What brings a nation together? Of the four choices—shared values, language, history, and religion (宗教), it’s shared values. In our latest poll (民意调查), 7 out of 16 countries chose values as the greatest factor bringing a nation together, and six preferred language. Both choices scored high in the poll, suggesting that our values and how we express them are closely connected. Still, history was not forgotten in some countries, especially in Mexico and Russia. Even Canada and the United States chose national histories as the second-most important factor that united their people. The biggest surprise? Not one country picked religion as its top choice.

Church and state

Most people who were polled do not connect their religious beliefs to their national pride. Religion ranked last in 13 countries—with France scoring it at 1%, the lowest of all.

Welcome to Brazil (巴西)! It is a very big country in South America. It has many beautiful places and an interesting culture (文化).

The Amazon rainforest (亚马逊热带雨林)

The Amazon is the biggest rainforest in the world. It is in northern Brazil and is home to many animals.

Carnival (狂欢节)

Brazilians are open and friendly. We can see that from their famous Carnival. People call it “the world’s biggest party”. It is in Rio de Janeiro every February or March. Everyone wears beautiful and colorful clothes and dances samba.

Barbecue (烤肉)

Barbecue is a kind of popular food in Brazil. If you eat at a restaurant, you can see people cooking meat over fire. Then, waiters take the meat and move from table to table. If you want some meat, they come and give some to you.

Soccer

In Brazil, soccer is more than just a sport. Everyone in Brazil likes it. Many children start playing soccer when they are very young. Interestingly, Brazilian children play soccer freely before the age of 14. No one tells them about soccer skills. This helps them have new ideas.

Australia is south of China. Its seasons are different from ours. From December to February is summer.【小题1】Winter is from June to August. Spring is from September to November. The weather in the north and the weather in the south are different. In the north, rainy seasons are from April to November. Typhoon (台风) seasons are from January to February. In the west is the desert.【小题2】

Australia is called “a country on the sheep’s back”.【小题3】The kangaroos can jump 4 metres high and it can jump 13 metres away.

Australia Day is on January 26.【小题4】People can have all kinds of parties on that day. Do you want to come to Australia? Please come on that day.【小题5】.