Now we have seen that there exists such a huge gap between eastern culture and western one．Then what should we do to face this gap in the gradually globalizing world?

　　Firstly, we cannot deny any of the cultures．Every nation has its own characteristics and it's mainly through its culture that we first begin to know the nation and its characteristics．So we cannot say that this culture or custom is right and that is wrong．Equal respect should be attached to every culture in the world, even to those that are not in existence any more．

　　Next, we should get to learn how to coordinate(协调) the different cultures． We say the world is becoming smaller and smaller．More foreigners come and go every day．If the cultural collision(冲突) exists in the same country, the same city, the same neighborhood, it is expected to be more serious．So we should try to avoid this happening．One important thing is to get some basic knowledge about the other cultures so as not to misunderstand some actions or habits of the foreigners．

　　When the above two are done, we can start to communicate．I mean we can take in some strong points from the foreign cultures．Though there doesn't exist correctness in terms of culture, it does have the terms of more advanced or more suitable for the world nowadays．Of course, we cannot throw away our own culture and accept another one totally．Every culture is a treasure to the history of the earth, so we should only pick out those we lack to perfect our own．

　　Different cultures add the most colorful element to the world of 21^st century．The cultural gap should not be the obstacle(障碍) to the civilization of human being．It ought to be the motivation(动力)of our going farther．

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　　So you're between the ages of 13 and 24．What makes you happy? A worried, weary parent might imagine the answer like this： drugs, a little rock“n”roll, maybe some cash, or at least the car keys．

　　The real answer turns out to be quite different．Spending time with family was the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey－more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people aged 13-24－conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on the nature of happiness among America's young people．

　　Next was spending time with friends, followed by time with a significant one．And even better for parents： Nearly three quarters of young people say their relationship with their parents makes them happy．

　　“They're my foundation,”says Kristiana St．John, 17, a high school student from Queens in New York．“My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she's still going to love me no matter what．Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed．”

　　However, other results are more disconcerting．While most young people are happy overall with the way their lives are going, there are racial differences： the poll shows whites to be happier, across economic categories, than blacks and Hispanics．A lot of young people feel stressed, particularly those from the middle class, and females more than males．

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　　If you are planning to visit lots of museums and attractions in Paris, the following five are not to be missed．

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　　Do you want to take an out-of-this-world trip? Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic(银河的) plans are to make that possible． At the beginning of 2009, people will have a chance to become space tourists, travelling at about 3,000 mph to heights about 75 miles above the earth．Branson has high expectation for his latest plans．“It is just the start of what we believe will be a new age in the history of mankind．One day we will make it possible to make an affordable trip in the space,” he said．

　　At the start, though, the trip won't be cheap．A seat aboard Virgin's first spaceship－VSS Enterprise－will cost about ＄200,000．Prices could drop after the first hundred space flights．In spite of the current ticket cost, more than 30,000 people, including a few famous people, have expressed their interest in getting on board．

　　People who don't have an extra ＄200,000 still have a chance to get a seat aboard the spaceship．A computer game contest and a reality television show are in the works．Those who can't afford a ticket will have an opportunity to win a seat．

　　Virgin is expected to be the first commercial spaceship．It will hold six passengers and two pilots．Passengers will be able to see the earth from many different viewpoints．The cabin will include 15 floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing the passengers to overlook about 1,000 miles in any direction．

　　Passengers will have three days of preflight preparation．On the big day, the spaceship will take off from the Mojave Spaceport in the California desert．The spaceship will lift the passengers into space at four times the speed of sound．The journey will last about 2．5 hours．Passengers will wear spacesuits and helmets(头盔)． They will be able to float around the cabin and do somersaults(翻跟头) during the five minutes of weightlessness when they are in zero gravity．At the end of the flight, the spaceship will land on a runway．

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　　A man in a very splendid restaurant started to take off his jacket．Seeing this, the head waiter dashed to his table and said, “I'm afraid I must ask you to keep your jacket on, sir, for it is not good manners to do it in such a smart restaurant．”

　　“Now listen,” said the man, “I'll let you know that the Queen of England gave me permission to remove my jacket here．”

　　“The Queen of England?” said the waiter in great surprise．

　　“Sure,” replied the man, “When I was in England last month, a friend of mine who had a very important position in high society took me to see the Queen．It was rather hot, so I started taking my coat off．The Queen looked over and said, ‘You may do that in the United States, but you may not do it here．’So I got the Queen's permission, right?”

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　　A friend of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street boy was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it．

　　“Is this your car, Mister?" he said．

　　Paul nodded．"My brother gave it to me for Christmas．"The boy was astounded．"You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you nothing?Boy, I wish…"He hesitated．

　　Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish he had a brother like that．But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels．

　　"I wish," the boy went on, "That I could be a brother like that．"

　　Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my car?"

　　"Oh yes, I’d love that．Would you mind driving in front of my house?"

