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Unit1Learningaforeignlanguageisusuallytough,butknowingthebasicgreetingsisapoliteandsimplethingtodo.Itshowsthatyouhaveaninterestintheculture.Eachcountrieshasitsowncustomsandwaysofsayinghello.Forexample,Britishpeoplelikemegreeteachotherbytalkingabouttheweather,whileinChinatheywillsay你吃了吗？Themostcommonformofgreetingsinmanycountrieswhenyouareintroducedtoanewfriendisahandshake.ButshakinghandsisrareinJapan.TheJapanesegreeteachotherwithashortbowandnotreturningsomeone’sbowisconsideredveryrude.Thedegreeofthebowisdirectlyrelatedtothedifferenceinstatusbetweenthetwoindividuals.Greetingsbetweenfriendsarejustanodofthehead,whilealow-rankingworkershouldgreetasuperiorwithalonganddeepbow.Also,agreatfirstimpressioncanbeimportant,andoncemadeit’sverydifficulttochange.Tomakeagoodimpression,youneedtoactasifyouaremeetingagoodfriend.Thisisaprettygoodstartingpointfordevelopingagoodrelationship.Indailylife,wealsoneedtobecarefulaboutfirstmeetings.Forexample,someonemayphoneyoutoaskforyourpersonalinformation.Youneedtobecautious,becausetheymayaskyouforthisinordertostealyouremailaddress,yourmoney,yourcredit,oryouridentity.So,itisimportanttolearntheproperwaytogreetpeopleandmakeagoodfirstimpression.Itisequallyimportanttobecarefulingivingstrangersyourpersonalinformation.Unit2Mymotherismybestfriend,andIcantalktoheraboutanything.Shehelpsmethrougheverything,andwedon’thaveanysecrets.WheneverIfeellonely,mymotheristheonlypersonIcantalkto.MymotherhasbeenmybestfriendforaslongasIcanremember,andIpreferhercompanyoveranyoneelse.Sheiskind,intelligent,funnyandagoodlistener.IcansaywithoutbiasthatI’venevermetanotherpersonmoreworthbeingfriendswith.Sure,I’vehadfriends,butIjustlikedmymommorethanthem.Ididn’tfeeltheneedtogoshoppingwithmyfriendsandI’vekeptcontactwithhardlyanyonefromthoseyearsofmylife.Tothisday,Itendtorelatebettertopeopledecadesolderthanme.Ihavegivenmymothersomuchaccesstomethatitisdifficulttobemyself.MyfriendstoldmethatI’mlivinginahousewithoutwalls–emotionalwalls.At25,Iamonlynowlearninghowtomakeandmaintainfriendshipsoutsideofmyfamilycircle.Feelingthatmymomdoesn’tunderstandmylifehasencouragedmetodevelopanewcircleoffriendsthathasnothingtodowithher.It’shelpedmetokeepsomethingsprivatefromher.Istartedsettingboundaries.Forexample,mymotherdoesn’tknowwhatmusicI‘mlisteningto.Istillfeeltheurgetotellher,butnowthere’savoiceinthebackofmyheadthatremindsmesomethingsneedtobemineandonlymine.Bynatureofbeingagreatbestfriendandparent,mymomunderstandsandacceptsthis.Ihopeit‘sacomplimenttomymotherthatherroleinmylifehasalwaysbeentoocomfortingandtooloving—somuchsothatIhadtostartkeepingadistancefromher.Unit3Peopleindifferentcountriescookvariouskindsoffood.Thehistorical,geographicalandclimatefeaturesofwheretheyliveandtheirwaysoflifeinfluencetheircuisines.PeopleinSouthKorealovetohavepickles.InThailand,mostpeopleenjoyspicyfood,asThaicurriescanbereallyhot.TheJapaneseprefertohaverawfoodandseafood,fortheyliveinasmallisland.InItaly,mostpeoplehavepizzaandpastawitheverymeal.Therearemanyspecialtypizzarestaurantsalloverthecountry.TheBritishlovefishandchips.ThetraditionalfoodsintheUnitedStatesarehotdogs,cokesandotherfastfoods.Americanstylefastfoodchainsarecurrentlyontheincreaseallovertheworld.MostpeopleinEuropeorBritainhaveasimplebutnutritiousbreakfastsuchaswhole-mealbread,juice,milkandbacon.SomeAmericanshaveasandwichandcoffeeforlunchonweekdays.ChipsarealsocalledFrenchfriesorfriesforshort.Similarly,foodisthebestwaytoexploreChineseculture.Chinesetraditionalfoodismostlymadeofgrain.BalancednutritionisimportantinChinesefood.Westernpeoplevaluetimeverymuch,sosometimestheyeatfastfoodtosavetimeaswellaskeepenoughenergy.ThisisquitedifferentfromtheChineseattitudestowardsfood,astheyofteneattogethertocommunicatewithfriendsandfamily.UnliketheWest,whereeveryonehastheirownplateoffood,inChinathedishesareplacedonthetableandeverybodyshares.Theytendtocookmorethanenough,especiallywhentheytreatourguestsathome,astheywilldotheirbesttoshowtheirwarmth.Wearewhatweeat,andwechoosefoodtosuitourwaysoflife.Unit4ItseemstruethateverykidinschoolislearningEnglish.WhydoyouwanttolearnEnglish?LearningEnglishisveryuseful.SomepeoplewanttoknowEnglishwelltogainmoreknowledge.Wecanreadbooks,listentomusic,watchmoviesandsurftheinternet.Forexample,songsintheiroriginalformtendtobebetterwhenyoucantrulyunderstandthemand55%ofallwrittencontentontheinternetisinEnglish.Wheneveryouhaveaproblem,youcan‘Googleit’tofindawaytosolvetheproblem.OthersliketolearnEnglishformorepracticalreasons,suchastakingaschoolexam,gettingajoborworkinginalargeinternationalcompany.Forinstance,FrenchandChinesebusinesspartnersmaycommunicateinEnglish.IfyoucanspeakEnglishwithconfidenceandgetyourmessageacrossclearly,itisacriticaladvantagethatcanhelpyouadvancefurtherinyourcareer.Learningalanguagecanbesomuchfun.Somepeoplelearntheminordertomeetnewpeoplefromaroundtheworld.It’salsofuntolearnaboutotherculturesandtheirtraditions.Maybeyouliketheculture,thecountryandevenhaveadesiretoevenliveorvisitthere.Aswellasbeingusefulandfun,learningalanguagehelpsimproveyourmemory,anddecisio