英语文摘

Bohemians and Hillbillies(FOR: rule 59)

2010-06-10T02:04:00.001-07:00

A few years ago, my friend Van Galbraith, a former U.S. ambassador to France, invited me to go with him and his friend Villiam F.Buckley,Jr. to the Bohemian Grove, and exclusive retreat in a large Sequoia forest near San Francisco. The Bohemian Clue operates "camps" for its members and their guests each summer, and I was lucky enough to join Van and Bill in the "Hillilly Camp."

Van and I had not seen each other in a while because I was in the midst of producing Crazy For You on Broadway, so he thought it would fun and interesting for us to get together at this place that was special to him. He also thought that the weekend would give me a chance to get to know Bill Buckley better, as we had gone to the same college but never spent any time together.

It truned out that our four days of togetherness made for wonderful bonding with my old friend Van and discovery of a new friend in Bill. Bill was entertaining, thoughtful, intelligent, well informed, and contrary to my presuppositions, very interested in other people's opinions.

The Bohemian Grove adventure was full of many interesting and lively discussions, and this shared experience that Van created for us enhanced my friendship with him and allowed me to form a new unexpected one with Bill, both of which continue to this day.

Become a matchmaker

2010-06-10T00:17:00.001-07:00

The most obvious connections are based on areas of mutual interest. If you have a friend who is passionate about his collection of Hopi pottery, it's an obvious step to introduce him to your archeologist friend who is researching the Hopi tribe. But keep in your mind that many a successful match is based on the theory that opposites attact. Perhaps your outdoorsy friend from work will make a connection with the poet who never leaves her house. Arrange for them to meet and be prepared for a surprise.

If you plan a one-on-one meeting for friends, it might b wise to keep the exposure limited. A quick coffee date or a lunch could be the appropriate venue. That way, if, Heaven forbid, they meet and discover an instant antipathy, they won't have to spend too much time in each other's company.

A group setting, like a dinner party, is another excellent way to introduce people to each other. Don't assume that your job is done when you send out the invitations. When you make introductions at the party, be sure to give these potential friends a basic for communication beyond small talk. In these situations, you are the connector and, therefore, have the obligation initiate the conversation.

--from "The art of friend",Roger Horchow & Sally Horchow.

Serviceman's Rulebook

2009-12-15T16:32:00.001-08:00

1.You are not a superman.

　　你不是超人。

　　2. If it＇s stupid but works, it isn＇t stupid.

　　如果一个蠢方法有效,那它就不是蠢方法。

　　3.Don＇t look conspicuous －－it draws fire.（This is why aircraft
carriers are called″Bomb Mag nets″.）

　　不要太显眼,因为那会引人攻击（这就是航母被称为"炸弹磁铁"的原因）。

　　4.Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you are.

　　别和比你勇敢的战友躲在同一个弹坑里。

　　5.Never forget that the lowest bidder made your weapon.

　　别忘了你手上的武器是由出价最低的承包商制造的。

　　6. If your attack is going really well, it＇s an ambush.

　　如果你的攻击进行得很顺利,那一定是中了圈套。

　　7. No plan survives the first contact intact.

　　没有任何计划能在遇敌后继续执行。

　　8.All five －second grenade fuses will burn down in three seconds.

　　所有5秒的手榴弹引线都会在3秒内烧完。

　　9.Try to look unimportant because bad guys may be low on ammo.

　　装成无关紧要的人,因为敌人的弹药可能不够了（所以他会先打重要的人）。

　　10.The enemy diversion you are ignoring is the main attack.

　　那支你不加注意的敌军部队其实是攻击的主力。

　　11.The important things are always simple.

　　重要的事总是简单的。

　　12.The simple things are always hard.

　　简单的事总是难以做到。

　　13.The easy way is always mined.

　　好走的路总会被布雷。

　　14. If you are short of everything except enemy, you are in combat.

　　如果你除了敌人以外什么都缺,那你一定是在交战中。

　　15.Incoming fire has the right of way.

　　来的子弹有优先通行权（挡它的道你就倒大霉啦）。

　　16. If the enemy is in range, SO ARE YOU！

　　如果敌人在你的射程内,别忘了,你也在他的射程内。

　　17.Body count mathis：two guerillas plus two cats＝37en emies killed in action.

　　歼敌数计算法：两名游击队员加两只猫,本次战斗共毙敌37人。

　　18.Things that must be together to work usually can＇t be shipped together.

　　要一起用才能生效的装备通常不会一起运来。

　　19.Radio＇s will fail as soon as you need fire support desper�ately.

　　无线电总会在你急需火力支援时断掉。

　　20.Anything you do can get you shot －－including doing noth�ing.

　　你做的任何事都可能令你挨枪子儿―――什么都不做也一样。

　　21.The only thing more accu�rate than incoming enemy fire is
incoming friendly fire.

　　惟一比敌方炮火还准确（而且会杀掉你的）是友军的炮火。

　　22.Professional soldiers are predictable but the world is full of amateurs.

　　专业的士兵的行为是可以预测的,但世上却充满了菜鸟。

Isolated Haven: A Tale of the Fountain of the Peach Blossom Spring

2009-12-08T17:06:00.001-08:00

A Tale of the Fountain of the Peach Blossom Spring

In the year of Taiyuan[1] of the Jin Dynasty, there lived a man in Wuling[2] jun who earned his living by fishing.

One day, he rowed his boat along a stream, unaware of how far he had gone when all of a sudden, he found himself in the midst of a wood full of peach blossoms. The wood extended several hundred footsteps along both banks of the stream. There were no trees of other kinds. The lush grass was fresh and beautiful and peach petals fell in riotous profusion.

The fisherman was so curious that he rowed on, in hopes of discovering where the trees ended. At the end of the wood was the fountainhead of the stream. The fisherman beheld a hill, with a small opening from which issued a glimmer of light.

He stepped ashore to explore the crevice. His first steps took him into a passage that accommodated only the width of one person. After he progressed about scores of paces, it suddenly widened into an open field.

The land was flat and spacious. There were houses arranged in good order with fertile fields, beautiful ponds, bamboo groves, mulberry trees and paths crisscrossing the fields in all directions. The crowing of cocks and the barking of dogs were within everyone's earshot. In the fields the villagers were busy with farm work. Men and women were dressed like people outside. They all, old and young, appeared happy.

They were surprised at seeing the fisherman, who, being asked where he came from, answered their every question. Then they invited him to visit their homes, killed chickens, and served wine to entertain him. As the words of his arrival spread, the entire village turned out to greet him.

They told him that their ancestors had come to this isolated haven, bringing their families and the village people, to escape from the turmoil during the Qin Dynasty and that from then onwards, they had been cut off from the outside world. They were curious to know what dynasty it was now. They did not know the Han Dynasty, not to mention the Wei and the Jin dynasties.

The fisherman told them all the things they wanted to know. They sighed. The villagers offered him one feast after another. They entertained him with wine and delicious food.

After several days, the fisherman took his leave. The village people entreated him not to let others know of their existence. Once out, the fisherman found his boat and rowed homeward, leaving marks all the way. When he came back to the jun, he reported his adventure to the prefect, who immediately sent people to look for the place, with the fisherman as a guide. However, the marks he had left could no longer be found. They got lost and could not find the way.

Liu Ziji of Nanyang[3] jun, a learned scholar of high repute, was excited when he heard the fisherman's story. He devised a plan to find the village, but it was not carried out. Liu died soon afterwards, and after his death, no one else made any attempt to find it.

Notes:

1. Taiyuan was the title of the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (376－396).

2. Wuling is today's Changde City, Hunan Province.

3. Nanyang is today's Nanyang City, Henan Province.

About the author:

Tao Yuanming (365－427) was a great poet during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and was born in Jiujiang County, Jiangxi Province. Dissatisfied with the politics of his time, he resigned from his post as magistrate of Pengze County. He retired to his home village and lived there for the next twenty-three years till his death. This piece of writing is regarded as one of the earliest pieces about Utopianism in Chinese literature.

桃花源记

晋太元中，武陵人捕鱼为业；缘溪行，忘路之远近。忽逢桃花林。夹岸数百步，中无杂树，芳草鲜美，落英缤纷，渔人甚异之。复前行，欲穷其林。林尽水源，便得一山。山有小口，仿佛若有光，便舍船从口入。初极狭，才通人。复行数十步，豁然开朗。土地平旷，屋舍俨然，有良田、美池、桑竹之属，阡陌交通，鸡犬相闻。其中往来种作，男女衣着，悉如外人；黄发垂髫，并怡然自乐。见渔人，乃大惊，问所从来，具答之。便要还家，设酒杀鸡作食。村中闻有其人，咸来问讯。自云先世避秦时乱，率妻、子、邑人来此绝境，不复出焉，遂与外人间隔。问今是何世，乃不知有汉，无论魏晋。此人一一为具言所闻，皆叹惋。余人各复延至其家，皆出酒食。停数日，辞去。此中人语云：“不足为外人道也。” 既出，得其船，便扶向路，处处志之。及郡下，诣太守说如此。太守即遣人随其往，寻向所志，遂迷不复得路。南阳刘子骥，高尚士也。闻之，欣然规往，未果，寻病终。后遂无问津者。

关于译者：罗经国，1930年生，上海人。先后肄业于圣约翰大学、清华大学，1955年北京大学英语系毕业，1961年北京大学研究生毕业，1978至1980年在美国任访问学者。自1961年起长期在北京大学英语系任教，讲授过“欧洲文学”、“英国文学选读”、“19世纪英国文学”、“20世纪英国文学” 等课程。曾先后任杨周翰等主编的两卷集《欧洲文学史》（1964，1971）的主要编者和李赋宁任总主编的四卷集《欧洲文学史》（1999）的第一卷主编。著作有《新编英国文学选读》、《狄更斯的创作》等，译作有四卷集的《世界文明史》、《人造人的故事》等。现为北京大学退休教授。 1. 又译《《德臣西报》或《中国邮报》。 2.《京报》是晚清政府出版的中文期刊，以登载政府公告为主，常被近代中国外文报刊翻译转载.

英语作文中一定会用到的谚语60条

2009-07-12T20:40:00.001-07:00

1.Burn one's bridges. 破釜沉舟.背水一战

2.Great minds think alike. 英雄所见略同

3.No news is good news. 没有消息就是好消息

4.One picture is worth a thousand words.
(One eyewitness is better than ten hearsays.)
百闻不如一见

5.Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
(Nothing brave, nothing have.) 不入虎穴,焉得虎子

6.Life is full of ups and downs. 生活充满起伏

7.It's no use crying over spilt milk. 覆水难收

8.Hunger is the best sauce. 饥饿是最好的调味品

9.Better late than never. 迟做总比不做好.

10.God helps those who help themselves.
天助自助者.

11.Love me, love my dog. 爱屋及乌

12.Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
小鸡孵出之后才算数

13.He bites off than her can chew.
(The eye is bigger than the belly.) 贪多嚼不烂

14.Everyone has a skeleton in his closet.
人人都有不可告人之事

15.To teach a fish how to swim. 班门弄斧.

16.Rome wasn't built in a day. 伟业非一日建成

17.Well begun, half done. 好的开始,成功了一半

18.Every cloud has a silver lining.
乌云背后是银边

19.Look before you leap. 三思而后行

20.Birds of a feather flock together. 物以类聚

21.A little knowledge is dangerous.
一知半解最危险

22.Clothes make the man. 人要衣装.佛要金装

23.A good medicine tastes bitter. 良药苦口.

24.History repeats itself. 历史会重演

25.strike while the iron is hot. 趁热打铁

26.as poor as a church mouse. 穷得一文不名

27.Where there's smoke, there's fire.
无风不起浪.事出必有因

28.A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
千里之行始于足下

29.A rolling stone gathers no moss.
滚石不生苔.转业不聚财

30.Many hands make light work. 人多好做事.

31.A miss is as good as a mile. 失之毫厘,差之千里.

32.A friend in need is a friend indeed.
患难见真情.

33.A bad beginning makes a bad ending.
不善始者不善终.

34.A young idler, an old beggar.
少壮不努力,老大徒伤悲.

35.Do as the Romans do. 入乡随俗.

36.Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there.
有心栽花花不发,无心插柳柳成荫.

37.Misfortunes never come alone. 祸不单行.

38.Never too old to learn, never too late to turn.
亡羊补牢,为时未晚.

39.No one can call back yesterday. 昨日不会重现.

40.No sweet without sweat. 先苦后甜.

41.Still water run deep. 静水流深.

42.The pot calls the kettle black. 五十步笑百步.

43.The water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it up.
水能载舟,亦能覆舟.

44.Think twice before you do. 三思而后行.

45.Time tries all. 路遥知马力,日久见人心.

46.To save time is to lengthen life.
节约时间就是延长生命.

47.Troubles never come singly. 福无双至,祸不单行.

48.Water dropping day by day wears the hardest rock away.
滴水穿石.

49.When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
入国问禁,入乡随俗.

50.Where there is life, there is hope.
留得青山在,不怕没柴烧.

51.Although the sun shine, leave not your cloak at home.
未雨绸缪.

52.So said, so done. 说到做到,言出必行.

53.No weal without woe. 福兮祸所伏,祸兮福所倚.

54.We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.
井干方知水珍贵

55.Sharpening your axe will not delay your job of cutting wood.
磨刀不误砍柴功.

56.Where there is s will，there is a way.
有志者事竟成.

57.The weather and the life are both unpredictable.
天有不测风云,人有旦夕祸福.

58.There is not any advantage without disadvantage.
有一利必有一弊.

59.You cannot have your cake and eat it too.
鱼与熊掌,不可得兼.

60.Childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day.
看人看年少,看天看破晓.

转自：http://www.douban.com/note/38695802/

弄错会很丢脸的英文

2009-06-30T21:41:00.001-07:00

1、日常用语类

　　lover 情人（不是"爱人"）
　　busboy 餐馆勤杂工（不是"公汽售票员"）
　　busybody 爱管闲事的人（不是"大忙人"）
　　dry goods （美）纺织品；（英）谷物（不是"干货"）
　　heartman 换心人（不是"有心人"）
　　mad doctor 精神病科医生（不是"发疯的医生"）
　　eleventh hour 最后时刻（不是"十一点"）
　　blind date （由第三者安排的）男女初次会面（并非"盲目约会"或"瞎约会"）
　　dead president 美钞（上印有总统头像）（并非"死了的总统"）
　　personal remark 人身攻击（不是"个人评论"）
　　sweet water 淡水（不是"糖水"或"甜水"）
　　confidence man 骗子（不是"信得过的人"）
　　criminal lawyer 刑事律师（不是"犯罪的律师"）
　　service station 加油站（不是"服务站"）
　　rest room 厕所（不是"休息室"）
　　dressing room 化妆室（不是"试衣室"或"更衣室"）
　　sporting house 妓院（不是"体育室"）
　　horse sense 常识（不是"马的感觉"）
　　capital idea 好主意（不是"资本主义思想"）
　　familiar talk 庸俗的交谈（不是"熟悉的谈话"）
　　black tea 红茶（不是"黑茶"）
　　black art 妖术（不是"黑色艺术"）
　　black stranger 完全陌生的人（不是"陌生的黑人"）
　　white coal （作动力来源用的）水（不是"白煤"）
　　white man 忠实可靠的人（不是"皮肤白的人"）
　　yellow book 黄皮书（法国政府报告书，以黄纸为封）（不是"黄色书籍"）
　　red tape 官僚习气（不是"红色带子"）
　　green hand 新手（不是"绿手"）
　　blue stocking 女学者、女才子（不是"蓝色长统袜"）
　　China policy 对华政策（不是"中国政策"）
　　Chinese dragon 麒麟（不是"中国龙"）
　　American beauty 红蔷薇（不是"美国美女"）
　　English disease 软骨病（不是"英国病"）
　　Indian summer 愉快宁静的晚年（不是"印度的夏日"）
　　Greek gift 害人的礼品（不是"希腊礼物"）
　　Spanish athlete 吹牛的人（不是"西班牙运动员"）
　　French chalk 滑石粉（不是"法国粉笔"）

　　2.成语类

　　pull one's leg 开玩笑（不是"拉后腿"）
　　in one's birthday suit 赤身裸体（不是"穿着生日礼服"）
　　eat one's words 收回前言（不是"食言"）
　　an apple of love 西红柿（不是"爱情之果"）
　　handwriting on the wall 不祥之兆（不是"大字报"）
　　bring down the house 博得全场喝彩（不是"推倒房子"）
　　have a fit 勃然大怒（不是"试穿"）
　　make one's hair stand on end 令人毛骨悚然―恐惧（不是"令人发指――气愤"）
　　be taken in 受骗，上当（不是"被接纳"）
　　think a great deal of oneself 高看或看重自己（不是"为自己想得很多"）
　　pull up one's socks 鼓起勇气（不是"提上袜子"）
　　have the heart to do （用于否定句）忍心做……不是"有心做"或"有意做"）

　　3.表达方式类

　　Look out! 当心！（不是"向外看"）
　　What a shame! 多可惜！真遗憾！（不是"多可耻"）
　　You don't say! 是吗！（不是"你别说"）
　　You can say that again! 说得好！（不是"你可以再说一遍"）
　　I haven't slept better. 我睡得好极了。（不是"我从未睡过好觉"）
　　You can't be too careful in your work. 你工作越仔细越好。（不是"你工作不能太仔细"）
　　It has been 4 years since I smoked. 我戒烟４年了。（不是"我抽烟4年了"）
　　All his friends did not turn up. 他的朋友没全到。（不是"他的朋友全没到"）
　　People will be long forgetting her. 人们在很长时间内会记住她的。（不是"人们会永远忘记她"）
　　He was only too pleased to let them go. 他很乐意让他们走。（不是"他太高兴了，不愿让他们走"）
　　It can't be less interesting. 它无聊极了。（不是"它不可能没有趣"）

转自：http://www.douban.com/group/topic/5090730/

POEM: To Realize The Value of Time...

