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　　An allowance(零用钱)is an important tool for teaching kids how to budget, save and make their own decisions．Children remember and learn from mistakes when their own dollars are lost or spent foolishly．

　　How large an allowance is appropriate?

　　Experts say there is not right amount．Actual amounts differ from area to area, and from family to family．

　　To set an appropriate allowance for your child, work up a weekly budget．Allow for entertainment expenditures(花费)such as movies and snack．Next, include everyday expenses such as lunch money, bus fare, school supplies．“If you make the child responsible for these bills,” says Josephine Swanson, a consumer specialist, “he or she will learn to budget for necessary expenditures．”

　　Finally, add some extra money to make saving possible．If you can, keep your child’s allowance in line with that of his friends．A child whose purchasing power falls away below his peers’ can feel left out．

　　It can be tough, but avoid excusing your children when they make a mistake with their allowance．When Brooke Stephens was ten and growing up in Jacksonville, her mother gave her ＄5 a week, ＄1.75 of which was for bus fare and lunch．“If you lose money,” Brooke’s mother told her, “you walk home．”

　　One week the girl spent all her allowance in a candy store, and then she called home for a ride．“Mom made me walk home,” recalls Stephens, now a financial planner in Brooklyn．“At first I was angry．But I finally realized that she was trying to teach me an important lesson．”

　　Experts advise an allowance should not be tied directly to a child’s daily chores(琐事)．Kids should help around the house not because they get paid for it but because they share responsibilities as members of family．You might, however, pay a child for doing extra jobs at home．That can develop his or her initiative(主动性)．

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　　MADRID(AFP)－Some 40 000 Spaniards were gathering in the eastern town of Bunol ready to create a “human gazpacho(人体西班牙凉菜汤)”,hurling(投掷)some 100 000 kilograms(220 000 pounds)of tomatoes at one another to mark La Tomatina, surely one of the world’s messiest festivals．

　　Madcap fans from around the world converge(集中)on the normally sleepy town on the last Wednesday of August, many clad(穿衣的)in waterproof capes(防水衣)to stave(抵挡)off the onslaught(冲击)of juice and pulp(果肉)in a manic(狂轰滥炸)free-for-all believed to have begun life as an argument between two carnival(狂欢节)participants in 1945．

　　In keeping with local tradition local people and tourists join the fun and games from midday, when five lorries(卡车)groaning under the weight of tomatoes move into place in the central plaza of the town．

　　That is the signal for participants to hurl fruit at anything that moves and everybody gets drenched(“落汤鸡”)in the process．

　　The rules say the tomatoes have to be squashed up(被压碎)a little before they are thrown to make them all the squishier(粘糊糊的)．

　　After pelting(大战)each other for an hour revelers(狂欢者)jump in a nearby river to clean themselves while the fire brigade hose(用水冲)down the streets．

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　　Getting paid to talk about the World Cup is a great job．I’m not a football commentator(评论员), though－just an English teacher in Japan．

I came to Japan two years ago, and didn’t think I would stay, but Japan has that effect on you．People often end up living here longer than they planned．I think it’s best to teach in a biggest city where there are other foreigners to mix with, rather than a small town where English teachers often complain of feeling like a goldfish in a bowl．Many people choose to live in Tokyo, of course, which is good for the nightlife factor．But I’d say that for general quality of living, cities of neither too large nor too small, like Sapporo where I live, are better choices．

　　I teach English privately, which means I’m my own boss．If you want to devote yourself to private teaching, it’s well worth doing a TEFL course first, because your lessons will be much better for it．The problem with private teaching is finding students; it took me a year to build up a full schedule(日程表)of private lessons, so I started out teaching in schools part-time．

　　Most of my foreign friends here work full-time for big English conversation schools．The salary is fine to live on, but whether you can save money depends on how much going out and traveling you do here．

　　The schools are reluctant to take time off－even teachers with tickets for the England-Argentina game had trouble getting the day off．

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　　“Have you ever been out on a boat and felt it lifted up by a wave? Or have you jumped in the water and felt the rush of energy as waves came over you?” asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group at the University of Edinburgh．“There is certainly a lot of energy in waves,” he said．

　　Scientists are working to use that energy to make electricity．Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean．“The wind starts out by making little ripples(涟漪), but if they keep on blowing, those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves, ” Taylor said．“Waves are one of nature’s ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey．”

　　When waves come toward the shore, people can set up dams to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine(涡轮机)．The turbine can then power an electrical generator to produce electricity．

