—Of course not.

—Don't worry. I can tell you.

    Two years ago, I got a job in a Chinese—Canadian company in Vancouver. One day my new boss said he would invite me to lunch to celebrate my new job in a Chinese restaurant. "A Chinese restaurant? Chopsticks? Oh no! Will I make a complete fool of myself?" I thought.

    That evening, I cooked noodles and spent two whole hours trying to learn how to use chopsticks. Try as I might, I didn't succeed. I called my penfriend and asked her to explain exactly how to use chopsticks. She patiently explained the proper way of holding them. "Louise, it's not that hard," she said. "That's easy for you to say," I replied. "You've been eating with chopsticks all your life. It's natural for you!"

    I didn't sleep well that night. The next day, when my boss took two co-workers and me to the restaurant, he spoke to the server in Chinese. My heart was beating fast, but then I noticed something strange. Instead of chopsticks, we all had knives, forks and spoons. I didn't understand at first, but then, it hit me. My boss knew that I would have trouble with chopsticks. To save me from embarrassment (尴尬) , he had arranged for us to be served with knives, forks and spoons. I couldn't believe how thoughtful he was.

    Now, we often go out for lunch. After a lot of practice, I've mastered how to use chopsticks. And it isn't really that difficult once you get used to them.

     Different people have different ideas about time. People in the USA think that it is1to know the time. In cities in America, there are2in stations, factories and other buildings. Radio announcers (播音员) give you the correct time during the day. Most Americans also have watches with them3they go. They want to do certain things4certain time. They don't like to be late. They think everyone is supposed to do5on time.

    But time is not6important to everybody in the world. When you visit a country in South America, you will 7that people there don't like to rush. If you had an appointment with somebody, he could probably be late8he might not want to arrive on time.

    In South America, even the radio programs may not begin on time. The men on the radio may not think it is important to tell the exact9. People in South America think that clocks or watches are just machines. They think that you will10 a clock or a watch control (控制) your life if you do everything on time.