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　　In England recently three foreigners came to a bus stop．About 5 minutes later the bus they wanted came along．They prepared to board it．Suddenly there was a loud noise behind them．People rushed on to the bus and tried to push them out of the way．Someone shouted insulting remarks about foreigners．The bus conductor came rushing down the stairs to see what all the trouble was about．The three foreigners looked puzzled and embarrassed．No one had told them about the British custom of queuing for a bus so that the first person who arrived at a bus stop is the first person to get on the bus．Learning the language of a country isn’t enough．If you want to have a pleasant visit, find out as much as possible about the manners and customs of your hosts．

　　You will probably be surprised just how different they can be from your own．A visitor to India would do well to remember that people there consider it impolite to use the left hand for passing food at table．The left hand is supposed to be used for washing yourself．

　　In Europe it is quite usual to cross your legs when sitting talking to someone．Doing this when meeting an important person in Thailand, however, could cause offense．Attitudes to women vary considerably around the world．In Japan, for example, it is quite usual for men to plan evening entertainments for themselves and leave their wives at home．In Europe such attitudes are disappearing．

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　　Time talks．It speaks more plainly(明白地)than words．Time communicates(交流)in many ways．

　　Consider the different parts of the day, for example．The day when something is done can give a special meaning to the event．Factory managers in the United States fully realize the importance of an announcement made during the middle of the morning or afternoon that takes everyone away from his work．

　　In the United States, it is not customary to telephone someone very early in the morning．If you telephone him early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very urgent and requires immediate attention．It is the same with telephone calls made after 11：00p．m．If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he probably thinks it is a matter of life or death．The time chosen for the call communicates its importance．

　　The meanings of time differ in different parts of the world．Thus, misunderstanding arises(出现)between people from cultures that treat time differently．In the United States, people tend to think of time as something fixed in nature, something from which one can not escape．As a rule, Americans think of time as a road into the future, along which one progresses．The road has many sections, which are to be kept separate．．．“one thing at a time”．Thus, an American may feel angry when he has made an appointment(约会)with someone and then finds a lot of other things happening at the same time．

　　Americans look ahead and are concerned almost entirely with the future．The Amercian idea of the future is limited, however．It is the foreseeable future and not the future of involving(牵连)many centuries．

　　Since time has much different meanings in different cultures, communication is often difficult．We will understand each other a little better if we can keep this fact in mind．

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　　American scientist Morse Solomon has developed an unusual method to make meat softer．First, put a kilogram or more of firm meat in a container filled with water．Add a small amount of explosives．Then, mix carefully and explode．

　　No, Mister Morse is not attempting to destroy the meat．Instead, he is making it softer and also killing harmful bacteria．Mister Solomon is a meat scientist with the United States Agricultural Research Service．He began to explore the use of shock waves to soften meat ten years ago．His method is called the Hydrodynamic Pressure Process．The theory is simple．Shock waves from an explosion travel through water to the meat．The shock waves tear small pieces of muscle and other particles away from the meat．This makes the meat softer and easier to eat．The shock waves also reduce the amount of bacteria in the meat．The Department of Agriculture says the process could increase food safety for companies that sell meat．Uncooked meat may contain organisms such as the Escherichia coli bacteria, also known as E．coli．E．coli can make people sick if they eat meat that is not well cooked．The Hydrodynamic Pressure Process may help reduce concerns about harmful bacteria in meat．

　　Other American scientists attempted to improve the process．They used a thick-walled metal container that was buried in the ground．This device did not improve the quality of the meat as much as the simpler method．However, the scientists found there seemed to be fewer bacteria in the meat than before the process．Scientists had demonstrated that the Hydrodynamic Pressure Process could improve large pieces of meat．Next, they wanted to see if the process reduced bacteria levels in smaller pieces of ground beef that is used to make hamburgers．Their tests showed a reduction of bacteria in ground beef products．Other studies showed that ground beef containing E．coli had no measurable levels of the bacteria after the treatment．

　　The Hydrodynamic Pressure Process does not kill all bacteria in the meat, however．Mister Solomon says some good bacteria remain．The agricultural scientists say more studies are needed to see if the method could be used in the meat processing industry．

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　　LONDON(Reuters)－Organic fruit, delivered right to the doorstep．That is what Gabriel Gold prefers, and he is willing to pay for it．If this is not possible, the 26-year-old computer technician will spend the extra money at the supermarket to buy organic food．

　　“Organic produce is always better, ” Gold said．“The food is free of pesticides(农药), and you are generally supporting family farms instead of large farms．And more often than not it is locally(本地)grown and seasonal, so it is more tasty．” Gold is one of a growing number of shoppers buying into the organic trend, and supermarkets across Britain are counting on more like him as they grow their organic food business．But how many shoppers really know what they are getting, and why are they willing to pay a higher price for organic produce? Market research shows that Gold and others who buy organic food can generally give clear reasons for their preferences－but their knowledge of organic food is far from complete．For example, small amounts of pesticides can be used on organic products．And about three quarters of organic food in Britain is not local but imported(进口)to meet growing demand．“The demand for organic food is increasing by about one third every year, so it is a very fast-growing market, ”said Sue Flock, a specialist in this line of business．

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　　1．Malan Flower：China Children’s Art Theatre stages a fairy tale musical(音乐剧)“Malan Flower” this weekend．

　　Beautiful Malan flowers were blossoming everywhere on Malan Mountain, and hard- working girl Xiao Lan was married to the god of flowers, Ma Lang．They lived a happy life in harmony with Grandpa Tree．and all the lovely little animals．However, greedy Old Cat made use of the jealousy of elder sister Da Lan to kill Xiao Lan, in an attempt to keep the magic Malan flower under her possession．

