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　　An increase in students applying to study economics at university is being attributed to(归因于)the global economic crisis awakening a public thirst for knowledge about how the financial system works．

　　Applications for degree courses beginning this autumn were up by 15％ this January, according to UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service．A spokesman for the Royal Economic Society said applications to do economics at A?level were also up．

　　Professor John Beath, the president of the society and a leading lecturer at St Andrews University, said his first year lectures－which are open to students from all departments－were drawing crowds of 400, rather than the usual 250．

　　“There are a large number of students who are not economics majors, who would like to learn something about it．One of the things I have done this year is to relate my teaching to contemporary events in a way that one hasn' t traditionally done，” he added．

　　University applications rose 7％ last year, but there were rises above average in several subjects．Nursing saw a 15％ jump, with people's renewed interest in careers in the public sector(部门), which are seen as more secure in economic crisis．

　　A recent study showed almost two thirds of parents believed schools should do more to teach pupils about financial matters, and almost half said their children had asked them what was going on, although a minority of parents felt they did not understand it themselves well enough to explain．

　　Zack Hocking, the head of Child Trust Funds, said：“It's possible that one good thing to arise from the downturn will be a generation that' s financially wiser and better equipped to manage their money through times of economic uncertainty．”

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　　One day last September, as Britney Spears was about to board a flight to Los Angeles from London, a blue bottle fell out of her purse．She quickly put it back in, but not before the camera recorded the event．Neither Spears nor her spokesman was willing to comment on the contents of the bottle, but the next morning London's Daily Express published a page of pictures under the headline “EXCLUSIVE：POP PRINCESS SPOTTED AT AIRPORT WITH POT OF SLIMMING TABLETS．” Spears was apparently carrying Zantrex-3, one of the most popular weight-loss pills now sold in the United States．The pill, which is sold at about fifty dollars for a month's supply, contains a huge amount of caffeine, some green tea, and three common South American herbs that also act as stimulants(兴奋剂)．It hit the U．S．market last March and has had a success that would be hard to overstate．Millions of bottles have been sold, and during the Christmas season it was displayed in the windows of the nation's largest chain of vitamin shops, G．N．C．(It is so highly sought after that many of the stores keep it in locked counters．)Zantrex-3 is also sold at CVS, Rite Aid, Wal-Mart, and other chains, and over the telephone and on the Internet．If you type “Zantrex” into Google, more than a hundred thousand pieces of information about it will appear．At any moment, there are scores of people selling it on eBay．

　　Perhaps the most interesting thing about the success story of Zantrex-3, however, is that it is far from unique．There are hundreds of similar products on the market today, and they are bought by millions of Americans．And though Zantrex's producer makes some exciting statements(“the most advanced weight control compound(化合物)period”), so do the people who sell Stacker 2 and Anorex along with those who sell Carb Eliminator and Fat Eliminator．Almost all of these compounds suggest that they can help people lose weight and regain lost energy, and often without diet, exercise, or any other effort．

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　　Another food which is closely associated with Americans is apple pie．Apple pie is often served hot with a spoon of ice cream or a slice of cheese at the end of the biggest meal of the day－dinner, and it is a favorite dessert throughout the nation, if a person is typical of Americans, we can say, "He is as American as apple pie．"

　　It is true that the apple and apple pie do not originate in America, but the expression "as American as apple pie" is not the product of a pure imagination．As early as 1625, the English colonists, having brought orchards(果园)on this new land and in most of the colonial times, the apple was a main material of both plain and fancy cooking．The first Massachusetts governor, William Endicott, was one of many keen apple planters who helped to lay the foundations for today' s apple-growing industry in America．

　　A major attraction of the apple for the colonists was that it could be made into cider(苹果酒)．Like most Europeans, English colonists held a strong suspicion(怀疑)of drinking water, and since grapegrowing was hindered by plant peats, cider became an alternative to wine．Cheap and easy to produce, it was the American drink of first choice well into the nineteenth century．Whether it was dried, raw or cooked, the apple also found its way into numerous colonial dishes, including apple sauces, pudding, stuffings and many desserts．Therefore, the conclusion to be drawn here is obvious．The apple pie became known as American, not because it was invented on this land(since it was proved that Europeans had been eating apple pies for centuries), but because, thanks to the huge orchards in the states of Washington and New York, America became the world's largest apple-producing nation．

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　　I am a person who does not like to wait．I don' t like lines, being put on hold when making a phone call, arriving at an appointment to find that my companion will be delayed and of course, I don't like waiting rooms．

　　However, I realize that my agony(痛苦)will not be good for me, as an increasingly, crowded world can only mean one thing－more waiting．

　　Owing to this, I have taken a measure and decided to turn my disappointment to productive ends．In short, I am looking for what I call "waiting in line books"．

　　These are books that contain material designed for being read in shortened words, so there is no extended story line to lose track of．Another requirement is that they be small enough to slip neatly into my back pocket．

　　The other day I went to the supermarket．Convinced that the rain would keep most people away, I was surprised to see that the place was crowded with shoppers．Every checkout was open－and jammed! But I could take out my pocket book and go to work．

　　The more the world demands that I wait, the more I learn from my waiting library．Look at these titles：One Hundred Things Every American Should Know; The Poetry of Robert Frost; Living Thoughts of Leading Thinkers; Still More Toasts．I have learned interesting and enriching things and much knowledge from these books．

　　On a recent visit to the general store, I placed my order at the counter along with six or seven other people．The one female employee seemed to have her hands full as she rushed about．"Just be patient," she said to me．

　　No problem．I quietly opened my dictionary of prose(散文)and poetical quotations．Perhaps the other customers regarded me as a bookish, lonely soul．But little did they realize that I was enjoying the company of Shakespeare, Thoreau, Homer and Ben Johnson．

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　　There is a long-held belief that when meeting someone, the more eye contact we have with the person, the better．The result is an unfortunate tendency for people making initial contact－in a job interview, for example－to stare fixedly at the other individual．However, this behavior is likely to make the interviewer feel very uncomfortable．Most of us are comfortable with eye contact lasting a few seconds．But eye contact which persists longer than that can make us nervous．

　　Another widely accepted belief is that powerful people in a society－often men－show their dominance over others by touching them in a variety of ways．In fact, research shows that in almost all cases, lower-status people initiate touch．Women also initiate(开始)touch more often than men do．

　　The belief that rapid speech and lying go together is also widespread and enduring．We react strongly－and suspiciously(怀疑地)－to fast talk．However, the opposite is a greater cause for suspicion．Speech that is slow, because it is laced(掺入)with pauses or errors, is a more reliable indicator of lying than the opposite．

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　　Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path．I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud．As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack．It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected．I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times．I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me．Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing．And I was laughing．After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!

　　Having stopped, laughing, I took a step forward．My attacker rushed me again．He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain．For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused．I wasn't sure what to do．After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly．I stepped back to look the situation over．My attacker moved back to land on the ground．That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier．He had a mate and she was dying．

　　Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her．I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate．He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate's sake(缘故), even though she was clearly dying and I was so large．He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her．His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety seemed admirable．I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool．He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed．

　　Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me．