2009-06-29T19:55:00.001-07:00

To realize the value of one year:
Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of one minute:
Ask the person who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize the value of one second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more when you share it with someone special.

from:http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/value_of_time.htm

朱棣文在哈佛大学毕业典礼上的演讲（中英文）

2009-06-28T22:58:00.001-07:00

朱棣文简介：美籍华人、美国能源部长、诺贝尔奖获得者。

本文转自：
http://www.ruanyifeng.com/blog/2009/06/remarks_of_stenven_chu_in_harvard_commencement_2009.html

====
Madam President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the
Board of Overseers, faculty, family, friends, and, most importantly,
today's graduates,

Thank you for letting me share this wonderful day with you.

I am not sure I can live up to the high standards of Harvard
Commencement speakers. Last year, J.K. Rowling, the billionaire
novelist, who started as a classics student, graced this podium. The
year before, Bill Gates, the mega-billionaire philanthropist and
computer nerd stood here. Today, sadly, you have me. I am not wealthy,
but at least I am a nerd.

I am grateful to receive an honorary degree from Harvard, an honor
that means more to me than you might care to imagine. You see, I was
the academic black sheep of my family. My older brother has an
M.D./Ph.D. from MIT and Harvard while my younger brother has a law
degree from Harvard. When I was awarded a Nobel Prize, I thought my
mother would be pleased. Not so. When I called her on the morning of
the announcement, she replied, "That's nice, but when are you going to
visit me next." Now, as the last brother with a degree from Harvard,
maybe, at last, she will be satisfied.

Another difficulty with giving a Harvard commencement address is that
some of you may disapprove of the fact that I have borrowed material
from previous speeches. I ask that you forgive me for two reasons.

First, in order to have impact, it is important to deliver the same
message more than once. In science, it is important to be the first
person to make a discovery, but it is even more important to be the
last person to make that discovery.

Second, authors who borrow from others are following in the footsteps
of the best. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who graduated from Harvard at the
age of 18, noted "All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients."
Picasso declared "Good artists borrow. Great artists steal." Why
should commencement speakers be held to a higher standard?

I also want to point out the irony of speaking to graduates of an
institution that would have rejected me, had I the chutzpah to apply.
I am married to "Dean Jean," the former dean of admissions at
Stanford. She assures me that she would have rejected me, if given the
chance. When I showed her a draft of this speech, she objected
strongly to my use of the word "rejected." She never rejected
applicants; her letters stated that "we are unable to offer you
admission." I have difficulty understanding the difference. After all,
deans of admissions of highly selective schools are in reality, "deans
of rejection." Clearly, I have a lot to learn about marketing.

My address will follow the classical sonata form of commencement
addresses. The first movement, just presented, were light-hearted
remarks. This next movement consists of unsolicited advice, which is
rarely valued, seldom remembered, never followed. As Oscar Wilde said,
"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never
of any use to oneself." So, here comes the advice. First, every time
you celebrate an achievement, be thankful to those who made it
possible. Thank your parents and friends who supported you, thank your
professors who were inspirational, and especially thank the other
professors whose less-than-brilliant lectures forced you to teach
yourself. Going forward, the ability to teach yourself is the hallmark
of a great liberal arts education and will be the key to your success.
To your fellow students who have added immeasurably to your education
during those late night discussions, hug them. Also, of course, thank
Harvard. Should you forget, there's an alumni association to remind
you. Second, in your future life, cultivate a generous spirit. In all
negotiations, don't bargain for the last, little advantage. Leave the
change on the table. In your collaborations, always remember that
"credit" is not a conserved quantity. In a successful collaboration,
everybody gets 90 percent of the credit.

Jimmy Stewart, as Elwood P. Dowd in the movie "Harvey" got it exactly
right. He said: "Years ago my mother used to say to me, 'In this
world, Elwood, you must be … she always used to call me Elwood … in
this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.'" Well,
for years I was smart. ... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me on
that.

My third piece of advice is as follows: As you begin this new stage of
your lives, follow your passion. If you don't have a passion, don't be
satisfied until you find one. Life is too short to go through it
without caring deeply about something. When I was your age, I was
incredibly single-minded in my goal to be a physicist. After college,
I spent eight years as a graduate student and postdoc at Berkeley, and
then nine years at Bell Labs. During that my time, my central focus
and professional joy was physics.

Here is my final piece of advice. Pursuing a personal passion is
important, but it should not be your only goal. When you are old and
gray, and look back on your life, you will want to be proud of what
you have done. The source of that pride won't be the things you have
acquired or the recognition you have received. It will be the lives
you have touched and the difference you have made.

After nine years at Bell labs, I decided to leave that warm, cozy
ivory tower for what I considered to be the "real world," a
university. Bell Labs, to quote what was said about Mary Poppins, was
"practically perfect in every way," but I wanted to leave behind
something more than scientific articles. I wanted to teach and give
birth to my own set of scientific children.

Ted Geballe, a friend and distinguished colleague of mine at Stanford,
who also went from Berkeley to Bell Labs to Stanford years earlier,
described our motives best:

"The best part of working at a university is the students. They come
in fresh, enthusiastic, open to ideas, unscarred by the battles of
life. They don't realize it, but they're the recipients of the best
our society can offer. If a mind is ever free to be creative, that's
the time. They come in believing textbooks are authoritative, but
eventually they figure out that textbooks and professors don't know
everything, and then they start to think on their own. Then, I begin
learning from them."

My students, post doctoral fellows, and the young researchers who
worked with me at Bell Labs, Stanford, and Berkeley have been
extraordinary. Over 30 former group members are now professors, many
at the best research institutions in the world, including Harvard. I
have learned much from them. Even now, in rare moments on weekends,
the remaining members of my biophysics group meet with me in the ether
world of cyberspace.

I began teaching with the idea of giving back; I received more than I
gave. This brings me to the final movement of this speech. It begins
with a story about an extraordinary scientific discovery and a new
dilemma that it poses. It's a call to arms and about making a
difference.

In the last several decades, our climate has been changing. Climate
change is not new: the Earth went through six ice ages in the past
600,000 years. However, recent measurements show that the climate has
begun to change rapidly. The size of the North Polar Ice Cap in the
month of September is only half the size it was a mere 50 years ago.
The sea level which been rising since direct measurements began in
1870 at a rate that is now five times faster than it was at the
beginning of recorded measurements. Here's the remarkable scientific
discovery. For the first time in human history, science is now making
predictions of how our actions will affect the world 50 and 100 years
from now. These changes are due to an increase in carbon dioxide put
into the atmosphere since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
The Earth has warmed up by roughly 0.8 degrees Celsius since the
beginning of the Revolution. There is already approximately a 1 degree
rise built into the system, even if we stop all greenhouse gas
emissions today. Why? It will take decades to warm up the deep oceans
before the temperature reaches a new equilibrium.

If the world continues on a business-as-usual path, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that there is a
fifty-fifty chance the temperature will exceed 5 degrees by the end of
this century. This increase may not sound like much, but let me remind
you that during the last ice age, the world was only 6 degrees colder.
During this time, most of Canada and the United States down to Ohio
and Pennsylvania were covered year round by a glacier. A world 5
degrees warmer will be very different. The change will be so rapid
that many species, including Humans, will have a hard time adapting.
I've been told for example, that, in a much warmer world, insects were
bigger. I wonder if this thing buzzing around is a precursor.

We also face the specter of nonlinear "tipping points" that may cause
much more severe changes. An example of a tipping point is the thawing
of the permafrost. The permafrost contains immense amounts of frozen
organic matter that have been accumulating for millennia. If the soil
melts, microbes will spring to life and cause this debris to rot. The
difference in biological activity below freezing and above freezing is
something we are all familiar with. Frozen food remains edible for a
very long time in the freezer, but once thawed, it spoils quickly. How
much methane and carbon dioxide might be released from the rotting
permafrost? If even a fraction of the carbon is released, it could be
greater than all the greenhouse gases we have released to since the
beginning of the industrial revolution. Once started, a runaway effect
could occur.

The climate problem is the unintended consequence of our success. We
depend on fossil energy to keep our homes warm in the winter, cool in
the summer, and lit at night; we use it to travel across town and
across continents. Energy is a fundamental reason for the prosperity
we enjoy, and we will not surrender this prosperity. The United States
has 3 percent of the world population, and yet, we consume 25 percent
of the energy. By contrast, there are 1.6 billion people who don't
have access to electricity. Hundreds of millions of people still cook
with twigs or dung. The life we enjoy may not be within the reach of
the developing world, but it is within sight, and they want what we
have.

Here is the dilemma. How much are we willing to invest, as a world
society, to mitigate the consequences of climate change that will not
be realized for at least 100 years? Deeply rooted in all cultures, is
the notion of generational responsibility. Parents work hard so that
their children will have a better life. Climate change will affect the
entire world, but our natural focus is on the welfare of our immediate
families. Can we, as a world society, meet our responsibility to
future generations?

While I am worried, I am hopeful we will solve this problem. I became
the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in part
because I wanted to enlist some of the best scientific minds to help
battle against climate change. I was there only four and a half years,
the shortest serving director in the 78-year history of the Lab, but
when I left, a number of very exciting energy institutes at the
Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley had been established.

I am extremely privileged to be part of the Obama administration. If
there ever was a time to help steer America and the world towards a
path of sustainable energy, now is the time. The message the President
is delivering is not one of doom and gloom, but of optimism and
opportunity. I share this optimism. The task ahead is daunting, but we
can and will succeed.

We know some of the answers already. There are immediate and
significant savings in energy efficiency and conservation. Energy
efficiency is not just low-hanging fruit; it is fruit lying on the
ground. For example, we have the potential to make buildings 80
percent more efficient with investments that will pay for themselves
in less than 15 years. Buildings consume 40 percent of the energy we
use, and a transition to energy efficient buildings will cut our
carbon emissions by one-third.

We are revving up the remarkable American innovation machine that will
be the basis of a new American prosperity. We will invent much
improved methods to harness the sun, the wind, nuclear power, and
capture and sequester the carbon dioxide emitted from our power
plants. Advanced bio-fuels and the electrification of personal
vehicles make us less dependent on foreign oil.

In the coming decades, we will almost certainly face higher oil prices
and be in a carbon-constrained economy. We have the opportunity to
lead in development of a new, industrial revolution. The great hockey
player, Wayne Gretzky, when asked, how he positions himself on the
ice, he replied," I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where
it's been." America should do the same.

The Obama administration is laying a new foundation for a prosperous
and sustainable energy future, but we don't have all of the answers.
That's where you come in. In this address, I am asking you, the
Harvard graduates, to join us. As our future intellectual leaders,
take the time to learn more about what's at stake, and then act on
that knowledge. As future scientists and engineers, I ask you to give
us better technology solutions. As future economists and political
scientists, I ask you to create better policy options. As future
business leaders, I ask that you make sustainability an integral part
of your business.

Finally, as humanists, I ask that you speak to our common humanity.
One of the cruelest ironies about climate change is that the ones who
will be hurt the most are the most innocent: the worlds poorest and
those yet to be born.

The coda to this last movement is borrowed from two humanists.

The first quote is from Martin Luther King. He spoke on ending the war
in Vietnam in 1967, but his message seems so fitting for today's
climate crisis:

"This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern
beyond one's tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for
an all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind. This oft
misunderstood, this oft misinterpreted concept, so readily dismissed
by the Nietzsches of the world as a weak and cowardly force, has now
become an absolute necessity for the survival of man … We are now
faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are
confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum
of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late."

The final message is from William Faulkner. On December 10th, 1950,
his Nobel Prize banquet speech was about the role of humanists in a
world facing potential nuclear holocaust.

"I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is
immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible
voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and
sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write
about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting
his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and
pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory
of his past."

Graduates, you have an extraordinary role to play in our future. As
you pursue your private passions, I hope you will also develop a
passion and a voice to help the world in ways both large and small.
Nothing will give you greater satisfaction.

Please accept my warmest congratulations. May you prosper, may you
help preserve and save our planet for your children, and all future
children of the world.

尊敬的Faust校长，哈佛集团的各位成员，监管理事会的各位理事，各位老师，各位家长，各位朋友，以及最重要的各位毕业生同学，

感谢你们，让我有机会同你们一起分享这个美妙的日子。

我不太肯定，自己够得上哈佛大学毕业典礼演讲人这样的殊荣。去年登上这个讲台的是，英国亿万身家的小说家J.K.
Rowling女士，她最早是一个古典文学的学生。前年站在这里的是比尔?盖茨先生，他是一个超级富翁、一个慈善家和电脑高手。今年很遗憾，你们的演讲人是我，虽然我不是很有钱，但是至少我也算一个高手。

我很感激哈佛大学给我荣誉学位，这对我很重要，也许比你们会想到的还要重要。要知道，在学术上，我是我们家的不肖之子。我的哥哥在麻省理工学院得到医学博士，在哈佛大学得到哲学博士；我的弟弟在哈佛大学得到一个法律学位。我本人得到诺贝尔奖的时候，我想我的妈妈会高兴。但是，我错了。消息公布的那天早上，我给她打电话，她听了只说："这是好消息，不过我想知道，你下次什么时候来看我？"如今在我们兄弟当中，我最终也拿到了哈佛学位，我想这一次，她会感到满意。

在哈佛大学毕业典礼上发表演讲，还有一个难处，那就是你们中有些人可能有意见，不喜欢我重复前人演讲中说过的话。我要求你们谅解我，因为两个理由。

首先，为了产生影响力，很重要的方法就是重复传递同样的信息。在科学中，第一个发现者是重要的，但是在得到公认前，最后一个将这个发现重复做出来的人也许更重要。

其次，一个借鉴他人的作者，正走在一条前人开辟的最佳道路上。哈佛大学毕业生、诗人爱默生曾经写下："古人把我最好的一些思想都偷走了。"画家毕加索宣称"优秀的艺术家借鉴，伟大的艺术家偷窃。"那么为什么毕业典礼的演说者，就不适用同样的标准呢？

我还要指出一点，向哈佛毕业生发表演说，对我来说是有讽刺意味的，因为如果当年我斗胆向哈佛大学递交入学申请，一定会被拒绝。我的妻子Jean当过斯坦福大学的招生主任，她向我保证，如果当年我申请斯坦福大学，她会拒绝我。我把这篇演讲的草稿给她过目，她强烈反对我使用"拒绝"这个词，她从来不拒绝任何申请者。在拒绝信中，她总是写："我们无法提供你入学机会。"我分不清两者到底有何差别。在我看来，那些大热门学校的招生主任与其称为"准许你入学的主任"，还不如称为"拒绝你入学的主任"。很显然，我需要好好学学怎么来推销自己。

毕业典礼演讲都遵循古典奏鸣曲的结构，我的演讲也不例外。刚才是第一乐章――轻快的闲谈。接下来的第二乐章是送上门的忠告。这样的忠告很少被重视，几乎注定被忘记，永远不会被实践。但是，就像王尔德说的："对于忠告，你所能做的，就是把它送给别人，因为它对你没有任何用处。"所以，下面就是我的忠告。第一，取得成就的时候，不要忘记前人。要感谢你的父母和支持你的朋友，要感谢那些启发过你的教授，尤其要感谢那些上不好课的教授，因为他们迫使你自学。从长远看，自学能力是优秀的文理教育中必不可少的，将成为你成功的关键。你还要去拥抱你的同学，感谢他们同你进行过的许多次彻夜长谈，这为你的教育带来了无法衡量的价值。当然，你还要感谢哈佛大学。不过即使你忘了这一点，校友会也会来提醒你。第二，在你们未来的人生中，做一个慷慨大方的人。在任何谈判中，都把最后一点点利益留给对方。不要把桌上的钱都拿走。在合作中，要牢记荣誉不是一个守恒的量。成功合作的任何一方，都应获得全部荣誉的90%。

电影《Harvey》中，Jimmy Stewart扮演的角色Elwood P.
Dowd，就完全理解这一点。他说："多年前，母亲曾经对我说，'Elwood，活在这个世界上，你要么做一个聪明人，要么做一个好人。'"我做聪明人，已经做了好多年了。……但是，我推荐你们做好人。你们可以引用我这句话。

我的第三个忠告是，当你开始生活的新阶段时，请跟随你的爱好。如果你没有爱好，就去找，找不到就不罢休。生命太短暂，如果想有所成，你必须对某样东西倾注你的深情。我在你们这个年龄，是超级的一根筋，我的目标就是非成为物理学家不可。本科毕业后，我在加州大学伯克利分校又待了8年，读完了研究生，做完了博士后，然后去贝尔实验室待了9年。在这些年中，我关注的中心和职业上的全部乐趣，都来自物理学。

我还有最后一个忠告，就是说兴趣爱好固然重要，但是你不应该只考虑兴趣爱好。当你白发苍苍、垂垂老矣、回首人生时，你需要为自己做过的事感到自豪。你的物质生活和得到的承认，都不会产生自豪。只有那些你出手相助、被你改变过的人和事，才会让你产生自豪。

在贝尔实验室待了9年后，我决定离开这个温暖舒适的象牙塔，走进我眼中的"真实世界"――大学。我对贝尔实验室的看法，就像别人形容电影Mary
Poppins的话，"实际上完美无缺"。但是，我想为世界留下更多的东西，不只是科学论文。我要去教书，培育我自己在科学上的后代。

