Reader's Digest is a monthly magazine. Before the 1980s, it belonged to a privately held company, which was started in 1922 by Lila Bell Wallace and Dewitt Wallace. This magazine is small and easy to carry, just half the size of most American magazines, which caused a phrase in 2005, “America in your pocket.” It is the best selling magazine in the USA. At present, its circulation(发行量） in the USA has reached 10 million copies and the number of the readers there is 38 million. Its global circulation outside the USA has reached 40 million people throughout more than 70 countries in 21 languages.
   This magazine's focus(焦点） is not news but more of cultural views because the editors think people now can get timely news from somewhere else. They hope this magazine can give readers something that is about special personal experiences, something the readers can share with their families. In different countries, this magazine provides a window to the world for the local readers. Some parts of the magazine are about the local customs and interests of the local readers. The other parts give the local readers information from all over the world.
   This magazine actually used to be a family business until the Wallaces died in the 1980s. Because they had no children, there was no one to take over the company. Sixteen years ago, this company went public and became a public company.

    Tea to the Chinese is like coffee to the Americans. It's something that they can't live without.

    Chinese tea has a history of more than 5,000 years. It was most popular during the Tang Dynasty. China has many kinds of tea. White, yellow, green, oolong (乌龙茶), black and dark tea are the six main kinds.

    People in different places drink tea in their own way. People in Guangdong and Fujian love to drink “Kung Fu Tea” in small tea cups. They clean the teapot (茶壶) first with boiling water to warm it up. Then they fill the teapot with tea leaves before putting in the boiling water.

    In Beijing, people love jasmine flower（茉莉花）green tea. In Tibet, butter tea (酥油茶) is a popular drink to build up energy.

    There are rules to follow when we serve tea to others. Most importantly, remember to make the cup only seven-tenths full. If the cup is too full, it makes the cup too hot for them to hold.

    Kites have a long history. They may date back(追溯到) long time ago. They were made of bamboo and silk in China. Nobody knows exactly how or when a kite was first flown, but it is said that when a Chinese farmer tied a string(绳子) to his hat to keep it from blowing away in a strong wind, the first kite was born.

    Children like playing with kites. Kites for work or play are made of wood, bamboo, paper, or silk. In 478 B.C., a Chinese philosopher(思想家), Mo Zi, spent three years making a kite out of light wood and bamboo. The earliest record of kite flying was in about 200 B.C. when the Chinese General(将军) Han Xin of Han Dynasty flew a kite over the walls of a city. He wanted to know how far his army would have to travel.

    In the 13^th century, Marco Polo wrote about how the shipping businessmen flew the huge kite in the wind before the ship set sail. They predicted the voyage(航海) in this way. If the kite went high and straight it meant a quick and successful voyage, but if it did not fly well,  it was a bad omen(预兆). In the late 1500s, the kite was introduced to Europe by the Italians. Kite flying was first mentioned in England in a popular book in 1589.

    I often dreamed about Pisa when I was a boy. I read about the famous building called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But when I read the word Pisa, I was thinking of pizza. I thought this tower was a place to buy pizza. It must be the best place to buy pizza in the world, I thought.

    Many years later I finally saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I then knew that it was Pisa and not pizza. But there was still something special about it for me. The tower got its name because it really did lean to one side. Some people want to try to fix it. They are afraid it may fall down and they don't want it to lean over the city.

    I do not think it's a good idea to try to fix it. The tower probably will not fall down. It is 600 years old. Why should anything happen to it now? And, if you ask me, I like what it looks like. Nothing is perfect. It seems to say.

    And who cares? Why do people want things to be perfect? Imperfect things may be more interesting. Let's take the tower in Pisa. Why is it so famous? There are many other older, more beautiful towers in Italy. But the Leaning Tower of Pisa is the most famous. People come from all over the world to see it.

    A 12-year-old girl from Virginia, US, never thought that a simple message she put online could bring her big problems. She posted the words, "Killing. Meet me in the library Tuesday", with three emojis(表情符号)of a gun, a knife and a bomb(炸弹) on Instagram, a social media (社交媒体). She was told that she broke the law because of threatening (威胁) her school.

    This problem is not far away from us. Ni Hanxiang, a Chinese student at a university in the US, was sent back to China after expressing on social media that he would kill his teachers if he failed to pass his exams.

    In China, posting threatening words online is also against the law. In 2013, Wu Hongfei, a singer, got into trouble for saying on weibo that she wanted to blow up a building.

    "Threatening happens not only face to face but also through the Internet, social media and the telephone," said Mr Cao, a lawyer from Chongqing. "Although the law of China protects people's right of free speech, it doesn't include words that threaten others' lives and national safety."

    "Some people may not mean to threaten. They may just be trying to say 'I' m strong'", said Fred Pratt, a lawyer from the US.

    The girl's mother said her daughter was a good kid who had never been in trouble before. Ni Hangxiang also said he didn't realize that what he put online was so serious.

    "But not knowing the law doesn't mean the law will treat you any differently if you break it," says David Allen Green, a lawyer from the UK. So, do you think we'd better spend a minute or two thinking about the words or emojis we use on social media before we press "send"?

    In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts(主人) and the worst guests in the world. They're not really bad guests, but because the guest- host relationship in China is much more different than in some Western countries, it appears they are not nice guests. And Western hosts sometimes look rude (粗鲁的) in the eyes of Chinese guests.

    In China, guests are almost likes gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese person's home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. In the West, generally the guest is not a god. Acting according to the host's way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.

    My wife's mother, a very kind elderly Chinese lady, doesn't smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house, as a non - smoker, I feel unhappy. Usually I want to stop them directly ( 直接地), but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In North American homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are not smokers, you should not smoke in their house. At the very least, you could ask, "Is it OK if I smoke?" But, don't be surprised if they say, "No, you can't smoke." In our culture, if you smoke in their home, you are a bad guest, but if they do not allow you to smoke in their house, they are not a rude host.

    Guests in China also have special habits. Some Western people may not adapt to these habits very soon. Thankfully my wife is Chinese, so whenever we visit a Chinese family she tells me to buy them a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite international guests to your house, don't be too surprised if they don't bring you a gift.

    In China, you probably won't need to change the guest -host relationship very much because you will probably only be the host, and Chinese are naturally very good hosts. If Western hosts invite you to their house, try not to be too surprised if their style of treating you is not what you have expected.