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　　I bought 10 sets of Christmas china that were marked at 75 percent off plus an additional 10 percent．It was an amazing deal．When I got them home, I found they took half a closet to store．I already have nice china I can use at Christmas．I decided it wasn't worth it to me to use that much space for something that I would only use a couple of times in the year．I took them back and now I have more money in my checking account as well as some luxury towels I have wanted for a long time．I would have saved myself the time of taking the china back if I had figured out beforehand what I really wanted, but it is sometimes hard to decide at the moment．This experience helped me to realize that you can actually save time and money by passing up bargains．

　　The main advantage of getting things on sale is that you can afford luxuries that you can't afford at regular price．My Christmas tree is covered with beautiful handmade Santa Claus ornaments(装饰物)．I found them at a store about 15 months ago and fell in love with them．I imagined how beautiful they would look on my tree．I wanted to buy some, but they were ＄13.95 each．It didn't fit into our Christmas budget, so I gave up the idea．Through the next few months the price kept dropping until it went down to ＄2.95．When I saw that price, I bought 25 of them right away．I waited another nine months to put them on my tree, but in the end, I got exactly what I wanted for an excellent price．Instead of paying around ＄350, I ended up paying around ＄75．Patience paid off．

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　　Are undergraduate(大学生)grades important?Everyone knows that high marks earned at different schools or under different instructors can indicate very different levels of achievement．One professor may be a hard grader, while another is very generous or one who takes the whole business as a bit of joke．Some schools have high standards, whereas others don't．And at all universities there is a constant tendency towards grade inflation(giving ever more high marks)that is fought fiercely at some universities and allowed to go unchecked for long periods at others．

　　Another point raised against grades is that they hardly predict how much graduates will be earning 15 or 20 years after getting their degrees．As many studies have shown, there is only a very poor link between undergraduate's grades and future wealth．People who get good marks tend to go into professions, not all of which are highly paid．The link between undergraduate grades and success in business, the most common road to wealth, is in fact zero．Many ordinary students become successful businessmen, while some brilliant and capable graduates(creative youngster, not students with special skills in passing exams)take up relatively low paying but interesting or satisfying careers．The general population sees one thing very clearly that good grades don't translate in any direct way into big money, and for better or for worse, the standard of“success”for countless Americans is the possession of wealth．

　　The result is a certain modesty about good grades in America among those who get them．A student's parents may be proud of his marks, but seldom will the student himself risk being called a“grade-grubber”by drawing too much attention to his academic success．High marks are not something to be advertised to the world except on resumes(简历)，and anybody who is crazy about them is likely to be viewed with contempt(轻蔑)，not least by intelligent people．

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