我在斯坦福大学有一个好友兼杰出同事Ted Geballe。他也是从伯克利分校去了贝尔实验室，几年前又离开贝尔实验室去了斯坦福大学。他对我们的动机做出了最佳描述：

"在大学工作，最大的优点就是学生。他们生机勃勃，充满热情，思想自由，还没被生活的重压改变。虽然他们自己没有意识到，但是他们是这个社会中你能找到的最佳受众。如果生命中曾经有过思想自由和充满创造力的时期，那么那个时期就是你在读大学。进校时，学生们对课本上的一字一句毫不怀疑，渐渐地，他们发现课本和教授并不是无所不知的，于是他们开始独立思考。从那时起，就是我开始向他们学习了。"

我教过的学生、带过的博士后、合作过的年轻同事，都非常优秀。他们中有30多人，现在已经是教授了。他们所在的研究机构有不少是全世界第一流的，其中就包括哈佛大学。我从他们身上学到了很多东西。即使现在，我偶尔还会周末上网，向现在还从事生物物理学研究的学生请教。

我怀着回报社会的想法，开始了教学生涯。我的一生中，得到的多于我付出的，所以我要回报社会。这就引出了这次演讲的最后一个乐章。首先我要讲一个了不起的科学发现，以及由此带来的新挑战。它是一个战斗的号令，到了做出改变的时候了。

过去几十年中，我们的气候一直在发生变化。气候变化并不是现在才有的，过去60万年中就发生了6次冰河期。但是，现在的测量表明气候变化加速了。北极冰盖在9月份的大小，只相当于50年前的一半。1870年起，人们开始测量海平面上升的速度，现在的速度是那时的5倍。一个重大的科学发现就这样产生了。科学第一次在人类历史上，预测出我们的行为对50~100年后的世界有何影响。这些变化的原因是，从工业革命开始，人类排放到大气中的二氧化碳增加
了。这使得地球的平均气温上升了0.8摄氏度。即使我们立刻停止所有温室气体的排放，气温仍然将比过去上升大约1度。因为在气温达到均衡前，海水温度的上升将持续几十年。

如果全世界保持现在的经济模式不变，联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）预测，本世纪末将有50%的可能，气温至少上升5度。这听起来好像不多，但是让我来提醒你，上一次的冰河期，地球的气温也仅仅只下降了6度。那时，俄亥俄州和宾夕法尼亚州以北的大部分美国和加拿大的土地，都终年被冰川覆盖。气温上升5度的地球，将是一个非常不同的地球。由于变化来得太快，包括人类在内的许多生物，都将很难适应。比如，有人告诉我，在更温暖的环境中，昆虫的个头将变大。我不知道现在身旁嗡嗡叫的这只大苍蝇，是不是就是前兆。

我们还面临另一个幽灵，那就是非线性的"气候引爆点"，这会带来许多严重得多的变化。"气候引爆点"的一个例子就是永久冻土层的融化。永久冻土层经
过千万年的累积形成，其中包含了巨量的冻僵的有机物。如果冻土融化，微生物就将广泛繁殖，使得冻土层中的有机物快速腐烂。冷冻后的生物和冷冻前的生物，它
们在生物学特性上的差异，我们都很熟悉。在冷库中，冷冻食品在经过长时间保存后，依然可以食用。但是，一旦解冻，食品很快就腐烂了。一个腐烂的永久冻土层，将释放出多少甲烷和二氧化碳？即使只有一部分的碳被释放出来，可能也比我们从工业革命开始释放出来的所有温室气体还要多。这种事情一旦发生，局势就失控了。

气候问题是我们的经济发展在无意中带来的后果。我们太依赖化石能源，冬天取暖，夏天制冷，夜间照明，长途旅行，环球观光。能源是经济繁荣的基础，我
们不可能放弃经济繁荣。美国人口占全世界的3%，但是我们消耗全世界25%的能源。与此形成对照，全世界还有16亿人没有电，数亿人依靠燃烧树枝和动物粪便来煮饭。发展中国家的人民享受不到我们的生活，但是他们都看在眼里，他们渴望拥有我们拥有的东西。

这就是新的挑战。全世界作为一个整体，我们到底愿意付出多少，来缓和气候变化？这种付出至少在100年内，都不会有明显效果。代际责任深深植根于所有文化中。家长努力工作，为了让他们的孩子有更好的生活。气候变化将影响整个世界，但是我们的天性使得我们只关心个人家庭的福利。我们能不能把全世界看作一个整体？能不能为未来的人们承担起责任？

虽然我忧心忡忡，但是还是对未来抱乐观态度，这个问题将会得到解决。我同意出任劳伦斯?伯克利国家实验室主任，部分原因是我想招募一些世界上最好的科学家，来研究气候变化的对策。我在那里干了4年半，是这个实验室78年的历史中，任期最短的主任，但是当我离任时，在伯克利实验室和伯克利分校，一些非常激动人心的能源研究机构已经建立起来了。

能够成为奥巴马施政团队的一员，我感到极其荣幸。如果有一个时机，可以引导美国和全世界走上可持续能源的道路，那么这个时机就是现在。总统已经发出
信息，未来并非在劫难逃，而是乐观的，我们依然有机会。我也抱有这种乐观主义。我们面前的任务令人生畏，但是我们能够并且将会成功。

我们已经有了一些答案，可以立竿见影地节约能源和提高能源使用效率。它们不是挂在枝头的水果，而是已经成熟掉在地上了，就看我们愿不愿意捡起来。比
如，我们有办法将楼宇的耗电减少80%，增加的投资在15年内就可以收回来。楼宇的耗电占我们能源消费的40%，节能楼宇的推广将使我们二氧化碳的释放减
少三分之一。

我们正在加速美国这座巨大的创新机器，这将是下一次美国大繁荣的基础。我们将大量投资有效利用太阳能、风能、核能的新方法，大量投资能够捕获和隔离电厂废气中的二氧化碳的方法。先进的生物燃料和电力汽车将使得我们不再那么依赖外国的石油。

在未来的几十年中，我们几乎肯定会面对更高的油价和更严厉的二氧化碳限制排放政策。这是一场新的工业革命，美国有机会充当领导者。伟大的冰上曲棍球选手Wayne
Gretzky被问到，他如何在冰上跑位，回答说："我滑向球下一步的位置，而不是它现在的位置。"美国也应该这样做。

奥巴马政府正在为美国的繁荣和可持续能源，打下新的基础。但是我们无法为所有问题都找到答案。这就需要你们的参与。在本次演讲中，我请求在座各位哈佛毕业生加入我们。你们是我们未来的智力领袖，请花时间加深理解目前的危险局势，然后采取相应的行动。你们是未来的科学家和工程师，我要求你们给我们更好的技术方案。你们是未来的经济学家和政治学家，我要求你们创造更好的政策选择。你们是未来的企业家，我要求你们将可持续发展作为你们业务中不可分割的一部分。

最后，你们是人道主义者，我要求你们为了人道主义说话。气候变化带来的最残酷的讽刺之一，就是最受伤害的人，恰恰就是最无辜的人――那些世界上最穷的人们和那些还没有出生的人。

这个最后乐章的完结部是引用两个人道主义者的话。

第一段引语来自马丁?路德?金。这是1967年他对越南战争结束的评论，但是看上去非常适合用来评论今天的气候危机。

"我呼吁全世界的人们团结一心，抛弃种族、肤色、阶级、国籍的隔阂；我呼吁包罗一切、无条件的对全人类的爱。你会因此遭受误解和误读，信奉尼采哲学的世人会认定你是一个软弱和胆怯的懦夫。但是，这是人类存在下去的绝对必需。……我的朋友，眼前的事实就是，明天就是今天。此刻，我们面临最紧急的情况。在变幻莫测的生活和历史之中，有一样东西叫做悔之晚矣。"

第二段引语来自威廉?福克纳。1950年12月10月，他在诺贝尔奖获奖晚宴上发表演说，谈到了世界在核战争的阴影之下，人道主义者应该扮演什么样的角色。

"我相信人类不仅能忍耐，而且会获胜。人类是不朽的，这不是因为万物当中仅仅他会无穷尽的呼喊，而是因为他有一个灵魂，有同情心、牺牲精神和忍耐力。诗人和作家的责任就是写这些东西。他们的特权正是通过鼓舞人类，唤起人类原有的荣耀――勇气、荣誉、希望、自尊、怜悯之心和牺牲精神，去帮助人类学会忍耐。"

各位毕业生同学，你们在我们的未来中扮演举足轻重的角色。当你们追求个人的志向时，我希望你们也会发扬奉献精神，积极发声，在大大小小各个方面帮助改进这个世界。这会给你们带来最大的满足感。

最后，请接受我最热烈的祝贺。希望你们成功，也希望你们保护和拯救我们这个星球，为了你们的孩子，以及未来所有的孩子。

===============================================================
附：翻译勘误表
http://www.ruanyifeng.com/blog/2009/06/errata_of_steven_chus_harvard_commencement_speech.html

The year before, Bill Gates, the mega-billionaire philanthropist and
computer nerd stood here. Today, sadly, you have me. I am not wealthy,
but at least I am a nerd.

[原译] 前年站在这里的是比尔・盖茨先生，他是一个超级富翁、一个慈善家和电脑天才。今年很遗憾，你们的演讲人是我，虽然我不是很有钱，但是至少我是一个书呆子。

[现译] 前年站在这里的是比尔・盖茨先生，他是一个超级富翁、一个慈善家和电脑高手。今年很遗憾，你们的演讲人是我，虽然我不是富翁，但是至少我也算一个高手。

[笔记] 原译没有体现出nerd一词的幽默效果，现在的译法好一点。但是遗憾的是，原文中nerd在比尔・盖茨身上是褒义，在朱棣文身上则是自我调侃，汉语中很难用同一个词译出这两种味道。

I was the academic black sheep of my family.

[原译] 在学术上，我是我们家的异类。

[现译] 在学术上，我是我们家的不肖之子。

[笔记] 朱棣文在这里是自嘲，将black sheep译成"不肖之子"更准确。

All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients.

[原译] 我最好的一些思想，都是从古人那里偷来的。

[现译] 古人把我最好的一些意思都偷走了。

[笔记] 真不好意思，我起先没注意到这句话是被动。

After all, deans of admissions of highly selective schools are in
reality, "deans of rejection."

[原译] 不过，那些大热门学校的招生主任总是很现实的，堪称"拒绝他人的主任"。

[现译] 在我看来，那些大热门学校的招生主任与其称为"准许你入学的主任"，还不如称为"拒绝你入学的主任"。

[笔记] admission在英语中是"准许入内"的意思，所以跟rejection（拒绝入内）形成对照，原译没有体现出这种差别。另外，in
reality（实际上）译成"在现实中"，也是很让人脸红的。

This next movement consists of unsolicited advice, which is rarely
valued, seldom remembered, never followed.

[原译] 接下来的第二乐章是送上门的忠告。这样的忠告很少有价值，几乎注定被忘记，永远不会被实践。

[现译] 接下来的第二乐章是送上门的忠告。这样的忠告很少被重视，几乎注定被忘记，永远不会被实践。

[笔记] 这一句真是低级错误，我把valued看成名词了。

Going forward, the ability to teach yourself is the hallmark of a
great liberal arts education and will be the key to your success.

[原译] 从整体看，自学能力是优秀的文科教育中必不可少的，将成为你成功的关键。

[现译] 从长远看，自学能力是优秀的文理教育中必不可少的，将成为你成功的关键。

[笔记] 将liberal arts译成"文科"是错误，它指的是大学分科之前的基础教育。西方各个大学都有liberal arts
college，通行的译法是"文理学院"，所以我改用了这个译法。

The source of that pride won't be the things you have acquired or the
recognition you have received.

[原译] 物质生活和你实现的占有欲，都不会产生自豪。

[现译] 你的物质生活和收到的酬劳，都不会产生自豪。

[笔记] recognition有酬劳的意思，这是查了字典才知道的。

It will be the lives you have touched and the difference you have made.

[原译] 只有那些受你影响、被你改变过的人和事，才会让你产生自豪。

[现译] 只有那些你出手相助、被你改变过的人和事，才会让你产生自豪。

[笔记] touch指的是主动伸出手接触，原译"影响"没有体现这种主动性。

Bell Labs, to quote what was said about Mary Poppins, was "practically
perfect in every way," but I wanted to leave behind something more
than scientific articles.

[原译] 我对贝尔实验室的看法，可以引用Mary Poppins的话，"实际上十全十美"。但是，我想离开那种仅仅是科学论文的生活。

[现译] 我对贝尔实验室的看法，就像别人形容电影Mary Poppins的话，"实际上完美无缺"。但是，我想为世界留下更多的东西，不只是科学论文。

[笔记] 这句我错得比较离谱，汗颜啊。

10.

If a mind is ever free to be creative, that's the time.

[原译] 如果生命中只有一段时间是思想自由和充满创造力，那么那段时间就是你在读大学。

[现译] 如果生命中曾经有过思想自由和充满创造力的时期，那么那个时期就是你在读大学。

[笔记] 虽说原译不能算错，但是ever还是改成"曾经"，更符合原文。

11.

During this time, most of Canada and the United States down to Ohio
and Pennsylvania were covered year round by a glacier.

[原译] 那时，俄亥俄州和费城以下的大部分美国和加拿大的土地，都终年被冰川覆盖。

[现译] 那时，俄亥俄州和宾夕法尼亚州以北的大部分美国和加拿大的土地，都终年被冰川覆盖。

[笔记] down to有南下的意思，与说话人的位置有关。而哈佛大学所在的波士顿，确实是在俄亥俄州和宾夕法尼亚州的北面。另外，不好意思的是，我把Pennsylvania看成Philadelphia了。

12.

How much are we willing to invest, as a world society, to mitigate the
consequences of climate change that will not be realized for at least
100 years?

[原译] 全世界作为一个整体，我们到底愿意付出多少，来缓和气候变化？这种变化在100年前，根本没人想到过。

[现译] 全世界作为一个整体，我们到底愿意付出多少，来缓和气候变化？这种付出至少在100年内，都不会有明显效果。

[笔记] 这句也是低级错误。不知为什么，我看到realize这个词，第一反应总是"认识到"，而不是"实现"。

13.

The Obama administration is laying a new foundation for a prosperous
and sustainable energy future, but we don't have all of the answers.

[原译] 奥巴马政府正在为美国的繁荣和可持续能源，打下新的基础。但是我们还有很多不知道的地方。

[现译] 奥巴马政府正在为美国的繁荣和可持续能源，打下新的基础。但是我们无法为所有问题都找到答案。

[笔记] 反复思考后，我觉得we don't have all of the answers还是直译比较好。

Google在中国被屏蔽事件始末

2009-06-25T19:45:00.001-07:00

from:http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20090625_googlecom_blocked_again.htm

Last night, Google.com/Gmail/AdSense and most of other Google property cannot be accessed in China. The whole Green Dam - Google China - Google.com story has unwind and reveal a clear path of censorship + propaganda. The whole story is very long, and there are thousands of articles (if not millions) on this. Let me quickly record the key event.

The Chinese Government requires all computer to ship with a porn-filtering software, Green Dam by July 1, 2009. The order came out 10 days before the deadline.
Netizen and computer manufacture reacted strong and criticized the censorship software.
Reverse engineering of the Green Dam shows it is not just a porn-filter software. Huge amount of politics related keywords are banned, including many foreign websites, and common word like "conscience". It is further confirmed that the software directly used unlicensed code from Solid Ork.
Under the huge pressure of the netizen, the government used the method they used many many times, including 20 years ago - to create a media campaign to "educate" the whole nation to understand the situation.
CCTV used three major program "Evening News", "Focus", "News 1+1" to accuse Google for spreading porn content, and tell the nation that porn content has been everywhere and at finger tip of every child.
Xinhua News immediately commented that "Now it is the time to be conscious of the severity of the situation, and stop all argument immediately and take action."
Immediately after the CCTV program was broadcast, people find out the college student being interviewed in the program is actually working as an intern in CCTV Focus program.
It is further revealed that the samples to accuse the Google Auto Suggestion feature was also fake. In the program, when you enter "Son", Google suggested "Son Mother", and other keywords. Look at thesearch query index, you find out that the terms were queried hundreds of times more than before since 2 days before the broadcast. The query mainly comes from Beijing in a precious machine generating pattern.
Google.cn was asked to stop suggestion tools, and stop searching any content outside of China. Google did.
Google.com and most other Google properties, including Google Mail, Google AdSense, Google Maps, Google Analytics... stopped working yesterday

Disclaimer: The events were from what I read and from my memory. Didn't take the work to check every fact, or link to the source due to time constrain.

英文版《荒野的呼唤》，第二章

2009-06-23T20:07:00.001-07:00

杰克伦敦：荒野的呼唤，第二章

CHAPTER TWO.
The Law of Club and Fang.

