With more recognition than Halloween and less than Christmas,Valentine’s Day as an imported festival faces a dangerous situation in China,where it’s caught between forces of tradition and fashion.Valentine’s Day has a natural enemy in China.And it is not the Chinese equivalent,which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar,usually around half a year away from February 14.It is the Spring Festival,also known as the Chinese New Year,that will influence the Feast of Saint Valentine.

The real disagreement between East and West probably took place over a century ago,when China’s door was forced open by Western powers and Chinese scholars supported westernization as a means to strengthen our nation's ability to compete.The introduction of the solar calendar and Western measurements was both an acknowledgment of their influence and an effort to be accepted by the world order.

For a full century,we have had two systems running in parallel.When it comes to the eventual outcome, practicality usually beats all other concerns.Laws can help,such as the three traditional festivals of Tomb Sweeping, Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn gaining legal status in 2008 and giving every Chinese citizen a day off,but laws cannot push what people have no feelings for.Therefore,the celebration or boycott of imported holidays or homegrown ones should be no cause for worry.If they are irrelevant,no social media will change the public's mind; and if they are accepted,there must be a need which they happen to satisfy.

Since we have no global Qin Shihuang to force one system on every country,we can always rely on a dual (双重的) approach by which we share with the outside world on one hand but preserve our own ways of life on the other.

There are many Spanish gossip (八卦) magazines being published around the world.If your Spanish is good enough,these magazines will offer a lively look into the private moments of the beautiful,rich and famous,and provide entertainment and at the same time,help you practice your Spanish.

Diez Minutos: The magazine is a classic Spanish gossip feast with daily news based on many stories of love, separation,divorce and death.The two main parts are headlined “love” and “partners”.They also have an online version of the magazine for serious gossip addicts.

Hola: It is Spain’s top weekly magazine and the leader of the gossip world.It contains many pictures and a round-up of well-known and less well-known nobles and people in show business.Apart from edited highlights from the present and past issues,there is a report of the week and photo of the week.There is also a French version called OhLa!

Revista CUORE: As the third best-selling gossip magazine in Spain,it is mainly aimed at younger teenage readers who look not only for current celebrity (名流) gossip,but also for fashion and TV news.It uses a lot of oral terms.

Revista SEMANA: It is a Spanish magazine covering the latest news on the famous in Spain and Hollywood.It also offers its readers information on fashion,beauty,cooking and travel.

Revista CARAS: It is a magazine published in various countries of Latin America.It is also exported to certain parts of the United States,bringing together strange and wonderful news from around the world and the famous Latin community.

Do you drink water that's been left sitting out overnight or even for another day? Have you noticed it tastes different?

Tap water that has been left to sit out slowly begins to acquire an off taste.Many people think that this is because of microorganisms (微生物).But that’s not what makes old water taste not fresh.For that we can thank carbon dioxide.After about 12 hours,tap water starts to go flat as carbon dioxide in the air starts to mix with the water in the glass,lowering its pH and giving it an off taste.But it’s most likely safe to drink.

However,back to those microorganisms.If you use a dirty glass day after day,there is more of a chance of bacteria making themselves known; a risk that increases if you share the glass with another mouth as well.But assuming you use a fresh glass every few days, you probably won’t have a problem unless the glass has been touched by dirty fingers,and especially if those dirty fingers went unwashed after using the bathroom.

As for plastic water bottles that have been left out in the sun or in the car,step away from the bottle,warns Dr.Kellogg Schwab,director of the Johns Hopkins University Water Institute.“A chemical called bisphenol-A,or BPA, along with other things used to make plastic can leach (过滤) into your water if the bottle heats up or sits in the sun,” he explains.BPA,as you probably know,has been linked to everything from heart disease to cancer.Schwab also adds that plastic used for commercial bottled water isn’t meant to be washed or refilled,so use only one time and recycle. Or don’t buy them at all; use refillable water bottles instead.

When enjoying children's birthdays or a long-expected family holiday,you may usually want to keep those important moments in mind with a photograph.But if you’re one of those people who can’t stop snapping photos at an important event,be aware--you could end up forgetting it all in a flash.

Experts have warned that the addiction to recording every moment of our lives could be having an adverse effect on our memories.

Maryanne Garry,a New Zealand psychology professor,has been studying how the frequent taking of photos might change childhood memories.I think the problem is that people are forgetting to experience the moment,she says.Parents at the park taking one photo after another of their children,for example,are actually paying less attention to what is happening around them.The picture only captures a small part of the total experience.And because parents remember less about these important events,they become less effective in their role as the key people who help children learn how to talk about their experiences.As a result,children's own childhood memories are reduced.

The idea that we are experiencing less as we record more got psychologist Linda Henkel’s thinking.She wanted to explore how photographs shape our memories.

Henkel,who researches human memory at Fairfield University in Connecticut,did an experiment by sending groups of students to the university’s art museum.The students observed some objects and photographed others. Then,back at the laboratory,they were given a memory test.Henkel found what she called a “photo-taking effect”.The students remembered fewer of the objects that they had taken photos of,and they remembered fewer details about those objects.She says her students’ memories were worse because they were relying on the camera to remember the details for them.

“As soon as you hit ‘click’ on that camera,it’s as if you’ve decreased your memory.” she says.