阅读理解。

Soap operas from South Korea have been popular in China for more than twenty years now. So it is not the first time for the soap operas made in China to feel less popular. But this time, they are facing more difficulties, for The Heirs (继承者) and My Love from the Star (来自星星的你) really made a full success, which even attracted some top officials.

A senior official said he sometimes watched soap operas from South Korea, as well as House of Cards (纸牌屋), an American opera about politics (政治). These operas made both in South Korea and in America have a lot of lovers in China.

Many people agree that China's soap operas can't be much loved by most Chinese, because they are not as interesting and exciting as those operas from South Korea and America, such as My Love from the Star, a Korean love story between a time traveling professor and a famous movie star.

    However，Korean shows not only provide soap operas but also some programmings (综艺节目). Dad, Where Are We Going? is not an original (独创的)Chinese show. We learned it from South Korea although not many in China realize that fact.

Actually, China has a closer culture with South Korea. Shows from this neighbor seem to do better with their exciting stories on the Cinderella theme (灰姑娘主题). Yet they have created many popular shows whose stories tell there's no difference between men and women even though in their country men are certain to play a more important role.

    In the front of many American homes you can see a mat(脚垫). This mat is sometimes called "welcome mat", because many of the mats have the word "welcome" on them.

    Because Americans don't take off their shoes before going into the house, they need a welcome mat to clean their shoes. If the children don't clean their shoes on the mat, they may be scolded(被责骂) by their parents. If you go to an American home, please remember to clean your shoes on the mat, or you may be told to do so. "Different countries, different customs(习俗)."

    Sumo wrestling (相扑) is a national sport in Japan. Every year there are six tournaments, and millions of Japanese watch them on television. A tournament is a series of matches.

    Sumo wrestling is almost as old as the nation of Japan itself. Stories say that there was sumo wrestling over 2,000 years ago. There are written records of national sumo tournaments in the 8th century.

    In many sports, athletes are thin and can move very quickly. However, sumo wrestlers weigh from 100 to 160 kilograms. One famous wrestler weighed 195 kilograms. Sumo wrestlers do not move quickly, and sumo wrestling is a very slow sport.

    Sumo wrestlers start hard training when they are boys. They exercise to make their bodies strong. They also eat a lot.

    They wrestle in a round ring with a sand floor. A wrestler loses the match if he leaves the ring. He is also the loser if any part of his body except his feet touches the floor. Each wrestler tries to push the other down on the floor or out of the ring. Sometimes one wrestler just steps aside when the other wrestler rushes towards him. Then, the wrestler who is rushing falls down or moves out of the ring.

    Sumo wrestling is not very popular in other countries, but the Japanese think that it is a very exciting sport.