December 22nd is a special (特别的) day this year. 【小题1】 Chinese people call it Dongzhi. The name means “the coming of the winter”.

【小题2】 They usually eat dumplings with different vegetables and meat inside. Sometimes, people put a coin (硬币) inside. 【小题3】 People think eating dumplings is a good way to keep healthy. As the old saying goes, “Eating dumplings on Dongzhi keeps the ears from frostbite (冻伤).”

In the south of China, people eat tangyuan on the day of Dongzhi. The little tangyuan balls are made from sticky (粘的) rice. 【小题4】 People hope eating tangyuan can bring them a happy and sweet life. In some places, people also make a special kind of rice wine (酒). 【小题5】

Do you think it is the same in China and in England? In many English homes, most people eat four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.

In England, people have breakfast at any time from seven to nine in the morning. They eat porridge, eggs and bread. English people drink tea or coffee at breakfast time. Lunch comes at one o’clock. Afternoon tea is from four to five in the afternoon and dinner is about seven thirty. First they have soup, then they have meat or fish with vegetables. After that they eat what they like. Some of them have their dinner in the middle day. Their meals are breakfast, dinner, tea and supper, but all these meals are very simple.

Americans usually eat three meals（餐）a day. Breakfast is always before（在……之前）eight o’clock in the morning. They usually have eggs, some meat, bread, fruit, juice and coffee at home. Lunch is between（在……之间）twelve and one o’clock. Lunch is a light meal. Some people have to have lunch near their workplace（工作场所）. The students take sandwiches, fruit and cookies with them to eat in school.

Supper, the main（主要的）meal, is between six and eight o’clock in the evening. People cook it carefully. They may have meat or chicken, turkey（火鸡）or duck. They may also have potatoes or rice, vegetables or salad. The drink is coffee, tea or milk. Then comes the dessert（甜点）.