When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, clothes and cars.

    A true friendship carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected. It is a treasure we should protect. Unfortunately, the better friends you are, the more probably you'll have disagreements. And the result can be what you don't want—an end to the relationship.

    The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended. First, don't let your pride get in your way. Most of us can forgive each other when differences are brought out in the open. Second, apologize when you're wrong — even if you've been wronged. Over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes. Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes the lead and apologizes. When you apologize, give your friend a chance to admit(承认) that he has been wrong. Third, see things from your friend's point of view. And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyle change. Making friends can sometimes seem easy. The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships. My suggestion: consider friendship as an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture(培养).

    Are you sick of going to bed late and waking up tired? Then grab your hiking boots and a tent. A new study suggests that camping in the great outdoors for a couple of days can reset your body clock and help you get more sleep.

    The body clock is an internal system that tells our bodies when it's time to go to sleep and when it's time to wake up. Scientists track this clock by measuring the amount of melatonin (褪黑激素) circulating in a person's blood at any given time.

    In a healthy sleeper, melatonin levels rise a few hours before bedtime, stay high through the night, and then settle back down when it's time to wake up.

    In our modern society, however, most of us stay up many hours past sunset and would probably sleep in many hours after sunrise if we could. And the trouble is, your melatonin levels may still be high when your alarm clock goes off in the morning, which leads to fatigue. It may also have other health consequences as well, such as diabetes (糖尿病), overweight and heart disease.

    Professor Kenneth Wright of the University of Colorado in the US wanted to see if our body clocks can be reset by a short stay in nature. His team recruited (招募) fourteen physically active volunteers in their 20s and 30s. Nine went on a weekend camping trip, while the other five stayed home. At the end of the weekend, the researchers reported that in just two days, the campers' body clocks had shifted so that their melatonin levels began to rise more than an hour earlier than they did before they left on the trip. By contrast, the body clocks of the group that stayed home shifted even later over the course of the weekend.

    “This tells us we can reset our clocks fast,” Wright said.

    Therefore, if you want to change your sleep patterns you could try to increase your exposure to natural light during the day and decrease the amount of artificial light you see at night. And if that doesn't work，there's always camping.

    Visa Medical Appointment

    For your appointment you must bring

    Your valid original passport. Driving license is not accepted.

    HAP ID(体检号)and your e-Medical Referral Letter.

    Prescription glasses or contact lenses.

    Any specialist's report／s about your medical condition.

    At visa medical assessment

    A phone interpreter will be made available upon request.

    You will be required to change into a medical shirt provided for your visa medical assessment. We recommend that female applicants NOT wear a dress or clothing which is difficult to remove to the appointment.

    If you are having an x-ray，you will be asked to remove all necklaces and neck chains and tie long hair back. We request valuables not be brought to the assessment. Change rooms and lockers will be available to store your belongings，including your mobile phone which must be kept in a locker during your assessment.

    Important information for your appointment

    Blood Test

    You are required to have a blood test，please eat and drink as normal before your appointment. There is no need to fast.

    Arriving for your appointment

    Please arrive on time for your appointment and allow approximately 2 hours for your assessment to be completed.

    Pregnancy

    If you are pregnant，please call our contact centre on 1 300 794 9 1 9 as it may affect you being able to proceed with the assessment.

    Menstruation(生理期)

    If you have booked your appointment when menstruating，please go online to reschedule your appointment so it falls 4—6 days after you have finished menstruating.

    For more information

    Please visit our website www.bupamvs.com.au

    Bupa Medical Visa Services Customer Service

    Chinese high school students have the longest study hours compared to their peers (同龄人) in Japan, the US and the Republic of Korea, a survey conducted by the four countries said.

    The survey, released by the China Youth and Children Research Center (CYCRC) on Monday, was jointly conducted with institutions in the four countries in September—October of 2008. It covers nearly 4, 000 students in senior high schools and vocational high schools in the four countries.

    About 78.3 percent of Chinese students said they spend more than eight hours at school and 56.7 percent said they study at least two more hours each day at home. By contrast, only 24.7 percent of their peers in the US, 20.5 percent in Japan and 15.4 percent in Korea study more than two hours after school.

    Around 60 percent of all students surveyed said their burden for studies was the heaviest; however, the Japanese felt their burden was the worst with respondents (应答者) reaching 79.2 percent.

    Among the five biggest headaches for young people in the four countries were: over—scheduling ranked first, followed by a boring leisure life, unsatisfied appearance, little time for exercise and making friends, and no spare money.

    "Moderate (适度的) study pressure can better drive students to develop, however, too much will squeeze (挤) their development space, and can even cause harm to their physical and psychological health," the survey said.

    "Balancing their studies and all-round development is a very important task," it said.

    Saturday, 22 April, 2017

    We are currently on a camp site near Calais, on our way to the UK, and it is pouring with rain. As if gods want to prepare us for the UK at all costs. As if we don't know what rain is… Our ferry to the green isles will leave tomorrow at 10: 30 and despite the rain, I am really looking forward to it.

    It has taken us a while to get here, as we already left EI Chorro on 4 April. After rushing through Spain in two days, however, we came to an inevitable slow-down when we entered France. Inevitable, as France has simply too much to offer for us, so as soon as we crossed the Pyrenees, our driving sequence became something like driving a few kilometres, visiting a castle, driving a few kilometres, taking pictures of a nice church, driving a few kilometres, having a quick peek at a flea market, driving a few kilometres, visiting a museum etc. When we entered Brittany the real sightseeing started, in Vannes, in Lorient, in Brest and then on to Normandy: Le Mont St Michel, Bayeux and finally, finally the D-Day beaches. I always wanted to visit these, for obvious reasons I would say, but my father, realistic as he was, calculated the chances that it would rain a considerable amount of days of a three-week holiday and always decided against it. But a few days ago I finally stepped onto Gold Beach (where the Brits landed) and I was greeted by the Norman sun. A beautiful day.

At the beginning of the century there was a big farm called Hollywood Ranch. It was near Los Angeles in California. A few years later Hollywood was one of the famous places in the world. From the 1910s to the 1950s Hollywood was the film center of the world. Every family knew the names of its film stars — Charlie Chaplin, Grela Garbo, Bergman and hundreds more.

The reason why people went to Hollywood to make films was the sun. At first people made films in New York on the east coast of the United States. But then they heard about Los Angeles where there are 350 days of sun every year. As they made all the films by sunlight, the west coast was a much better place to work. Also near Hollywood you can find mountains and sea and desert. They did not have to travel far to make any kind of film.

When TV became popular, Hollywood started making films for television. Then in the 1970s they discovered people still went to the cinema to see big expensive films. After twenty years they are still making films in Hollywood and people watch them all over the world.