When seeing the doctor, you feel better to know you will get some medicine. But the doctor knows that medicine is not always needed. Sometimes all a sick person needs is some reassurance (安想) that all will be well. In such cases the doctor may prescribe a placebo.

    A placebo is a sugar pill, a harmless shot, or an empty capsule. The patient thinks it is medicine and begins to get better. How does this happen?

    The study of the placebo opens up new knowledge about the way the human body can heal itself. It is as if there was a doctor in each of us. The doctor will heal the body for us if we let it. But it is not yet known just how the placebo works to heal the body. Some people say it works because the human mind fools itself. These people say that if the mind is fooled into thinking it got medicine, then it will act as if it did, and the body will feel better.

    Placebos don't always work. The success of this treatment seems to rest a lot with the relationship between the patient and the doctor. If the patient has lots of trust in the doctor and if the doctor really wants to help the patient, then the placebo is more likely to work. So in a way, the doctor is the most powerful placebo of all.

    A placebo can also have bad effects. If patients expect a bad reaction to medicine, then they'll also show a bad reaction to the placebo. Some doctors still think that if the placebo can have bad effects it should never be used. They think there is still not enough known about it.

    The strange power of the placebo does seem to suggest that the human mind is stronger than we think it is. There are people who say you can heal your body by using your mind. And the interesting thing is that even people who swear this is not possible have been healed by a placebo.

    “He is the best choice for goodwill ambassador.” Indian movie fans in China say.

    Indian actor Aamir Khan has got his major celebrity status in China. Aamir Khan was in China last week to promote his latest Hindi film Secret Superstar. During his weeklong stay, first in Shanghai and then in Beijing, the Indian actor also found out that he has become a major celebrity in a country where Hollywood's reach has been traditionally limited.

    Some local analysts compare his star status in China to that of Hollywood actors Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio. Others wonder if Khan is an activist actor. Still others describe him as a feminist（女权主义者）. The Chinese media seem to have called him Mishu, or Uncle Aamir. The surprising rise in popularity of the 52-year-old Bollywood star is owing to his striking movies. At more than 1 million, Khan has the most followers as an Indian on Sina Weibo, the country's Twitter-like platform.

    Secret Superstar had made more than 400 million yuan（$63 million）earlier this week. The story of a teenage Muslim girl's fight against ugly patriarchy（父权制）to realize her dreams was released in China on Jan 19.

    Last year, his film Dangal, inspired by the real journey of an Indian wrestler through a conservative landscape to turn his daughters into world-class athletes, had made nearly 1.3 billion yuan.

    In 2011, Khan's work first got major attention from Chinese moviegoers with Three Idiots, which was released in India much earlier. A statement on India's orthodox education system, similar to that of China, the Hindi film went along with the local audience. Film critics and fans alike recommended it to their friends.

    Some film critics say the education systems, gender discrimination（性别歧视）and domestic violence（家庭暴力）that Secret Superstar shows are among similarities of social issues in India and China. A series of “masterpieces” have made Khan an effective brand in China, in addition to his movie marketing and film devotion.

    The National Day holiday is a great opportunity to do something a little different. Many people use the National Day for a getaway, a short trip to leave the stress of their everyday lives behind and explore, learn, or relax.

    Hotel Romance

    Many hotels and resorts feature something special to start the getaway, such as champagne, flowers, or a fruit basket in the room on arrival. Getaway packages usually include a room with something special, a heart shaped bed, for example. Additional benefits could be room service meals or other private dining, plus tickets or discounts for local attractions.

    Visit a Spa

    Spa getaways can take place at a location that focuses only on spa services or at a hotel that offers a spa as one of its features. Some spas emphasize treatments fit for their geographic area or a local attraction. A spa in a grape growing region might provide grape juice masks, or a hotel near a hot spring could offer mineral baths. Most spas offer a range of massage, health and beauty treatments, so a spa getaway can be relaxing with other benefits.