　　Paul smiled a little．He thought he wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile．But Paul was wrong again．"Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked．

　　He ran up the steps．Then in a little while Paul heard him coming back．He was carrying his little disabled brother．He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of lifted him up against himself and pointed to the car．

　　"There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs．His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost himself a cent．And some day I’m gonna give you one just like it…then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying to tell you about．"

　　Paul got out and lifted the lad to the front seat of his car．The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride．That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when he said："It is more blessed to give…"

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　　(From Wikipedia)Michael Fred Phelps, born on June 30, 1985, is an American swimmer．He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian．As of 2008, he also holds seven world records in swimming．

　　Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics with the eight golds he won at the 2008 Olympic Games．With this record, he surpassed Mark Spitz, who was also a swimmer and had held the previous gold medal total with the seven that he won at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games．

　　Overall, Phelps has won 16 Olympic medals：six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing．In winning these medals, he has twice equaled Soviet gained Alexander Dityatin's record of eight medals(of any type)at a single Olympics; Dityatin gained eight at the 1980 Summer Olympics, while Phelps won eight medals at both the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics．Out of his eight gold medals from Beijing, five were won in individual events, tying the record for individual gold medals at a single Games originally set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games．Phelps ranks second in total career Olympic medals, after Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina, who won a total of 18 medals(nine gold)spanning three Olympic Games．

　　Throughout the 2008 Olympics, Phelps was questioned by the press if perhaps his achievements were “too good to be true”, a reference to unsupported rumors that Phelps may be taking performance enhancing drugs．In response, Phelps noted that he had signed up for Project Believe, a project by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in which U．S．Olympians can volunteer to be tested in excess of the World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines．During the Games, Phelps was tested nine times, and passed all of them．

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　　Source：LHASA, Oct．6(Xinhua)-Tibet’s tourist arrivals plunged 36 percent year–on–years during China’s recent National Day holiday when 257,000 people visited the “Roof of the world．”Only 110,900 tourists stayed overnight in Tibet, a drop of 41.5 percent from a years ago; one-day tourists were 146,100, down 31.1 percent, according to Zhanor, a deputy chief of the region’s tourism department．The tourism sector of the plateau region generated 81.49 million yuan(about 11.88 million U．S．dollars)in total earnings, down 38.9 percent．“Comparing this years's golden-week holiday with that of last year, there were notable decreases in terms of tourist arrivals and relevant earnings as a result of the March 14 Lhasa unrest, ” Zhanor said．“But tourist confidence in traveling in Tibet is returning according to the situation in the previous months and the region’s tourism is recovering．”The national holiday, which fell on Oct．1 and marked the 1949 founding of the People’s Republic of China, started on Sept．29 and ended Sunday．

　　Source：Beijing, Sep．21(Xinhua)An exhibition to commemorate the victims of the Sichuan earthquake is on display at the Military Museum in Beijing．The number of visitors has been phenomenal and staff there have said many have been moved to tears．They’ve been deeply touched by the strength of the survivors and the stories of rescuers who sacrificed their own lives to save others．Everyday, thousands of people come here to see the exhibition．A visitor said, “The photos are very vivid．It’s as if I were there．”“The most touching part is the nation and the people are so strong．”said a visitor．A visitor said, “I can’t help crying．The soldiers are all heroes．They saved the residents in the quake hit areas and asked for nothing．”

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　　I remembered the first day I saw her playing basketball．I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids．The boys always tried to stop her but no one could, though she seemed so small．She would practice shooting over and over again, sometimes until dark．

　　One day I asked her why she practiced so much．Without a moment of hesitation she said, “I want to go to college．The only way I can go is to get a scholarship．I like basketball．I am going to play college basketball．I want to be the best．My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count．”Then she repeated the routine．Well, I had to give in to her – she was determined．I watched her through those junior high years and into high school．Every week, she led her school team to victory．One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms．Quietly I walked to her and asked what was wrong．“Oh, noting,” came a soft reply．“I am just too short．”The coach told her that at 5.5 inches she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team, so she should stop dreaming about college．But her father said those coaches were wrong．They just did not understand the power of a dream．He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college and wanted a scholarship, nothing could stop her except one thing – her own attitude．He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count”．

　　The next years, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter．She was indeed offered a scholarship, a full ride, to a Division I, NCAA women’s basketball team．She was going to get the college education that she has dreamed of and worked toward for all those years．It’s true：If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count．

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　　Paper-cutting is a very typical visual art of Chinese handicrafts(手工艺品)．It originated from the 6th century when women used to paste the silver cuttings onto their hair．Later, they were used during festivals to decorate gates and windows．After hundreds of years'development, now they have become a very popular means of decoration among country people, especially women．

　　The main cutting tools are simple：paper and scissors or a cutting knife, but clever and skillful craftspeople are really good at cutting in the theme of daily life．When you look at items made in this method carefully, you will be amazed by the true expressions of the figure's, emotion and appearance, or natural plants and animals'diverse gestures．Patterns of flowers display the beautiful petals(花瓣), pied magpies show their tiny feathers, and others such as a married daughter returning to her parents'home, or young people paying a New Year call to their grandparents．

　　It is easy to learn about cutting a piece of paper, but very difficult to master it with perfection．One must grasp the knife in an upright fashion and press steadily on the paper with some strength．Flexibility is required but any hesitation or wiggling will lead to imprecision or damage the whole cutting．Cutters stress the cutting lines in several styles．They attempt to carve a circle like the moon, a straight line like a stem of wheat, a square like a brick, and jaggedly like the beard．

　　People find hope and comfort in expressing wishes with paper cuttings．For example：for a wedding ceremony, red paper cuttings are a traditional and required decoration on the tea set, the dressing table glass, and on other furniture．A big red paper character 'Xi'(happiness)is a traditional must on the newlywed's door．Upon the birthday party of a senior, the character 'Shou'represents long life and will add delight to the whole celebration; while a pattern of chubby(胖乎乎的)children holding fish signifies that every year they will be rich in wealth．

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