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　　Though it is mere 1 to 3 percent of the population, the upper class possesses at least 25 percent of the nation’s wealth．This class has two segments：upper-upper and lower-upper．Basically, the upperupper class is the “old rich”－families that have been wealthy for several generations－an aristocracy of birth and wealth．Their names are in the Social Register, a listing of acceptable members of high society．A few are known across the nation, such as the Rockefellers, Roosevelts, and Vanderbilts．Most are not visible to the general public．They live in grand seclusion(深居简出), drawing their income from the investment of their inherited wealth．In contrast, the lower-upper class is the “new rich”．Although they may be wealthier than some of the old rich, the new rich are anxious to make their money like everybody else beneath their class．Thus their prestige(威望)is generally lower than that of the old rich, who have not found it necessary to lift a finger to make their money, and who tend to look down upon the new rich．

　　However its wealth is acquired, the upper class is very, very rich．They have enough money and leisure time to cultivate an interest in the arts and to collect rare books, paintings, and sculptures．They generally live in exclusive areas, belong to exclusive social clubs, communicate with each other, and marry their own kind-all of which keeps them so distant from the masses that they have been called the out-of-fight class．More than any other class, they tend to be conscious of being members of a class．They also command an enormous amount of power and infulence here and abroad, as they hold many top government positions, run the Council on Foreign Relations, and control multinational corporations．Their actions affect the lives of millions．

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　　Twenty years are just a blink in time．But 20 years is also long enough for a man to grow up．It is always painful．For Andrew Agassi, maturing in the spotlight of international tennis competition was even harder．

　　On September 3, the American tennis player said a tearful goodbye to his 21-year career after a third-round defeat in the USO pen．The 36-year-old tried his best, but was unable to keep up with German Benjamin Becker, more than ten years his junior．

　　“The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn’t say is what I've found,” Agassi said to the fans．“I have found inspiration and you willed me to succeed．”It was an emotional speech at the end of along career．

　　Agassi hated tennis as a teenager as much as he loves it now．His father made him play when he was a child．He got bored, and became a rebel(叛逆)．The strict training that his father pushed upon him got in the way of his wild lifestyle．He grew hair long, wore colourful clothes and spat at a judge．Over the years, he has made bad jokes during news conferences．Asked what he would say to his 17-year-old self, Agassi answered, “I would say, I understand you a lot more than I want to be you．”

　　The turning point in Agassi's career came in 1992 when he unexpectedly won his first Grand Slam(大满贯赛事)at Wimbledon．It was the first time Agassi understood what real champions finally understand：winning is a test of courage and not just power, it’s a marathon, not a sprint(短跑)．

　　And what a marathon Agassi was about to begin．He cut his long hair, got fitter and tightened up emotionally．On the court, he was ranked No．1 for almost two years．His lowest point came in 1997 when his ranking dropped to No．141．He didn’t quit though．“I knew that I would try to get the most out of myself every day from that day forward．That was my promise．”he said．“That never stopped．”

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　　As the basic building materials of communication, words communicate meaning, but as we have seen, the meanings of words are very much influenced by culture．Meaning is in the person, not in the word, as each person is the product of a particular culture which passes on shared and appropriate meanings．Thus, if we want to learn to communicate well in a foreign language, we must understand the culture that gives that language meaning．Culture gives meaning and provides the context for communication, and the ability to communicate allows us to act out our cultural values and to share our language and our culture．

　　But our own native language and culture are so much a part of us that we take them for granted．When we travel to another country, it's as if we carry along with our passports．We view the new environment using our own culture as the standard, and although not purposely, our ways of thinking and acting often get in the way of our understanding other languages and cultures．The ability and willingness to change lenses(视角)when we look at a different culture is both the cure and the prevention for such cultural blindness．Studying a new language provides us the opportunities to practise changing lenses when we also learn the context or the culture to which it belongs．

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　　People can be addicted to different things, e．g．alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television．People who have such an addiction are compulsive(难以抑制的); i．e．, they have a very powerful psychological need that they feel they must satisfy．According to psychologists, many people are compulsive spenders; they feel that they must spend money．This compulsion, like most others, is irrational-impossible to explain reasonably．For compulsive spenders who buy on credit, charge accounts are even more exciting than money．In other words, compulsive spenders feel that with credit, they can do anything．Their pleasure in spending enormous amounts is actually greater than the pleasures than they get from the things they buy．