    Learn a Skill

    The National Day holiday may not be enough time to become an expert at something new, but it provides a way for people to begin their explorations. Some organizations offer intensive courses that last five or six days. People with special interests can get away from their routines while learning such things as how to make beer, speak a new language, or take better photos.

    Help Others

    Some organizations cooperate with businesses to have accommodations and activities for short-term volunteers. Most volunteer vacations involve ecology friendly or charity activities. A volunteer getaway is a way to relieve stress and help others at the same time.

    Stay in a National Park

    For those who want to relax in a rural environment, a national park fits the bill. Most national parks provide camping areas for tents and trailers. Several have cabins within the parks available to rent. A getaway to a national park provides privacy, stress relief, and the time to get to know some important natural resources.

    When you choose a friend, you should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair weather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).

    Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person's place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.

    At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (过错) in others. He notices their good points. In short, good friends will be honest to each other and accept each other.

    Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

    There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor, too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.

    When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!

    At 17, Mark Merwitzer might be Florida's youngest lobbyist (游说者). The Miami high school junior appeals to authorities to keep drivers from texting behind the wheel.

    Over the past year, the teen has met with county officials and state legislators (立法者)to argue that the police should be able to pull drivers over just for using their phones. Efforts in past years have struggled to advance, but recently, the bill got full support from the Senate Transportation Committee (参议院交通委员会).

    Like many US people, Merwitzer has seen countless drivers texting behind the wheel. But last spring, while he was riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle, he saw drivers using smartphones in almost every car. A few drivers even appeared to lose control of their cars as they sped along. It dawned on (突然想到) Merwitzer that no one was doing anything to fix the problem.

    We need to teach drivers how to properly and safely use technology behind the wheel which is not using it at all,” said Merwitzer.

    For the 17-year-old teenager, advocating a new state law has been a crazy experience.

    In order to carry out his plan，he put his focus on drumming up (争取)local support by starting an online petition (请愿)and speaking to village councils,

    Merwitzer said the first time he spoke at a council meeting “was a complete stutter fest (口吃表演)，” but he quickly adapted to it.

    “It really creates some standards that help everybody realize the importance of keeping their eyes on the road,” said Miami-Dade Commissioner (专员)Levine Cava.

The commissioner has been so impressed with Merwitzer's understanding of the political process. “He really learned very quickly how to be an effective citizen lobbyist,” she said.

    So far, opposition to the bill has come mainly from police departments. Some are worried about the possibility of lawsuits (诉讼)if officers are accused of racially profiling (按种族形象定性) drivers when accusing them of texting and driving，Merwitzer said. The bill also has critics in the House, where lawmakers have yet to make plans for a hearing.

    Merwitzer said he would one day like to be a state legislator, but in the meantime he has a few short-term goals, like finishing school and going to college. Once the legislative session (期间) is over, Merwitzer plans to turn his attention to another local problem: public transportation. “I'd like to focus on that，” Merwitzer said. “It seems like it's a giant mess,”

Humans' voice sounds more pleasant than that of primates（灵长类动物）because we don't have vocal membranes （声带膜）, a new study suggests.

Humans have vocal cords（声带）, muscles in the top of the throat, which vibrate（振动）to produce sound. That unique part helps people control their voices well enough to produce sounds that form spoken language. However, unlike all the other studied primates, humans don't have vocal membranes.

To find out how vocal membranes affected spoken sounds, a team from Kyoto University took throats from monkeys that had died of natural causes and put the parts into devices, pushing air through the throats to see how the vocal cords and membranes would react. In the experiment, the researchers found that their vocal membranes and vocal cords vibrated together.

Researchers said these vocal membranes make it harder for other primates to control the voices they make. Without these membranes, humans vocal source is more balanced, allowing better voice control and production of long and balanced voices. A key thing that distinguishes human speech from animal sounds is our control over the sounds we make.

In humans, that sort of unpleasant voices can happen when we put extreme amounts of pressure on our voice, like baby crying and adult screaming. But those are rare cases. Researchers also said that our mouths and tongues could help control the voices. They are the basis of human languages.