BUCK'S FIRST DAY ON THE Dyea bach was like a nightmare. Every hour
was filled with shock and surprise. He had been suddenly jerked from
the heart of civilisation and flung into the heart of things
primordial. No lazy, sun-kissed life was this, with nothing to do
but loaf and be bored. Here was neither peace, nor rest, nor a
moment's safety. All was confusion and action, and every moment life
and limb were in peril. There was imperative need to be constantly
alert; for these dogs and men were not town dogs and men. They were
savages, all of them; who knew no law but the law of club and fang.
He had never seen dogs fight as these wolfish creatures fought,
and his first experience taught him an unforgettable lesson. It is
true, it was a vicarious experience, else he would not have lived to
profit by it. Curly was the victim. They were camped near the log
store, where she, in her friendly way, made advances to a husky dog
the size of a full-grown wolf, though not half so large she. There was
no warning, only a leap in like a flash, a metallic clip of teeth, a
leap out equally swift, and Curly's face was ripped open from eye to
jaw.
It was the wolf manner of fighting, to strike and leap away; but
there was more to it than this. Thirty or forty huskies ran to the
spot and surrounded the combatants in an intent and silent circle.
Buck did not comprehend that silent intentness, nor the eager way with
which they were licking their chops. Curly rushed her antagonist,
who struck again and leaped aside. He met her next rush with his
chest, in a peculiar fashion that tumbled her off her feet. She
never regained them. This was what the onlooking huskies had waited
for. They closed in upon her, snarling and yelping, and she was
buried, screaming with agony, beneath the bristling mass of bodies.
So sudden was it, and so unexpected, that Buck was taken aback. He
saw Spitz run out his scarlet tongue in a way he had of laughing;
and he saw Francois, swinging an axe, spring into the mess of dogs.
Three men with clubs were helping him to scatter them. It did not take
long. Two minutes from the time Curly went down, the last of her
assailants were clubbed off. But she lay there limp and lifeless in
the bloody, trampled snow, almost literally torn to pieces, the
swart half-breed standing over her and cursing horribly. The scene
often came back to Buck to trouble him in his sleep. So that was the
way. No fair play. Once down, that was the end of you. Well, he
would see to it that he never went down. Spitz ran out his tongue
and laughed again and from that moment Buck hated him with a bitter
and deathless hatred.
Before he had recovered from the shock caused by the tragic
passing of Curly, he received another shock. Francois fastened upon
him an arrangement of straps and buckles. It was a harness, such as he
had seen the grooms put on the horses at home. And as he had seen
horses work, so he was set to work, hauling Francois on a sled to
the forest that fringed the valley, and returning with a load of
firewood. Though his dignity was sorely hurt by thus being made a
draught animal, he was too wise to rebel. He buckled down with a
will and did his best, though it was all new and strange. Francois was
stern, demanding instant obedience; and by virtue of his whip
receiving instant obedience; while Dave, who was an experienced
wheeler, nipped Buck's hind quarters whenever he was in error. Spitz
was the leader, likewise experienced, and while he could not always
get at Buck, he growled sharp reproof now and again, or cunningly
threw his weight in the traces to jerk Buck into the way he should go.
Buck learned easily, and under the combined tuition of his two mates
and Francois made remarkable progress. Ere they returned to camp he
knew enough to stop at 'ho,' to go ahead at 'mush,' to swing wide on
the bends; and to keep clear of the wheeler when the loaded sled
shot downhill at their heels.
'T'ree vair' good dogs,' Francois told Perrault. 'Dat Buck, heem
pool lak hell, I tich heem queek as anyt'ing.'
By afternoon, Perrault, who was in a hurry to be on the trail with
his despatches, returned with two more dogs. 'Billee' and 'Joe' he
called them, two brothers, and true huskies both. Sons of the one
mother though they were, they were as different as day and night.
Billee's one fault was his excessive good nature, while Joe was the
very opposite, sour and introspective, with a perpetual snarl and a
malignant eye. Buck received them in comradely fashion. Dave ignored
them; while Spitz proceeded to thrash first one and then the other.
Billee wagged his tail appeasingly, turned to run when he saw that
appeasement was of no avail, and cried (still appeasingly) when
Spitz's sharp teeth scored his flank. But no matter how Spitz circled,
Joe whirled around on his heels to face him, mane bristling, ears laid
back, lips writhing and snarling, jaws clipping together as fast as he
could snap, and eyes diabolically gleaming- the incarnation of
belligerent fear. So terrible was his appearance that Spitz was forced
to forego disciplining him; but to cover his own discomfiture he
turned upon the inoffensive and wailing Billee and drove him to the
confines of the camp.
By evening Perrault secured another dog, an old husky, long and lean
and gaunt, with a battle-scarred face and a single eye which flashed a
warning of prowess that commanded respect. He was called Sol-leks,
which means the Angry One. Like Dave, he asked nothing, gave
nothing, expected nothing; and when he marched slowly and deliberately
into their midst, even Spitz left him alone. He had one peculiarity
which, Buck was unlucky enough to discover. He did not like to be
approached on his blind side. Of this offence Buck was unwittingly
guilty, and the first knowledge he had of his indiscretion was when
Sol-leks whirled upon him and slashed his shoulder to the bone for
three inches up and down. Forever after Buck avoided his blind side,
and to the last of their comradeship had no more trouble. His only
apparent ambition, like Dave's, was to be left alone; though, as
Buck was afterward to learn, each of them possessed one other and even
more vital ambition.
That night Buck faced the great problem of sleeping. The tent,
illumined by a candle, glowed warmly in the midst of the white
plain; and when he, as a matter of course, entered it, both Perrault
and Francois bombarded him with curses and cooking utensils till he
recovered from his consternation and fled ignominiously into the outer
cold. A chill wind was blowing that nipped him sharply and bit with
especial venom into his wounded shoulder. He lay down on the snow
and attempted to sleep, but the frost soon drove him shivering to
his feet. Miserable and disconsolate, he wandered about among the many
tents, only to find that one place was as cold as another. Here and
there savage dogs rushed upon him, but he bristled his neck-hair and
snarled (for he was learning fast), and they let him go his way
unmolested.
Finally an idea came to him. He would return and see how his own
team-mates were making out. To his astonishment, they had disappeared.
Again he wandered about through the great camp, looking for them,
again he returned. Were they in the tent? No, that could not be,
else he would not have been driven out. Then where could they possibly
be? With drooping tail and shivering body, very forlorn indeed, he
aimlessly circled the tent. Suddenly the snow gave way beneath his
forelegs and he sank down. Something wriggled under his feet. He
sprang back, bristling and snarling, fearful of the unseen and
unknown. But a friendly little yelp reassured him, and he went back to
investigate. A whiff of warm air ascended to his nostrils, and
there, curled up under the snow in a snug ball, lay Billee. He
whined placatingly, squirmed and wriggled to show his good will and
intention, and even ventured, as a bribe for peace, to lick Buck's
face with his warm wet tongue.
Another lesson. So that was the way they did it, eh? Buck
confidently selected a spot, and with much fuss and waste effort
proceeded to dig a hole for himself. In a trice the heat from his body
filled the confined space and he was asleep. The day had been long and
arduous, and he slept soundly and comfortably, though he growled and
barked and wrestled with bad dreams.
Nor did he open his eyes till roused by the noises of the waking
camp. At first he did not know where he was. It had snowed during
the night and he was completely buried. The snow walls pressed him
on every side, and a great surge of fear swept through him- the fear
of the wild thing for the trap. It was a token that he was harking
back through his own life to the lives of his forebears; for he was
a civilised dog, an unduly civilised dog, and of his own experience
knew no trap and so could not of himself fear it. The muscles of his
whole body contracted spasmodically and instinctively, the hair on his
neck and shoulders stood on end, and with a ferocious snarl he bounded
straight up into the blinding day, the snow flying about him in a
flashing cloud. Ere he landed on his feet, he saw the white camp
spread out before him and knew where he was and remembered all that
had passed from the time he went for a stroll with Manuel to the
hole he had dug for himself the night before.
A shout from Francois hailed his appearance. 'Wot I say?' the
dog-driver cried to Perrault. 'Dat Buck for sure learn queek as
anyt'ing.'
Perrault nodded gravely. As courier for the Canadian Government,
bearing important despatches, he was anxious to secure the best
dogs, and he was particularly gladdened by the possession of Buck.
Three more huskies were added to the team inside an hour, making a
total of nine, and before another quarter of an hour had passed they
were in harness and swinging up the trail toward the Dyea Canon.
Buck was glad to be gone, and thought the work was hard he found he
did not particularly despise it. He was surprised at the eagerness
which animated the whole team and which was communicated to him; but
still more surprising was the change wrought in Dave and Sol-leks.
They were new dogs, utterly transformed by the harness. All
passiveness and unconcern had dropped from them. They were alert and
active, anxious that the work should go well and fiercely irritable
with whatever, by delay or confusion, retarded that work. The toil
of the traces seemed the supreme expression of their being, and all
that they lived for and the only thing in which they took delight.
Dave was wheeler or sled dog, pulling in front of him was Buck, then
came Sol-leks; the rest of the team was strung out ahead, single file,
to the leader, which position was filled by Spitz.
Buck had been purposely placed between Dave and Sol-leks so that
he might receive instruction. Apt scholar that he was, they were
equally apt teachers, never allowing him to linger long in error,
and enforcing their teaching with sharp teeth. Dave was fair and
very wise. He never nipped Buck without cause, and he never failed
to nip him when he stood in need of it. As Francois's whip backed
him up, Buck found it to be cheaper to mend his ways than to
retaliate. Once, during a brief halt, when he got tangled in the
traces and delayed the start, both Dave and Sol-leks flew at him and
administered a sound trouncing. The resulting tangle was even worse;
but Buck took good care to keep the traces clear thereafter; and ere
the day was done, so well had he mastered his work, his mates about
ceased nagging him. Francois's whip snapped less frequently, and
Perrault even honoured Buck by lifting up his feet and carefully
examining them.
It was a hard day's run, up the Canon, through Sheep Camp, past
the Scales and timber line, across glaciers and snowdrifts hundreds of
feet deep, and over the great Chilcoot Divide, which stands between
the salt water and the fresh, and guards forbiddingly the sad and
lonely North. They made good time down the chain of lakes which
fills the craters of extinct volcanoes, and late that night pulled
into the huge camp at the head of Lake Bennett, where thousands of
gold-seekers were building boats against the break-up of the ice in
the spring. Buck made his hole in the snow and slept the sleep of
the exhausted just, but all too early was routed out in the cold
darkness and harnessed with his mates to the sled.
That day they made forty miles, the trail being packed; but the next
day, and for many days to follow, they broke their own trail, worked
harder, and made poorer time. As a rule, Perrault travelled ahead of
the team, packing the snow with webbed shoes to make it easier for
them. Francois, guiding the sled at the geepole, sometimes exchanged
places with him, but not often. Perrault was in a hurry, and he prided
himself on his knowledge of ice, which knowledge was indispensable,
for the fall ice was very thin, and where there was swift water, there
was no ice at all.
Day after day, for days unending, Buck toiled in the traces.
Always they broke camp in the dark, and the first grey of dawn found
them hitting the trail with fresh miles reeled off behind them. And
always they pitched camp after dark, eating their bit of fish, and
crawling to sleep into the snow. Buck was ravenous. The pound and a
half of sun-dried salmon, which was his ration for each day, seemed to
go nowhere. He never had enough, and suffered from perpetual hunger
pangs. Yet the other dogs, because they weighed less and were born
to the life, received a pound only of the fish and managed to keep
in good condition.
He swiftly lost the fastidiousness which had characterised his old
life. A dainty eater, he found that his mates, finishing first, robbed
him of his unfinished ration. There was no defending it. While he
was fighting off two or three, it was disappearing down the throats of
the others. To remedy this, he ate as fast as they; and, so greatly
did hunger compel him, he was not above taking what did not belong
to him. He watched and learned. When he saw Pike, one of the new dogs,
a clever malingerer and thief, slyly steal a slice of bacon when
Perrault's back was turned, he duplicated the performance the
following day, getting away with the whole chunk. A great uproar was
raised, but he was unsuspected; while Dub, an awkward blunderer who
was always getting caught, was punished for Buck's misdeed.
This first theft marked Buck as fit to survive in the hostile
Northland environment. It marked his adaptability, his capacity to
adjust himself to changing conditions, the lack of which would have
meant swift and terrible death. It marked further the decay or going
to pieces of his moral nature, a vain thing and a handicap in the
ruthless struggle for existence. It was all well enough in the
Southland, under the law of love and fellowship, to respect private
property and personal feelings; but in the Northland, under the law of
club and fang, whoso took such things into account was a fool, and
in so far as he observed them he would fail to prosper.
Not that Buck reasoned it out. He was fit, that was all, and
unconsciously he accommodated himself to the new mode of life. All his
days, no matter what the odds, he had never run from a fight. But
the club of the man in the red sweater had beaten into him a more
fundamental and primitive code. Civilised, he could have died for a
moral consideration, say the defence of Judge Miller's riding-whip;
but the completeness of his decivilisation was not evidenced by his
ability to flee from the defence of a moral consideration and so
save his hide. He did not steal for joy of it, but because of the
clamour of his stomach. He did not rob openly, but stole secretly
and cunningly, out of respect for club and fang. In short, the
things he did were done because it was easier to do them than not to
do them.
His development (or retrogression) was rapid. His muscles became
hard as iron, and he grew callous to all ordinary pain. He achieved an
internal as well as external economy. He could eat anything, no matter
how loathsome or indigestible; and, once eaten, the juices of his
stomach extracted the last least particle of nutriment; and his
blood carried it to the farthest reaches of his body, building it into
the, toughest and stoutest of tissues. Sight and scent became
remarkably keen, while his hearing developed such acuteness that in
his sleep he heard the faintest sound whether it heralded peace or
peril. He learned to bite the ice out with his teeth when it collected
between his toes; and when he was thirsty and there was a thick scum
of ice over the water hole, he would break it by rearing and
striking it with stiff fore legs. His most conspicuous trait was an
ability to scent the wind and forecast it at night in advance. No
matter how breathless the air when he dug his nest by tree or bank,
the wind that later blew inevitably found him to leeward, sheltered
and snug.
And not only did he learn by experience, but instincts long dead
became alive again. The domesticated generations fell from him. In
vague ways he remembered back to the youth of the breed, to the time
the wild dogs ranged in packs through the primeval forest and killed
their meat as they ran it down. It was no task for him to learn to
fight with cut and slash and the quick wolf snap. In this manner had
fought forgotten ancestors. They quickened the old life within him,
and the old tricks which they had stamped into the heredity of the
breed were his tricks. They came to him without effort or discovery,
as though they had been his always. And when, on the still cold
nights, he pointed his nose at a star and howled long and wolflike, it
was his ancestors, dead and dust, pointing nose at star and howling
down through the centuries and through him. And his cadences were
their cadences, the cadences which voiced their woe and what to them
was the meaning of the stillness, and the cold, and dark.
Thus, as token of what a puppet thing life is, the ancient song
surged through him and he came into his own again; and he came because
men had found a yellow metal in the North, and because Manuel was a
gardener's helper whose wages did not lap over the needs of his wife
and divers small copies of himself.

英文版《荒野的呼唤》，第一章

2009-06-23T19:42:00.001-07:00

THE CALL OF THE WILD
by Jack London 1903
荒野的呼唤
作者：（美）杰克.伦敦

CHAPTER ONE.
Into the Primitive.

Old longings nomadic leap,
Chafing at custom's chain;
Again from its brumal sleep
Wakens the ferine strain.

