In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts and the worst guests in the world. And western hosts sometimes look impolite in the eyes of Chinese guests. It’s because the guest- host relationship in China is quite different from that in some western countries.

In China, guests are almost like gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese friend’s home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. In the west, generally the guest is not a god. Acting according to the host’s way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.

My wife’s mother, a very kind Chinese lady, doesn’t smoke. When I see her guests smoking in her house, as a non-smoker, I feel unhappy. Usually, I want to stop them directly, but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In most North American homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are not smokers, you should ask, “Is it OK if I smoke?” But don’t be surprised if they say, “No.” In my culture, if you smoke in their house, you are a bad guest, but if they don't allow you to smoke in their house, they are not impolite hosts.

Guests in China also have special habits. They usually give hosts gifts when visiting a Chinese family. However, it’s not necessary in my country. So if you invite foreign guests to your home, don’t be too surprised if they don’t bring you a gift.

 In a word, no matter where you are, the best way to be a good guest is to adapt (适应) to the habits of your hosts.

1.When a western guest visits a Chinese family, he is often regarded as a god.

2.The writer’s wife’s mother will stop her guests smoking because she isn’t a smoker.

3.According to the article, the writer is probably a Chinese.

4.It’s necessary for a guest to give the host a gift when visiting a western family.

5.The writer tells us to act as the host does when visiting someone’s home.

FUN WITH COOKIE

Paul: “I have been working for this company for ten years, however they chose the new guy for promotion (升职) over me.”

Julia: “Well, that’s just the way the cookie breaks into pieces.”

This is an informal expression that means bad things happen in life and there is nothing you can really do to prevent it. It’s not worth getting sad; you should just try and accept it calmly.

Of course in the UK we would generally use the word “biscuit” instead of cookie when talking about those hard baked, sweet, flat cakes which are so popularly eaten with a cup of tea. Cookie is originally a Dutch term meaning little cake and has spread to the United States because of immigration (移民) from Holland.

Also in the US we can find “fortune cookies” which are usually served with Chinese food. However they are almost unknown in mainland China and were invented in California by Asian immigrants. They are crisp cookies with pieces of paper inside, on which are written clever sayings, prophecies (预言) or words of wisdom.

A Cookie in computing is a collection of information which is used by websites to know users who have visited the site before. They are stored on your computer when you use the Internet, and also you will find the websites you used easily.

A cookie can also be a person. A tough cookie is unemotional (冷漠的) and a hard businessman while a smart cookie is sharp, clever and not easily fooled.

Biscuit and cookie is just one example of the difference between British and American words.

It is fun to know what “COOKIE” 1.in different ways

An informal expression

● It means that we can’t stop something bad happening in life, we’d better accept it in2..

“Biscuit” or“Cookie”

● Englishmen usually eat “biscuits” at teatime.

● Cookie is first used by the people from Holland.

● Later, Americans don’t use “biscuits”, they use cookies 3. .

Fortune cookie

● Fortune cookies have pieces of paper inside with clever sayings, prophecies (预言) or words of wisdom.

A Cookie in computing

● When people use computers, some information is4.and stored on their computers.

● With the help of cookies, Users will have no difficulty finding the websites again next time.

To describe a person

● If somebody does business5.kindness, he is a tough cookie.

● If somebody often gets a high score in exams, he must be a smart cookie.

Fairy tale(童话) fiction or not?

One hot debate topic from I Can I Bibi (《奇葩说》) has become popular on Weibo: Should parents tell their children that fairy tales are fake(假的)? Some people think we shouldn’t. Fairy tales give kids hope and teach life lessons. But others think that children need the ability to distinguish (区分) real from fake, and this role is best played by their parents. What’s your opinion?

YES 

Hu Enqi, 16

There is no doubt that the world of fairy tales is beautiful, but the real world is cruel (残酷的). If children are always deep in fairy tales, they might not adjust(调节) themselves to society. That’s why there are so many “giant babies” in society. It is parents’ duty to tell children that beauty and darkness are coexistent(共存的). They need to be stronger to adapt to (适应) society.

Li Ziyi, 16

It’s important to tell kids the wisdom in fairy tales, not whether or not they’re fake. If I’m a parent, I will tell my kids: “Dear, the Queen’s poisoned apple is fake, but in our daily lives, fake apples may be many other seductions (诱惑) that you need to be careful of.” Fairy tales can never solve all problems. After all, dangers are always present in both fairy tales and reality (现实). 

NO 

Yuan Siyi, 16

Not every fairy tale is fake — they’re from our lives. The essence (本质) of fairy tales is to teach children the most basic truths based on the real world. The content of fairy tales is not meaningless. Parents could look on them as partners to children when they grow up. Children will understand the truth step by step.

Hu Pei, 16

As a kid bathed in fairy tales, I don’t want to be told that they are fake. Fairy tales get kids to read, help shape their world outlook, encourage their imaginations and give them entertainment. Even if parents tell the kids the cruel reality, they may miss the point. Instead, they may be filled with fear of the future and the world, which is not our purpose.

1.According to the passage, “the giant babies” are ___________.

A.those babies who can’t grow up B.those babies who are big in shape

C.those adults who can adapt to society well D.those adults who can’t distinguish real from fake

2.According to Li Ziyi, ___________.

A.we shouldn’t tell children fairy tales are fake

B.some fairy tales have wisdom while others don’t

C.there are many dangers in different shapes in reality

D.“poisoned apples” needn’t be afraid of because they are fake

3.From the passage, we can know _________.

A.in fairy tales everything is beautiful and good

B.fairy tales can give kids hope and teach life lessons

C.fairy tales have nothing to do with the real world

D.fairy tales mainly need to tell kids cruelty of reality

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