　　There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting．To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts．Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don't need just because they are cheap．They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game：when they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning．Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior：a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason．

　　It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people．Stores, companies and advertisers use psychology to increase business：they consider people's need for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, and so on in their advertising and sales methods．

　　Psychologists often use a method called “behavior therapy” to help individuals solve their personal problems．In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money．

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　　In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord can charge for an apartment．Supporters of rent control argue that it protects people who are living in apartments．Their rent cannot increase; therefore, they are not in danger of losing their homes．However, the critics say that after a long time, rent control may have negative effects．Landlords know that they cannot increase their profits(赢利)．Therefore, they invest(投资)in other businesses where they can increase their profits．They do not invest in new buildings which would also be rent-controlled．As a result, new apartments are not built．Many people who need apartments cannot find any．According to the critics, the end result of rent control is a shortage of apartments in the city．

　　Some theorists argue that the minimum wage law can cause problems in the same way．The government sets the minimum that an employer must pay workers．The minimum helps people who generally look for unskilled, low-paying jobs．However, if the minimum is high, employers may hire fewer workers．They will replace workers with machinery．The price, which is the wage that employers must pay, increases．Therefore, other things being equal, the number of workers that employers want decreases．Thus, critics claim, an increase in the minimum wage may cause unemployment．Some poor people may find themselves without jobs instead of with jobs at the minimum wage．

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　　This March is a busy month in Shanghai．There's a lot to do．Here are the highlights．

Live Music-Late Night Jazz

　　Enjoy real American jazz from Herbie Davis, the famous trumpet player．He's coming with his new 7-piece band, Herbie's Heroes．Herbie is known to play well into the early hours, so don't expect to get much sleep．This is Herbie's third visit to Shanghai．The first two were sold out, so get your tickets quickly．

Scottish dancing

　　Take your partners and get ready to dance till you drop．Scottish dancing is fun and easy to learn．Instructors will demonstrate the dances．The live band, Gordon Stroppie and the Weefrees, are also excellent．

Exhibitions-Shanghai Museum

　　There are 120,000 pieces on show here．You can see the whole of Chinese history under one roof．It's always interesting to visit, but doubly so at the moment with the Egyptian Tombs exhibition．There are lots of mummies and more gold than you've ever seen before．Let us know if you see a mummy move!

Dining-Sushi chef in town

　　Sushi is getting really big in Shanghai．In Japan, it's become an art form．The most famous Sushi ‘artist’ is Yuki Kamura．She's also one of the few female chefs in Japan．She'll be at Sushi Scene all of this month．

　　For a full listing of events, see our website．

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　　Beijing：Qinghai-Tibet Railway was unfolded to the public on Monday．From July 1 the service will cost a minimum of 389 yuan(hard seat)and take about 48 hours from Beijing to Lhasa．A hard sleeper(bottom bed)will cost 813 yuan, and a soft sleeper(bottom bed)1262 yuan．The fare for an air ticket is about 2 540 yuan．Trains will run to and from Lhasa in three directions：through Beijing, Chengdu/Chongqing and Xining/Lanzhou．

　　New York：The aid group Save the Children says that African nations south of the Sahara are among the worst places to be a mother．The group examined the quality of life for mothers in 110 countries．It found that Northern European nations such as Sweden were at the top of the list．Many African nations were at the bottom．The group said the study shows that the quality of children's lives is linked to the health and education of their mothers．

　　UK：the world's costliest(最昂贵的)city MOSCOW is this year's most expensive city for big consumers in the world, a study released by British human resources firm Mercer HR suggests．Seoul was in second place, followed by Tokyo-which topped the list in 2005, when the Russian capital was in fourth position-then Hong Kong and London．The findings were based on prices for 200 goods and services, especially housing, transport, food, clothing and entertainment．In the 144 cities surveyed, Beijing and Shanghai ranked 14th and 20th．

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　　Around 55 per cent of people aged 18-34 in Spain still sleep in their parents' homes, says the latest report from the country's state-run Institute of Youth．