BUCK DID NOT READ THE newspapers, or he would have known that
trouble was brewing not alone for himself, but for every tide-water
dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to
San Diego. Because men, groping in the Arctic darkness, had found a
yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies
were booming the find, thousands of men were rushing into the
Northland. These men wanted dogs, and the dogs they wanted were
heavy dogs, with strong muscles by which to toil and furry coats to
protect them from the frost.
Buck lived at a big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley.
Judge Miller's place, it was called. It stood back from the road, half
hidden among the trees, through which glimpses could be caught of
the wide cool veranda that ran around its four sides. The house was
approached by gravelled driveways which wound about through
widespreading lawns and under the interlacing boughs of tall
poplars. At the rear things were on even a more spacious scale than at
the front. There were great stables, where a dozen grooms and boys
held forth, rows of vine-clad servants' cottages, an endless and
orderly array of out-houses, long grape arbours, green pastures,
orchards, and berry patches. Then there was the pumping plant for
the artesian well, and the big cement tank where Judge Miller's boys
took their morning plunge and kept cool in the hot afternoon.
And over this great demesne Buck ruled. Here he was born, and here
he had lived the four years of his life. It was true, there were other
dogs. There could not but be other dogs on so vast a place, but they
did not count. They came and went, resided in the populous kennels, or
lived obscurely in the recesses of the house after the fashion of
Toots, the Japanese pug, or Ysabel, the Mexican hairless- strange
creatures that rarely put nose out of doors or set foot to ground.
On the other hand, there were the fox terriers, a score of them at
least, who yelped fearful promises at Toots and Ysabel looking out
of the windows at them and protected by a legion of housemaids armed
with brooms and mops.
But Buck was neither house-dog nor kennel-dog. The whole realm was
his. He plunged into the swimming tank or went hunting with the
Judge's sons; he escorted Mollie and Alice, the Judge's daughters,
on long twilight or early morning rambles; on wintry nights he lay
at the Judge's feet before the roaring library fire; he carried the
Judge's grandsons on his back, or rolled them in the grass, and
guarded their footsteps through wild adventures down to the fountain
in the stable yard, and even beyond, where the paddocks were, and
the berry patches. Among the terriers he stalked imperiously, and
Toots and Ysabel he utterly ignored, for he was king- king over all
the creeping, crawling, flying things of Judge Miller's place,
humans included.
His father, Elmo, a huge St. Bernard, had been the Judge's
inseparable companion and Buck did fair to follow in the way of his
father. He was not so large- he weighed only one hundred and forty
pounds- for his mother, Shep, had been a Scotch shepherd dog.
Nevertheless, one hundred and forty pounds, to which was added the
dignity that comes of good living and universal respect, enabled him
to carry himself in right royal fashion. During the four years since
his puppyhood he had lived the life of a sated aristocrat; he had a
fine pride in himself, was ever a trifle egotistical, as country
gentlemen sometimes become because of their insular situation. But
he had saved himself by not becoming a mere pampered house-dog.
Hunting and kindred outdoor delights had kept down the fat and
hardened his muscles; and to him, as to the cold-tubbing races, the
love of water had been a tonic and a health preserver.
And this was the manner of dog Buck was in the fall of 1897, when
the Klondike strike dragged men from all the world into the frozen
North. But Buck did not read the newspapers, and he did not know
that Manuel, one of the gardener's helpers, was an undesirable
acquaintance. Manuel had one besetting sin. He loved to play Chinese
lottery. Also, in his gambling, he had one besetting weakness- faith
in a system; and this made his damnation certain. For to play a system
requires money, while the wages of a gardener's helper do not lap over
the needs of a wife and numerous progeny.
The Judge was at a meeting of the Raisin Growers' Association, and
the boys were busy organising an athletic club, on the memorable night
of Manuel's treachery. No one saw him and Buck go off through the
orchard on what Buck imagined was merely a stroll. And with the
exception of a solitary man, no one saw them arrive at the little flag
station known as College Park. This man talked with Manuel, and
money clinked between them.
'You might wrap up the goods before you deliver 'm,' the stranger
said gruffly, and Manuel doubled a piece of stout rope around Buck's
neck under the collar.
'Twist it, an' you'll choke 'm plentee,' said Manuel, and the
stranger grunted a ready affirmative.
Buck had accepted the rope with quiet dignity. To be sure, it was an
unwonted performance: but he had learned to trust in men he knew,
and to give them credit for a wisdom that outreached his own. But when
the ends of the rope were placed in the stranger's hands, he growled
menacingly. He had merely intimated his displeasure, in his pride
believing that to intimate was to command. But to his surprise the
rope tightened around his neck, shutting off his breath. In quick rage
he sprang at the man, who met him halfway, grappled him close by the
throat, and with a deft twist threw him over on his back. Then the
rope tightened mercilessly, while Buck struggled in a fury, his tongue
lolling out of his mouth and his great chest panting futilely. Never
in all his life had he been so vilely treated, and never in all his
life had he been so angry. But his strength ebbed, his eyes glazed,
and he knew nothing when the train was flagged and the two men threw
him into the baggage car.
The next he knew, he was dimly aware that his tongue was hurting and
that he was being jolted along in some kind of conveyance. The
hoarse shriek of a locomotive whistling a crossing told him where he
was. He had travelled too often with the Judge not to know the
sensation of riding in a baggage car. He opened his eyes, and into
them came the unbridled anger of a kidnapped king. The man sprang
for his throat, but Buck was too quick for him. His jaws closed on the
hand; nor did they relax till his senses were choked out of him once
more.
'Yep, has fits,' the man said, hiding his mangled hand from the
baggageman, who had been attracted by the sounds of struggle. 'I'm
takin' 'im up for the boss to 'Frisco. A crack dog-doctor there thinks
that he can cure 'im.'
Concerning that night's ride the man spoke most eloquently for
himself, in a little shed back of a saloon on the San Francisco
water front.
'All I get is fifty for it,' he grumbled; 'an' I wouldn't do it over
for a thousand, cold cash.'
His hand was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief, and the right trouser
leg was ripped from knee to ankle.
'How much did the other mug get?' the saloon-keeper demanded.
'A hundred,' was the reply. 'Wouldn't take a sou less, so help me.'
'That makes a hundred and fifty,' the saloon-keeper calculated, 'and
he's worth it, or I'm a squarehead.'
The kidnapper undid the bloody wrappings and looked at his lacerated
hand. 'If I don't get the hydrophoby-'
'It'll be because you were born to hang,' laughed the saloon-keeper.
'Here, lend me a hand before you pull your freight,' he added.
Dazed, suffering intolerable pain from throat and tongue, with the
life half throttled out of him, Buck attempted to face his tormentors.
But he was thrown down and choked repeatedly, till they succeeded in
filing the heavy brass collar from off his neck. Then the rope was
removed, and he was flung into a cage-like crate.
There he lay for the remainder of the weary night, nursing his wrath
and wounded pride. He could not understand what it all meant. What did
they want with him, these strange men? Why were they keeping him
pent up in this narrow crate? He did not know why, but he felt
oppressed by the vague sense of impending calamity. Several times
during the night he sprang to his feet when the shed door rattled
open, expecting to see the Judge, or the boys at least. But each
time it was the bulging face of the saloon-keeper that peered in at
him by the sickly light of a tallow candle. And each time the joyful
bark that trembled in Buck's throat was twisted into a savage growl.
But the saloon-keeper let him alone, and in the morning four men
entered and picked up the crate. More tormentors, Buck decided, for
they were evil-looking creatures, ragged and unkempt; and he stormed
and raged at them through the bars. They only laughed and poked sticks
at him, which he promptly assailed with his teeth till he realised
that that was what they wanted. Whereupon he lay down sullenly and
allowed the crate to be lifted into a waggon. Then he, and the crate
in which he was imprisoned, began a passage through many hands. Clerks
in the express office took charge of him; he was carted about in
another waggon; a truck carried him, with an assortment of boxes and
parcels, upon a ferry steamer; he was trucked off the steamer into a
great railway depot, and finally he was deposited in an express car.
For two days and nights this express car was dragged along at the
tail of shrieking locomotives; and for two days and nights Buck
neither ate nor drank. In his anger he had met the first advances of
the express messengers with growls, and they had retaliated by teasing
him. When he flung himself against the bars, quivering and frothing,
they laughed at him and taunted him. They growled and barked like
detestable dogs, mewed, and flapped their arms and crowed. It was
all very silly, he knew; but therefore the more outrage to his
dignity, and his anger waxed and waxed. He did not mind the hunger
so much, but the lack of water caused him severe suffering and
fanned his wrath to fever-pitch. For that matter, high-strung and
finely sensitive, the ill treatment had flung him into a fever,
which was fed by the inflammation of his parched and swollen throat
and tongue.
He was glad for one thing: the rope was off his neck. That had given
them an unfair advantage; but now that it was off, he would show them.
They would never get another rope around his neck. Upon that he was
resolved. For two days and nights he neither ate nor drank, and during
those two days and nights of torment, he accumulated a fund of wrath
that boded ill for whoever first fell foul of him. His eyes turned
bloodshot, and he was metamorphosed into a raging fiend. So changed
was he that the Judge himself would not have recognised him; and the
express messengers breathed with relief when they bundled him off
the train at Seattle.
Four men gingerly carried the crate from the waggon into a small,
high-walled backyard. A stout man, with a red sweater that sagged
generously at the neck, came out and signed the book for the driver.
That was the man, Buck divined, the next tormentor, and he hurled
himself savagely against the bars. The man smiled grimly, and
brought a hatchet and a club.
'You ain't going to take him out now?' the driver asked.
'Sure,' the man replied, driving the hatchet into the crate for a
pry.
There was an instantaneous scattering of the four men who had
carried it in, and from safe perches on top the wall they prepared
to watch the performance.
Buck rushed at the splintering wood, sinking his teeth into it,
surging and wrestling with it. Wherever the hatchet fell on the
outside, he was there on the inside, snarling and growling, as
furiously anxious to get out as the man in the red sweater was
calmly intent on getting him out.
'Now, you red-eyed devil,' he said, when he had made an opening
sufficient for the passage of Buck's body. At the same time he dropped
the hatchet and shifted the club to his right hand.
And Buck was truly a red-eyed devil, as he drew himself together for
the spring, hair bristling, mouth foaming, a mad glitter in his
bloodshot eyes. Straight at the man he launched his one hundred and
forty pounds of fury, surcharged with the pent passion of two days and
nights. In mid-air, just as his jaws were about to close on the man,
he received a shock that checked his body and brought his teeth
together with an agonising clip. He whirled over, fetching the
ground on his back and side. He had never been struck by a club in his
life, and did not understand. With a snarl that was part bark and more
scream he was again on his feet and launched into the air. And again
the shock came and he was brought crushingly to the ground. This
time he was aware that it was the club, but his madness knew no
caution. A dozen times he charged, and as often the club broke the
charge and smashed him down.
After a particularly fierce blow, he crawled to his feet, too
dazed to rush. He staggered limply about, the blood flowing from
nose and mouth and ears, his beautiful coat sprayed and flecked with
bloody slaver. Then the man advanced and deliberately dealt him a
frightful blow on the nose. All the pain he had endured was as nothing
compared with the exquisite agony of this. With a roar that was almost
lionlike in its ferocity, he again hurled himself at the man. But
the man, shifting the club from right to left, coolly caught him by
the under jaw, at the same time wrenching downward and backward.
Buck described a complete circle in the air, and half of another, then
crashed to the ground on his head and chest.
For the last time he rushed. The man struck the shrewd blow he had
purposely withheld for so long, and Buck crumpled up and went down,
knocked utterly senseless.
'He's no slouch at dog-breakin', that's wot I say,' one of the men
on the wall cried enthusiastically.
'Druther break cayuses any day, and twice on Sundays,' was the reply
of the driver, as he climbed on the waggon and started the horses.
Buck's senses came back to him, but not his strength. He lay where
he had fallen, and from there he watched the man in the red sweater.
'"Answers to the name of Buck,"' the man soliloquised, quoting
from the saloon-keeper's letter which had announced the consignment of
the crate and contents. 'Well, Buck, my boy,' he went on in a genial
voice, 'we've had our little ruction, and the best thing we can do
is to let it go at that. You've learned your place, and I know mine.
Be a good dog, and all 'll go well and the goose hang high. Be a bad
dog, and I'll whale the stuffin' outa you. Understand?'
As he spoke he fearlessly patted the head he had so mercilessly
pounded, and though Buck's hair involuntarily bristled at touch of the
hand, he endured it without protest. When the man brought water he
drank eagerly, and later bolted a generous meal of raw meat, chunk
by chunk, from the man's hand.
He was beaten (he knew that); but he was not broken. He saw, once
for all, that he stood no chance against a man with a club. He had
learned the lesson, and in all his afterlife he never forgot it.
That club was a revelation. It was his introduction to the reign of
primitive law, and he met the introduction halfway. The facts of
life took on a fiercer aspect; and while he faced that aspect uncowed,
he faced it with all the latent cunning of his nature aroused. As
the days went by, other dogs came in crates and at the ends of
ropes, some docilely, and some raging and roaring as he had come; and,
one and all, he watched them pass under the dominion of the man in the
red sweater. Again and again, as he looked at each brutal performance,
the lesson was driven home to Buck: a man with a club was a
lawgiver, a master to be obeyed, though not necessarily conciliated.
Of this last Buck was never guilty, though he did see beaten dogs that
fawned upon the man, and wagged their tails, and licked his hand. Also
he saw one dog, that would neither conciliate nor obey, finally killed
in the struggle for mastery.
Now and again men came, strangers, who talked excitedly,
wheedlingly, and in all kinds of fashions to the man in the red
sweater. And at such times that money passed between them the
strangers took one or more of the dogs away with them. Buck wondered
where they went, for they never came back; but the fear of the
future was strong upon him, and he was glad each time when he was
not selected.
Yet his time came, in the end, in the form of a little weazened
man who spat broken English and many strange and uncouth
exclamations which Buck could not understand.
'Sacredam!' he cried, when his eyes lit upon Buck. 'Dat one dam
bully dog! Eh? How much?'
'Three hundred, and a present at that,' was the prompt reply of
the man in the red sweater. 'And seein' it's government money, you
ain't got no kick coming; eh, Perrault?'
Perrault grinned. Considering that the price of dogs had been boomed
skyward by the unwonted demand, it was not an unfair sum for so fine
an animal. The Canadian Government would be no loser, nor would its
despatches travel the slower. Perrault knew dogs, and when he looked
at Buck he knew that he was one in a thousand- 'One in ten
t'ousand,' he commented mentally.
Buck saw money pass between them, and was not surprised when
Curly, a good-natured Newfoundland, and he were led away by the little
weazened man. That was the last he saw of the man in the red
sweater, and as Curly and he looked at receding Seattle from the
deck of the Narwhal, it was the last he saw of the warm Southland.
Curly and he were taken below by Perrault and turned over to a
black-faced giant called Francois. Perrault was a French-Canadian, and
swarthy; but Francois was a French-Canadian half-breed, and twice as
swarthy. They were a new kind of men to Buck (of which he was destined
to see many more), and while he developed no affection for them, he
none the less grew honestly to respect them. He speedily learned
that Perrault and Francois were fair men, calm and impartial in
administering justice, and too wise in the way of dogs to be ever
fooled by dogs.
In the 'tween-decks of the Narwhal, Buck and Curly joined two
other dogs. One of them was a big, snow-white fellow from
Spitzbergen who had been brought away by a whaling captain, and who
had later accompanied a Geological Survey into the Barrens.
He was friendly, in a treacherous sort of way, smiling into one's
face the while he meditated some underhand trick, as, for instance,
when he stole from Buck's food at the first meal. As Buck sprang to
punish him, the lash of Francois whip sang through the air, reaching
the culprit first; and nothing remained to Buck but to recover the
bone. That was fair of Francois, he decided, and the half-breed
began to rise in Buck's estimation.
The other dog made no advance, nor received any; also, he did not
attempt to steal from the newcomers. He was a gloomy, morose fellow,
and he showed Curly plainly that all he desired was to be left
alone, and further, that there would be trouble if he were not left
alone. 'Dave' he was called, and he ate and slept, or yawned between
times, and took interest in nothing, not even when the Narwhal crossed
Queen Charlotte Sound and rolled and pitched and bucked like a thing
possessed. When Buck and Curly grew excited, half wild with fear, he
raised his head as though annoyed, favoured them with an incurious
glance, yawned, and went to sleep again.
Day and night the ship throbbed to the tireless pulse of the
propeller, and though one day was very like another, it was apparent
to Buck that the weather was steadily growing colder. At last, one
morning, the propeller was quiet, and the Narwhal was pervaded with an
atmosphere of excitement. He felt it, as did the other dogs, and
knew that a change was at hand. Francois leashed them and brought them
on deck. At the first step upon the cold surface, Buck's feet sank
into a white mushy something very like mud. He sprang back with a
snort. More of this white stuff was falling through the air. He
shook himself, but more of it fell upon him. He sniffed it
curiously, then licked some up on his tongue. It bit like fire, and
the next instant was gone. This puzzled him. He tried it again, with
the same result. The onlookers laughed uproariously, and he felt
ashamed, he knew not why, for it was his first snow.

Theme song of "Kongfu panda": Kongfu frighting

2009-06-04T19:55:00.001-07:00

Theme song of "Kongfu panda": Kongfu frighting
《功夫熊猫》主题曲：功夫英雄
翻译：天山2003(http://engbook.blogspot.com)

Everybody is kung fu fighting
Your mind becomes fast as lighting
Althrough the future is a little bit fright'ning
It's the book of your life that you're writing

每人都是功夫英雄
你的思路飞快似电
虽然前路有点危险
你在书写你的人生

You are a natural
Why is it so hard to see
Maybe it's just because
You keep on looking at me

你本天性自然
为何难觅自己
也许当局者迷
你只盯着我看

The journey's a lonely one
So much more than we know
But sometimes you've got to go
Go on and be your own hero

路途孤独遥远
充满未知危险
但你必须出发
成为自己的英雄

Everybody is kung fu fighting
Your mind becomes fast as lighting
Althrough the future is a little bit fright'ning
It's the book of your life that you're writing

每人都是功夫英雄
你的思路飞快似电
虽然前路有点危险
你在书写你的人生

You're a diamond in the rough
A brilliant ball of clay
You could be a work of art
If you just go all the way

你是天然璞玉
未曾烧炼的泥土
你是艺术杰作
只要坚持你的路

Now what would it take to break
I believe that you can bend
Now only do you have to fight
But you have got to win

还有什么需要打破
我知道你能走过
只需继续战斗
你早注定要赢

Cause everybody is kung fu fighting
Your mind becomes fast as lighting
Althrough the future is a little bit fright'ning
It's the book of your life that you're writing

因为每人都是功夫英雄
你的思路飞快似电
虽然前路有点危险
你在书写你的人生

You're a diamond in the rough
A brilliant ball of clay
You could be a work of art
If you just go all the way

你是天然璞玉
未曾烧炼的泥土
你是艺术杰作
只要坚持你的路

Now what would it take to break
I believe that you can bend
Now only do you have to fight
But you have got to win

还有什么需要打破
我知道你能走过
只需继续战斗
你早注定要赢

Cause everybody is kung fu fighting
Your mind becomes fast as lighting
Althrough the future is a little bit fright'ning
It's the book of your life that you're writing

因为每人都是功夫英雄
你的思路飞快似电
虽然前路有点危险
你在书写你的人生

《功夫熊猫》经典语录

2009-06-03T23:47:00.001-07:00

Kongfu panda's words.
《功夫熊猫》经典语录(附简译）

1.One meets its destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.

2.Your mind is like this water, my friend , when it is agitated ,it
becomes difficult to see ,but if you allow it to settle , the answer
becomes clear.

3.Quit? don't quit. Noodles? don't noodles.

4.You are too concerned with at once and what will be .
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift:
That's why we call it----the Present.

5.There are no accidents

6.Shifu: ...but there are things we can control .
I can control when the fruit will fall...
And I can control What time to seed!

7.Tortoise:
Yes, but no matter what you do, That seed will grow to be a peach
tree. You may wish for an Apple or an orange,But you will get a peach.
Shifu: But peache can not defeate Tai Lung!
Tortoise: Maybe it can if you are willing to guide it , to nuture it ,
to believe in it .

8.
Shifu: Why didn't you quit ? you know I was trying to get rid of you
but you stayed!
Po: 　　Yes ,I stayed .
I stayed ,because every time you threw up brick on the head or
said I smelled ,it hurts.
　　But it could never hurt more than I did everyday in my life just being me !
　　I stayed ,because I thought .. If anyone could change me , could
make me not me ,
　　it was you -- the greatest Kong Fu teacher in the whole of China!

9.　　I'm sorry things didn't work out …
　　It's just what it's meant to be
　　Paul ,forget everything else ,your destiny still awaits.
　　We are Noodle folk
　　Broth runs deep through our veins

10.　　The secret ingredient of my secret ingredient soup is...nothing.
　　To make something special ,you just have to believe it's special.

