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　　Nowroz：Iranian New Year or Nowroz is celebrated on the first day of spring sometime in March．People sing, dance and parade as in a carnival through the streets with drums and trumpets to spread the news of the coming new year．

　　Rosh Hashanah：The Jewish New Year is call ed “Rosh Hashanah”, and is celebrated in the month of September．It is a holy(神圣的)time when people think of the things they have done wrong in the past, and promise to do better in the future．Special prayers are held, and an instrument called a Shofar is played．Children are given new clothes, and New Year loaves are baked and fruits are served to remind people of harvest time．

　　Shogatsu：In Japan, the New Year(Shogatsu)celebrations are from January 1 to January 3 and most Japanese don't work during these days．In Japan, the New Year is a fresh start．This means that in December all duties should be completed．Parties are held to forget the worries and troubles of the old year．Homes and cars are decorated．On New Year's Eve, most people spend their time with their families．

　　Bahai New Year：The Bahai people have their own calendar consisting of nineteen months of nineteen days plus a couple of extra days between the eighteenth and nineteenth months．They have, however, adopted the Iranian custom of beginning the New Year in the spring equinox(春分)．The New Year celebrations are held on the evening of March 20th．

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　　In 1955, a man named Raymond Kroc together with two brothers named McDonald opened a popular restaurant in California which sold food that was easy to prepare and serve quickly．Hamburgers, French fries, and cold drinks were the main food there．Kroc opened similar eating places under the same name, “McDonald's”, and they were an instant success．He later took over the company, and today it is one of the most famous and successful “fast-food” in America and around the world．

　　Why was his idea successful? Probably the most important reason was that his timing was right．In the 1950s, most married women stayed home to keep house and take care of their children．In the 1960s, many women returned to the workplace．This meant that they had less time or energy to prepare meals, so they spent more on “ TV dinners ” and fast-food restaurants．Single parents also have little time to spend in the kitchen．People living alone also depend on this type of food, since cooking for one is often more trouble than it is worth．

　　Fast-food is not part of the diet of all Americans．Another trend of the 1960s, sometimes called the back-to-nature movement influenced many people to avoid food that was packaged(包装)or processed(处理)．This preference for natural food continued to this day．

　　From the success of Raymond Kroc's fast-food business, we can say that social economic trends influence where and what we eat．

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　　On a cold evening I was waiting for a taxi in New York．About 5 minutes later, I was picked up by a driver, and he said how terrible some people were．I knew there was a part of me that wanted to be silent, but I had to listen out of kindness．

　　The man told me that he had just come from JFK Airport without a customer．During the taxi ride, what started as anger changed slowly and he mentioned that he had read an article which said that the happiest people are the ones that give, so he hoped he'd have more chance to give in his life．I was really starting to enjoy being with this man．

　　As we arrived at the place where I wanted to go, I paid my money by credit card．I pulled out an extra ＄20 and said, “Sir, since we've been talking about giving this whole time, I want to share that feeling with you．I've already paid my money, but here's an extra little bit．You can tell the next passenger in this taxi that their ride is a gift from another．”

　　I thought I was pretty cool at this point, but he turned toward me, tears in his eyes, and said, “Sir, I have a better idea．You give that ＄20 to a homeless person around here and I will give the next passenger a free ride myself．

　　It was a great honor meeting that man and learning the lesson of how everyone gives and adds joy to another with their generosity．

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　　Le Whif, an inhaler(吸入剂)that allows chocolate lovers to meet their needs whenever they please without putting on weight, is to be on market in British stores．The invention, called the world's first breatheable food, lets consumers suck in the taste of chocolate or coffee while taking on less than one calorie．Its makers claim it will enable dieters to enjoy their favorite snacks without worrying about their waistline．

　　The lip-stick-style tube contains hundreds of milligrams of tiny food particles(粒子)which are small enough to be carried by air, but too large to enter the lungs．Each Le Whif contains enough flavor for about eight to ten whiffs(一阵气味)and costs ＄1.99 on its own, or ＄4.99 for a pack of three．The inhaler is available in chocolate as well as coffee flavor．

