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　　Laws that would have ensured pupils from five to 16 received a full financial education got lost in the ‘wash up’．An application is calling on the next government to bring it back．

　　At school the children are taught to add up and subtract, but, extraordinarily, are not routinely shown how to open a bank account－let alone how to manage their finances in an increasingly complex and demanding world．

　　Today the parenting website Mumsnet and the consumer campaigner Martin Lewis have joined forces to launch an online application to make financial education a compulsory element of the school curriculum in England．Children from five to 16 should be taught about everything from pocket money to pensions, they say．And that was exactly the plan preserved in the Children, Schools and Families bill that was shelved by the government in the so-called　“wash-up” earlier this month－the rush to legislation before parliament was dismissed．Consumer and parent groups believe financial education has always been one of the most frustrating omissions of the curriculum(课程)．

　　As the Personal Finance Education Group(Pfeg)points out, the good habits of young children do not last long．Over 75％ of seven- to 11-year-olds are savers but by the time they get to 17, over half of them are in debt to family and friends．By this age, 26％ see a credit card or overdraft(透支)as a way of extending their spending power．Pfeg predicts that these young people will “find it much harder to avoid the serious unexpected dangers that have befallen many of their parents' generation unless they receive good quality financial education while at school．”

　　The UK has been in the worst financial recession(衰退)for generations．It does seem odd that－unless parents step in－young people are left in the dark until they are cruelly introduced to the world of debt when they turn up at university．In a recent poll of over 8,000 people, 97％ supported financial education in schools, while 3％ said it was a job for parents．

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　　After lots of hype, the new iPhone 3GS has arrived, boasting an improved camera, better battery life, and speedier performance．But is it a must?

　　The iPhone 3GS is available in two versions：16GB and 32GB．The 16GB version costs ＄199, while the 32GB version costs ＄299．From the outside, the iPhone 3GS looks exactly like the iPhone 3G．Like the iPhone 3G, the new model comes in black and white versions, and sports a 3.5-inch touch screen．Most of the changes to the iPhone 3GS have been made on the inside．Apple says that battery life is better, but the biggest boost is in the iPhone's speed：The iPhone 3GS runs twice as fast as the iPhone 3G．Instead of a lot of software installed on it, the iPhone 3GS comes with the most recent version of the iPhone Software－version 3.0－installed, but it does come with easy access to Apple's App Store．The speedier performance of the iPhone 3GS extends to surfing the Web, too．You can see entire Web pages, and can zoom in and out with ease．

　　The notable new messaging feature on the iPhone 3GS is support for MMS．You can send pictures and videos by SMS, rather than having to send them via e-mail．Other new and very-handy e-mail features include the ability to search through your e-mail messages and contacts, as well as the option to use a landscape-oriented keyboard when composing messages．

　　The camera has been upgraded from 2 megapixels to 3 megapxiels, and adds auto-focus．If you already own an iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3GS may not be worth the additional cost, since you can get many of its cool features for free with the iPhone 3.0 software upgrade．But if you've been using an older iPhone or smart phone, or are new to the smart phone world, the iPhone 3GS will amaze you with its speed and plentiful features．

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　　Areas of Tokyo which had usually been packed with office workers like sushi(寿司)restaurants and noodle shops were unusually quiet．Many schools were closed．Companies allowed workers to stay home．Long queues formed at airports．

　　As Japanese authorities struggled to avoid disaster at an earthquake - battered nuclear plant 240 km to the north, parts of Tokyo resembled a ghost town．Many people stocked up on food and stayed indoors or simply left．transforming one of the world' s biggest and most populated cities into a shell of its usual self．

　　"Look, it' s like Sunday－no cars in town," said Kazushi Arisawa, a 62-year-old taxi driver, as he waited for more than an hour outside an office tower where he usually finds customers within minutes．" I can' t make money today．"

　　Radiation in Tokyo has been negligible, briefly touching three times the normal rate on Tuesday, smaller than a dental X -ray．On Wednesday, winds over the Fukushima(福岛)nuclear-power plant blew out to sea, keeping levels close to normal．But that does little to relieve public anxiety about a 40-year-old nuclear plant with three reactors in partial meltdown(熔毁)and a fourth with spent atomic fuel exposed to the atmosphere after last Friday' s earthquake and tsunami．

　　" Radiation moves faster than we do," said Steven Swanson, a 43 - year - old American who moved to Tokyo in December with his Japanese wife to help with her family business．He is staying indoor but is tempted to leave．"It's scary．It's a triple threat with the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear radiation leaks．It makes you wonder what' s next．"