11. Tortoise's words:
You eat when you are upset.
There are not accidents.
No news are good or bad.
You just need to believe.
You must believe.

12. Shifu's words:
You must continue your journey without me.
Internal peace, harmony and foucs.

13. Furious five's words:
We are not trying to stop you, but coming with you！

14. Po's father's words:
We all have our places in the world.
There is not secret ingredients.

15.Po's words:
Because i am THE fat panda.
If he believes in himself, he can do anything.

Some translations:

1.往往在逃避命运的路上，却与之不期而遇
2.你的思想就如同水，我的朋友，当水波摇曳时，很难看清，不过当它平静下来，答案就清澈见底了。
3.放弃，不放弃。做面条，不做面条。你太在乎过去是怎样,将来会怎样了。有句谚语说得好，昨日之日不可留，明日之日未可知，今日之日胜现金。这就是为什么叫做"现金"了。
4.昨天是历史了，明天还是未知，但今天是礼物，所以今天才叫present（有"现在"和"礼物"的意思）。
5.存在即合理
6.师傅：但有些事情我们可以控制，我可以控制果实何时坠落，我还可以控制在何处播种。
7.乌龟：是啊不过无论你做了什么，那个种子还是会长成桃树，你可能想要苹果或桔子，可你只能得到桃子，那个种子还是会长成桃树。
　　师傅：可桃子不能打败太郎。
　　乌龟：也许它可以的 ,如果你愿意引导它、滋养它、相信它。
8.你不能走，真的武士决不会退却
　　师傅：那你为什么不退出呢? 你知道我一直想把你赶走，可你还是留下来了。
　　阿宝：是啊，我留下来了。
　　我留下来是因为每次你往我头上丢砖头，或说我难闻，这很伤我的心。
　　可最伤我心的是，我每天努力练习，却还是这个我。
　　我留下来，因为我以为，
　　如果还有人能改变我，
　　能让我焕然一新，
　　那就是你--
　　中国最伟大的功夫师傅！
9. 阿宝，天不遂人愿，况且这本不是天意，阿宝，忘了其它的事情，你的使命一直都在向你召唤。
　　我们是面条家族，
　　血管中流着面汤。
10.我私家汤的绝密食材，就是……什么都没有。认为它特别，它就特别了。

JOKE:I bet I know what it is...

2009-06-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

On the last day of kindergarten, the children brought presents for their teacher. The florist's son gave her a box. She hook it, held it up, and said,

"I bet I know what it is. Is it flowers?"

"That's right!" said the boy.

Then the candy store owner's son gave her his package. She shook it, held it up, and said,

"I bet I know what it is. Is it a box of candy?"

"That's right!" said the boy.

Next the liquor store owner's son handed her his box. She shook it, held it up, and noticed that it was leaking. She touched a drop with her finger and tasted it.

"I bet I know what it is. Is it wine?"

"No,"

said the boy. She touched another drop to her tongue.

"Is it Champagne?"

"No,"

said the boy.

"I give up. What is it?"

The boy grinned:

"A puppy!"

JOKE:be my light,be my guide

2009-05-31T23:48:00.001-07:00

70-year-old George went for his annual physical. All of his tests came back with normal results. Dr. Smith said,

"George, everything looks great physically. How are you doing mentally and emotionally? Are you at peace with yourself, and do you have a good relationship with your God?"

George replied,

"God and me are tight. He knows I have poor eyesight, so He's fixed it so that when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, poof! the light goes on when I pee, and then poof! the light goes off when I'm done."

"Wow," commented Dr. Smith, "That's incredible!"

A little later in the day Dr. Smith called George's wife.

"Thelma," he said, "George is just fine. Physically he's great. But I had to call because I'm in awe of his relationship with God. Is it true that he gets up during the night and poof! the light goes on in the bathroom and then poof! the light goes off?"

George's wife exclaimed,

"That old fool! He's peeing in the refrigerator again!".

《小王子》英文版（第一部分）

2009-05-16T18:24:00.001-07:00

Preface

To Leon Werth
　　 ask the indulgence of the children who may read this book for dedicating it to a grown-up. I have a serious reason: he is the best friend I have in the world. I have another reason: this grown-up understands everything, even books about children. I have a third reason: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs cheering up. If all these reasons are not enough, I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew. All grown-ups were once children-- although few of them remember it. And so I correct my dedication:
To Leon Werth
when he was a little boy

[ Chapter 1 ]
　　　　　　 - we are introduced to the narrator, a pilot, and his ideas about grown-ups

　　Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing.
　　In the book it said: "Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing it. After that they are not able to move, and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion."
　　I pondered deeply, then, over the adventures of the jungle. And after some work with a colored pencil I succeeded in making my first drawing. My Drawing Number One. It looked like this:

　　I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups, and asked them whether the drawing frightened them.
　　But they answered: "Frighten? Why should any one be frightened by a hat?"

　　My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. But since the grown-ups were not able to understand it, I made another drawing: I drew the inside of the boa constrictor, so that the grown-ups could see it clearly. They always need to have things explained. My Drawing Number Two looked like this:

　　The grown-ups‘ response, this time, was to advise me to lay aside my drawings of boa constrictors, whether from the inside or the outside, and devote myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic and grammar. That is why, at the age of six, I gave up what might have been a magnificent career as a painter. I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

　　So then I chose another profession, and learned to pilot airplanes. I have flown a little over all parts of the world; and it is true that geography has been very useful to me. At a glance I can distinguish China from Arizona. If one gets lost in the night, such knowledge is valuable.
　　In the course of this life I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence. I have lived a great deal among grown-ups. I have seen them intimately, close at hand. And that hasn‘t much improved my opinion of them.

　　Whenever I met one of them who seemed to me at all clear-sighted, I tried the experiment of showing him my Drawing Number One, which I have always kept. I would try to find out, so, if this was a person of true understanding. But, whoever it was, he, or she, would always say:"That is a hat."
　　Then I would never talk to that person about boa constrictors, or primeval forests, or stars. I would bring myself down to his level. I would talk to him about bridge, and golf, and politics, and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such a sensible man.

[ Chapter 2 ]　
　　　　　　 - the narrator crashes in the desert and makes the acquaintance of the little prince

　　So I lived my life alone, without anyone that I could really talk to, until I had an accident with my plane in the Desert of Sahara, six years ago. Something was broken in my engine. And as I had with me neither a mechanic nor any passengers, I set myself to attempt the difficult repairs all alone. It was a question of life or death for me: I had scarcely enough drinking water to last a week.

　　The first night, then, I went to sleep on the sand, a thousand miles from any human habitation. I was more isolated than a shipwrecked sailor on a raft in the middle of the ocean. Thus you can imagine my amazement, at sunrise, when I was awakened by an odd little voice. It said:

　　"If you please-- draw me a sheep!"

　　"What!"

　　"Draw me a sheep!"

　　I jumped to my feet, completely thunderstruck. I blinked my eyes hard. I looked carefully all around me. And I saw a most extraordinary small person, who stood there examining me with great seriousness. Here you may see the best potrait that, later, I was able to make of him. But my drawing is certainly very much less charming than its model.

　　 That, however, is not my fault. The grown-ups discouraged me in my painter‘s career when I was six years old, and I never learned to draw anything, except boas from the outside and boas from the inside.

　　Now I stared at this sudden apparition with my eyes fairly starting out of my head in astonishment. Remember, I had crashed in the desert a thousand miles from any inhabited region. And yet my little man seemed neither to be straying uncertainly among the sands, nor to be fainting from fatigue or hunger or thirst or fear. Nothing about him gave any suggestion of a child lost in the middle of the desert, a thousand miles from any human habitation. When at last I was able to speak, I said to him: "But-- what are you doing here?"

　　And in answer he repeated, very slowly, as if he were speaking of a matter of great consequence: "If you please-- draw me a sheep..."

　　When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey. Absurd as it might seem to me, a thousand miles from any human habitation and in danger of death, I took out of my pocket a sheet of paper and my fountain-pen. But then I remembered how my studies had been concentrated on geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar, and I told the little chap (a little crossly, too) that I did not know how to draw. He answered me:"That doesn‘t matter. Draw me a sheep..."

　　But I had never drawn a sheep. So I drew for him one of the two pictures I had drawn so often. It was that of the boa constrictor from the outside. And I was astounded to hear the little fellow greet it with, "No, no, no! I do not want an elephant inside a boa constrictor. A boa constrictor is a very dangerous creature, and an elephant is very cumbersome. Where I live, everything is very small. What I need is a sheep. Draw me a sheep."

　　So then I made a drawing.

　　He looked at it carefully, then he said: "No. This sheep is already very sickly. Make me another."
　　So I made another drawing.

　　 My friend smiled gently and indulgenty. "You see yourself," he said, "that this is not a sheep. This is a ram. It has horns."
　　So then I did my drawing over once more.

　　But it was rejected too, just like the others. "This one is too old. I want a sheep that will live a long time."
　　By this time my patience was exhausted, because I was in a hurry to start taking my engine apart. So I tossed off this drawing.

　　And I threw out an explanation with it.

　　"This is only his box. The sheep you asked for is inside."
　　I was very surprised to see a light break over the face of my young judge:
　　"That is exactly the way I wanted it! Do you think that this sheep will have to have a great deal of grass?"
　　"Why?"
　　"Because where I live everything is very small..."
　　"There will surely be enough grass for him," I said. "It is a very small sheep that I have given you."
　　He bent his head over the drawing:
　　"Not so small that-- Look! He has gone to sleep..."

　　And that is how I made the acquaintance of the little prince.

[ Chapter 3 ]
　　　　 - the narrator learns more about from where the little prince came

　　It took me a long time to learn where he came from. The little prince, who asked me so many questions, never seemed to hear the ones I asked him. It was from words dropped by chance that, little by little, everything was revealed to me.
　　The first time he saw my airplane, for instance (I shall not draw my airplane; that would be much too complicated for me), he asked me: "What is that object?"
　　"That is not an object. It flies. It is an airplane. It is my airplane." And I was proud to have him learn that I could fly.

　　He cried out, then: "What! You dropped down from the sky?"
　　"Yes," I answered, modestly.
　　"Oh! That is funny!"
　　And the little prince broke into a lovely peal of laughter, which irritated me very much. I like my misfortunes to be taken seriously.

　　Then he added: "So you, too, come from the sky! Which is your planet?"
　　At that moment I caught a gleam of light in the impenetrable mystery of his presence; and I demanded, abruptly: "Do you come from another planet?"
　　But he did not reply. He tossed his head gently, without taking his eyes from my plane: "It is true that on that you can‘t have come from very far away..."
　　And he sank into a reverie, which lasted a long time. Then, taking my sheep out of his pocket, he buried himself in the contemplation of his treasure.

　　You can imagine how my curiosity was aroused by this half-confidence about the "other planets." I made a great effort, therefore, to find out more on this subject.
　　"My little man, where do you come from? What is this ‘where I live,‘ of which you speak? Where do you want to take your sheep?"
　　After a reflective silence he answered: "The thing that is so good about the box you have given me is that at night he can use it as his house."
　　"That is so. And if you are good I will give you a string, too, so that you can tie him during the day, and a post to tie him to."
　　But the little prince seemed shocked by this offer: "Tie him! What a queer idea!"
　　"But if you don‘t tie him," I said, "he will wander off somewhere, and get lost."
　　My friend broke into another peal of laughter: "But where do you think he would go?"
　　"Anywhere. Straight ahead of him."
　　Then the little prince said, earnestly: "That doesn‘t matter. Where I live, everything is so small!"
　　And, with perhaps a hint of sadness, he added: "Straight ahead of him, nobody can go very far..."

[ Chapter 4 ]
　　　　　　 - the narrator speculates as to which asteroid from which the little prince came　　

　　I had thus learned a second fact of great importance: this was that the planet the little prince came from was scarcely any larger than a house!
　　But that did not really surprise me much. I knew very well that in addition to the great planets-- such as the Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Venus-- to which we have given names, there are also hundreds of others, some of which are so small that one has a hard time seeing them through the telescope. When an astronomer discovers one of these he does not give it a name, but only a number. He might call it, for example, "Asteroid 325."

　　I have serious reason to believe that the planet from which the little prince came is the asteroid known as B-612. This asteroid has only once been seen through the telescope. That was by a Turkish astronomer, in 1909.

　　On making his discovery, the astronomer had presented it to the International Astronomical Congress, in a great demonstration. But he was in Turkish costume, and so nobody would believe what he said.
　　Grown-ups are like that...

　　Fortunately, however, for the reputation of Asteroid B-612, a Turkish dictator made a law that his subjects, under pain of death, should change to European costume. So in 1920 the astronomer gave his demonstration all over again, dressed with impressive style and elegance. And this time everybody accepted his report.

　　If I have told you these details about the asteroid, and made a note of its number for you, it is on account of the grown-ups and their ways. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?" Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?" Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

　　If you were to say to the grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof," they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them: "I saw a house that cost $20,000." Then they would exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house that is!"

　　Just so, you might say to them: "The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists." And what good would it do to tell them that? They would shrug their shoulders, and treat you like a child. But if you said to them: "The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612," then they would be convinced, and leave you in peace from their questions.
　　They are like that. One must not hold it against them. Children should always show great forbearance toward grown-up people.

　　But certainly, for us who understand life, figures are a matter of indifference. I should have liked to begin this story in the fashion of the fairy-tales. I should have like to say: "Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet that was scarcely any bigger than himself, and who had need of a sheep..."
　　To those who understand life, that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story.

　　For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly. I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories. Six years have already passed since my friend went away from me, with his sheep. If I try to describe him here, it is to make sure that I shall not forget him. To forget a friend is sad. Not every one has had a friend. And if I forget him, I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures...

　　It is for that purpose, again, that I have bought a box of paints and some pencils. It is hard to take up drawing again at my age, when I have never made any pictures except those of the boa constrictor from the outside and the boa constrictor from the inside, since I was six. I shall certainly try to make my portraits as true to life as possible. But I am not at all sure of success. One drawing goes along all right, and another has no resemblance to its subject. I make some errors, too, in the littl e prince‘s height: in one place he is too tall and in another too short. And I feel some doubts about the color of his costume. So I fumble along as best I can, now good, now bad, and I hope generally fair-to-middling.

　　In certain more important details I shall make mistakes, also. But that is something that will not be my fault. My friend never explained anything to me. He thought, perhaps, that I was like himself. But I, alas, do not know how to see sheep through t he walls of boxes. Perhaps I am a little like the grown-ups. I have had to grow old.
[ Chapter 5 ]
　　　　　　 - we are warned as to the dangers of the baobabs

　　As each day passed I would learn, in our talk, something about the little prince‘s planet, his departure from it, his journey. The information would come very slowly, as it might chance to fall from his thoughts. It was in this way that I heard, on the third day, about the catastrophe of the baobabs.
　　This time, once more, I had the sheep to thank for it. For the little prince asked me abruptly-- as if seized by a grave doubt-- "It is true, isn‘t it, that sheep eat little bushes?"
　　"Yes, that is true."
　　"Ah! I am glad!"
　　I did not understand why it was so important that sheep should eat little bushes. But the little prince added:
　　"Then it follows that they also eat baobabs?"
　　I pointed out to the little prince that baobabs were not little bushes, but, on the contrary, trees as big as castles; and that even if he took a whole herd of elephants away with him, the herd would not eat up one single baobab.

　　The idea of the herd of elephants made the little prince laugh.
　　"We would have to put them one on top of the other," he said.
　　But he made a wise comment:
　　"Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little."
　　"That is strictly correct," I said. "But why do you want the sheep to eat the little baobabs?"
　　He answered me at once, "Oh, come, come!", as if he were speaking of something that was self-evident. And I was obliged to make a great mental effort to solve this problem, without any assistance.

　　Indeed, as I learned, there were on the planet where the little prince lived-- as on all planets-- good plants and bad plants. In consequence, there were good seeds from good plants, and bad seeds from bad plants. But seeds are invisible. They sleep deep in the heart of the earth‘s darkness, until some one among them is seized with the desire to awaken. Then this little seed will stretch itself and begin-- timidly at first-- to push a charming little sprig inoffensively upward toward the sun. If it is only a sprout of radish or the sprig of a rose-bush, one would let it grow wherever it might wish. But when it is a bad plant, one must destroy it as soon as possible, the very first instant that one recognizes it.

　　Now there were some terrible seeds on the planet that was the home of the little prince; and these were the seeds of the baobab. The soil of that planet was infested with them. A baobab is something you will never, never be able to get rid of if you attend to it too late. It spreads over the entire planet. It bores clear through it with its roots. And if the planet is too small, and the baobabs are too many, they split it in pieces...

　　"It is a question of discipline," the little prince said to me later on. "When you‘ve finished your own toilet in the morning, then it is time to attend to the toilet of your planet, just so, with the greatest care. You must see to it that you pull up regularly all the baobabs, at the very first moment when they can be distinguished from the rosebushes which they resemble so closely in their earliest youth. It is very tedious work," the little prince added, "but very easy."
　　And one day he said to me: "You ought to make a beautiful drawing, so that the children where you live can see exactly how all this is. That would be very useful to them if they were to travel some day. Sometimes," he added, "there is no harm in putting off a piece of work until another day. But when it is a matter of baobabs, that always means a catastrophe. I knew a planet that was inhabited by a lazy man. He neglected three little bushes..."