　　It was invented by Prof．David Edwards．He said Le Whif was not designed to replace food but could be used to increase dining experiences, such as allowing people to try a variety of dishes from restaurant menus before ordering their meal．

　　He said, “In terms of living on whiffing, we aren't even close to being there．But there clearly has been a revolution over the last few years where we are eating smaller amounts of food more frequently, and choosing food for its aesthetic(审美的)pleasure．We will be launching new whiffing experiences probably every six months．It is reasonable to predict that the next line of whiffing products will be even more health centered．”

　　The product came onto market in Paris in 2009 and the first production run of 25,000 inhalers were sold out within a month．It has since been made available across France and in the US．In Britain Le Whif is to be sold firstly in House of Fraser for a month, after which it could become more widely distributed．

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　　Many schools have established successful home visit programs．Home visits by teachers let parents and children know how much teachers care．Also, it is a way for teachers to learn more about their students , get the parents to pay more attention to their children's education and bridge cultural gaps that might exist between students and teachers．Most teachers report that their home visits have a lasting effect on the child, the parents and on parent-teacher communication．

　　The Head Start program has used home visits for many years．Head Start teachers are required to make at least two home visits for each student, regardless of their ability, during each school year in addition to regular parent-teacher conferences at school．Many U．S．kindergartens also require home visits by teachers before school starts．

　　The visit approach varies from school to school and usually depends on the funding the source．In some schools, teachers prefer to visit in pairs．They feel more comfortable that way and sometimes need a translator in order to communicate with a child's parents．Other teachers visit one-on-one with parents．Some interact with both the child and the parent．Many teachers may bring along learning activities for the child that also involve the parents participation．Normally, visits can last from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the teacher and the activities．

　　When teachers get to know their students and their students' families, the parents become more active in their children's education．Home visits, not unnecessary as some people think, can give teachers the ideas they need to help all students succeed．

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　　Angel Tree collects gifts for children and families in need．Participate by selecting an angel from any Angel Tree at all Cyprus Credit Union location or any Utah Macy's Department store．Shop for your angel, then return your new, unwrapped gift to the same Angel Tree．Gifts must be returned before December 14．

　　For more information, call(801)988-5678 in the Salt Lake area,(801)374-2588 in the Provo area．

　　The program serves primarily low-income adults with intellectual disabilities who don't qualify for other programs because of age limits, said Joyce Whalen, the association's board president．To donate, visit the association at 1326 S．2100 East from 9am to about 5：30 pm to choose an ornament that provides information about an individual who will benefit from the program．Shop for new items and return them by December 14．Donations of generic items, such as towels, socks and hygiene products also accepted, as are monetary donations．

　　For more information, call 801-440-1674．

　　The program seeks new gifts and cash donations to fulfill the holiday wishes of more than 1,000 children in state-licensed foster homes．" Many of the children in care have been removed from their biological homes because of neglect or abuse," said Nikki Mackay, the foundation's director．" Christmas can be a difficult time for them．"

　　To learn how to support the program, call 877-505-5437．

　　The program provides Christmas gifts for hundreds of patients with mental illness．In the history of the program-which may go back as far as 60 years, organizer Shawna Peterson said, "we've never had a forgotten patient．" And she doesn't want this year to change that．

　　To support the program, contact Peterson at 801-344-6088．

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　　I had to knock on the taxi to get his attention．Finally, the driver, a man about 60, looked up from behind the wheel and apologized, “I'm sorry, but I was reading a letter．” He sounded as if he had a cold or a cough．

　　Since I was in no hurry, I told him to finish his letter．He shook his head, explaining that he had already read it several times and almost knew it by heart．Curious, I asked whether it was from a child or maybe a grandchild．“This isn't family,” he replied．“though he might just as well have been a regular member of the family．Old Ed and I grew up together．”

　　They were always friends．But since he moved away from the neighborhood 30 years ago, it'd generally just been postcards at Christmas time between them．A couple of weeks ago, Ed died．“I should have kept in touch．” He repeated this, more to himself than to me．To comfort him, I said sometimes we just didn't seem to find the time．“But we used to find the time,” he said．“Take a look．” He handed the letter over to me．