　　“The resource is huge, ” said Janet Swain of the Worldwatch Institute．“We will never run out of wave power．” Besides, wave energy does not create the same pollution as other energy sources, such as oil or coal．Oceans cover three－quarters of the Earth’s surface－that would make wave power seem ideal for creating energy throughout the world, though there are some weak points yet to overcome．

　　Swain said that wave power still costs too much money．She also said that its effects on sea animals are still unknown．What is more, wave power could affect fishing and boat traffic．

　　Traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may someday run out．

　　“Demand for energy to power our TVs and computers, drive our cars, and heat and cool our homes is rising rapidly throughout the world, ” Swain said．In the future when you turn on a light, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity!

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　　A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo(进行)testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale(上市)within 12 months．

　　The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20％-40％ that are caused by tiredness．Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30％ of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue(疲劳)．

　　Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband．The device, worn by drivers or pilots, gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey．After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel(方向盘)．A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound the driver’s response．

　　Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time．Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy．

　　In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest．If the driver’s response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible．

　　The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing．If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year．

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　　We have two daughters：Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four．Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner．I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang．Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests’ coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom．

　　The guests arrived．I introduced my two daughters to each of them．The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids．

　　Each of the guests made a particular fuss over Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile．They said she was a remarkable girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age．

　　I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she’s the one who seems more easily hurt．We do it with the best of intentions．

　　But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child．I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being outshined．I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes．I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying．

　　I said, “What are you doing, my dear?”

　　She turned to me with a sad expression and said, “Mommy, why don’t people like me the way they like my sister?Is it because I’m not pretty?Is that why they don’t say nice things about me as much?”

　　I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging her to make her feel better．

　　Now, whenever I visit a friend’s home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first．

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　　When a rather dirty, poorly dressed person kneels(下跪)at your feet and puts out his hands to beg for a few coins, do you hurry on, not knowing what to do, or do you feel sad and hurriedly hand over some money?What should our attitude to beggars be?There can be no question that the world is full of terribly sad stories．It must be terrible to have no idea where our next meal is going to come from．It seems cruel not to give some money to beggars．

　　Certainly, most of the world’s great religions(宗教)order us to be open-hearted and share what we have with those less fortunate than ourselves．But has the world changed?Maybe what was morally(道德方面)right in the old days is no longer the best idea．When one knew exactly who in the village had suffered misfortune(不幸)and needed help, quite a few people will not give to beggars．Let us look at their arguments．

　　First, some believe that many city beggars dress up on purpose to look pitiable(可怜的)and actually make a good living from begging．Giving to beggars only encourages this sort of evil(恶行)．Secondly, there is the worry that the money you give will be spent on beer, wine or drugs．Thirdly, there is the opinion that there is no real excuse for begging．One might be poor, but that is no reason for losing one’s sense of pride and self-dependence．

　　Related to this is the opinion that the problem should be dealt with by the government rather than ordinary people．Some people think beggars should go to the local government department and receive help．

　　It is hard to come to any final conclusion;there are various cases and we must deal with them differently．A few coins can save a life in some situations, and even if the money is wasted, that does not take away the moral goodness of the giver．

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　　After the Qinghai-Tibet Railway opened in July, some American reporters oppugned that the railway would destroy the traditional ethnic culture in Tibet．With this question in mind, chinadaily．com．cn reporter interviewed Mr．Wang Daiyuan, vice director of the Economic and Strategic Research Institute of Tibetan Academy of Social Science last week．Director Wang said the Tibetan culture is well preserved and the accusations are groundless．

　　Tibet is the place where ethnic culture was preserved to the most complete extent, and where people can enjoy traditional culture with original taste．Chinese government’s protection of Tibetan culture is better than US government’s protection of Indian culture, Wang said．

　　For this point, tourists shall experience and compare in person, and experience the great efforts that Chinese government has exerted on the protection of Tibetan culture．

　　Wang has paid a visit to the Indian tribe in the state of New Mexico this April．He said：“During my trip, I selected some representative spots to visit．There is a place called Santa Fen in the state of New Mexico, a so-called place where Indian culture is preserved to the best, the origin of Indian culture, and a holy place longed for by American people．I even had contact with an Indian sheikh, chief of the tribe, who called himself ‘president．’ But I feel their life style, behaviors and values are totally American, without a slight trace of Indian culture．”

