Some British and American people like inviting friends for a meal at home. You should not be ______ if your English friends don’t invite you home. It doesn’t ______ they don’t like you. Maybe they are just too busy.

Dinner parties ______ start between 7:00 p. m. and 8:00 p. m, and end at about 11:00 p. m. Ask your friends what time you should ______ . It is good to bring ______, chocolates or a bottle of wine for them.

The party starts with drinks and snacks. If you want to be ______, say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall. But remember—it’s not kind to ______ how much those things cost (花费).

You will probably start the ______ with soup or something small, then you’ll have meat or fish with vegetables, and coffee. It’s OK to eat up (吃光) everything on your plate and to ______ more if you want it.

Did you enjoy the evening? Call your friends the next day, or ______ them a short thank-you letter.

My name is George. I’m from England. Now I’m ________ in Germany. I ________ school at 7:30 every morning. I find many of my German schoolmates come to school   ________. But in England, my schoolmates don’t do that often.

This is an interesting thing for me. In England, people ________ drive, take a bus or walk somewhere, for example, to school. In Germany, I often see people, even people ________ eighty years old going somewhere by bike. It makes me think: Are English people too ________ or is this something important for Germans?

My father gives the ________. We are living in Northern Germany. It is very flat (平坦的). So it is ________ for people here to go somewhere quickly by bike. And it’s cheaper than going by car or by bus. Also, it’s good ________ the environment (环境).

I like riding bikes now. A bike can take me somewhere quickly and help me ________. When I go back to England, I will ride more and ask my friends to ride with me.

What is time? Is it a thing to be saved or spent or wasted, like money? Or is it something we have no ________ over, like the weather? Is time the same all over the world?

That’s an easy question, you say. Wherever you go, a minute is 60 seconds, an hour is 60 minutes, a day is 24 hours, and so forth. Well, maybe. But in America; time is more than that. Americans see time as a ________ resource. Maybe that’s why they are fond of the expression “Time is money.”

Because Americans believe time is a limited resource, they try to save and manage it. People in the US often attend meetings or read books on time management. It seems they all want to ________ their time better. Professionals carry around pocket planners to keep track of appointments and deadlines.

To Americans, being on time is a way of showing ________ for other people’s time. More than 10 minutes late for an appointment usually calls for an apology and an explanation. People who are running late often call ahead to let others know of the reason. Of course, the less formal the situation is, the less important it is to be ________ on time.

American lifestyles show how much people care about the time of others. If people want to come to your house for a friendly visit, they will usually call first to make sure it is convenient. Also, people ________ to call others late at night for fear they might be in bed. The time may differ, but most folks think twice about calling after 10:00 p. m.

Even Americans would admit that no one can master time. Time — like money — slips all easily through our fingers. And time — like the weather — is very hard to predict. Nevertheless, time is one of life’s most valuable gifts. And unwrapping it is half the fun.