　　This fairy tale entertained three generations of Chinese youth．

　　Time：7∶30 p. m., until August 21

　　Place：The Great Theatre of the Cultural Palace of the Nationalities, west of Xidan Area

　　Tel：6602-2530

　　2．Joyful jugglers：The China Acrobatic Troupe is staging a nightly variety show at the Tiandi Theatre, where the seemingly impossible becomes a reality, where performers spin(旋转)plates and juggle umbrellas．

　　Contortionists(柔术演员)show incredible feats of flexibility and acrobats leap through the air．Integrating juggling, uncycling, balancing and jumping through hoops with the finest ancient Chinese dancing, the performance will amuse you．

　　Time：7∶15 p. m., daily

　　Place：10 Dongzhimen Nandajie, Chaoyang District

　　Tel：6502-3984

　　3．Tour of love：Taiwan singer David Tao(Tao Zhe), who is on a global tour, will arrive in Beijing next month．

　　Tao Zhe was born into a musical family．His father is an expert in Western pop music while his mother is from a family famous for playing Peking Opera．This probably explains why too approaches pop music from a unique angle(角度), which separates him from the average pop singer．

　　With the song “Forever Love You” as the theme of the concert, Tao will share his love and ideas about life and music with his fans．

　　Time：7∶30 p. m., September 10

　　Place：Capital Gymnasium, Baishiqiao Lu

　　Tel：6835-4055

　　4．Army artist：An exhibition featuring artist Li Shaozhou’s personal and meticulous(注意细节的)style of painting will be held at the National Art Museum of China．

　　Born in Henan Province, Li showed strong interests in art during his childhood, and was a specialized artist in the army．

　　The exhibition will present 65 paintings of modern figures, birds and flowers that he has made over the past decade, during which he has formed his own style by absorbing other painting techniques．

　　Time：9 a. m．－5 p. m., August 23-29

　　Place：Wusi Dajie

　　Tel：8403-3500

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　　In some countries in which there is very little rain at any time, the farmers have to irrigate their fields．Irrigation is easy enough if there is a great river near the crops, and if there is plenty of water in it．Canals carry the river water to the fields when necessary．In some seasons there may be too much water in the river, and the water may flood all the land near it．At other times the river water may not be enough for all the farmers, and then it will be difficult to irrigate the fields．

　　To prevent these difficulties, a dam may be built across the river．This will store water for dry seasons, and in wet seasons it will prevent the flooding of the land．A great lake will, no doubt, be formed behind the dam, and this may mean that houses and fields will be covered with water．Most people will accept that and will be ready to move to other places．Then the country can have the right amount of water at all times; more crops will be grown, there will be more food for everyone, and there will be no more floods．

　　We cannot use sea water for irrigation; the salt will not allow the crops to grow．Fresh water is always needed, and it is very difficult and costly to make fresh water from sea water．This is done in a few countries, but the fresh water is for drinking．There is not enough at present for irrigation．Perhaps a scientist will one day invent a cheaper way of producing fresh water from the sea．If fresh water could be made cheaply, we could grow more food．

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　　Newspapers, publications usually issued on a daily or weekly basis, the main function of which is to report news．Many newspapers also furnish special information to readers, such as weather reports, television schedules, and listings of stock prices．They provide commentaries(评论)on politics, economics, arts and culture, and sometimes include entertainment features, such as comics and crossword puzzles．In nearly all cases and in varying degrees, newspapers depend on commercial advertising for their income．

　　Newspaper publishers estimate that nearly six out of ten adults in the United States and Canada read a newspaper every day, and seven out of ten read a paper each weekend．By the time they see a newspaper, most people have already learned about breaking news　stories on television or radio．Readers rely on newspapers to provide detailed background information and analysis, which television and radio newscasts rarely offer．Newspapers not only inform readers that an event happens but also help readers understand what leads up to the event and how it will affect the world around them．

　　The staff of a large newspaper works under the constant pressure of deadlines to bring news to readers as quickly as human energy and technological devices permit．Reporters, photographers, artists, and editors compile articles and graphics——sometimes in just a few hours．Page designers assemble articles, photos, illustrations, advertisements, and eye-catching headlines into page layouts, then rush their work to the printer．Printing technicians may work through the night operating printing processes that can churn out more than 60, 000 copies per hour．

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　　On July 16, 1960, Jane Goodall, a 26-year-old former secretary from England, began to study the behaviour of chimpanzees in the wild．Until that time, scientists had mostly observed and studied chimpanzees in laboratories and zoos．Few scientists had gone to study chimpanzees in the remote areas of Africa where the chimps live．When scientists had studied the chimpanzees in the wild, they hadn’t spent long periods of time observing them．Jane Goodall planned to watch chimpanzees in Africa over a ten-year period and see exactly how they behaved．She was not a professional scientist when she started out．Her book, In the Shadow of Man, tells how she began her project and what she discovered．As Goodall said in 1973, “I had no qualifications at all．I was just somebody with love of animals．”Her love of animals drew her to Africa where she met Dr．Louis S．B．Leakey．

　　Leakey was a world-famous scientist who was studying how prehistoric people lived．Since chimpanzees are humans’ closest living relatives, Leakey thought prehistoric people might have lived in the same ways that chimps live today．Leakey told Goodall that studying chimps might give clues about the way that early people lived．Leakey asked Goodall to study the chimps on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Africa．The chimps were very shy and the country was very difficult to travel through．Goodall took on the difficult job of finding and watching the chimpanzees．