The warm weather outside may look perfect for outdoor exercise. But for those 【小题1】 are not that sporty， what would be 【小题2】（nice） than having relaxing afternoon tea with a few good friends and taking 【小题3】 break?

But are you familiar with the culture of afternoon tea its origins， what 【小题4】（include）， and the proper etiquette（礼仪）? We sum up a few things you need to know about this traditional English custom so that you can enjoy it more.

While the tradition of 【小题5】（drink） tea dates back to about 3000 BC in China， it was not until the mid-17th century that the concept of “afternoon tea”first 【小题6】（appear） in the UK.

In 1840， Anna Maria Russell， the seventh Duchess of Bedford， started to ask for a tea tray with butter， bread and cakes at 4 pm every day，【小题7】 she found she was hungry at that time every day and the evening meal in her house was served late at 8 pm. She found this new habit difficult 【小题8】（break） and soon invited other ladies to join her.

This pause for tea quickly became a fashionable social event. 【小题9】 the 1880s， the upper class would put on gowns，【小题10】（glove） and hats for their afternoon tea.

   When I first arrived in Australia at the age of 16 to go to high school for one year and live with a host family，I was completely over the moon about everything. I had been planning for many months. And，even though we exchange students participated in a one-day preparatory meeting，culture shock couldn't be avoided.

Those first weeks are so-called "honeymoon phase I" where you are happy to be in that culture.

However，this feeling didn't last forever. After about two months，differences became more evident. I started missing my friends and family more and more. Frustrating thoughts increasingly occupied my head—Nobody really understands me，and my English is not good enough. I wish people would just be able to speak German for one day！I wish public transportation would work the same way as at home！And so on. I knew it was "honeymoon phase Ⅱ".

Over the next few months，though，I slowly and unknowingly entered the "adjustment（适应）phase". I developed my own little routine，learned to adapt to stress through various techniques，and made many new friends. My English improved dramatically！

I understood Australian culture better and better. That was a major breakthrough for me personally. Every day I felt more and more comfortable with my new home. I adopted many new traits（特征）while also keeping earlier ones from my home country. I would often refer to myself as "having a second nationality". This process which happened over my last few months abroad is called the "mastery phase". My happiest moment was when my dear friend one day said during a conversation，"You are Australian now，Jude！You sound just like us！"

I want to point out that the effects of culture shock are different for everyone and can result in different behavior and feelings. The timing of the different phases also varies a lot from person to person. One thing is for sure though —Culture shock is unavoidable and acceptance is the first step towards adjusting better to a foreign culture.

George's family came to Australia from Greece in 【小题1】 1980s. At first, they didn't feel they belonged there, but now they 【小题2】（attach）to the land they live on. In 【小题3】（they）views, Australian culture is a mix of different cultures. The early settlers were mostly the English and Irish, but since 1945, the population has become more and more 【小题4】（mix）with people from Southern Europe and Asia. The vast area of desert in the middle of Australia is a great place for people 【小题5】（camp）but you have to look out for snakes and spiders. Most Australians live on the coast. That's 【小题6】 surfing is such a popular sport. Australians take sport very 【小题7】（serious）. Contrary to popular belief, Australia is not a dull place at all for people 【小题8】（want）culture. There's a really lively cultural scene. In Sydney, you'll find a broad 【小题9】（choose） of operas, drama, classical concerts, rock concerts and so on. Things are more limited in a small town. Besides, most of the roads outside the cities are 【小题10】 pretty poor condition.

Prime Minister of the UK Theresa May's visit to China shows the more frequent communication between Britain and China. The cultural differences between the two countries have caused a heated 【小题1】（discuss）.

Table manners are the important process in our daily life. We get used to using chopsticks 【小题2】 Englishmen use knives and forks. It's impolite 【小题3】（laugh）when you are eating in Britain, which suggests you don't respect others. 【小题4】 the contrary, we laugh and talk during a meal. What's more, in Britain, people have to drive along the left side of the road, but traffic in our country 【小题5】（keep）to the right. Besides, for Chinese students, what they have experienced in studying is 【小题6】 organized learning way. Students are asked to follow a clear plan.【小题7】（compare） with Chinese education, British education is 【小题8】（flexibility） and imaginative. Students there are encouraged to discuss the subject they want to learn. Last but not least, in China, "thank you" is not frequently used between friends and family members. However, "thank you" is 【小题9】（wide） used in Britain.

There is no sense in debating 【小题10】is better. We owe these manners to the different history, but you should do as the Romans do.

   It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr. Johnson’s famous comment that “When two English meet, their first talk is of weather.” Though Johnson’s observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago, most commentators(评论员) fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather-speak.

Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting, the obsession with it can hardly be understood. He argues that” To an outsider, the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply, the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles.

Jeremy Paxman, however, disagrees with Bryson, arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive. Bryson is wrong, he says, “because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena(现象).” The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.

Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather-speak among the English. Both commentators, somehow, are missing the point. The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all. English weather-speak is a system of signs ,which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other. Everyone knows conversations starting with weather-speak are not requests for weather data. Rather, they are routine greetings, conversation starters or the blank “fillers”, In other words, English weather-speak is a means of social bonding.