1. 阅读理解

    Different countries have different greeting customs. Read this article to know more about the greeting customs in different cultures, and make sure you greet people in the right way next time.

France     French people greet each other with a handshake, but close friends kiss each other on both cheeks when they meet. They do this gesture when meeting and before leaving.

South Korea     In South Korea, it is a sign of respect for people to bow when greeting each other, In South Korea, a bow is followed by a handshake. While shaking someone's hand, it is polite to support the right forearm with the left hand. However, South Korean women do not shake hands with Western men; instead, they bow slightly.

Brazil     Kissing women on the cheek is a common way of greeting. In a formal situation, a handshake is often done to show respect. Men should shake hands before and after meeting, and once they have become familiar with each other, a light hug is often given to each other.

Ghana     In a social situation, it's polite to greet everyone in the room. A handshake is used in greeting, and the palm must directly touch the palm of the other. It's considered disrespectful to touch the back of the hand.

The Philippines     There are several ways of greeting people in the Philippines. An elderly person places his or her right hand on the forehead of a child to "bless" the latter. This is called" mano". Relatives and family members greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. Friends greet each other with a polite nod or a handshake.

Carnival

Carnival is the last big festival in summer in Brazil, which may begin 40 days before Easter every year. During the festival, to celebrate their traditions, Brazilians sing and dance in dance halls and clubs, on the streets and beaches or anywhere else in Brazil.

Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival is one of the most popular traditional festivals celebrated in China, falling on the fifth of the fifth lunar month. The most famous and greatest tradition is holding Dragon Boat races. In addition, during the festival, people make and eat Zongzi. Hanging herbs (草药) on the front door is also popular, which is meant to protect people from evil (邪恶) and illness.

Solnal

Koreans celebrate Solnal, the lunar New Year, with other East Asian countries. Solnal is a time for Koreans to celebrate the traditions with their family. On New Year's Day, people put on traditional clothes and put food on a special table for the dead members of their family. Family enjoy activities such as kite flying and dancing.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays in the US and it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November each year. On the day, Americans say “Thank you” to their family, friends and people that help them. On Thanksgiving, people usually have a big turkey dinner and a special party with their family.

Choose the right answer according to the passage.

It's half past seven on Monday morning: time to get ready for school. Jay Stone rolled out of bed. He did a couple of quick wake-up exercises and then he went over to a mirror and looked at himself.

“Not bad, Stone, not bad,” he said to himself and smiled. Maybe he wasn't ready for Hollywood, but with his dark broad eyes and his thick brown hair, he had the looks that turned girls' heads. He moved in closer to the mirror and smiled, checking his teeth.

“Perfect,” he thought, “Good enough for a toothpaste ad.”

As his eyes moved down to his strong arms and chest he smiled again. The hours he spent on the playground and doing sit-ups have paid off!

 But suddenly, the smile froze(僵住)on his lips. His eyes moved from the upper part of his body down to his legs. His legs were short. Not just short, but far too short for his body. He had the upper body of a six feet boy, but because of his legs, he was much less than six feet. Sitting, he was as tall as almost anyone in his class. Standing, he had to look up at most of the boys and even many of the girls.

Why didn't his legs grow with the rest of his body? At five feet six inches(英寸), he was one of the shortest boys in his class. He was the shortest in his own family, and he was even shorter than his little sister — by three inches! Where did his legs come from?

He certainly didn't get them from his parents. They were both quite tall. Looking through old photos in the family album, he found the answer. It was his grandfather on his mother's side. His short legs were a gift from Grandpa Tuttle. Thanks a lot, Grandpa!

Do you like writing by hand or wit a keyboard?

A new brain research, led by researchers at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. shows that choosing handwriting instead of using a keyboard results in better learning and memory.

"When you write your shopping list or class notes by hand, you simply remember what you wrote better later, " said Audrey van der Meer, who did the study.

12 young grown-ups and 12 children took part in the study. This is the first time that children have taken part in such a study. Special machines were used to follow and record brain wave (电波) activity. Each person wore a special cap with over 250 electrodes (电极) on the head, and was asked to write by hand and use a keyboard. The sensors (传感器) in the electrodes picked up the activity that took place in the brain. Each examination took 45 minutes for each person.

The results showed that the brain in both young grown - ups and children is much more active when writing by hand than when using a keyboard. According to Van der Meer, plenty of senses become active by holding a pen and pushing it down on paper, seeing the letters written and hearing the sound made while writing. These build connection between different parts of the brain, opening the brain up for learning.

Van der Meer believes that the results call attention to the importance of children being asked to draw and write at an early age, especially at school. "Learning to write by hand is a bit slower course, but it's important for children to experience the tiring step of learning to write by hand," she said.

The hand movements used to form the shapes of letters are helpful in several ways. "If you use a keyboard, you use the same movement for each letter. Writing by hand requires control of your fine motor (精细动作) skills and senses. It's important to put the brain in a learning condition as often as possible," Van der Meer added. For example, you might use a keyboard to write an article, but you should take notes by hand during a class.