The hit movie Notting Hill（诺丁山）begins with a famous scene. Hugh Grant bumps into Julia Roberts and spills orange juice all over her. After the collision, Grant repeatedly says, “I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.”

    His actions in this scene are very British. If Roberts' character were from the Britain, than she would probably apologize repeatedly as well – even if the crash were not her fault. But this doesn't happen in the movie, as Roberts is from the US.

    A report in The Telegraph once said that three quarters of British people apologize when they bump into someone in the street – regardless of whether they are responsible or not. In fact, Britons use “sorry” in many situations. For example, if they mishear someone, they say “Sorry?” The person they are talking to will also apologize by replying, “No, I am sorry!” This can go on for up to five minutes as they compete over who is the most sorry.

    Why are Britons so sorry? Mark Tyrell, a psychology writer in the UK, thinks that their apologetic tendencies are rooted in British class system. “We say sorry because historically the new middle class in Britain had to apologize for not being the working class, but also for really being the upper class.” Another theory is that they apologize to avoid conflicts. For example, if they bump into someone, he might get angry. To avoid this, they instantly say “Sorry!”

    True manners are about being considerate, and today's constant use of apologizing shows that we are perhaps not as thoughtful as we once were. The word “sorry” has lost some of its meaning.

    Do you see my point? Sorry, it might just be a British thing.

How to Love Your Parents?

    You love your parents for the fact that they created you, raised you, and are in part, a source of who you are. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Respect them more and value these moments. You can use these moments to learn from them, preparing yourself for when you're off on your own. It's OK to get angry but angry actions don't help you or your parents. Act calmly, cool off, write down your feelings, or talk to a friend. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Obey their requests. It will make your attitude better and earn you more respect from them. It may seem like you are going through hell when you don't get what you want or you have to clean. However, you had better remember they keep a roof over your head when it's cold, raining, snowing, or too hot. Understand that parents are human beings and make mistakes. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Since you can forgive (原谅) your friends, why not forgive your parents?

    Keep company with them. Do things with your parents like watching TV, or going somewhere with them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Listen to their old stories and learn from them. You will find they are your teachers in this way or another.

    Tell them you love them every morning.

    A gentle “good morning” and “I love you” will warm a coldest heart. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Without your parents, you cannot come to this world.

A. Forgiveness is the key.

B. Here are some ways to love your parents.

C. Parents will in turn express their love to you.

D. After this, share your feeling with your parents.

E. Anyway, spend as much time with them as you can.

F. Please remember parents are as important as friends.

G. Remember that they brought you into this world.

    The Silk Road is a name given to the many trade routes that connected Europe and the Mediterranean（地中海）with the Asian world. The route is over 6,500 km long and got its name because the early Chinese traded silk along it. Although silk was the main trading item, there were many other goods that travelled along the Silk Road between Eastern Asia and Europe. In the course of time, medicine, perfumes, spices and livestock（家畜）found their way between continents.

    The Chinese learned to make silk thousands of years ago. For a long time they were the only ones who knew how to make this precious material. Only the emperor, his family and his highest advisers were allowed to wear clothes made of silk. For a long time the Chinese guarded this secret very carefully. The ancient Romans were the first Europeans who became aware of this wonderful material. Trading started, often with Indians as middlemen（中间人）who traded silk with the Chinese in exchange for gold and silver which they got from the Romans.

    Travelling along the route was dangerous. The hot desert, high mountains and sandstorms made traveling a rough business. Most of the goods along the Silk Road were carried by caravans（商队）. Traders sometimes brought goods from one destination on the silk Road to another, from where the goods would be transported by someone else. Over the centuries people settled along the ancient route and many cities emerged. Later on there were fewer hardships to overcome, but by no means was it easy.

    Religion, languages and diseases also spread along the Silk Road. Buddhism, which originated in India, spread to China along this route. European traders probably brought the plague from Asia to Europe along the ancient road.