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　　A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage．They were a loving couple and the boy was the apple of their eyes．When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open．He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard．The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter．

　　The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all．It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages．When the child collapsed, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died．The mother was stunned．She was terrified how to face her husband．

　　When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words．"I Love You Darling"

　　The husband's totally unexpected reaction is proactive behavior．The child is dead．He can never be brought back to life．There is no point in finding fault with the mother．Besides, if only he have taken time to keep the bottle away, this will not have happened．No point in attaching blame．She had also lost her only child．What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband．That is what he gave her．

　　Sometimes we spend time asking who to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know．We miss out some warmth in human relationship in giving each other support．After all, shouldn't forgiving someone we love be the easiest thing in the world to do? Treasure what you have．Don't multiply pain, and suffering by holding on to forgiveness．

　　If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world．

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　　A structure thought to be the world's oldest building has been discovered under the sea off the coast of Japan, and could be evidence of a previously unknown Stone Age civilization．

　　The monument dates back to at least 8,000 BC; the oldest pyramid in Egypt was constructed more than 5,000 years later．

　　The structure was first discovered under 75 feet of water by divers in 2000, and was believed to be a natural phenomenon．

　　Professor Masaki Kimura, the first to study the site, has concluded that the structure is man-made．"The object was not formed naturally．If that had been the case, we would have found pieces through erosion(腐蚀)around the site, but there is nothing there," he says．

　　The discovery of a road surrounding the building is further evidence that the structure was made by humans, along with small underwater stone tombs nearby．

　　Kimura says it is too early to know who built it or its purpose．"It might be an ancient religious shrine(神社), possibly celebrating an ancient god．And it could be evidence of a new culture, since there are no records of a people intelligent enough to have built such a monument 10,000 years ago; it could only have been done by people with a high degree of technology, probably coming from the Asian continent, where the oldest civilizations originated．"

　　Teruaki Ishii, a professor at Tokyo University, said the structure could be natural, but that part of it may have been made by humans．

　　The first signs of civilization in Japan date back to around 9,000 BC, but nothing in the archeological record suggests the presence of a culture advanced enough to have built such a structure．

　　Jim Mower, an archeologist at University College Lon-don, says, "If it's proved that the site is as old as 10,000 years and is man-made, then it's going to change an awful lot of the previous thinking on southeast Asian history．It would put the people who made the monument on equal terms with the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia(An an-cient region of southwest Asia)．"

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　　The blob fish is a kind of fish which mainly lives in the deep waters off the coasts of Tasmania and Australia．It has a very strange look and has a reputation for looking sad．

　　Now it has good reasons for its sad expression．Scientists are warning that over-fishing by trawlers(拖网捕鱼)of its south eastern Australian habitat may cause the blob fish to go extinct．

　　The blob fish can grow up to 12 inches．It lives at depths of up to 800 meters, so it抯 rarely seen by humans．However, owing to the increased deep-sea trawling fishing, it is being dragged up with other catches．

　　Despite being inedible(不可食的)itself, the blob fish lives at the same depths as other more appetizing(可口的)ocean organisms, including crabs and lobsters．They are often mistakenly caught by fishermen trawling for lobsters．Deep-sea expert Professor Callum Roberts, from University of York, said the blob fish had plenty to be sad about．"Blob fish are very vulnerable to being dragged up in these nets．The Australian and New Zealand deep-trawling fishing fleets are some of the most active in the world so if you are a blob fish then it is not a good place to live," he said．

　　There are indeed some deep-water protected areas in the Southern Ocean but that is only to protect coral and not the blob fish．

　　Because high seas bottom trawling is highly destructive, urgent protection measures are needed．It is the time to take action, with the economic importance of this new fishery still relatively low．In 2006 conservationists came within a whisker of achieving a global stop on restricting bottom trawling on the high seas, but unfortunately, Iceland rejected it, leaving the problem unsolved．

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　　A friend invited me to a baseball game．I asked how much the tickets cost, and he replied, "They抮e on me．" So I paid for the dinner．At the game, I noticed that his tickets were marked "Complimentary"．My friend said that they were free offers from a client(客户)．Shouldn抰 I have split the dinner check, since the tickets were free? Anonymous

　　I understand your uncertainty．Usually, "the tickets are on me" means "I have paid for them"．Still, you received a benefit：a good evening．And that your friend didn抰 pay for the tickets in cash doesn抰 mean they had no value．You wouldn抰 have been admitted to the game without them．

