When you go to the doctor, you like to come away with a prescription．It makes 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 that all will be well. In such cases the doctor may prescribe a placebo.

    A placebo is a sugar pill, a harmless shot, or ail empty capsule. Even though they have no medicine in them, these things seem to make people well. 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 do not 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 a lot 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 will also show a bad reaction to the placebo. This would seem to show that a lot of how you react to medicine is in your mind rather than in your body. 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．

    Kung fu is one of the most popular topics of discussion among foreigners talking about China. As a discipline of kung fu with the largest number of practitioners in China, Tai Chi is gaining popularity worldwide. Tai Chi is sweeping the world thanks to its deep cultural roots and the health benefits coming from practicing it.

    The philosophy of Tai Chi features the concept of yin and yang, which is typical of Confucianism and Taoism. Tai Chi also takes in ideas from traditional Chinese medicine, including anatomy (解剖学) and physiology (生理学). It is a practice that couples hardness with softness, and it is a perfect example of traditional Chinese culture.

    Through lasting practice, learners begin to feel the positive impact (影响) of Tai Chi on their health. Unlike kung fu practices that focus on attacking and defending against enemies, Tai Chi focuses more on shaping good characters and keeping fit. By practicing Tai Chi, people will feel an improvement in their physical and psychological health by promoting a balance between yin and yang within their bodies. This is similar to Western medicine's improving people's self-healing ability and immune system.

    Tai Chi is playing an important role in presenting Chinese culture to the rest of the world, acting like a bridge between China and other countries. Recent years have seen a lot of international communication on Tai Chi. In provinces like Hebei, Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi, where Tai Chi teaching and learning are particularly active, local governments and non-governmental institutions often organize activities and competitions for learners and fans to attend and participate in. Large sporting events hosted by China such as the Asian Games and Olympics have featured Tai Chi performances or contests. These activities have opened a window for the outside world to know more about Tai Chi, paving the way for its overseas wide spread.

    Today, Tai Chi not only belongs to China, but also to the whole world and to everyone who loves it.

    Suppose you are a visitor in the land of Mongolia, some friends ask you to eat with them. What kind of manners do they want you to have? They want you to give a loud burp (饱嗝)after you finish eating. Burping would show that you like your food. In some countries, if you give a big burp, you are told to say “Excuse me, please”.

    In many places people like to eat together. But in some parts of Polynesia it is bad manners（没礼貌） to be seen eating at all. People show their good manners by turning their backs on others while they eat.

    What are manners like in an East African town? The people try not to see you. They are being polite. You may see a friend. He may not see you at all. If you are polite, you will sit down beside him. You will wait until he finishes what he is doing. Then he will talk to you. Manners are different all over the world. But it is good to know that all manners begin in the same way. People need ways to show that they want to be friends.

    There aren't many actors around the world who have enough self confidence to turn down an offer from Steven Spielberg. Maybe that was why Juliette Binoche gave him a choice. She said she'd be happy to be in Jurassic Park as long as she could play a dinosaur. Of course he turned her down and it was probably a good thing. It's difficult to imagine Juliette ripping people apart with her teeth. However, her decision doesn't seem to have done her career any harm. She has gone on to make a string of hits, including The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The English Patient (for which she won an Oscar) and Chocolat.

    Success in the United States has not been so easy for other foreign stars. Gerald Depardieu is a good example. Since his first film in 1967, his filmography (影片集锦) lists 172 acting credits. But he has struggled on the other side of the pond. While some of his films have been popular in the US, they have usually been French films that travelled. One possible exception was Green Card, directed by Peter Weir, where he plays a French immigrant who goes through a fake wedding in order to stay and work in the United States. This is a predictable but sweet romantic comedy which typecasts (分配同一类型角色) its lead actors in terms of national stereotypes. While some reviewers were kind, others shredded both the film and Depardieu's performance.

    While Monsieur Depardieu hasn't received the recognition he would have liked in the United States, one Mexican actor has achieved almost instant success. Gael Garcia Bernal first gained recognition in Amores Perros in 2000 and a year later in Y tu mama tambien. Since then he has appeared with hometown hero, Brad Pitt in Babel and, under the direction of top producer and director, Jim Jarmusch, he starred in Limits of Control. He hasn't picked up an Oscar yet, but he was nominated for a BAFTA (英国电影电视艺术学院奖) in 2005 for his performance as the South American hero revolutionary Che Guevara, in Motorcycle Diaries. In the same year he played American music icon Elvis Presley in The King.

Every year,at the end of October,tens of thousands of people flock to a Buddhist temple in China to see a huge gingko biloba tree(银杏树) drop its foliage(枝叶) and turn{#blank#}1{#/blank#} temple from green to gold.The Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(locate) in the Zhongnan Mountains of China's Shaanxi Province,is home{#blank#}3{#/blank#} a 1,400-year-old gingko biloba tree.It was said that it was planted by the Tang Dynasty(618-907) emperor Li Shimin,4{#blank#}4{#/blank#} is one of the greatest{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(rule) in Chinese history.It towers superbly over the temple,and for a few days every autumn,it rains down a gold carpet of{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (leaf),which stands out against the muted tones of the season.Because of its{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(strike) appearance,it has been called the world's most beautiful gingko biloba tree,and{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(become) a tourist attraction in its own right.

Due to the increasing{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(popular) of its ancient gingko biloba tree,the Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple has been reported to have increased{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(day) visitor capacity to around 7200,between 8 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon.

Kids are begging parents for cell phones at younger and younger ages, leaving families with tough choices to make. It might take some time to teach kids how to use phones as tools, not toys. Here are a few ways to get the message across.

Tell them not to use phones at school. Phones can be a distraction (干扰) from learning when used in the classroom. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In fact, 43% of teens admit that they often or sometimes use their phones as a way to avoid face-to-face communication with others.

Encourage them to contact long-distance relatives. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They're also for keeping in touch with people who you may not get to talk to as often. If you have families who live in another city or state, ask your kids to strike up (发起谈话) a conversation.

Lead by example. Setting an example is not only about how you use your phone, but also about how much you use it. When you feel bored and expect to glance over social media, fight it by taking a short walk. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Advise them not to use phones at the dinner table. For many families, the only time they truly get together is breaking bread at the end of a long day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Asking your children to leave their phones far from the dinner table is a great way to solve the problem.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Sometimes, kids need a little push in order to make better choices about their phones. If they're struggling with healthy habits, put some real-world events on the calendar. Good options include going to an amusement park, working together on a craft project or signing your kids up for sports.

A. Plan other forms of entertainment.

B. Prepare a dinner together with your children.

C. Screen time before bed reduces sleep quality.

D. They can also prevent students from connecting with one another.

E. So it is wise of parents to stress the importance of parent-child time.

F. Also, instead of reading a headline, why not pull out a book to read?

G. Phones aren't just for texting the best friend who lives two blocks away.