    In the early Middle Ages, traffic along the route decreased because of the decline of the Roman Empire. Trading along the Silk Road became stronger again between the 13th and 14th centuries, when the Mongols controlled central Asia. During the Age of Exploration the Silk Road lost its importance because new sea routes to Asia were discovered.

    This year's flu season is pretty scary. To try to minimize the effects, public officials are still urging anyone who hasn't yet gotten their flu shot to get one as soon as possible. However, even if every single person got a shot in the arm, the vaccine(疫 苗)—with its excellent 36 percent effectiveness—would not prevent everyone from getting infected with the annoying virus. Knowledge is power, so here's what goes on in your body when you come down with the flu.

    The influenza virus primarily attacks your nose, throat, and the tubes that lead to your lungs. But the flu is so much more than that. Your muscles ache, your head hurts, and your appetite goes down, among other things. To our surprise, almost all of these symptoms have less to do with the virus itself than with your immune(免疫的)response to them. Unfortunately, the very defense you have in place to get rid of the flu is the reason you feel so painful when you recover.

    The virus usually enters through your mouth, typically by way of your hands. But it takes a few days for symptoms to set in. While this process might cause some harm to your nose and throat, it's nothing major, and nothing like the symptoms that typically accompany a bad or even mild case of the flu.

    The real fun starts when your immune system begins to fight. Your immune system comes in two parts: the innate system and the adaptive. The innate immune system is essentially an all-purpose tool. As soon as your body senses the presence of any injury or invader, the innate immune system launches into action by producing tiny proteins called cytokines and chemokines. The cytokines reproduce almost immediately and start to attack the virus. This increase in immune cells creates a serious inflammation(炎症) throughout the body. But the worst is still to come.

    Meanwhile, the chemokines work with the adaptive immune system to help create T cells. These cells are a special type of white blood cell that works in a much more specific way: They find the influenza virus, identify what's special about it, and create something unique on their surface that finds and destroys similar invaders.

    No matter where you are, knowing how to protect yourself and your family during an earthquake is necessary. Here are some tips for you.

    Duck, Drop, Cover and Hold

    Duck under a strong piece of furniture, if possible. Most earthquake injuries are the result of being hit by something falling on you. Drop to the floor to avoid falling or being thrown down. And protect you from flying glass. Use clothes, blankets, cushions or furniture for covering. Hold on to whatever you're using, as the ground motion may be violent. Get away from glass, bookcases or anything heavy that could fall over on you.

    Stay away from the doors

    Doorways used to be recommended but most experts now say: stay away from them. Doors can suddenly shut with bone crushing force. Anyway, the experts say that in modern construction a doorway is no stronger than any other location along the wall.

    Try to run outside

    While the ground is moving, the greatest danger is of being injured by taking a fall or being hit by a falling piece of building as you exit. If you smell gas or when the shaking stops, calmly, carefully make your way out and get clear of the building. Before you leave, get shoes on because you will be walking on broken glass. If you're in a crowd, stay calm, and take what can cover you and find where you are. In a crowd the greatest dangers are panic and the rush for an exit.

    According to a British study presented to an international conference on smoking, within a few short years, more girls in Europe will be smokers than boys, for reasons experts still fail to understand.

    Anti-smoking activists (积极分子) at the second "Tobacco or Health" conference on the Canary Islands pointed out that while adults were giving up smoking in ever growing numbers, more and more young people were taking up the habit, especially girls.

    One 15-year-old in four is a regular smoker, according to a study made in 27 countries in Europe, the United States, Canada and Israel by Edinburgh University together with the World Health Organization.

    In Western Europe, girls were more likely than boys to smoke. In Germany and England, one third of the girls were smokers compared to one in four boys. In Eastern Europe, the girls "still fall behind" those in the Western Europe but were "catching up" quickly, said the study.

    The study dealt with the behaviour of 15-year-olds in seven European countries over a four-year period.

    The percentages of young women smoking went from 17 percent to 36 percent in Austria, from 17 percent to 28 percent in Norway, and from 21 percent to 28 percent in Hungary.

    Of the seven countries and regions studied (Austria, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales), more girls than boys smoked in 1998, with the exception of Hungary.