Recently, a study that was published (刊登) in BMC Medicine found that sitting in front of the TV for a long time was a risk for people’s health.

After scientists used data (数据) on 370,000 people, covering 12 years, they found that about 9,000 developed heart disease. They found people with genes (基因) of heat problems were more likely to develop heart disease. However, they found that people without such genes watching TV for more than four hours every day were at the greatest risk of heart disease. People spending 2 to 3 hours a day watching TV had a 6% lower risk. And those who watched less than an hour had a 16% lower risk. The scientists of the research team finally found cutting the time of watching TV to less than an hour a day could prevent 10% of heart disease.

In life, people who want “one more episode(剧集)” might be the group at a higher risk, for they are easy to spend more time watching TV. If they have more snacks while watching TV, it might add the risk of putting their hearts in danger. So, if people want to watch TV longer, standing up and moving the body, or hanging out will work. But reducing their time on TV could be a more useful way to help them avoid possible heart problems in the future.

After 10-year laughs, the US sitcom Modern Family has come to an end. The last two episodes (集) of its 11th and final season aired on April 8. Since it started in 2009, it has become one of the most beloved TV series (电视连续剧) in the US, taking home 22 Emmy Awards and 75 nominations(提名).

The show follows three families who move in and out of each other’s lives. The first one is a typical American family: the working dad Phil, stay-at-home mom Claire and three children. The second family is made up of Jay, his young Hispanic (西班牙裔的) wife and her son. Jay, 65, is Claire’s father. The third family is made up of a couple - Mitchell and Cameron - and their adopted (收养的) daughter Lily. Mitchell is Jay’s son.

Modern Family has no superheroes, aliens or ghosts - it’s just about common people. So what’s its secret to being such a hit?

The Los Angeles Times said it’s because of “its presentation of today’s US society”. The show presents a typical central family: two parents, a big house and two or three children. It deals with serious problems that many people are familiar with, such as fights between brothers and sisters, disagreements between parents about how to raise their children, and so on.

Phil and Claire have different but fun personalities. For example, when there’s a fight between their kids, Phil wants to be the “cool dad”, while traditional mom Claire lives by the saying, “an eye for an eye”. She always forces Phil to punish the troublemaker.

“There really is no more of a general American family in its true sense” than the characters on Modern Family, said US research institute The Hartman Group.