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　　Shu Pulong has helped at least 1000 people bitten by snakes．“It was seeing people with snake bites that led me to this career,”he said．

　　In 1963, after his army service, Shu entered a medical school and later became a doctor of Chinese medicine．As part of his studies he had to work in the mountains．There he often heard of people who had their arms and legs cut off after a snake bite in order to save their lives．

　　“I was greatly upset by the story of an old farmer I met．It was a very hot afternoon．The old man was pulling grass in his fields when he felt pain in his left hand．He at once realized he had been bitten by a poisonous snake．In no time he wrapped a cloth tightly around his arm to stop the poison spreading to his heart．Rushing home he shouted ‘Bring me the knife!’．Minutes later the man lost his arm forever．”

　　“The sad story touched me so much that I decided to devote myself to helping people bitten by snakes,”Shu said．

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　　Tell a story and tell it well, and you may open wide the eyes of a child, open up lines of communication in a business, or even open people’s mind to another culture or race．

　　People in many places are digging up the old folk stories and the messages in them．For example, most American storytellers get their tales from a wide variety of sources, cultures, and times．They regard storytelling not only as a useful tool in child education, but also as a meaningful activity that helps adults understand themselves as well as those whose culture may be very different from their own．

　　“Most local stories are based on a larger theme,”American storyteller Opalanga Pugh says, “Cinderella(灰姑娘), or the central idea of a good child protected by her goodness, appears in various forms in almost every culture of the world．”

　　Working with students in schools, Pugh helps them understand their own cultures and the general messages of the stories．She works with prisoners too, helping them know who they are by telling stories that her listeners can write, direct, and act in their own lives．If they don’t like the story they are living, they can rewrite the story．Pugh also works to help open up lines of communication between managers and workers．“For every advance in business,”she says,“there is a greater need for communication．”Storytelling can have a great effect on either side of the manager-worker relationship, she says．

　　Pugh spent several years in Nigeria, where she learned how closely storytelling was linked to the everyday life of the people there．The benefits of storytelling are found everywhere, she says．“I learned how people used stories to spread their culture,”she says,“What I do is to focus on the value of the stories that people can translate into their own daily world of affairs．We are all storytellers．We all have a story to tell．We tell everybody’s story．”

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　　The old idea that child prodigies(神童)“burn themselves”or“overtax their brains”in the early years, therefore, suffer from failure and(at worst)mental illness is just a myth．As a matter of fact, the outstanding thing that happens to bright children is that they are very likely to grow into bright adults．

　　To find this out, 1,500 gifted persons were followed up to their thirty-fifth years with these results：

　　On adult intelligence tests, they scored as high as they did as children．They were, as a group, in good health, physically and mentally．Eighty-four percent of their group were married and seemed content with their life．

　　About 70 percent had graduated from colleges, though only 30 percent had graduated with honors．A few had even flunked out(退学), but nearly half of these had returned to graduate．

　　Of the men, 80 percent were in one of the professions or in business, managerial or semiprofessional jobs．The women who had remained single had offices, business, or professional occupations．

　　The group had published 90 books and 1,500 articles in scientific, scholarly, and literary magazines and had collected more than 100 patents．

　　In a material way they didn’t do badly either．Average income was considerably higher among the gifted people, especially the men, than for the country as a whole, despite their comparative youth when last surveyed．

　　In fact, far from being strange, maladjusted(难以适应)people locked in an ivory tower, most of the gifted were turning their early promises into practical reality．

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　　People often talk as if shyness is a disease or mental condition that can be cured．I prefer to think of it as an emotional disability．It's something we are born with and something we carry with us in our entire lives．There are too many people, however, who seem to be determined to find some way of doing away with their shyness．In my opinion, it's a waste of time．I don't mean that we should do nothing about it; quite the contrary, I think we need to separate the basic fact of our shyness from our ability to take part in a social environment．

　　Look at one of the most famous shy people of them all, Johnny Carson．This man is painfully shy, yet for decades he made a living talking and associating(交往)with different people every night, in front of a national audience．Carson has never done away with his shyness, but he has successfully found a way to deal with it to the extent that he could be, not just a talk show host, but a legend(传奇)among talk show hosts．Look also at Sally Fields, who has recently admitted her problem with shyness．This is a woman who has appeared in many films, TV shows and interviews, yet in her early years she was so shy that she turned down a lunch invitation from Jane Fonda because she was terribly afraid of meeting her．

