The hottest TV drama in China – “Nirvanain Fire” or “Langya Bang” has just ended. Millions of people waited every day after midnight for the latest (two) episodes. Are you one of them? What is the story about? Why the show is so popular?

  “Nirvana in Fire” is based on an Internet novel by author HaiYan, who was invited to pen the screenplay for the television adaptation. The 55-episode series, set in a fictionalized kingdom, weaves together two storylines — one about a betrayed general's revenge and the other about princes fighting for the throne.

    The series was put on screen on Sep. 19th, and the number of Internet views exceeded 140 million times the next day. Only during the week of National holiday, the number increased by 1.6 billion.

    It's now the hottest Chinese TV show with a very high score of 9.3 on Douban. (The classical TV drama, Journey to the West, produced in 1986 is with the same score). Previous and recent costume dramas such as “The Journey of Flower” and “Yun Zhong Ge” only scored 6.4 and 3.5.

    Drawing comparisons to “The Count of Monte Cristo”, the story revolves around a gifted young man named Lin Shu, whose father serves as a general. Already a high-ranking military officer by his teenager years, Lin Shuenjoyed a close friendship with Prince Xiao Jingyan and was even engaged to Princess Nihuang.

   At age 17, however, Lin Shu's life turned upside down when his father's army was framed and destroyed by a foxy political rival. LinShu escaped death, but due to the poisoning, his body became weak and frail, and he lost his martial arts abilities. From then on, his face was pale and his fingers always ice-cold.

    After twelve years, Lin Shu returned to his country's capitalwith a new name, Mei Changsu, and a new identity, the leader of the Jiang ZuoAlliance. He then became the strategic adviser for his friend, Prince Jingyan, who had been exiled(流放) by the king. Despite the efforts of Prince Xiao Jingheng and the crown prince to win the throne for themselves, Mei Changsu succeeds in paving the road for his friend to take over as king, as well as the avenging the injustices dealt to histroops many years before.

    Sometimes people can have fights, but friendship is a valuable gift.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} But with a little effort to step outside of your comfort zone(舒适区), you can easily make friends. Here you can find some places to make new friends.

    Join an organization or a club. This is a great way to find other people who have common interests.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}In fact, some of the most valuable friendships are between two people who don't have much in common at all. However, if you like a specific topic, try finding a place where you can meet people who share that interest.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} A common mistake is that you have to be really good at playing a special sport in order to make friends with others on the team. In fact, as long as you enjoy the sport and support your teammates, joining a team with a relaxed attitude could be a great way to make new friends.

    Volunteer. Volunteering is also a good way for people of all ages to meet others. By working together, you'll build relationships with people.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Make yourself available. If you want to make friends, you first need to put yourself out there somehow to meet people.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}It doesn't have to be a crowded table, but one with at least two other people. Remember, friends seldom come knocking on your door while you sit alone at home.

A. Join a sports team.

B. Sometimes, good friends are hard to find.

C. Do well in sport in order to make new friends.

D. If you're still in school, sit somewhere with other people.

E. So you can devote your time to a local nursing home or a hospital.

F. It is not easy at all to get along with new friends when you study in a middle school.

G. You don't need to have lots of common interests with people to make friends with them.

    There are many expressions with the word “dog”.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They take their dogs for walks, give them goof food and medical care. However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression, lead a dog's life, describes a person who has an unhappy existence.

    When we say we live in a dog-eat-dog world,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}A person has to work hard like a dog to be successful. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.

    Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new skills and will not change the way they do things.

    Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways. People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as junkyard dogs living in places where people throw away things they do not want. Junkyard dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Dog expressions are also used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But we do not want it to rain cats and dogs.

A. We could say his bark is worse than his bite.

B. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs.

C. But there are many difficulties on the road to success.

D. People love dogs and treat them well.

E. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills.

F. Dogs are loyal to people.

G. A rainstorm may cool the weather.

A hybrid electric vehicle (混合动力车) or HEV is a vehicle driven by the combination of petrol engine and electric motor. Terrence has been driving a HEV for five years. He really doesn't understand why more people aren't accepting them. "I probably spend about $ 7 a day on petrol," the taxi driver told news. com. au. In his previous conventional vehicle Terrence said he was spending up to $ 30 a day on petrol, meaning he saves almost $ 6000 every year.

