An "apple polisher" is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment.It is not exactly a bribe（贿赂）, but is close to it.

    All sorts of people are apple polishers,including politicians and people in high offices—just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell,the great English leader,offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party,but failed.

    There are other phrases meaning the same thing as "apple-polishing"—"soft-soaping" or "butter-up".A gift is just one way to "soft-soap" somebody,or to "butter him up".Another that is just as effective is flattery,giving someone high praise—telling him how good he looks,or how well he speaks,or how talented and wise he is.

    Endless are the ways of flattery.Who does not love or hear it?Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is.In truth,flattery is good medicine for most of us,who gets so little of it.

    We need it to be more sure of ourselves.It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it.But we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment,as a cat laps up milk,then we can still remain true to ourselves.

    Sometimes,however,flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it.A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England.The king got tired of listening to the endless sickening flattery of his courtiers（朝臣）.They over-praised him to the skies,as a man of limitless power.

    He decided to teach them a lesson.He took them to the seashore and sat down.Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in.The tide was too busy to listen to him.The king was satisfied.This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.

    March 21 has been declared World Sleep Day, a time to recognize and celebrate the value of sleep. Many sleep experts hope it will be a wake-up call.

    According to a poll (民意调查) by the National Sleep Foundation, nearly 4 in 5 Americans don't get as much sleep as they should during the workweek. On average, adults are thought to need at least eight hours of sleep a night, although some can manage with less and some won't do well without more. But the survey found that, on weekdays, only 21% of Americans actually get a full eight hours of sleep, and another 21% get less than six hours.

    To many of us, the thought of spending more time sleeping is, well, a big yawn. On the other hand, the thought of being smarter, thinner, healthier and more cheerful has a certain appeal. And those are just a few of the advantages that can be ours if we consistently get enough sleep, researchers say. Also on the plus side: We're likely to have better skin, better memories, better judgment, and, oh, yes, longer lives.

    “When you lose even one hour of sleep for any reason, it influences your performance the next day,” says Dr. Alon Avidan, director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center.

    A study published last year found the same to be true even of children. When kids aged 8 to 12 slept for just one hour less for four nights, they didn't function as well during the day.

    But sleeping has an image problem.“We see napping or sleeping as lazy,” says Jennifer Vriend, a clinical psychologist in Ottawa, Canada, and the leading author of the study with children.“We put so much emphasis on diet, nutrition and exercise. Sleep is in the back seat. In fact,”she adds,“no matter how much we work out, no matter how well we eat, we can't be in top physical shape unless we also get plenty of sleep.”

    Chinese New Year has been welcomed in Britain with its biggest ever program of events and celebrations.

    From London's Trafalgar Square to major cities across Britain, tens of thousands of British people have joined Chinese communities to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rooster.

    In Manchester there was a Dragon Parade, led by a spectacular 54-meter long dragon, ending is Chinatown where there was traditional Chinese entertainment, more than 6,000 lanterns, street food villages and a fireworks show. Celebrations also took place in Liverpool. Birmingham, Lake District, Durham, Edinburgh. Leeds and Newcastle.

    Academic Dr. Wu Kegang said that the Chinese New Year event in Britain “is now bigger than ever and it is growing every year.”

    When Wu arrived in Britain 26 years ago from Guangdong, south China, the first thing he noticed was that Chinese New Year was celebrated mainly in towns and cities with big Chinese communities. “You would go to London Chinatown and join your countrymen to celebrate, or to Chinatowns in places like Liverpool and Manchester for what were events almost exclusively held for Chinese people,” Wu recalled.

    “Now it is so different, and we are seeing local communities all over the country taking part alongside their own Chinese populations,” he said. “It is clear to me that the celebrations will continue to grow in Britain. Chinese New Year has earned its place in the calendar of events in Britain, and is here to stay.”

    While most people have the idea that volcano eruptions are one of the most destructive disasters in nature, seeing a volcano erupt is a wonderful experience, and you can really feel the heat by climbing to the summit of Pacaya for a close-up view.

    There are guided tours every day up this highly active volcano from Antigua, giving travelers a chance to see Mother Nature at her most powerful. Pacaya is an easy drive from Antigua, a beautiful city with many colorful houses along its old streets that are turned into art-works during its Holy Week festival. No matter when you come to Antigua, you won't miss the Pacaya-tour companies.

