Paul is a twelve-year-old boy. He comes from New York. And these days he is having a great time visiting his grandmother in China.

It is seven o’clock on Saturday morning. Paul is still sleeping in his bed. But his grandmother is busy cooking noodles for him in the kitchen. She knows Paul will get up soon.

After twenty minutes, Paul gets up. When he comes out of his room, he sees a big bowl of noodles on the table. The noodles are really delicious for him. He eats all of them.

“Why do you make noodles for me, Grandma?” asks Paul.

“It’s your birthday today,” his grandmother says. “In China, many people eat very long noodles on their birthdays. They are a symbol of long life. They are called changshoumian, and people never cut up the noodles.”

“It is really interesting. Thank you very much, Grandma. It’s a special gift,” says Paul.

I’m Linda. I have three penfriends. They are Mary, Henry and Sam. Mary is an English girl. She is in Tianjin with her parents now. She likes Chinese food very much. She likes dumplings and noodles best. They are very delicious. She also likes drinking orange juice. Henry is from England. He is in Cambridge with his grandparents now. Hamburgers and French fries are his favourite food. He also likes cola. But he doesn’t like chocolate or ice cream. Sam is from America. He is in Shenzhen with his parents. He can speak Chinese well. He likes Chinese food very much. Guangdong Soup is his favourite food. He thinks it is very delicious. He likes milk too.

Some students are talking about their breakfast.

Zhou Lin (a boy from Tianjin)

I don’t have breakfast at home. In the morning, I always buy some bread and milk. And then I eat some fruit, too.

Sun Jin (a girl from Guangzhou)

I have baozi and milk for breakfast. My mother always makes (做) baozi for me. And I have fruit salad in the afternoon. I always eat healthy food.

Liu Hui (a girl from Shanghai)

My family and I like having zongzi and youtiao for breakfast. My grandma always (总是) makes zongzi for us in the morning. She makes it with rice.

Simon (a boy from Beijing)

I always have two eggs and some milk for breakfast. It is easy for Mom to make breakfast for me. I eat an apple, too. When (当……的时候) I don’t go to school, I make chicken hamburgers for my family in the morning.