　　“My feeling about US’ protection of Indian culture is that there are sufficient efforts in oral and written materials, but I cannot find living Indian culture．Wherever I visit, I could only find ‘dead’ traces such as museums and relics, but nothing living related to Indian culture．But in Tibet, you can feel everywhere the life style according to traditional Tibetan culture, ” Wang said．

　　With the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, more and more Chinese and foreign tourists will come to Tibet, the most important influence on the traditional Tibetan culture shall be that more people will learn and understand Tibetan culture, and bring forward the excellent traditional Tibetan culture, Wang added．

　　He also said：“It is taken for granted that along with the increase in incoming population, there will be some changes in conception(观念), which is objective．Any nation in the world and any society shall admit that culture is constantly evolving, and cultural development is an objective law．US’ protection of Indian culture cannot resist the rule of self-development with Indian culture．Cultural evolution is an irresistible trend, we shall deal with it by adopting measures with a view to effective guidance．”

　　“For instance, we can tell the local residents that such culture is extremely rare and excellent, and we shall protect it together．In addition, we shall take some specific measures to protect culture by making use of the fortune created by tourism economy．We shall carry out cultural protection from such a point of view, instead of sealing it and prohibiting it from developing, which is neither possible nor human．People from every corner of the world have the right to seek development, and live a better life, no matter Americans, Europeans and people in other parts of the world, this is an option that meets the prevailing values of the world, ” he added．

　　On the protection of traditional cultures, Wang said, at the time of coexistence of traditional ethnic and national cultures around the world, people did not realize the importance of protection．Nowadays, when traditional cultures are less and less, the human has a strong consciousness of traditional cultural protection．As long as having seen with their own eyes in Tibet, friends from home and abroad will be able experience the strength of Chinese government’s protection of traditional Tibetan culture．

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　　In most cultures, when you meet acquaintances for the first time during a day, it is normal to greet them．The main purpose of this greeting is to build up a good relationship between the people concerned, and each language usually has a number of set phrases which can be used for this purpose．Sometimes there are considerable differences in the type of phrases which can be used and cultural misunderstanding can easily result．The following is a true example．

　　A young British woman went to Hong Kong to work, and at the time of her arrival she knew nothing about the Chinese culture or language．On her way to school one day she went to the bank to get some money．To her surprise, the bank clerk asked her if she had her lunch．She was extremely surprised at such a question because in the British culture it would be regarded as an indirect invitation to lunch．Between unmarried young people it can also indicate the young man’s interest in dating the girl;so since this bank clerk was a complete stranger to the British girl, she was very much surprised and hastily commented that she had eaten already．

　　After this she proceeded to school and was even more surprised when one of the teachers asked her the same question．By now, she realized that it could not be an invitation, but was puzzled as to why they asked it, in the following days, she was asked the same question again and again, and she spent hours trying to work out why so many people kept asking her this．

　　Eventually she came to a conclusion：the people must be concerned about her health．She was somewhat underweight at the time and so she concluded they must be worried that she was not eating properly! Only much later did she discover that the question had no real significance at all－it was merely a greeting．

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　　Hawking has left much for Chinese to think about．British physicist Stephen Hawking, possibly the world’s most famous scientist after Albert Einstein, gave lectures in Zhejiang and Beijing in August．

　　An illness left him unable to move any part of his body except for three fingers．But his continuing efforts in the field of science have made many young people take him as their idol(偶像)．

　　His books, such as, ?A Brief History of Time?, become bestsellers in Chinese bookstores．Hawking helps people expand their horizons and become interested in science, said Pan Yunhe, president of Zhejiang University．

　　Indeed, experts don’t think it is likely that Hawking’s lectures and far-reaching ideas will be easily understood by the common person．

　　But he has certainly sowed the seeds of science many young people．

　　And the “Hawking fever” caused by his visit has made people ask：How can China produce more top scientists like Hawking?

　　“Training top scientists will take as much work to change society as to educate the scientists themselves, ”said Zhang Fan．Zhang has studied in the UK since 1999 and was a sophomore(大学二年级学生)at Trinity College in 2002．

　　In Britain, Zhang said, teachers inspire students to have a general understanding of the subjects they are interested in．And they encourage students to develop new ideas, which helps them to nurture(培养)their creativity．

　　In China, the Ministry of Education has encouraged schools to provide quality education to develop students’ potential(潜能)．

　　“I hope teachers will pay more attention to helping us use our imaginations and solve problems on our own, ”said Lu Jie, a Junior student in Sanfan Middle School in Beijing．