芬兰的风俗与习惯
芬兰人守秩序，讲礼貌，是芬兰交通显得十分井然有序。马路上一般情况下均无交通警察看管交通，全凭行人自觉按照红、绿灯指示而行。行人须行走在人行道上。过马路时须指示行人的绿灯亮后从人行道上穿过马路。
上下交通工具时应等车上的人下完后再上车。凡座位边贴有黄标志的座位均为给老、弱、病、残人留出的座位，车上人多时身体健康的乘客不宜直接坐到这些座位上。
着装
赫尔辛基气候深受海洋的影响：多风且变化无常。风衣和雨具都属必备品。在芬兰，室内温度一般都在二十摄氏度左右，因此衣服不宜穿得层次过多，应备些易脱的外套。平常穿便于走路才鞋十分有必要。
平常芬兰人的衣着很朴素、随便。只有在商务会谈、高级餐厅或正式的社交场合才穿西装带领带或长裙、礼服、高跟鞋。
除宴会外，一般公务在身时不宜过量饮酒，也不宜饮用烈性酒。
待人接物
在与芬兰人初次接触交谈是最不宜讨论宗教信仰和政治之类，体育、饮食和天气是最普遍的话题。
芬兰人在与某人第一次见面时无论男女均先握手道姓名。平日一般情况下只对外国人称呼XXX先生，而在芬兰人与芬兰人之间通常直呼名。同事之间十分熟悉时也有直呼姓的。
中国人在接到芬兰人的名片后应分清哪个是名或姓，通常名在前，姓在后。应避免以名当姓而以名来称XXX先生。
语言
芬兰是双语制国家，芬兰语和瑞典语均为官方语言。在芬兰，约有6%的芬兰人以瑞典语为母语。在北极拉普兰还大约有1700人讲Sami语。瑞典语区主要在西部和波罗的海岛屿上的居民区，约有30万居住在这些地方的芬兰人以瑞典语为母语。
芬兰语属Finno-Ugrian语系，跟爱沙尼亚语属同一语系。在世界上，讲Finno-Ugrian语的人总共只有二千万。与其他欧洲语言相比，芬兰语复杂难学，是举世公认的最难的语言之一。对于一个人口仅五百万的民族来说，只有学好外国语，才能有效地与外界进行交流，这使得芬兰人成为一个善学语言的民族。许多芬兰人能讲很好的英语，一些讲德语或其他欧洲语言。有相当一部分人能讲三、四种以上的外国语。会一点英语的中国人在芬兰不会感到语言交流方面有困难。
在夏天，许多芬兰报纸的主要新闻以及天气预报都用英语报导。芬兰无线电台定时用外语播送新闻，英语（包括一些其他主要外语的）报纸和杂志十分普及。在R小卖部（R-Kioski）和火车站都哦能买到英语报刊和杂志。
Life in the USA:
Customs and habits
Meeting someone
When meeting someone for the first time, it is customary to shake hands, both for men and for women. Hugs are only exchanged between close friends. Kissing is not common, and men never kiss other men.
Americans will usually introduce themselves by their first name and last name (such as “Hello, I’m John Smith”), or, if the setting is very casual, by their first name only (“Hi, I’m John”). The common response when someone is introduced to you is “Pleased to meet you.” Unless someone is introduced to you with their title and last name (such as Mister Smith or Miss Johnson), you should address them by their first name. Americans normally address everyone they meet in a social or business setting by their first name. However, you should always address your college professors by their title and last name (such as Professor Jones), unless they ask you to do otherwise.
Speaking on the telephone
Americans normally answer the telephone by simply saying "Hello". If you are calling a business, the person answering the phone will give the name of the business and usually their own name as well. If the person you would like to speak to has answered the phone, you should say hello and state your name. If not, you should ask for that person politely: “May I please speak with Andrew Brown?”
The majority of Americans have answering machines in their homes. Also, the majority of businesses have voice mail accounts for their employees. When leaving a message, state your name clearly and leave a telephone number where you can be reached. Telephone messages should be brief and to the point.
Eating out
All restaurants in America accept cash for payment, and most (even some fast food restaurants) also accept credit cards. A few restaurants also accept ATM cards for payment. You will rarely find a restaurant that accepts checks.
It is common to have to wait for a table at a popular restaurant. There are many popular restaurants that do not accept reservations, or will only accept reservations for large parties (for example, six or more people). At these restaurants, the wait can be very long on a weekend night, sometimes up to 1 hour. However, almost all upscale, or more formal, restaurants will accept reservations.
Many restaurants in America (except for fast food restaurants) have a license to serve alcohol. Beer and wine are always available, and at some restaurants hard liquor (such as vodka or whisky) is also available. Restaurants that serve hard liquor are said to have “a full bar.” The drinking age in America is 21. If you look young, be prepared to show proof of your age when ordering alcohol.
Tipping
There are only a few situations where tipping is expected. The one you will encounter most often is at restaurants. American restaurants do not add a service charge to the bill. Therefore it is expected that the customer will leave a tip for the server. Common practice is to leave a tip that is equal to 15% of the total bill for acceptable service, and about 20% for superior service. If the service was unusually poor, then you could leave a smaller tip, about 10%.
