Both are so much related to each other. And both are so dissimilar! What are the differences between friendship and love? Is platonic (理想的) friendship possible between persons of opposite sex? Let us try and understand.

    What is friendship? Why do we call a person our friend? When do we call someone a very good friend? If we care for a person, if we are always ready to help that person and if we share most of our thoughts with a person, they are our good friends. We can always count upon our good friends in an emergency. We are always sure that our friend will understand why we acted in a certain way. We need not explain anything to our very good friends. The friendship is so deep and the relationship is so close.

    What about love? In a relationship of deep love, all the sharing that we discussed above are taken for granted. But love transcends (胜过) all this. During love, we are attached with a particular person, while in friendship, one may have many friends. A loving relationship makes one so much attached to the other, that one gets pained if his/her beloved is hurt! Love also involves a physical element. Friendship does not have that. This is a vital difference. Nature gives us love but does not give us friendship.

    Your heart beats will never increase in expectation of meeting your friend. You will not lie awake at night thinking about your friend. You will not feel totally lost, if you don't meet your friend for a few days. You will not have dreams in your eyes thinking about your friend. But in love, you will do all this and much more. Indeed, there is no comparison between love and friendship.

    Traveling without a map in different countries, I find out about different ways of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”

    Foreign tourists are often puzzled in Japan because most streets there don't have name signs. In Japan, people use landmarks (地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

    People in Los Angeles, the US, have no idea of distance on the map: they measure distance by time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it's about five minutes from here.” You don't understand completely, “Yes, but how many miles away is it, please?” To this question you won't get an answer, because most probably they don't know it themselves.

    People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because tourists seldom understand the Greek language. Instead, a Greek will often say, “Follow me.” Then he'll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office.

    Sometimes a person doesn't know the answer to your question. What happens in the situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don't know.” People there believe that “I don't” is impolite. They usually give an answer, but often a wrong one. So a tourist can get lost very easily in Yucatan! However, one thing will help you everywhere in the world. It's body language.

    The first TV was made by John Baird in 1925. It had one color. It could only show 30 lines. This was just enough room for a face. It didn't work well, but it was a start.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It was in New York- Few people had TVs. The broadcasts were not meant to be watched. They showed a Felix the Cat doll for two hours a day. The doll spun around on a record player. They were experimenting. It took many years to get it right.

    By the end of the 1930s, TVs were working well. America got its first taste at the 1939 Worlds Fair.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} There were 200 small, black and white TVs set up around the fair. The U. S. President gave a speech over the TVs. The TVs were only five inches big but the people loved it.

    By 1948 there were 4 big TV networks in America. They aired their shows from 8 to 11 each night. Local shows were aired at other times{#blank#}3{#/blank#}TV was not "always on" like it is now.

    Color TVs came out in 1953.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Also, shows were aired in black and white. By 1965, color TVs were cheaper. TV stations started airing shows in color. People had to switch if they wanted to see the shows.

    Now most TVs are high-def (高清). This means that they have many lines on them.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}TVs have come a long way since Baird's 30 line set. High-def TVs have 1080 lines. There are state of the art sets called 4K TVs. These TVs have 3,840 lines. Some people watch TV in 3D. I wonder what they will come up with next.

A. This makes the image clearer.

B. They cost too much money for most.

C. A big TV factory was opened in 1927.

D. The first TV station was set up in 1928.

E. People watch news and shows on them.

F. This was one of the biggest events ever.

G. Most of the time, nothing was shown at all.

    Some people learn a second language easily. Other people have trouble learning a new language. How can you help yourself learn a new language， such as English？{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Be patient.

    You do not have to understand everything all at once. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We can learn from our mistakes.

    Practice your English.

    For example, write in a journal every day. You will get used to writing in English, and you will feel com for table expressing your ideas in English. After several weeks, you will see that your writing is improving.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}You can practice with your classmates outside class. You will all make mistakes, but gradually you will become comfortable communicating in English.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    If you believe that you can learn, you will learn.

    Keep a record of your language learning.

    After each class, think about what you did. Did you answer a question correctly? Did you understand something the teacher explained? Perhaps the lesson was difficult, but you tried to understand it.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Be positive about learning English and believe that you can do it.

    It is important to practice every day and make a record of your achievements. You will enjoy learning English, and you will have more confidence in yourself.

A. Write these achievements(成就) in your journal.

B. Besides, you must speak English every day.

C. Making mistakes is an unavoidable part in your life.

D. There are several ways to make learning English a little easier and more interesting.

E. Share your achievement with your parents and friends.

F. Feel confident(有自信心的) about learning English.

G. It is natural for you to make mistakes when you learn something new.

    It has been around for centuries, but up until very recently, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) wasn't fully accepted abroad. Proof of this can be found in The Treatment (《刮痧》), a 2001 film that tells the story of a Chinese man in the US who's accused of abuse after he uses guasha, a form of TCM treatment, to cure his grandson's disease.

    During the last 10 years or so, however, TCM has been getting increasingly popular all over the world. A report released by the State Council Information Office on Dec. 6 says this style of health care, which includes different forms like herbal medicine and exercise, has spread to 183 countries and regions.

    "We have set up 10 TCM centers outside China, and all of them are popular among locals," Wang Guoqiang, head of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said at a news conference on Dec 6. "Governments of 86 countries and regions have signed agreements with the Chinese government on TCM corporation."

    One of the reasons behind the growing popularity of TCM is the increase of scientific research into it. And after Tu Youyou, the Chinese scientist who discovered the anti-malaria (抗疟疾) drug qinghaosu (青蒿素), won the Nobel Prize in 2015, TCM became even more famous internationally.

    However, all these achievements in TCM don't mean that it's problem-free. Over the years, TCM has faced challenges in being able to prove that it has certain effects.

    Some researchers have suggested TCM should be more exact and work together with Western medicine.

    "Bringing together with Western medicine and TCM, rather than being in competition, is where the potential for great effects is," said Bernhard Schwartlander, the China representative of the World Health Organization.

    Most people actually do not know how to do basic first aid on mild burns. It is normally taken for granted since most people think that soaking (浸泡) the burn with water is the way to go.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Once the burn appears, you will surely feel much pain on the actual burned skin. Technically, this is the time to stay calm.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Finding a source of running water is recommended. However, if there is none, any source will do. If there is running water, simply place the burned area under it and allow it to soak the water for about 5 to 10 minutes.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}If you have access to ice or a cold compress（冷敷布）, you can use that as well. You can place the ice or cold compress on the affected area and leave it there about 15 to 30 minutes. The ice will numb the pain and will also stop more injury on the skin.

    After soaking in water or cooling the area with ice, remove from the water source and allow the moisture to dry naturally. You may also consider patting it down dry with a towel or napkin, however, this could damage the burnt skin even more.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    As soon as the area dries up completely, get a bandage or a strip of cloth.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}This will protect that area from infection caused by outside dirt and dust getting into the open burn.

A. Call a doctor may as well help in most burn cases.

B. The thing is that treating a mild burn goes more than just soaking the affected part in water.

C. It is best to dry it naturally instead.

D. Wrap it around the burn to cover the open area of skin.

E. The truth is that soaking is the last thing to do to deal with mild burn.

F. The first thing you will need to do will be to find a clean water source.

G. This will relieve some of the pain, cool down the skin, and stop additional burning.