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    To me, music is food and water. I know this isn't right for everyone. Usually lots of people go to concerts or listen to music records. Maybe some of you don't do these, but music is everywhere in our life. For example, when you watch movies or TV plays, we will find them boring if there's no music. And when you're waiting for the train or the plane, some music can make the time short.

    Some people like to listen to the sound of the sea. Some enjoy listen to the singing of birds. Those sounds are some kind of music. So music has meaning for everyone. Of course, it has special meaning for people like me. We spend our lives playing or writing music.

    Someone said, “Through music a child goes into a world of beauty(美丽), learns to take care of others and makes his mind and body healthy.”

    British people pride themselves on their polite manners towards one another in public. They often use the word 'sorry'—even when they don't really mean it! Usually, if they want to ask a stranger for the time, they would start by saying 'Sorry to bother you. Do you know what time it is?' If they're five minutes late for an appointment (约会), they would generally greet the person by saying 'Sorry I'm late!'

    They use the word 'sorry' in so many different situations that the meaning of the word has changed a little over time. The two main dictionary definitions (释义) of 'sorry' are: 1) feeling sad for someone else because of their problems or bad luck; 2) feeling regret because you've done something wrong. Now, think about this. Normally, when they want to ask a stranger a question, they start with 'Sorry to bother you'. In this situation, they aren't saying sorry because they feel sad for that person or because they feel regret.

    So what does 'sorry' really mean? And why do British people use it so much? Well, in the British culture, saying 'sorry' is a way to be polite, especially to people who they don't know very well. It's also a very clever way to get what they want. In a recent experiment, an actor went up to a different strangers on a rainy day to ask if he could use their mobile phones in order to make a call. When he went up to one group of strangers and asked them without saying 'sorry' first, he was only 9 per cent successful in borrowing their phones. However, when he said 'sorry' to another group of strangers about the bad weather before asking if he could use their mobile phones, he was 47 per cent successful. So maybe saying 'sorry' is not just being polite, but it is also a good method to get what they want too!

    A group of students from the US have been in China for a week. Here is part of their chat history (聊天记录) on WeChat.

20:45

    Hi, everybody! Anything to share today?

20:49

    Yes. I went to a restaurant to have dinner with some friends this evening.

    When we finished the meal, the waiter brought us the bill. It was 270 yuan.

    We gave him 300 yuan and left 30 as a tip(小费) for his service(职务).

To our surprise, he returned us the change!

    Really? How kind he is!

20:53

    @Sunny It's different form that of the US. I worked in a restaurant in my free time. I accepted tips. Well, something interesting happened to me this morning…

20:55

    I couldn't find the bus stop. I came up to a man who was walking near me and showed him the bus number. He nodded and asked me to follow. We walked for about 10 minutes and finally got to the bus stop. I wanted to give him a hug (拥抱) to show thanks, but he just said goodbye and walked away. I couldn't believe that he had taken so much trouble for a stranger(陌生人)!

    It seems that Chinese people don't usually hug.

    I guess so. It's really unforgettable!

21:02

    I agree. The Chinese people I have met these days are all so friendly, polite and helpful. Well will enjoy the rest of our trip for sure.

Ma Yun is in his words

    There are always many young people who want to learn something from me. In fact, I'm not as lucky as most of you. I tried 3 times for colleges but all failed. For the fourth time, I tried for the teachers' college and they accepted me. I applied(申请) for jobs for 30 times. You can guess the results. It was so difficult at that time. I was down but I didn't give up and fought on. So you can see a new Ma Yun now.

    You are lucky enough. You are at the best time of this century. The best wealth you have is that you are young.

    Among all the challenges, I think the biggest one is education. Something we teach our kids is too old. So we have to research what is the best way and what are the best things to teach our kids.

    The future you face is not a competition for knowledge but a competition for creativity and imagination.

    When people have problems, the chance will come. If you can solve them, then the chance will belong to you.