    But climbing Pacaya is no easy job: it is 2,560 meters high, and reaching the summit takes two to three hours of seemingly one-step-forward and two-step-back movements. As you climb you hear the dull sounds of eruptions high above. Steaming, hot remains from recent eruptions begin to line the path as you near the active summit: the Mckenney Cone (火山锥). Just as though you were going to walk over to the edge of the cone, the road turns to the left and up to the relative safety of the old, inactive summit.

    Many tours are timed so that you arrive at the cone of the volcano in plenty of time for sunset and the full contrast between the erupting red lava(岩浆) and the darkening sky. On a good day the view from the summit is extremely exciting. The active mouth boils, sending red lava over its sides, and once in a while shoots hot steams up to 100 meters into the air. There is a strong bad smell in the air even if you take care to be upwind of the cone. As evening turns deeper into the night, the burning lava quietly falls down the side of the volcano. For you, too, it is time to get down.

    Happy birthday! Do birthdays really make people happy? Of course they do. Birthdays celebrate the day we were born. Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggests another year of growth and maturity (成熟)— or so we hope. We all like to imagine that we're getting wiser and not just older. Most of us enjoy seeing the miracle(奇迹) of growth in others, as well. For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud. For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process(过程). But growing old? That's a different story.

    Growing old is not exactly pleasant for people in youth-oriented(以年轻人为中心) American culture. Most Americans like to look young,act young and feel young. As the old saying goes, "You're as young as you feel." Older people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old. People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom. But Americans seem to favor those that are young, or at least "young at heart."

    Many older Americans find the "golden years" to be anything but golden. Economically, "senior citizens" often struggle just to get by. Retirement(退休) at age 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income. Social security(安全) benefits usually cannot make up the difference. Older people may suffer from poor nutrition(营养), medical care and housing. Some even experience age discrimination. In 1987, American sociologist Pat Moore dressed up like an older person and wandered city streets. She was often treated rudely — even cheated and robbed. However, dressed as a young person, she received much more respect.

    Unfortunately, the elderly population in America is increasing fast. Why? People are living longer. Fewer babies are being born. And middle-aged "baby boomers" are rapidly entering the groups of the elderly. America may soon be a place where wrinkles(皱纹) are "in". Marketing experts are already noticing this growing group of consumers.

    We discuss the issue of when to help a patient die, which was not talked about openly and little was written about it.

    The best way to bring the problem into focus is to describe two patients whom I cared for. The first, formerly a nurse, had an automobile accident. And there she was: in coma, on a breathing machine. One day, her husband and son came to see me. They told me their wife and mother was obviously going to die; she was a nurse and had told her family that she never wanted this kind of terrible death, being maintained by machines. I told them that while I respected their view, there was nothing deadly about her situation. The kidney(肾) failure she had was just the kind for which the artificial (人造的) kidney was most effective. While possibly a bit reassured, they were disappointed. Here was the head surgeon seemingly determined to keep everybody alive, no matter what.

    Within a few days the patient awoke from her coma. About six months later, the door of my office opened and in walked a gloriously fit woman. After some cheery words of appreciation, the father and son asked to speak to me alone. As soon as the door closed, both men became quite tearful. All that came out was, "We want you to know how wrong we were."

    The second patient was an 85-year-old lady whose hair caught fire while she was smoking. She arrived with a deep burn; I knew it would surely be deadly. At the time, there was a class discussing medical ethics(道德). The instructor asked me if I had any sort of ethical problem I could bring up for discussion. I described the case and asked the students their opinion. After the discussion, I made a remark that was, when looking back, a serious mistake. I said, "I'll talk with the nurses before we decide." The instructor and the students were shocked: "You mean this is a real patient?" The teacher of ethics was not accustomed to being challenged by actuality.

    A day or two later, when the lady was making no progress and was suffering terribly, we began to back off in treatment. Soon she died quietly and not in pain. As a reasonable physician, you had better move ahead and do what you would want done for you. And don't discuss it with the world first. There is a lesson here for everybody. Assisting people to leave this life requires strong judgment and long experience to avoid its misuse.