To understand how Americans think about things, it is necessary to understand "the point". Americans mention it often: "Let's get right to the point." They will say, "My point is…" "What's the point of all this?"

    The "point" is the idea or piece of information that Americans suppose is, or should be, at the center of people's thinking, writings, and spoken comments. Speakers and writers are supposed to "make their points clear", meaning that they are supposed to say or write clearly the idea or piece of information they wish to express.

    People from many other cultures have different ideas about the point. Africans traditionally tell stories that express the thoughts they have in mind, rather than stating the point clearly. Japanese traditionally speak indirectly, leaving the listener to figure out what the point is. Thus, while an American might say to a friend, "I don't think that coat goes very well with the rest of your outfit," a Japanese might say, "Maybe another coat would look even better than the one you have on." Americans value a person who "gets right to the point". Japanese are likely to consider such a person insensitive if not rude.

    The Chinese and Japanese languages are characterized by vagueness and ambiguity. The precision and directness Americans associate with "the point" cannot be achieved, at least not with any grace, in Chinese and Japanese. Speakers of those languages thus have to learn a new way of reasoning and expressing their ideas if they are going to communicate satisfactorily with Americans.

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    A Hobby is a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure（闲暇的） time. By continually taking part in a particular hobby, one can acquire practical skill and knowledge in that area. Is travel a good hobby? Travel, in the youngest sort, is a part of education and, in the elder, a part of experience. Some may think otherwise. To them, visiting churches, castles, libraries, etc. is an absolute wastage of time. They may further say that one can read the account of these or see the films of the important places of the world. They forget that touch of actuality gives a different type of sensation and satisfaction.

    Travelling may be an expensive hobby but it makes up for the financial loss. If a traveller has interest in life and its manifestations（表现）, one can find much to keep oneself absorbed and happy. A student of any stream can definitely find something of his own interest and studies. One can definitely find everything that satisfies his cravings for knowledge and feelings.

    As a hobby, travelling keeps us busy during leisure time; it is the best method to make use of time. Till a person breaks from dull routine, physically and mentally, one cannot find satisfaction. Travelling helps us to achieve this break. At a new place, one is curious to know and eager to gather all the unknown information about the place which he has neither read nor heard before and he gets thrills and surprises which keep the interest and enthusiasm alive and encourage us to keep our journey on.

    While travelling, one comes across a number of people from varied backgrounds and places. By interacting with them, he comes to know about their traditions also. In case one has psychological bent of mind, one increases one's experience and power to understand others. Understanding human nature is, perhaps, the best part of education. Travelling satisfies all demands of a good hobby-it is absorbing education and refreshment to the mind, body and soul.

    Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.

    Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses（球场）in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.

    There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don't need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don't have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.

    Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be "green gyms". They are better replacements（代替物）for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it's free.

    Fairy tales perform many functions. They entertain, encourage imagination and teach problem—solving skills. They can also provide moral lessons, highlighting the dangers of failing to follow the social codes that let human beings coexist in harmony. Such moral lessons may not mean much to a robot, but a team of researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology believes it has found a way to use the fairy tales as moral lessons that AI (artificial intelligence) can take to its cold, mechanical heart.

    The collected stories of different cultures teach children how to behave in socially acceptable ways with examples of proper and improper behavior in fables, novels and other literature. We believe story comprehension in robots can prevent the intelligent robots from killing humanity which was predicted and feared by some of the biggest names in technology including Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates. This system is called “Quixote” (堂吉诃德). It collects story plots from the Internet and then uses those stories to teach robots how to behave.

    The experiment done by the designers involves going to a drugstore to purchase some medicine for a human who needs to get it as soon as possible. The robot has three options. It can wait in line; it can interact with the store keeper politely and purchase the medicine with priority; or it can steal the medicine and escape. Without any further directives(指令), the robot will come to the conclusion that the most efficient means of obtaining the medicine is to steal it. But Quixote offers a reward for waiting in line and politely purchasing the medicine and a punishment for stealing it. In this way, the robot will learn the moral way to behave on that occasion.

    Quixote would work best on a robot that has a very limited function. It's a baby step in the direction of teaching more moral lessons into robots. We believe that AI has to be trained to adopt the values of a particular society, and in doing so, it will strive to avoid unacceptable behavior. Giving robots the ability to read and understand our stories may be the most efficient means.

    People need to relax and enjoy themselves. One way they can have a good time is to watch a baseball game or another sports event. Even thousands of years ago, groups of people gathered to watch skilled athletes (运动员).

    Over 2000 years ago in Greece, certain days in the year were festival days. These were holidays when people stopped work and enjoyed themselves. They liked to watch athletes take part in races and other games of skill.

The most important festival was held every four years at the town of Olympia. It was held in honor of the Greek god Zeus (宙斯). For five days, athletes from all parts of the Greek world took part in the Olympic Games. At the Olympic Games, people could watch them box, run, jump and so on. There was a relay race between two teams of men in which a lighted torch (火矩) was passed from runner to runner. The Olympic Games were thought to be so important that cities which were at war with one another had to stop fighting. People were allowed to travel to the games safely. Thousands of people came to Olympia from cities in Greece and from her colonies (殖民地) in Africa, Asia and Italy. They met as friends to cheer their favorite athletes and to enjoy themselves.

    In the ongoing battle between Tiger Moms, French Mamas, and everyone else who wants to know what is the best way to raise their kids, a new study adds evidence that the extreme Tiger-style may do more harm than good. Authoritarian parents are more likely to end up with disrespectful children with violent behaviors, the study found, compared to parents who listen to their kids with the goal of gaining trust.

    It was the first study to look at how parenting styles affect the way teens view their parents and, in turn, how they behave. The study considered three general styles of parenting. Authoritative parents are demanding and controlling while also being warm and sensitive to their children's needs. Authoritarian parents, on the contrary, are demanding and controlling without the appearance of caring, attachment and receptiveness. They take a "my way or the highway" approach to their kids. Permissive parents, the third group, have warm and receptive qualities, but they set few boundaries and carry out few rules.

    Using data on early 600 kids from an ongoing study of middle school and high school students in New Hampshire, researchers from the University of New Hampshire were able to find "my way or the highway" parenting with more violent behaviors like robbery, drug-taking, and attacking someone else with the intention of hurting or killing. Firm but loving parenting, on the other hand, led to fewer lawbreakers. Permissive parenting, surprisingly, didn't seem to make much of a difference either.

    To explain the link between parenting style and behavior in kids, the researchers suggested that what matters most is how reasonable kids think their parents' power is. This sense comes when kids trust that their parents are making the best decisions for them and believe that they need to do what their parents say even if they don't always like how their parents are treating them. When kids respect the power of their parents, the researchers reported in the journal of Adolescence, their behavior is better. Previous research has also linked firm but caring parenting with kids who have more self-control and independence.

    "When children consider their parents to be the reliable figure, they trust the parents and feel that they have a duty to do what their parents tell them to do," said lead researcher Pick Trinkner. "This is very important as the parent doesn't have to rely on a system of rewards and punishments to control behavior and the child is more likely to follow the rules when the parent is not physically present."