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noon mad relax valuable capital |
Family traditions are special (习惯) or customs that your family have, For example, in the family of Bill Gates, his parents (保持) the tradition of reading with children. And what's the tradition in your family?
Nick, 15, England. On every family (成员) birthday, we give him or her a (惊喜). Last Sunday, it was my mother's birthday. I knew that she wanted to see a (电影), so I bought a ticket (没有) telling her first. This made her really (高兴).
Jack, 15, Cuba. Every weekend, my parents and I go to my grandparents' home, My grandparents (烹制) many delicious foods. I meet all my (堂兄妹). We talk about interesting things at school. Sometimes my parents also (加入) us to play games.
We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays. There are different customs for each festival.
Tan Xiaodong, 15, Hong Kong, China
"It'll soon be Chinese New Year. Before it, we'll clean the house and decorate(装饰) it for good luck. Every shop is going to be closed for a few days and we'll go out a lot to celebrate in the streets. We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center. I love this festival."
Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia
"Australia Day is on 26th January and it's an important holiday here. My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over. Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there is lots of music and dancing. What fun!"
Amy, 14, New York, the US.
"The first Thanksgiving Day was hundreds of years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help. It's still a very important day for families to be together. This year we're going to visit my grandparents and we'll eat delicious turkey. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year. "
There is an old saying that says when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I learned the meaning of this when I stayed in Russia as a visiting scholar(学者).
One day I invited some of my Chinese friends to a famous local restaurant in Moscow. My guests and I were excited about our meeting. We had a lively talk until the waiter told me that we were too loud. We lowered (降低) our voices. The waiter came over to us two more times with the same message.
How bad an impression(印象) we must have left on the local people ! In China, it's natural and important for a host to make a lively atmosphere (气氛). However, in Russia and Western countries, having a meal in a public place means you must keep your voice low. You need to be polite to others.
I felt bad about this.
My Russian friend Andrey always looks around and thinks for a while before leaving home. I asked him why he did this. "Aha," Andrey said, "in Russia, people always spend about a minute going over things and plans in their minds before leaving home."
Finding the differences between cultures is so much fun. I like to keep my eyes and mind open.
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A. But this didn't last long. B. Russians have their own special habits, too. C. So they won't leave anything necessary behind. D. Even though we tried our best, it was very difficult to fight against habits. |