　　So, as the little prince described it to me, I have made a drawing of that planet. I do not much like to take the tone of a moralist. But the danger of the baobabs is so little understood, and such considerable risks would be run by anyone who might get lost on an asteroid, that for once I am breaking through my reserve. "Children," I say plainly, "watch out for the baobabs!"
　　My friends, like myself, have been skirting this danger for a long time, without ever knowing it; and so it is for them that I have worked so hard over this drawing. The lesson which I pass on by this means is worth all the trouble it has cost me.
　　Perhaps you will ask me, "Why are there no other drawing in this book as magnificent and impressive as this drawing of the baobabs?"
　　The reply is simple. I have tried. But with the others I have not been successful. When I made the drawing of the baobabs I was carried beyond myself by the inspiring force of urgent necessity.
[ Chapter 6 ]
　　　　　　- the little prince and the narrator talk about sunsets

　　Oh, little prince! Bit by bit I came to understand the secrets of your sad little life... For a long time you had found your only entertainment in the quiet pleasure of looking at the sunset. I learned that new detail on the morning of the fourth day, when you said to me: "I am very fond of sunsets. Come, let us go look at a sunset now."
　　"But we must wait," I said.
　　"Wait? For what?"
　　"For the sunset. We must wait until it is time."
　　At first you seemed to be very much surprised. And then you laughed to yourself. You said to me:
　　"I am always thinking that I am at home!"
　　Just so. Everybody knows that when it is noon in the United States the sun is setting over France.

　　If you could fly to France in one minute, you could go straight into the sunset, right from noon. Unfortunately, France is too far away for that. But on your tiny planet, my little prince, all you need do is move your chair a few steps. You can see the day end and the twilight falling whenever you like...
　　"One day," you said to me, "I saw the sunset forty-four times!"
　　And a little later you added:
　　"You know-- one loves the sunset, when one is so sad..."
　　"Were you so sad, then?" I asked, "on the day of the forty-four sunsets?"
　　But the little prince made no reply.

[ Chapter 7 ]
　　　　　　- the narrator learns about the secret of the little prince's life

　　On the fifth day-- again, as always, it was thanks to the sheep-- the secret of the little prince‘s life was revealed to me. Abruptly, without anything to lead up to it, and as if the question had been born of long and silent meditation on his problem, he demanded:
　　"A sheep-- if it eats little bushes, does it eat flowers, too?"
　　"A sheep," I answered, "eats anything it finds in its reach."
　　"Even flowers that have thorns?"
　　"Yes, even flowers that have thorns."
　　"Then the thorns-- what use are they?"

　　I did not know. At that moment I was very busy trying to unscrew a bolt that had got stuck in my engine. I was very much worried, for it was becoming clear to me that the breakdown of my plane was extremely serious. And I had so little drinking-water left that I had to fear for the worst.

　　"The thorns-- what use are they?"
　　The little prince never let go of a question, once he had asked it. As for me, I was upset over that bolt. And I answered with the first thing that came into my head:

　　"The thorns are of no use at all. Flowers have thorns just for spite!"
　　"Oh!"
　　There was a moment of complete silence. Then the little prince flashed back at me, with a kind of resentfulness:
　　"I don‘t believe you! Flowers are weak creatures. They are name. They reassure themselves as best they can. They believe that their thorns are terrible weapons..."
　　I did not answer. At that instant I was saying to myself: "If this bolt still won‘t turn, I am going to knock it out with the hammer." Again the little prince disturbed my thoughts.
　　"And you actually believe that the flowers--"
　　"Oh, no!" I cried. "No, no no! I don‘t believe anything. I answered you with the first thing that came into my head. Don‘t you see-- I am very busy with matters of consequence!"
　　He stared at me, thunderstruck.
　　"Matters of consequence!"
　　
　　He looked at me there, with my hammer in my hand, my fingers black with engine-grease, bending down over an object which seemed to him extremely ugly...
　　"You talk just like the grown-ups!"
　　That made me a little ashamed. But he went on, relentlessly:
　　"You mix everything up together... You confuse everything..."
　　He was really very angry. He tossed his golden curls in the breeze.
　　"I know a planet where there is a certain red-faced gentleman. He has never smelled a flower. He has never looked at a star. He has never loved any one. He has never done anything in his life but add up figures. And all day he says over and over, just like you: ‘I am busy with matters of consequence!‘ And that makes him swell up with pride. But he is not a man-- he is a mushroom!"
　　"A what?"
　　"A mushroom!"
　　The little prince was now white with rage.
　　"The flowers have been growing thorns for millions of years. For millions of years the sheep have been eating them just the same. And is it not a matter of consequence to try to understand why the flowers go to so much trouble to grow thorns which are never of any use to them? Is the warfare between the sheep and the flowers not important? Is this not of more consequence than a fat red-faced gentleman‘s sums? And if I know-- I, myself-- one flower which is unique in the world, which grows nowhere but on my planet, but which one little sheep can destroy in a single bite some morning, without even noticing what he is doing-- Oh! You think that is not important!"

　　His face turned from white to red as he continued:
　　"If some one loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars. He can say to himself, ‘Somewhere, my flower is there...‘ But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened... And you think that is not important!"
　　He could not say anything more. His words were choked by sobbing.

　　The night had fallen. I had let my tools drop from my hands. Of what moment now was my hammer, my bolt, or thirst, or death? On one star, one planet, my planet, the Earth, there was a little prince to be comforted. I took him in my arms, and rocked him. I said to him:
　　"The flower that you love is not in danger. I will draw you a muzzle for your sheep. I will draw you a railing to put around your flower. I will--"
　　I did not know what to say to him. I felt awkward and blundering. I did not know how I could reach him, where I could overtake him and go on hand in hand with him once more.
　　It is such a secret place, the land of tears.
[ Chapter 8 ]
　　　　　- the rose arrives at the little prince‘s planet

　　I soon learned to know this flower better. On the little prince‘s planet the flowers had always been very simple. They had only one ring of petals; they took up no room at all; they were a trouble to nobody. One morning they would appear in the grass, and by night they would have faded peacefully away. But one day, from a seed blown from no one knew where, a new flower had come up; and the little prince had watched very closely over this small sprout which was not like any other small sprouts on his planet. It might, you see, have been a new kind of baobab.

　　The shrub soon stopped growing, and began to get ready to produce a flower. The little prince, who was present at the first appearance of a huge bud, felt at once that some sort of miraculous apparition must emerge from it. But the flower was not satisfied to complete the preparations for her beauty in the shelter of her green chamber. She chose her colours with the greatest care. She adjusted her petals one by one. She did not wish to go out into the world all rumpled, like the field poppies. It was only in the full radiance of her beauty that she wished to appear. Oh, yes! She was a coquettish creature! And her mysterious adornment lasted for days and days.

　　Then one morning, exactly at sunrise, she suddenly showed herself.
　　And, after working with all this painstaking precision, she yawned and said:
　　"Ah! I am scarcely awake. I beg that you will excuse me. My petals are still all disarranged..."
　　But the little prince could not restrain his admiration:
　　"Oh! How beautiful you are!"
　　"Am I not?" the flower responded, sweetly. "And I was born at the same moment as the sun..."
　　The little prince could guess easily enough that she was not any too modest-- but how moving-- and exciting-- she was!
　　"I think it is time for breakfast," she added an instant later. "If you would have the kindness to think of my needs--"
　　And the little prince, completely abashed, went to look for a sprinkling-can of fresh water. So, he tended the flower.

　　So, too, she began very quickly to torment him with her vanity-- which was, if the truth be known, a little difficult to deal with. One day, for instance, when she was speaking of her four thorns, she said to the little prince:
　　"Let the tigers come with their claws!"
　　"There are no tigers on my planet," the little prince objected. "And, anyway, tigers do not eat weeds."

　　"I am not a weed," the flower replied, sweetly.
　　"Please excuse me..."
　　"I am not at all afraid of tigers," she went on, "but I have a horror of drafts. I suppose you wouldn‘t have a screen for me?"
　　"A horror of drafts-- that is bad luck, for a plant," remarked the little prince, and added to himself, "This flower is a very complex creature..."
　　"At night I want you to put me under a glass globe. It is very cold where you live. In the place I came from--"

　　 But she interrupted herself at that point. She had come in the form of a seed. She could not have known anything of any other worlds. Embarassed over having let herself be caught on the verge of such a na�e untruth, she coughed two or three times, in order to put the little prince in the wrong.
　　"The screen?"
　　"I was just going to look for it when you spoke to me..."
　　Then she forced her cough a little more so that he should suffer from remorse just the same.
　　So the little prince, in spite of all the good will that was inseparable from his love, had soon come to doubt her. He had taken seriously words which were without importance, and it made him very unhappy.
　　"I ought not to have listened to her," he confided to me one day. "One never ought to listen to the flowers. One should simply look at them and breathe their fragrance. Mine perfumed all my planet. But I did not know how to take pleasure in all her grace. This tale of claws, which disturbed me so much, should only have filled my heart with tenderness and pity."
　　And he continued his confidences:
　　"The fact is that I did not know how to understand anything! I ought to have judged by deeds and not by words. She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her... I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little strategems. Flowers are so inconsistent! But I was too young to know how to love her..."

[ Chapter 9 ]
　　　　　　- the little prince leaves his planet

　　I believe that for his escape he took advantage of the migration of a flock of wild birds. On the morning of his departure he put his planet in perfect order. He carefully cleaned out his active volcanoes. He possessed two active volcanoes; and they were very convenient for heating his breakfast in the morning. He also had one volcano that was extinct. But, as he said, "One never knows!" So he cleaned out the extinct volcano, too. If they are well cleaned out, volcanoes burn slowly and steadily, without any eruptions. Volcanic eruptions are like fires in a chimney.

　　On our earth we are obviously much too small to clean out our volcanoes. That is why they bring no end of trouble upon us.

　　The little prince also pulled up, with a certain sense of dejection, the last little shoots of the baobabs. He believed that he would never want to return. But on this last morning all these familiar tasks seemed very precious to him. And when he watered the flower for the last time, and prepared to place her under the shelter of her glass globe, he realised that he was very close to tears.
　　"Goodbye," he said to the flower.
　　But she made no answer.
　　"Goodbye," he said again.
　　The flower coughed. But it was not because she had a cold.
　　"I have been silly," she said to him, at last. "I ask your forgiveness. Try to be happy..."
　　He was surprised by this absence of reproaches. He stood there all bewildered, the glass globe held arrested in mid-air. He did not understand this quiet sweetness.
　　"Of course I love you," the flower said to him. "It is my fault that you have not known it all the while. That is of no importance. But you-- you have been just as foolish as I. Try to be happy... let the glass globe be. I don‘t want it any more."
　　"But the wind--"
　　"My cold is not so bad as all that... the cool night air will do me good. I am a flower."
　　"But the animals--"
　　"Well, I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies. It seems that they are very beautiful. And if not the butterflies-- and the caterpillars-- who will call upon me? You will be far away... as for the large animals-- I am not at all afraid of any of them. I have my claws."
　　And, na�ely, she showed her four thorns. Then she added:
　　"Don‘t linger like this. You have decided to go away. Now go!"
　　For she did not want him to see her crying. She was such a proud flower...

Why Chinese don’t go Dutch?

2009-05-14T18:28:00.001-07:00

A friend asks me "Why Chinese don't go Dutch?" So I want to regard
this question as the topic and write an article. As everyone knows,
Occidental will go Dutch while having a meal in the restaurant. But
Chinese don't go Dutch. Chinese will pay the bill and check out
generously. Occidental don't often entertain guests; but Chinese often
invite friend to dinner. A lot of Occidentals feel puzzled to this
question.
Why exists such a difference? Because of the East and West culture and
custom are different on the surface. I will analyze this question
concretely.
First of all, food systems between China and Occident are different.
Chinese put into practice Gather Dining System; Occidentals put into
practice Individual Dining System. Everybody can share the delicious
food of all over the table when eating Chinese food. Please note it is
sharing; but Occidentals just eat the food in one's own plate, if you
eat beef, he eats chicken. It is impossible that you taste the flavor
of his chicken. The result of the Individual Dining System is that you
can only eat the food in your plate. It is unable to share. Ha-ha!
What I said is right!
So to eat Chinese food is happier than to eat Western-style food. And
I want to ask you a question. Do you like the free thing? I think
nobody don't like the free thing. Ok! Suppose I invite you to eat the
delicious Chinese food, then I pay the bill. This is equivalent to
that you have enjoyed a delicious Chinese food free. So you will be
very glad. Have strengthened the relation between us in the happy
atmosphere.
Secondly, Occidentals eat for the health; Chinese eat for the
friendship. Occidental advocate individualism and independence is
strong. So Occidental express that respect for each other's
independence through the way go Dutch. Chinese like making friends and
solidarity. Chinese value the interpersonal relationships and
friendship very much. There are a lot of folk adages in China, for
example "Depend on parents at home, leave home and depend on the
friend!","Handle affairs is easy if you have many friends!", another
sentence is the more violent: "Insert the knife into both sides of the
rib for friend!!!".
Therefore, friend's position is important in Chinese's mind. The
purpose that Chinese don't go Dutch is doesn't want to destroy the
friendship between the friends. Dutch treatment is the stingy behavior
in China, is unfavorable to the friends' solidarity and is unfavorable
to keeping the harmonious interpersonal relationship.
Third, it is only simple "Have a meal!" that Occidental entertain
guests. It is not purpose that Chinese entertain guests, but it is the
means. In Americans' idea, "Have a meal" definition is to add fuel to
the body for keeping health and normal life activity. Thus resist the
attack of disease. That is to say, there is no any additional value.
In the Chinese idea, "Have a meal" not only is for maintaining the
health of the body, but also is a kind of life enjoyment, even is the
means to promote friendship between the friends. After enjoying the
sumptuous delicious food, you are glad, I am glad too, everybody is
glad. The friendship between the friends has been strengthened in this
kind of atmosphere.
Chinese are a nation liking treat very much. Generally speaking, one
party who propose treat will pay the bill in China. But purposes are
different. For example you help me to do a thing, I will invite you to
dinner in order to express thankfulness to you, certainly, I will pay
the bill. Suppose I am a company manager, you are another company
manager. I talk about the business with you, and I will say: "Let's
have a meal together!". Certainly, I will pay the bill. My purpose is
that congratulates business' success, promote the friendship between
us, even the friendship and cooperation between two companies.
In fact, Chinese are very complicated. So I say that Chinese don't go
Dutch is not merely a kind of folkway and custom, but it is a means, a
method, a repayment way, a way to express emotion, even is probably a
kind of stratagem …

FROM SINA

[英文信件]一封四百块钱的信

2009-05-14T17:50:00.001-07:00

一封四百块钱的信

转自南桥的blog:http://family.mblogger.cn/berlinf/posts/148778.aspx

好多中国同胞说美国不比中国，除了买车、买房、买钢琴等大件外，讨价还价是没有用的。我发觉不是这么回事，有一些费用有所争议，是可以通过交涉，给降低的。我们在异国他乡生活，奉公守法，该我付的钱，我一分钱不会欠，一分钱不会少，但是莫名其妙的费用，多一分钱我也不给。我就有几个这样的事例。比如有回公寓退房后，房东寄给我1500多的账单，被我几次邮件来回，降到了300元不到。如果说文字有什么力量的话，就体现在那个时候了。

和房东交涉的时候，我甚至跟他讲到了英语语法。他说我damage，我说不能这么说，damage is an action verb, and I am not the doer of this action, 因为这和犯罪是一个道理，我得有动机、能力、环境，首先这动机我就没有，我干嘛要破坏我自己住的地方？因此这个damage应该是被动语态，It is damaged due to time, use, as well as the lack of repair, which is your responsibility, 因为动作执行者不是我(或者不说全是我），三年时间过去了，有自然损耗，有的是我找你来修你没来。所以责任方有三方：我自己、时间、物业。最后，在被动语态的帮助下，我砍掉了900，还有将近600我们争执不下，我想到了国际上处理争端水域的办法是“争议部分均分法”（equal division of disputed amount）, 因此我提议用这个办法，均分这个费用，他居然同意了。结果，这1500多块的费用，被我砍到了三百块不到。

最近，由于利率调低，我准备重新贷款（refinance），找原来的银行，它给出了百分之四点几的利息，我都准备重新贷了，但是由于各样的沟通问题，后来才发觉这个重新贷款的手续费（settlement cost）太高，居然将近4000，与当初对方给我的估算出入很大。前后算起来，重新贷款意义不大，于是决定取消。但是如果是我这方面取消，我当初交的400块钱定金就被没收。负责此事的J先生说除非是银行方面未批准交易，否则如果是客户提出，定金不退。但是后来想到此事的前后经过，觉得不对劲，于是写了一封信给处理此案的另外一个人(Y)，陈述了前因后果。看此信后，对方二话没说，以迅雷不及掩耳盗铃之势，将钱退回到我卡上了。我想登在这里，让遇到类似情况的其它朋友有所启发。我总的感觉是，自己的权利千万不要轻易放弃，但是也不要胡乱指责，因为你未必知道对方是什么情况，那么又何必拿收信的人当出气筒呢？以前说沟通话题的时候，老师告诉我们不要太aggressive (咄咄逼人)，也不要passive(任人欺负)，更不要passive-agreesive(当面一套背后一套)，最可取之道是assertive（有一说一，有二说二）, 这是个长久的功课，一直得学，我希望我是按照assertive的原则来的，但也不知做到了多少，好在钱是给要回来了。

Dear Ms. Y,

Thank you so much for processing the loan （人家处理这个案子确实也花费了时间，应该感谢，虽然她的同事占主要责任）, but I ended up having to give it up after a talk with Mr. J, in which he didn’t see a way to cut the settlement cost any further. （我一开始写I ended up giving up, 可是我发觉这样就是我个人的责任了，是我主动放弃，后来我改成了I ended up having to give up,‘我最终不得不放弃’，确实也不是我主动放弃，是不得不放弃。）

I am wondering if that 400-dollar initial deposit or other cost, if there is any that I may not know of, can be refunded or canceled. （一开始我只写了400块，但是后来我怀疑还有什么别的潜在费用，以后再来磨岂不是耽误双方时间，所以叫它别的费用也一并取消）。

Even though I decided against refinancing, I am still a customer of your bank. I have not taken my loan elsewhere.  （我虽然没有贷款，但是还是他们银行的客户，并没有找其它银行。我这里没说，但是他应该明白，如果真的把我得罪，我换个银行，其实还是他们损失大，当然我换的话成本也很高，这是双输的局面。）

More importantly, I didn’t give it up out of whim or simply for my own reasons. There were problems in our communication which I regret to say were not my responsibility.  （我说我不是一时兴起，或是出于个人原因取消的，而是因为一些沟通问题，且不是我的责任。）

The main reason this refinancing cannot happen is because the cost has not been as transparent as it should have been.   I was told that it would cost around 2000 at a rate of 4.4. When I received your emailed copy of the documentation, I found that I will have to pay for “discount rate”, which came totally as a surprise. I made it very explicit in my initial contact that I do not want to buy points or discount. I understand that the rate of 4.4 is the rate Mr. J offered to me, with no strings attached. I decided to enter into this process with the understanding that I am getting this rate without the discount.   Unfortunately there was this cost that had not been disclosed to me.