Other professions where tipping is expected include hairdressers, taxi drivers, hotel porters, parking valets, and bartenders. The general rule is to tip approximately 15% of the bill. In situations where there is no bill (as with hotel porters and parking valets), the tip may range from $1 to $5, depending on the type of establishment and on how good the service was.
Smoking
Smoking is not as common in America as in many other countries. Generally, Americans smoke less than Europeans and much less than Asians. It is a practice that is becoming less and less socially acceptable.
Smoking is prohibited in many places. It is not allowed in any public buildings, on any public transportation (including airplane flights within the United States), in shops, movie theaters, schools, and office buildings. The general rule is if you are indoors, then you probably are not allowed to smoke. The exceptions are bars, nightclubs, and some restaurants. If a restaurant does allow smoking, it will only be in an area that is designated for smokers. If you are with someone, even outdoors, it is polite to ask if they mind before you start smoking.
The legal smoking age in America is 18. If you are buying cigarettes (or another tobacco product) and you look young, the store clerk is required by law to ask you for proof of legal age. You should be prepared to provide identification.
中国人见面打招呼时，喜欢问“你吃了吗？”“你去哪呀？”而西方人对此都感到很怪异。
Greeting
An American studying in China had an appointment at noon. As he was getting on his bicycle a Chinese friend passed by. "吃了吗？" the young Chinese asked. This, of course, is a common Chinese greeting around meal time and the American merely nodded with a smile, waved goodbye and went off. He realized that his friend' s remark was nothing more than a Chinese way of saying Hello or Hi. If the greeting had been put literally into English "Have you eaten yet?" Or " Have you had your lunch? " It would have sounded rather unusual. To Americans, this greeting might mean this: "I haven't either. Come on, let' s go together and get something to eat." or "If you haven' t, I was just going to invite you to my place." In other words, it could indicate an invitation to a meal.
Actually , another foreign student who had not been long in China once complained in broken Chinese:" 你们为什么老问我吃了饭没有？我有钱。"To his way of thinking, people were concerned that he was not getting his meals properly because of lack of money. Clearly, he was offended. There is a similar Chinese greeting, such as ”上哪儿去啊？””到哪儿去啦？” which if translated literally, would be "Where are yon going?" Or "Where have you been?" The natural reaction of most English-speaking people to this greeting would most likely be "It' s none of your business!"
Fortunately, not all greetings sound strange or arouse displeasure. Many are similar , some are merely different. While greetings in many languages often indicate the time of day, there may be inconsistencies within a language. English has Good morning, Good afternoon and Good evening but not Good noon. And Good night is not a greeting at all, but an expression of farewell
学好英语口语和听力方法如下：
练习听力的技巧：
1、 一定要选取一套比自己的实际水平略高些的听力教材进行强化训练。
对于英语初学者来说，选取合适的学习教材极其重要，这套教材可以是一个系列或上下两册，但难易程度必须和学习者相结合。如果难度太大，则会打击英语初学者特别是自学者的学习信心，如果过于简单则容易给英语初学者造成错觉。
以为自己短期的学习取得了极大的成绩。我曾经自学很多英语听力教材，比如，Step by step, College English, Listen to this, Crazy English等等。
经过长时间的比较，我发现Listen to this（又名英语初级、中级、高级听力）这套教材深入浅出、从简到难、循序渐进，最适合于英语自学者进行强化训练。
自学小贴士：建议自学者从英语初级听力开始，必须买学生用书（练习）和教师用书（答案），初级部分含九盒磁带。
2、 固定每天不少于1个小时，精听加泛听。
古人云：“只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针。”讲的就是让我们无论是在做事还是学习的时候都得把功夫做到位，否则一事无成。对于英语初学者来说，最简单的是一切可以从头再来，但最难的莫过于坚持二字。
所谓精听就是根据学习的进度每天固定听一个小单元，尽最大努力把句子和文章的意思都听懂。泛听是指随时随地用外放的录音机听一些英文歌曲、英文**对白或英语新闻等，实际上是给初学者自己制造一定的英语学习环境。
自学小贴士：记住一个原则，我们的听力不好最主要的原因是我们以前练的听力太少，不然就是我们自己的耳朵存在听力障碍！
3、 手拿铅笔作记号并提前预读猜测。
在听力练习的最初阶段最好养成手拿一支铅笔对听力内容进行短暂时间的预读的良好习惯。在英语考试中，考试者都会提前拿到考卷，考官一般建议考试者写下姓名、准考号码等，不许答题，但可以预览考卷。对于英语初学者来说。
如果利用这一短暂时间对听力内容进行预读则可以获得很多的考试信息。对于填空题，可以通篇读完，获得概意，对部分填空进行猜测；对于选择题，读选择项有助于提高正确率；对于问答题，则直接看提问部分，在听力过程中尤其注意精听提问部分即可。
自学小贴士：手拿铅笔可以在预读中对重点单词、句子轻轻划出相应记号以配合听力。但在考试结束前尽量擦掉，保持卷面整洁，否则可能会扣分的。
