In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts (主人) and the worst guests in the world. They're not really bad guests, but because the guest-host relationship in China is much different than in some western counties, it appears they are not nice guests. And western guests sometimes look rude (粗鲁的) in the eyes of Chinese guests.
In China, guests are almost like gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese person'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 elderly Chinese lady, doesn't smoke. When I see some of 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 America homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are not smokers, you should not smoke in their house. At the very least, you could ask, “Is it OK if I smoke?” “But, don't be surprised if they say, “No, you can't smoke.” In our culture, if you smoke in their home, you are a bad guest, but if they don't allow you to smoke in their house, they are not a rude guest.
Guests in China also have special habits. Some western people may not adapt to these habits very soon. Thankfully my wife is Chinese, so whenever we visit a Chinese family she tells me to buy them a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite international guests to your home, don't be too surprised if they don't bring you a gift.
In China, you probably won't need to change the guest-host relationship very much because you will probably only be the host, and Chinese are naturally very good hosts. If western hosts invite you to their house, try not to be too surprised if their style of treating you is not what you have expected.
Some days, don't you think, "Wouldn't it be nice if the laundry would just do itself?” Self-cleaning clothes may sound crazy. But Australian researchers have found a way to make something like this possible!
A team at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, found a way to put special nanostructures (纳米结构) into clothing, which can then clean the clothes. When sunlight hits the nanostructures, they break down the dirt and stains (污渍) that don't belong on your clothes.
The nanostructures don't break down the actual clothing because cotton and the other clothing materials are too strong to be broken down. According to CNN, the researchers cover the clothing in a solution made of silver and copper (铜) nanostructures. All it takes is 40 minutes of sunlight and your clothes will look as good as new.
So if you spill on yourself during lunch, you can step outside for a walk, and it will be clean by the time you go inside. It not only makes your life easier, but it can also be good for the environment.
According to the US Department of Energy, the average load of laundry uses about 25 gallons (about 94 liters) of water. Water is a very important resource, so using less of it to wash clothesis better for the environment. But one of the scientists at RMIT University knows more needs to be done.
“There's more work to do before we can start throwing out our washing machines,” said Dr Rajesh Ramanathan, “but this is a strong foundation .”
So what's the next step? Ramanathan wants to either start selling the solution by itself or convincing clothing makers to treat the clothing with the solution while clothes are being made.
You need some bread and milk. But half an hour later, you leave the supermarket with a trolley(手推车) full of food. What games do supermarkets play to make us spend so much money?
The tricks usually start before you walk in. Outside the supermarket entrance, anybody who walks past can smell warm, fresh bread. That makes us hungry and ready to buy lots of food, not just bread.
Now you're inside and, of course, a small basket would be fine, but all they have are trolleys. And of course the problem with a trolley is that it looks sad and lonely with just one or two products inside. So we may fill it with something. In fact, supermarket trolleys are actually getting bigger so that we buy more.
Of course, many people shop in supermarkets because they think everything is cheaper than in other shops. So supermarkets offer very cheap prices on some things but then have higher prices for other products. One new trick is to put red stickers on products. Customers usually connect red stickers with lower prices so the red stickers is easy to be noticed, even when there is no reduction! Interestingly, this trick appears to work more with men than with women.
There is a story behind the position of everything in the supermarket. For example, customers often go only to buy milk. So they put it right at the back, forcing you to go past hundreds of shelves full of other products. The position of products on each shelf is also important. The most expensive products are usually at eye-level so you see these immediately. The exception is anything that children might like. These products are on lower shelves so that kids see them.
Apart from what you see and smell in a supermarket, what about what you listen to? In most supermarkets they have soft, slow music. It's so relaxing that you slow down and spend more time (and money) in the store. You also move more slowly when the supermarket is busy. Experts suggest it's better to shop when it's quieter, on a Monday or a Tuesday for example. And be careful with queues at the checkouts. These are sometimes deliberate(故意), to make you buy something from the checkout shelves while you wait.
