zhang had to stay with them4about 10 years before he got away. When Zhang finally5the Yue -zhi people in the North India, he was6to find that they didn't want to fight against the Xiongnu people.

    On7return journey, Zhang Qian and his men were8again. It was not until 125 BC that they returned to China.9Zhang didn't finish his job, he learned a lot about the places, people, customs and cultures of the 36 kingdoms(王国) in the Western Regions.

    Later Han Wudi sent Zhang to West again. Zhang's journey to the West helped10international trade, especially in silk, between China and the West, That's the Ancient Silk Road.

    There are many differences between Chinese and Western eating habits. In the West, everyone has their own1of food. But in China the dishes are2on the table and everyone shares them. If you are treated by a Chinese host, there must be 3food prepared for you. Chinese are very 4 of their culture and will do their best to show their hospitality(好客).

    And sometimes the Chinese host uses his/her 5 to put food into your bowl or plate. This is a sign of politeness. The proper thing to do would be eat the food and say how 6it is. If you feel uncomfortable with this, you can just say "Thanks" and leave the food there. Don't7your chopsticks upright into the rice bowl. The reason for this is that when somebody8, the shrine(神祠)has a bowl of sand or rice with chopsticks stuck upright in it. It is impolite to set the teapot down where the spout(壶嘴)is 9somebody. The spout should always be directed to where nobody is sitting.

    Don't hit your bowl with your chopsticks. Beggars(乞丐)hit their bowls, so this is not polite. Also, when the food is coming too 10 in a restaurant, people will hit their bowls. If you are in someone's home, it is like offending the cook.

    Cartoon films have very few limits(限制). If you can draw something, then you can make it 1on the cinema screen. The use of new ideas and modern computer programs means that cartoons are becoming exciting again for people of 2 ages.

    By the 1970s，the cinema world had decided that cartoons were 3 for children. But soon after that, one or two film makers had some new ideas. They proved that it was 4 to make films which both grown­ups and children would enjoy.

    However, not every cartoon film was 5. The Black Cauldron, for example, failed, mainly because it was too 6 for children and too childish for grown­ups. Film makers learnt a lesson from this 7, and then cartoons were welcomed 8 both children and grown­ups and 9 the film companies began to make large amounts(大量的) of 10.