　　To persuade young people to leave their homes, the institute started a “Youth Independence” programme this month．The programme offers guidance in finding rooms and jobs．

　　Economists blame young people's family dependence on the unstable labour market and increasing housing prices．Housing prices have risen 17 per cent a year since 2000．

　　Cultural reasons also contribute to the problem, say sociologists．Family ties in south Europe－Italy, Portugal and Greece－are stronger than those in middle and north Europe, said Spanish sociologist Almudena Minguez in her report “The Late Independence of Spanish Youth：Keys for Understanding”．

　　“In general, young people in Spain firmly believe in the family as the main body around which their private life is organized,” said Minguez．In Spain, especially in the countryside, it is not uncommon to find entire groups of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews all living on the same street．They regularly get together for Sunday dinner．

　　Parents' tolerance is another reason．Spanish parents accept late-night partying and are wary of setting bedtime rules．“A child can arrive home at whatever time he wants．If parents complain he'll put up a big fight and call the father a Fascist,” said Minguez．

　　Mothers' willingness to do children's house hold chores(杂务)worsens the problem．Dionisio Masso a 60-year-old in Madrid, has three children in their 20s．The eldest, 28, has a girlfriend and a job．But life with mum is good．“His mum does the wash and cooks for him; in the end, he lives well,” Masso said．

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Ecotourism

　　The latest buzzword in the tourism industry is “ecotourism”－responsible, environmentally sound vacationing．Ecotourism, or “green tourism,” means taking care of natural resources, protecting endangered species, and preserving and contributing to local communities．

　　Armed with this “checklist,” I booked a vacation in an “ecoresort．”The brochure looked appealing－a hotel right on the beach, with a large swimming pool and golf course, in acres of unspoiled rain forest．

　　Unfortunately, the only way to get to this resort was a 12-hour flight followed by a long taxi ride．I was relieved to see the hotel at the end of the road．It was a low-rise building, made out of local stone．But as I later found out, in order to build the resort, the wealthy owner had bought up 30,000 square kilometers of unspoiled rain-forest．

　　Sunbathing by the glorious swimming pool, enjoying the sound of sprinklers on the golf course, I suddenly realized that this was an area where water is scarce．

　　So far, not so eco-friendly．I decided to try some of the trips to nearby conservation projects, to give the resort another chance to convince me．

　　Although it was the breeding season for turtles, we didn't see any．Apparently the large groups of tourists who arrive at the beach to see the turtles laying their eggs have driven the turtles away．A boat ride to a marine park was also disappointing．The noise of the boats means that the alligators(短吻鳄)are afraid to lie in the sun．The tourists, expecting to see some action, throw stones at the alligators in the water, in the hope of getting them to move．

　　The trip to the “authentic” local village was pleasant．The resort has turned the local homes into picturesque cottages．However, they are so charming that tourists are buying them, and the locals now live in small towns of badly built houses in the poorest areas of town．

　　All in all, my vacation didn't meet any of the standards for ecotourism．But there are many projects around the world where you can have a genuinely “green” experience．My next trip is to a mountain village, as a paying guest in a local family's home．

　　I will miss the swimming pool and the golf, though．

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　　From early times, man has been interested in art．People have often worked together to collect and save the world's art treasures．

　　Fine art treasures from many countries are kept in an art museum called the Louvre in Paris, France．The works of art have been collected by the people of France over many centuries．It is the biggest art museum in the world．

　　The Louvre has not always been a museum．The first building was a castle．In 1190, it was the king's castle with high walls and a round tower．It had a river to keep out the enemies．

　　Over the years, the number of the buildings around the castle grew．By 1350, the castle no longer needed to be extended．The Louvre became a palace home for French kings and queens．

　　During times of peace, new treasures were brought in．During the days of war, many treasures were stolen, and the buildings were damaged．

　　When Francis I became king of France in 1515, he brought in many artists from other countries．One of the artists was Leonardo da Vinci from Italy．Da Vinci's “Mona Lisa” is the best-known painting in the museum today．

　　In 1793, the Louvre became a public museum, just as it is now．It is a place where art treasures are kept for everyone to enjoy．Every year millions of people from all over the world come to the Louvre to see the masterpieces．

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