The Toyota spokesman said this was quite a high saving and official tests estimate (估计) an average driver would only save about 33 percent off their current bill. This means a driver paying $ 30 a day on petrol would see their bill drop to about $ 20 using the hybrid. "A taxi driver that drives in built-up areas and spends little time on highways will notice a higher fuel saving," he said. "Low speeds allow the electric motors to be used more and the petrol engine used less."

While some people are skeptical about how reliable hybrids are, Terrence said he had never run out of power. His Camry cost about $ 34,000 and so after five years, it's nearly paid for itself. "For cab drivers, it's a real advantage because of the cost-effectiveness," he said. Terrence has no complaints about the car. "I love it, the calm and quietness of it, the simplicity of it—you just jump in and go. The maintenance（保养）is really low. But the only difficulty is finding someone to service the car as there are not many experienced mechanics（机修工）."

Terrence said it's "extraordinary" that more drivers aren't buying more hybrid electric vehicles and that governments are not encouraging this more. "I think people have a view that you have to plug it in, which is not true. A lack of information about the cars may be stopping people from taking the plunge. It's not promoted at all for the public to understand—it's simplifying the actual owning of a car—you don't have to do so many things to own it and run it, it's just so much simpler. Why wouldn't the government promote such a thing?"

    Many people are aiming and praying to be happy. What they do not know is that happiness is a journey and not a destination. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are some of the how­to's.

    Be true to yourself. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can withdraw with a person that cannot satisfy you. You can change a job. You can choose friends. If you think people, things and events in your life don't give you happiness, let them go and think of better ways.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Think of good things and not the opposite. When you think you have less money in your pocket, don't say "I don't want to be poor". Say I want to be rich or I have more than enough money for everything. You'll notice you'll attract a lot of good things, gifts and good people in your life that could improve your financial aspect.

    Start your day with hopes. By the time you wake up, stretch your muscles with hopes and thoughts of abundance in your brain. You'll get more energy than waking up with bad mood. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Always smile. Nobody wants to be depressed people. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You cannot sell your products if you are not marketable enough. Smile makes some people's day. Smile and the world smiles with you.

    Happiness depends on yourself. If you want happiness in your life, you have to prove it in your actions. To receive, feel and be happy is to do happy things to others.

A. Always think positive.

B. Be thankful for the journey you are taking.

C. It is so uncomfortable to be with people who love frowning.

D. Don't pretend if you do not like a situation.

E. Accept people for who they are and don't compare them with other better people.

F. Every good thing in the world is already here and it's up to us to work for happiness.

G. If you start your day with good mood, you'll end it with good mood.

    Is our planet heating up? Are human beings to blame for climate change? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The discussion on this subject has been heated, but what are scientists actually saying? At Reader's Digest, we decided to find it out.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Yes, it has, and even warmer. Greenland was forested between 450,000 and 800,000 years ago, so temperatures were considerably warmer then. There have also been other times of relatively high temperatures.

    So why does the concern exist?

    It's all about the speed at which temperatures are changing. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} But in the 20th and 21^st centuries, especially since 1976, temperatures have probably risen more quickly than during any century in the past 1 ,000 years. Warming may bring improved crop production and other benefits to northern countries such as Canada or Russia. However, many species may not adapt to these conditions, and the one that is able to may cause a problem. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The West Nile virus, first seen in North America nine years ago, infected about 4,000 people in the US in 2006. The mountain pine beetle, which is active during warmer winters, has already destroyed about 13 million hectares of Canada's forests, worth an estimated $6. 4 billion.

    What is causing the warming?

    IPCC has concluded that human activity is very likely responsible, by increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases and thus the greenhouse effect. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They argue the human contribution is nothing.

A. Some scientists, however, still disagree.

B. Has the planet ever been this warm before?

C. Has human behavior made the planet warm?

D. Temperatures have been changing all the time.

E. In the past, temperatures moved up or down gradually.

F. Mosquitoes have been moving northwards to higher places.

G. These questions have burst into newspapers, films and popular books.