So, next time you go into your local supermarket, remember these tricks and see if you can come with just the things you went for.
The next time you look up at the sky and see a cloud that looks like Mickey Mouse or your favorite fruit, look again. It may not be a cloud, but a Flogo -- a logo that flies. It's a new form of advertising in the sky that's never been used before. It's a different way to market your products, logos, and events.
These funny logos are made with soap bubbles （肥皂泡） mixed with a little helium gas （氦气） ,which makes them lighter than air and float in the sky. Special machines are used to make these new funny Flogos. The machine, which can be rented for $ 2,500 a day, can make a Flogo every 15-25 seconds.
Flogos can fly much higher or lower if needed. They can last from a few minutes to an hour anywhere in the sky, depending on the weather conditions. Though they can fly up to 20, 000 feet, they usually float around at 300- 500 feet. Flogos are only white now, but people hope to have more colorful Flogos in the near future.
Flogos are Green, 100% environmentally safe, because the soap used to make the Flogo comes from plants and leaves. So this fun way of advertising is healthy and good for the environment.
My friend Alan did not have a rich family. He did not have much money. Sometimes Alan 1 had to accept money and gifts from his family and friends. But do not get me2 He was not the kind of person who never 3 the money he should. He was always very 4 with the money he spent.
However, a few years ago, he won the lottery and got a huge5 of money. He was very excited. It changed his life. The 6thing he did was to buy a very expensive new car. Then he7 spending money on unnecessary things or the things that he normally would not buy. It seemed that he had money to8He had more money than he needed and it was burning a hole in his pocket. He wasted his money 9.
When we got together for a10 at a restaurant, he would always pay the bill. He11me the money made him feel very happy.
But, Alan soon 12 out all of his money. He was as poor as a church mouse again. His last dollar was spent and he had no money13.
I admit I do feel 14 for my friend. He had enough money to live like a king.15 he is back to living a hard life. He was wise about small things, but not about important things.
Having a cheetah （猎豹）as a pet in the house? Does it sound scary to you? But for a family in South Africa， one cheetah is treated as a VIP (Very Important Person) in the house. The big cheetah is named Jolie, after the film star Angelina Jolie. She can often be found eating from the kitchen table, taking a short sleep on the sofa, or even sleeping on Lucy and Jeff's bed. The big cat also sleeps and plays with the Browns' other pet, the more usual one— a sheepdog
Having a cheetah as a pet is unusual. Atfirst，Mrs.Brown wasn't willing to keep a cheetah as a pet. She said,''. But we are now happy that we did it— she is part of the family.''
Just like her name, four-year-old Jolie has achieved a celebrity(名人) status（地位）in the Browns' hometown. Fans often come to take pictures of her.
However, a cheetah is always a cheetah. '' She makes a lot of mess in the house, urinating （小便）everywhere and chewing everything. It's her wild instincts (天性), said Mrs. Brown. There must be some problems of having a cheetah as a pet in the house, but some unusual fun must also be waiting ahead.
A. Interestingly, Jolie enjoys all the special attention that is paid to her.
B. An impossible friendship has happened between these two animals.
C. Though Jolie is now a pet in the home, she still has some wild habits.
D. She is surely the VIP at Lucy and Jeff Brown's home.
E. I was really against the idea of getting a cheetah as a pet.
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too (quick). So he sent them to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away in turn. The first son wentwinter, the second in spring, the third in summer, and the (young) son in fall.
When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe they had seen. The first son said that the tree was ugly and bent. The second son contradicted—it was (cover) with green buds and full of promise. The third son said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful. The last son (agree) with all of them. He said it was ripe and filled with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the(tree) life. He told them that you cannot judge a treea person, by only one season,and that the essence of who they are—the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life—can only be judged at the end, when all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the hope of your spring, the (beautiful) of your summer, fulfillment of your fall. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy all the rest.