　　I guess that our shyness is there because each of us is born with some insecurity(不安全感)and this insecurity prevents us from reaching out to others the way people with a more open personality do．As we grow up and become adults, we allow our social skills to grow and develop．But we are still stuck in kindergarten or elementary school or wherever it was when our shyness took root in our soul．

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　　Wearing ties was originally the mark of Britain's most powerful classes, which made the tie itself a symbol of power and respect．And that led it to be adopted by a much larger tribe——the business tribe．

　　You cannot wear a tie if you work with machinery．So wearing a tie became a sign that you were a man who used your brain to make a living, rather than your hands．It showed you were serious．It showed you were a professional．It meant that everyone who wanted a job in business had to wear one．It was just impossible to take seriously a man who didn't wear a piece of colored silk around his neck．

　　This is how millions of people came to be wearing ties across the world．They are part of the uniform of business．

　　“Ties offer a point of indifference,”says John Milne, head of the British Guide of Tie Makers．“They give a chance to say something about their own personality．”

　　So if you happen to meet a man with a very brightly colored tie, there is a good chance that he is the office joker．There is also a good chance that he will be wearing brightly colored socks．

　　Is there a future for ties?The signs are not promising．Tie wearing seems to rare amongst the new bread of entrepreneurs(创业者)in the Internet and new technology industries．Many political leaders, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now go without ties．This shows they are men of the people——but not the people wearing ties．

　　Up until around 1960, it was common for men across the Western world to wear hats as part of their business uniform．That changed with the election of John F．Kennedy to the presidency of the United States．Kennedy never wore a hat——in fact his nickname was“hatless Jack”．Seeing that the most powerful man in the world did not have to wear a hat, millions of other men decided that they did not have to, either．Hats simply vanished across the Western world．Perhaps“tieless Tony”(UK Prime Minister Tony Blair)will have the same effect as“hatless Jack”．

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　　This August has seen athletes doing their sweaty part in the“Good Luck Beijing”sports events．Some foreign athletes have commented on the passion of Chinese spectators(观众)．

　　Not all the spectators, however, came out looking exactly good．Girls holding umbrellas on beach volleyball stands．Spectators crying sharply during the hockey matches．These can be unintended disturb．To avoid them, we'd keep in mind some special manners：

1．Dress down for beach volleyball．It's also a good time to show off your colorful top and sexy shorts．

2．Use protective cream for your skin．Wear sunglasses and bring something to drink．But don't carry something that blocks others' view．

3．Look all you want at the body shapes around you, but save some attention for the players' skills．

1．Sit at the back or on either side of the field．For safety's sake, do not risk out of there．

2．Above all, keep quiet during the match．Put your cellphone on vibrate or turn it off．

3．Do not use the flash on your camera, because it can disturb the athletes．

4．When the athletes are aiming at the target, keep your voice down．

1．Drinks in glass bottles or cans are not allowed．

2．Don't bring a whistle．Referees use them and you can puzzle the players．

3．Players can be tense when taking a shot．Keep the cheering down at critical moments．Do not use the camera flash．

4．If you easily get nervous, bring some snacks．Keep your mouth moving to calm you down．

1．Spectators should keep off the track．Control your pets．

2．Cyclists or runners might look tired, sweaty and thirsty, but, do not hand them a bottle of water, a cool towel or anything else．Any help from spectators can disqualify(剥夺资格)an athlete．

3．Again, if a cyclist or runner falls, do not rush over to help．The best thing to do is to contact medical personnel．

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　　Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers said,“Barbara, be enthusiastic!Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience．”How right they were!

　　“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm,”wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson．It is the paste that helps you hang on there when the going gets tough．It is the inner voice that whispers,“I can do it!”when others shout,“No, you can’t!”It took years and years for the early work of Barbara Mc Clintock, a geneticist(遗传学家)who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in medicine, to be generally accepted．Yet she didn’t let up on her experiments．Work was such a deep pleasure for her that she never thought of stopping．

　　We are all born with wide-eyed, enthusiastic wonder and it is this childlike wonder that gives enthusiastic people such youthful air, whatever their age．At 90, cellist(大提琴家)Pablo Casals would start his day by playing Bach．As the music flowed through his fingers, his bent shoulders would straighten and joy would reappear in his eyes．As author and poet Samuel once wrote,“Years make the skin old, but to give up enthusiasm makes the soul old．”