　　Recently, a couple with a 2-year-old boy moved into the apartment above mine．I wake to the sound of tiny feet running back and forth．I work at home, so I hear the same noise all day．Can I ask for a reasonable compromise(折衷), or must I stand my discomfort? Anonymous

　　I can easily imagine some noise upstairs．It is a good idea to see this as a matter for compromise．Just be sure to welcome your new neighbor before expressing your complaints．And try to visit when the boy is quiet, so his parents won抰 be upset and be unfriendly to you．

　　I received an invitation that went like this："We are having a picnic to celebrate Joseph抯 graduation．Please let us know what you will bring to eat．" I believe that if I am bringing a gift for the person of honor, I shouldn抰 be asked to bring food or drink．Am I wrong? Suzanne

　　An awkward invitation, Suzanne．It would have been better if the invitation had said "no gifts" or if the welcoming hosts had provided the food themselves．As to your reply, maybe it could go as follows："I understand the dictionary we bought for Joseph is a tasty grilled(烤着吃)dish．"

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　　The island Fiji has always been around me in my life．My parents met in Fiji when my father was a teacher as a Peace Corps volunteer and my mother a student．They taught me about its people, culture and religious beliefs．

　　At the age of two, I made my first trip across the Pacific Ocean to Fiji．My mother and I made that trip unexpectedly because my grandma was ill and longed to see her American granddaughter．Although I have few memories of that first trip, I do remember grandma braiding(编辫子)my hair every day．The brush gliding through my hair is a feeling I will treasure forever because she passed away soon．I returned to America when I was five years old．This time I had a brother, Martin, who was two．

　　I resisted my third trip to Fiji when I was 15, being a teenager who did not want to spend the summer away from friends．It was this trip, however, that made me realize that Fiji is not just a place to visit but a part of who I am．The smells, sounds and sights came back to me, but the best part was getting to know my relatives．

　　Vishal was one cousin I quickly bonded with．Born two days before me, I had only known him through pictures before．Though raised oceans apart in different cultures, we talked and laughed about everything from American sports to Fijian dancing．I was able to form close ties with all my cousins, and when I talk about them now, it抯 as if I have known them my whole life．Spending time with them helped my understanding of the traditions and values my mother grew up with．Hospitality, care and respect for family members are central values in Fijian culture．

　　I truly enjoyed learning about my roots during this trip．Fiji has come to feel like a second home, and I will never forget the time I have spent there．

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　　When companies do business overseas, they come in contact with people from different cultures．These individuals often speak a different language and have their own particular custom and manners．These differences can create problems．

　　For example, in France, business meetings begin punctually at the chosen time and everyone is expected to be there．Foreign business people who are late are often left outside to cool their heels as a means of letting them know the importance of being punctual．Unless one is aware of such expected behaviors he may end up hurting the people with whom he hopes to establish trade relations．

　　A second traditional problem is that of monetary conversions(货币兑换)．For example, if business is conducted with Russia, payment may be made in rubles．Of course, this currency is of little value to the American firm．It is, therefore, necessary to convert the foreign currency to American dollars．How much are these Russian rubles worth in terms of dollars? This conversion rate is determined by every market, where the currencies of countries are bought and sold．Thus there is an established rate, although it will often rise and fall from day to day．For example, the ruble may be worth ＄0.75 on Monday and ＄0.72 on Tuesday because of an announced wheat shortage in Russia．In addition, there is the dilemma(进退两难的窘境)associated with converting at ＄0.72．Some financial institutions may be unwilling to pay this price, feeling that the ruble will sink much lower over the next week．As a result, conversion may finally come at ＄0.69．These “losses” must be accepted by the company as one of the costs of doing business overseas．

　　A third unique problem is trade barriers(障碍)．For one reason or another, all countries impose trade barriers on certain goods crossing their borders．Some trade barriers are directly related to exports．Most trade barriers, however, are designed to limit import．Two of the most common import barriers are quotas and tariffs(限额和关税)．

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The following table shows some results of a survey in which 800 Japanese school pupils were asked to give their impressions of their classroom teachers．The pupils’ impressions were found to differ depending on whether the teacher was new(with less than three years’ experience), middle－standing(ten to twenty years), or a veteran(twenty to thirty years)．The numbers in the table show the percentage of the pupils who answered “very satisfied” or “extremely satisfied” for each question item．

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