Reader's Digest is a monthly magazine. Before the 1980s, it belonged to a privately held company, which was started in 1922 by Lila Bell Wallace and Dewitt Wallace. This magazine is small and easy to carry, just half the size of most American magazines, which caused a phrase in 2005, “America in your pocket.” It is the best selling magazine in the USA. At present, its circulation(发行量） in the USA has reached 10 million copies and the number of the readers there is 38 million. Its global circulation outside the USA has reached 40 million people throughout more than 70 countries in 21 languages.
   This magazine's focus(焦点） is not news but more of cultural views because the editors think people now can get timely news from somewhere else. They hope this magazine can give readers something that is about special personal experiences, something the readers can share with their families. In different countries, this magazine provides a window to the world for the local readers. Some parts of the magazine are about the local customs and interests of the local readers. The other parts give the local readers information from all over the world.
   This magazine actually used to be a family business until the Wallaces died in the 1980s. Because they had no children, there was no one to take over the company. Sixteen years ago, this company went public and became a public company.

    So, let's imagine you are walking down the street drinking a box of tea. You finish drinking the tea. Now, what do you do with the box? Do you drop it on the ground? Or, do you do the right thing and drop it in a trash can? Hopefully, you drop it in the trash can because, besides harming the environment, littering is also very impolite.

    Recently, a magazine published a list of the most polite cities in the world. They looked three things: did people litter, did shop clerks say thank you and did people hold the door open for the person behind them? The top three politest cities were New York, USA, Zurich, Switzerland, and Toronto, Canada. Hong Kong, China was number 35. Shanghai wasn't even on the list.

    Does that mean that Shanghai is not apolite city? Well, maybe. There are different ways to judge(判断) politeness but the survey was looking at how a visitor to a city would feel when walking around its public places. Visitors don't like to step over empty tea boxes as they walk down the street. They don't like it when they buy something and the shop clerk doesn't say thank you or even give them a smile. They also don't like it when someone lets a door slam(砰然关上) into them instead of holding it open.

    Shanghai is a nice city but it is not always the most polite city. I don't think this is intentional(有意的). I think it's just a lack of awareness(缺乏意识). China is becoming a popular place for tourists to visit. When they come to Shanghai they will find a friendly city: it would be nice if they also found apolite one. And, remember, being polite makes you feel good, too. It's nice to be nice.

    Most people drink tea in the world. But tea does not mean the same thing to different people. In different countries, people have different ideas about drinking tea.

    In China, for example, tea is often served when people get together. Chinese people drink it at home or in tea houses at any time of the day. They often use hot water to boil tea leaves.

    Tea is also important in other Asian countries. People in these countries have a special way of serving tea. They hold a tea ceremony in their houses when important guests come. It is very old and full of meaning. Everything must be done in a special way in the ceremony. There is even a special room for it in their houses.

    In the United States, people usually drink tea at breakfast or they drink it after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make tea. This way is faster and easier than the way of making tea in teapots. In summer, most Americans drink iced tea. They like to put some ice in their tea.

    Tokyo is Japan's capital and largest city. It's also one of the largest cities in the world. To has a history of hundreds of years, and now it is the main part of a big city area. The big city area is called Greater Tokyo. It includes (包括) Tokyo and some other cities near it. There are over 30,000,000 people living in this area.

    Many streets of Tokyo are very crowded, and most of the buildings are very tall and modem. But how could such an old city look so modern? During World War II, over a third of buildings in Tokyo were destroyed (被摧毁). After World War II, people began to build the city again. That way, the city looked different from before.

    Today Tokyo is a very welcoming city. Many people come to visit Tokyo every day. The best way to go to the city from other parts of Japan is by train. And the Shinkansen the fast trains are famous all over the world. Visitors from other countries can enjoy themselves a lot in Tokyo. They can learn Japanese culture and try Japanese food. There are lots of nice restaurants in Tokyo. The city never goes dark at night. So walking in Tokyo at night is always an option for most visitors.

    If you come to visit Japan, make sure you stop in Tokyo for at least (至少) a few days.

    On October 31,2016, an Egyptian (埃及的) university held a Chinese movies week with China Radio International (CRI).

    The first movie Go Lala Go was shown at the Suez Canal University in Ismailia. Ismailia is about 120 kilometers northeast of Egypt's capital Cairo, It was greatly enjoyed by over 100 Egyptian students learning Chinese at Confucius Institute (孔子学院) in the university.

    "I would like to thank the Chinese Cultural Center that gave many books to the university, which are important for our students and for the teaching process. I hope everyone enjoys the movie and understands more about China," said Hassan Ragab, a worker of Confucius Institute.

    An 18-year-oid girl student who studies Chinese expressed admiration (崇敬) for the Chinese movie that depicts a woman's efforts (努力) to achieve success. "Since I study Chinese, it's necessary for me to watch such Chinese movies and get to learn about the culture, habits and traditions," she told Xinhua.

    Zhang Li, director of CRI Middle East headquarters (总部), said, "Many Egyptians told me that they liked watching Chinese movies and they found Egypt and China shared similar (相似的) cultures." She added, "The reason to hold this Chinese movies week is that we want Egyptians to know more about modern China, and we also hope to develop the interest of Egyptian students to learn Chinese."