　　Enthusiastic people also love what they do, regardless of money, title or power．Patricia Mcllrath, retired director of the Missouri Repertory Theater in Kansas City, was once asked where she got her enthusiasm．She replied,“My father, a lawyer, long ago told me, I never made a penny until I stopped working for money．”

　　If we cannot do what we love as a fulltime career, we can do it as a hobby．Elizabeth Layton of Wellsville, Kan, was 68 before she began to draw．This activity ended her sadness that had troubled her for at least 30 years, and the quality of her work led one critic(评论员)to say,“I am persuaded to call Layton a genius．”

　　We can’t afford to waste tears on“might-have-beens”．We need to turn the tears into sweat as we go after“what-can-be”．We need to live each moment whole-heartedly, with all our senses－finding pleasure in the sweet smell of a backyard garden, the simple picture of a six-year-old, and the beauty of a rainbow．

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　　My topic today is the internet．It was prompted(引出)by the first letter, which I am unable to answer fully for the reasons given!

Dear David,

　　I am a middle school student．Now I am preparing for a writing competition．Could you please check the mistakes in my article about using the Internet and give me some advice?

　　Thank you!

No name

　　David writes：I am very sorry to say that I think it would be very unfair for me to help you win a competition－unfair to the other competitors!

　　But I will say that your article is very interesting and I wish you good luck．Your article makes some good points that deserve talking about in this column!…

　　Dear David,

　　I’m now learning English by myself．Can you introduce some useful websites where I can make friends with foreigners?Please help me．

Moonlight

　　David writes：Well, dear Moonlight, I bet you will make a good choice by using the Internet in your studies．Two very good websites I would suggest to you are：www．British council．org．cn and www．britishcouncil．org．cn/learn English．

　　By the way, for those readers interested in the teaching of English, there is an Internet discussion group called English Language Teaching Contacts Scheme China List．

　　And also, a healthy warning to all my readers：If over used, the Internet can be a WOMBAT－a Waste of money, Brains and Time!

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Read the following job advertisements：

　　(1)Needed：Full-time secretary position available．Applicants(申请者)should have at least 2 years’ experience and be able to type 60 words in a minute．No more computer skills required．Apply in person at United Business Ltd．, 17 Browning Street, Leeds．

　　(2)Are you looking for a part-time job?We require 3 part-time shop assistants to work during the evening．No experience required; applicants should be between 18 and 26．Call 366-76564 for more information．

　　(3)Secretaries trained in the use of computer：Do you have experience working with computers?Would you like a full-time position working in an exciting new company?

　　If your answer is yes, give us a call at 457-896754．

　　(4)Teacher needed：Hania’s Playschool needs 2 teacher/trainers to help with classes from 9 a．m．to 3 p．m．Applicants should have appropriate licenses．For more information visit Hania’s Playschool in Leicester Square．

　　(5)Part-time work available：We are looking for retired adults who would like to work part-time at the weekend．Responsibilities include answering the telephone and providing customers with information．For more information contact us by calling 345-674132．

　　(6)University positions open：The University of Bristol is looking for 4 teaching assistants to help with homework correction．Applicants should have a degree in one of the following：Political Science, Religion, Economics or History．Please contact the University of Bristol for more information．

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　　WASHINGTON－President Bush plans to meet next week with top Pentagon and State Department officials, and hopes to offer a revised Iraq plan within two weeks, aides said Friday．

　　White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said today Bush wants to give a major speech on Iraq before Christmas,“but that is not set in stone．”

　　At a morning meeting with congressional leaders, Bush said,“We talked about the need for a new way forward in Iraq．”

　　Bush will visit the State Department on Monday and meetings with military officials will follow over the next two days, according to a tentative White House schedule．All are involved in an ongoing administration review of the situation in Iraq．

　　“These are deliberative(慎重的)meetings and discussions,”said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council．“They will inform the president’s thinking, and he will inform their thinking．”

　　Bush said he is also reviewing the Iraq Study Group report released Wednesday．Its suggestions include withdrawing US troops by early 2008, conditions permitting, and a new diplomatic(外交的)effort including Iraq’s neighbors, Iran and Syria．

　　The president said he also wanted the troops home too, but not until the new Iraq government can sustain(支撑)itself．He expressed skepticism(怀疑态度)about possible talks with Iran and Syria, saying they must stop efforts to undermine(削弱)Iraq’s fledgling(年轻的)democracy．

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