　　The first sentence “I've been meaning to write for some time, but I've always delayed it．” reminded me of myself．It went on to say that he often thought about the good times they had had together．When I read the part where it said “Your friendship really means a lot to me, more than I can say because I'm not good at saying things like that”, I found myself nodding in agreement．

　　We had gone several kilometers and were almost at my hotel, so I read the last paragraph：“So I thought you'd like to know that I was thinking of you．” And it was ended with “Your Old Friend, Tom．”

　　“I thought your friend's name was Ed,” I said．

　　“I'm Tom,” he explained．“It's a letter I wrote to Ed before I knew he'd died．I never put it in the mailbox．I guess I should have written it sooner．” His face was pale as he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief．

　　When I got to my hotel room I didn't unpack right away．I had to write a letter and post it．

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　　When we speak of a basic human need we mean something which is necessary to life, something we cannot possibly do without．Food is a basic human need．Without it we would starve to death; but even if we have plenty of food, but of the wrong kind, our bodies will suffer from a lack of the right food．This is known as malnutrition．

　　In primitive countries, people want only the foods which can be grown near their homes, whereas we eat foods which are often grown many thousands of miles away from our homes．Just think of the different types of meat we cat, beef mutton, pork, chicken, turkey, goose, and rabbit．We could manage on a diet of one kind of meat, but how monotonous it would become! Even turkey, which most of us eat only at Christmas, would become monotonous(单调的)if we ate it every day．

　　Yet we cannot live on meat alone, and need other foods like bread and fruit to provide us with other essential nutrients which we need to keep our bodies healthy．

　　We can agree with primitive man that food is a basic need, but we differ：from him in our food wants because of．the wide variety of food we have available compared with him; we have a wider choice．Take fruit, for example, not only can we enjoy the fruits grown in this country, but because of modem methods of transport and food preservation, we can also enjoy the more exotic fruits from countries thousands of miles away, whereas primitive man, is limited in his choice to the kinds of fruit which actually grow where he lives．

　　However they differ in satisfying their hunger primitive and civilized men both experience the basic need for food．

　　The same is true of the second of our human needs．Clothing is necessary to regulate the heat of our bodies．Since we live：in a temperate climate we need more clothes than people living in tropic conditions．Likewise, our clothing needs to change with seasons．

　　Shelter, the third of our needs, depends upon the climate, the skill of the builder, one's social position, and the materials available．The simple shelter of the aboriginal would not do for US, and yet it satisfies his needs．The three bed roomed suburban house of the average family would not be grand enough for a rich family, and yet the modern house contains many of the material comforts which were denied to the kings and queens of old times．

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　　It has been more than 20 years since Bungon Rithiphakdee stood in the front-line of an unspoken war between influential tobacco companies and the tobacco control network, The crisis started in 1986, when the United States forced Thailand to open up its cigarette market．As a result, the Anti－Smoking Campaign Project(now Action on Smoking and Health Foundation Thailand)had to accelerate its multiple projects．

　　Bungon, who Was the project manager, dedicated herself to this job。She conducted research, created strong conducted research, created strong networks, cooperated with the media and created domestic and international alliances(联盟)．Bungon also started to look at neighboring countries that were facing similar problems, believing that working together would strengthen tobacco control in the region．She established the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance(SEATCA)．

　　Her main responsibility in the organization was to facilitate(使容易)sharing expertise(专业知识)and best practice, as well as to look for funds．SEATCA has four areas of responsibility：public policy development; capacity building for local partners; sharing best practice; and generating(生成)local evidence．

　　She believes that in order to promote health, you have to look into the social aspects of the problem．The number of people who die of tobacco-related diseases every year is increasing rapidly around the world．“Tobacco companies are only concerned with expanding their market for the sake of profit, although they are well aware of its deadly dangers, ” Bungon says．

　　Bungon received a prestigious award from the WHO(World Health Organization)in 2001．Though she．has reached the retirement age, she re, mains in the front line of the：endless war．“Cigarette producers are always active, and now they are employing new methods in order to expand their market, including influencing public policy and tobacco control legislation(法律), ”she says．“Despite all the problems, I always enjoy my work, backed up by the strong belief that I am doing the right thing for society．”

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