（这里我说他们一开始没有原原本本告诉我成本的构成，而只是给了个估算，2000左右，但是最后不知怎么变成了4000多，其中包括一个‘利息折扣’，这与我当初与他们的沟通不符。但是我怀疑银行就是通过这种暗藏的费用坑骗客户的。）

The title fees are too high too. I understand that this is nothing you can control how much a title company charges, but there should be title companies that charge less. Unfortunately such options were not offered to me. I cannot just accept a refinancing deal if all the initial conditions have changed to add substantially to my cost.
(他们说这4000多元，包括title公司的的费用，我们这个州这方面费用很贵，不是他们能控制的，但是即便是这样，他也可以找几家供我选择，而不是随便找一家强加给我，这是他们自己的工作没有做到家。)

The entire process of refinancing has also been frustrating to me. I am sure it is frustrating to you as well. I wish things had not been this way. （到手的交易泡汤了，对他也是个损失，也得体谅。）But after our initial phone talk about the refinancing, I was told that I am going to receive a package detailing everything, but so far I have not received anything of this nature from your bank. Mr. J said he sent it through DHL, but typically DHL would require you to sign it, and I have not received any bank mail that would require me to sign. Mr. J said they might not require signature, but still I have not received any package or mail at all from your bank. Mr. J promised to check with the processing team about this because they would have tracking number for the package, but I haven’t heard from anybody yet. I really don’t know what have happened. In any case, after the initial conversation on the phone, I tried to reach him several times via both email and phone messages, to get his fax number because I need that for my insurance agent, but I have not heard back from him. Mr. J has been very helpful in our initial communication, but I don’t know why there is a communication issue later on. (这里确实是J先生的过错) I understand that people are busy, and these things do happen, or maybe my case has gone somewhere else in the pipeline, so I do not want to blame anyone in this process. Nor would I know whom to blame, because I do not know how your process works。(可是我发觉也不能的理不饶人，他们贷款处理的流程我也不懂，说不定是他负责一开始和客户沟通，准备材料是其他人，邮寄的又是别的人，既然不清楚，就不能把话说绝了，不是这个人的错，去责怪他是没道理的，而且会引起对方的恼恨。) However it is really not my favorite thing to be taken by surprise between the initial communication and then the paperwork, which substantially escalate the cost that has made it not desirable to refinance. It does not seem fair to me to be bearing the cost myself considering the problems as described above, problems that I didn't cause. （但是不管是他们流程中谁的错，让我承担后果是不对的。）

I will appreciate it if you can refund the deposit to me, or please forward my mail to one who could if you do not handle such issues. （我这信是发给最后一个和我联系的Y小姐，结果她果然爽快给我转给了其他人。)

Thank you so much,
Nan Qiao

48 Tips to a Happy Marriage

2009-05-13T19:02:00.001-07:00

I came across a list titled: "48 Tips to a Happy Marriage". I thought
that they are worth mentioning and maybe exploring. I wonder how much
of these are followed by couples in our society and do they find them
relevant and applicable?

Since I am still single; I will comment about each one from my own
perspective and state what I think about it; by that; I am not
dictating or promoting anything, I am just thinking in the form of
writing.

The list goes as follows; if you become bored while going through
them, stop and come back later because I found them very interesting
and I am hoping you will do too:

1. Start each day with a kiss ~ I think this one is not that hard; on
the contrary; it can be healthy and nice.

2. Wear your wedding ring at all times ~ most couples do wear the
ring, however; their reasons might vary, so as long as they think of
it as a sign of their commitment to their spouses, then they are on
the safe side.

3. Date once a week ~ I believe this one is very healthy; maybe not as
often as once a week, let's say every other week or that a date can be
inside your home and that you don't have to go somewhere fancy to have
it, you get the idea, right?

4. Accept differences ~ No one is perfect. However; healthy arguments
are good for the relationship, hence; the most important thing would
be learning how to compromise with one another.

5. Be polite ~ Please, thank you, you are welcome… these are not only
meant for strangers; your own spouse and family should come first and
you must always use these phrases inside your home.

6. Be gentle ~ a person is supposed to be the closest to his/her
spouse, being gentle is crucial to keep them close enough or they will
find that comfort elsewhere.

7. Give gifts ~ nice small gifts are appreciated every once in a while

8. Smile often ~ I would say: Smile Always because it is contagious
and you are more likely to be smiled at when you show your teeth more
often!!

9. Touch ~ intimacy between married people is very important and
touching is a means of communication that reflects closeness,
connection and love; it is your way of keeping the spark alive.

10. Talk about dreams ~ dreams of the future that is; if you don't
share your dreams with your spouse; then who?

11. Select a song that can be "our song" ~ this sounds like a cliché,
but it can be nice, don't you think?

12. Give back rubs ~ this means: be comforting both mentally and
physically and if you don't know how to give back rubs and massages;
it is time to learn!

13. Laugh together ~ laughter is like smiling and as they say: it is
medicine. When you share good laughs together; the fun grows in the
relationship and you grow closer and stronger every day.

14. Send a card for no reason ~ another cliché? Maybe, but everyone
likes to receive a nice "I love you" or "I miss you" notes every once
in a while; it does boost one's ego, doesn't it?

15. Do what the other person wants before he or she asks ~ of course;
you need to know your spouse so well to be able to do this one. I
guess this comes with time as you grow to know each other but seek to
get that knowledge; don't assume that it will come to you!

16. Listen ~ this could be the most important one ever, but note that
you should listen with empathy and not just hear what they are saying;
you should get involved.

17. Encourage ~ positive support and being there for one another is
also very important; seek their support and give them yours and be
generous!

18. Do it his or her way ~ sometimes; you need to do things their way
just to show how much you love them and respect their feelings.

19. Know his or her needs ~ what good is a spouse if he/she does not
know the needs of their significant others? This should be your
primary concern!

20. Compliment twice a day ~ everyone likes to hear something nice as
a compliment; so give them that when it is due. It should not be
literally twice but don't be extreme by not giving at all or giving
too much; just say something nice when you can.

21. Fix the other person's breakfast ~ it doesn't have to be breakfast
in bed though!

22. Call during the day ~ but don't over do it and be obsessed with
calling him/her. Give them their space but also show them that you
think of them by a 2-minutes phone call saying "how are you doing?"

23. Slow down ~ and don't jump to conclusions; always give the benefit
of the doubt and wait to hear them out.

24. Cuddle ~ yes; intimacy is very important and reflects love and
deep feelings.

25. Ask for each others' opinion ~ absolutely; whose opinion would you
seek if not your spouse's? Your decisions will reflect both your lives
and not only your own, so their opinion is important for you to make
the right move.

26. Show respect ~ all the time; whether you are alone or among
others. Showing respect is more important than showing love.

27. Welcome the other person home ~ show enthusiasm when they come
home and greet them; this means that you are happy because they are
home now and that you were waiting for them!

28. Look your best ~ I understand that this is not easy to implement
since we face different situations all day long, however; it does
count that you make the effort to look your best every once in a while
just for their sake and not only because you are going out or
expecting guests, get the point?

29. Wink at each other ~ another cliché? Probably, but it can be any
other gesture like smiling their way across the room or dining table,
or holding their hand for a minute, just anything that appeals to both
of you.

30. Celebrate birthdays in a big way ~ this does not mean a big party;
just show them you care about their personal occasions.

31. Apologize ~ and don't be too stubborn to admit that you made a
mistake, because apologizing can clear things between you and allows
you to move on from the conflict in a healthy manner.

32. Forgive ~ from the heart and not only in words; forgive them and mean it.

33. Set up a romantic getaway ~ this sounds like fun every once in a
while; no harm in that!

34. Ask, "What can I do to make you happier?" ~ in other words;
communicate and keep it going, because one's needs might change along
the way, and what they used to like a couple of years ago might not be
appealing to them now; so make sure you ask them what does make them
happy and do it.

35. Be positive ~ even when it is a negative era of your lives; always
try to show the full half of the cup.

36. Be kind ~ and nice.

37. Be vulnerable ~ let those guards down and show your true colors.

38. Respond quickly to the other person's request ~ show them that you
are doing this because you care for them the most.

39. Talk about your love ~ again; communicate. Always tell them as
well as show them how much you love them and how happy you are because
of having them in your lives.

40. Treat each others' friends and relatives with courtesy ~ even if
you don't like their family and/or friends, you treat them with
respect and courtesy for the sake of your spouse; they deserve that
much.

41. Send flowers every Valentine's Day and anniversary ~ or just for
the sake of it; flowers can say a lot on your behalf.

42. Admit when wrong ~ don't be too arrogant to say it.

43. Be sensitive to each other's sexual desires ~ more importantly;
understand these desires and keep the communication going.

44. Pray for each other daily ~ and do it from the heart.

45. Watch sunsets together ~ just share such moments together; it does
not have to be sunset; it can be anything else.

46. Say "I love you" frequently ~ don't assume that they know you love
them; everyone likes to hear it, so say it!

47. End the day with a hug ~ show closeness and again; intimacy.

48. Seek outside help when needed ~ if you reach a point when you feel
that you cannot solve the problem alone; seek the help of someone you
both trust before giving up, or go for professional help as a last
resort. Never feel ashamed of that; seeking help is a lot better than
giving up and doing your very best to solve your issues. You owe it to
yourself and to them to do that.

FROM youth of China

Taiwan travel

2009-05-12T17:49:00.001-07:00

Taipei boasts a wide variety of scrumptious, regional Chinese cuisines
and a few down-home specialties, all of which stem from the island's
history.

Take one part local food tradition, which shares much with
southeastern Chinese fare and favors fresh seafood, especially
oysters. Add a strong dash of Japanese flavor (like wasabi), culled
from 50 years of Japanese colonization that ended in 1945. Then mix in
some of China's finest cooking traditions from Chongqing to Shenyang
(think Sichuan-style gong bao ji ding -- kungpao chicken -- and
northern China-style beef noodle soup) brought here by the
Mandarin-speaking Kuomintang elite when they fled the mainland, along
with their cooks, in the late 1940s. The result: contemporary
Taiwanese food.

For a city with a reputation among some foodies for having some of the
world's best Chinese food, an eating tour of Taipei is highly
appropriate. But it's not for the faint of heart, or small of stomach.

In fact, were you to actually consume all the food and drink on this
itinerary, you'd feel more like a nap than a walk. Consider yourself
warned: Nibble at the suggested stops, don't fill up. And pick and
choose dishes according to your taste, appetite and endurance.

9 A.M. DOUJIANG AND YOUTIAO
For breakfast, start your stroll at the Taipei Fullerton, a boutique
hotel on Fuxing South Road. From the hotel, turn left and cross Fuxing
South Road. Soon, you'll hit a small strip of doujiang (soy milk)
restaurants.

Head for the first one on the corner: Yonghe Doujiang Da Wang (Yonghe
Soy Milk Emperor) at No. 102, next to a fire station. It takes its
name from the suburb, Yonghe, where the original restaurant was
located. Today, Yonghe-style breakfast joints are famous across the
Chinese-speaking world.

The quintessential Yonghe-style breakfast is doujiang and youtiao --
soy milk and fried bread sticks. The soy milk comes cold or hot,
spooned up from big vats near the entrance. If you want a more
substantial breakfast, add the turnip cake with soy-based sauce (luo
buo gao), a pancake-and-egg combo (shao bing jia dan), and crisp cakes
(su bing), lightly baked, hollow thin cakes with sugar, sesame or
peanut paste spread on the inside. You should be able to walk away
with a full stomach for well under US$3.

10 A.M. AN DONG MARKET
From the breakfast place, turn right and continue south down Fuxing
South Road. Take a right on Lane 148, Fuxing South Road (Taipei's side
lanes are named after the roads they branch off).

Check out the betel-nut stand near the corner, and try some if you
dare. This mild intoxicant is a favorite in Taiwan, India and some
parts of Southeast Asia (but not mainland China). Working-class types
here swear by the stuff, and you can tell a betel-nut fan by the
telltale red stains around the mouth.

Across Taiwan, especially outside major cities, 'betel nut beauties'
-- 20-something females in microscopic outfits -- attempt to lure
buyers to their roadside stands. But in Taipei, you're more likely to
find a cranky middle-aged man or smiling granny selling the nuts. If
you try it, bite or clip off the rind of the nut, then chew it like
gum -- don't swallow it and be sure to spit out the juice, otherwise
you're likely to get sick to your stomach. A small bag of nuts costs
$1.50.

Continue walking down Lane 148 until you reach the An Dong market on
your left, at No. 75 Rui An St. Here's your chance to check out a
traditional Taiwanese market. Many are losing business to
supermarkets, but they aren't extinct yet. Check out the butcher and
the fruit stands. You'll also find shops selling 'ghost money,' paper
that's burned for good fortune and to appease the gods or wandering
spirits.

Leave the market and cut across Rui An Street to Lane 180, Rui An
Street. There's an old-fashioned tea shop called Lao Ji Zi on your
right, at No. 5 Lane 180. This is run by the Tseng family, who own tea
fields in Taiwan and on the mainland.

Big metal canisters store their crop: oolong tea picked from Alishan,
gaoshan (high mountain) tea from Nantou County, and some much-prized
puer tea, picked from trees in China's Yunnan province. The half-jin
(500-gram) tins of tea make great gifts; a basic oolong costs $9, a
tin of the gaoshan variety costs about $60. Say hello to Mrs. Tseng,
who runs the shop while her husband tends to the fields in central
Taiwan.

12 P.M. DA AN PARK
Lunch time. As you leave the tea shop, turn right and continue west on
Lane 180, Rui An Street, which turns into Lane 151, Jianguo South
Road.

The restaurant at No. 53 Lane 151 on your right is Mei Xiang La Mian
Wu (open 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch, and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for
dinner). Order the 'clerk's pulled noodles' (xiao er lao mian in
Mandarin), a light Chinese-style lunch. You'll get a pile of noodles
with a generous dollop of minced beef in sauce, garnished with
scallions and cilantro. Mix up the noodles and sauce before eating,
then slurp away. This northern Chinese dish was popularized here by
mainlanders who came in the late 1940s. A big bowl will cost you
$2.20; a small bowl, $1.75.

After lunch, take a long walk through Da An Park. This 26-hectare
patch of green is Taipei's answer to New York City's Central Park. On
weekends, it's packed with rollerblading kids, dog-crazy Taipei
urbanites walking their canines and bicyclists.

You'll enter on the east side of the park across from a public
library. Make your way through to the southwest corner of the park --
you can take the shaded jogging path on your left, which runs along
the edge of the entire park. The exit is across from a Sizzler steak
house.

From the park exit, cross Xinsheng South Road, take a left and follow
the road south. You'll come to the Wistaria Tea House (No. 1, Lane
16). This famous Taipei teahouse has recently re-opened after a long
renovation.

Back in the days of martial law (1949 to 1987), democracy activists
gathered here over pots of oolong tea to strategize. Now, it's an
obligatory stop for local tea-lovers. The shop boasts a wide variety
of Taiwan- and mainland-grown teas, served in a cozy, Japanese
colonial-era setting, with low tables, tatami mats and partitions, as
well as a no-shoe policy in some rooms.

Try the Bai Hao or 'Oriental Beauty' oolong ($9) -- grown with the
help of katydid (an insect related to a grasshopper) saliva. (The tea
tastes better than it sounds.) Or have a sip of some Dong Ding oolong
($8) grown in central Taiwan. Show-offs can shell out $90 for the
'Dragon and Horse Tong Qing Puer,' a 1920s-vintage puer tea.

2:30 P.M. XIAO CHI STANDS
Heading west -- take a right as you exit Wistaria -- you'll hit two of
this area's most popular xiao chi stands, or street-food stalls. Both
usually have long lines, so bring a friend, a book or a lot of
patience. (If you don't want to taste these foods here, there are
clean, well-lighted restaurants later on in the walk.)

First, try the turnip cake at the stand at the corner of Heping East
Road and Wenzhou Street (closed Sundays). One cake costs 75 U.S.
cents. Taipei foodies swear by this stuff, and are willing to wait in
nerve-straining lines to get their fix.

Next, order the pan-fried dumplings in the Shida Night Market -- it's
called a night market, but food is served from the early afternoon
through to the wee hours of the morning. Weave your way over to
Longquan Street, and look for Xu Ji Sheng Jian Bao at No. 24, a food
stall famous for this kind of dumpling. You can try just one for 20
cents, but most people buy five for 90 cents.

Exit the Shida market and backtrack your way north on Longquan Street
-- you'll hit Yongkang Street after a leisurely 20-minute walk. This
street boasts typical Taiwanese xiao chi, but in nicer surroundings
than a typical night market.

Hao Ji Mei Shi Zhuan Mai Dian, on the west side of the street (No. 1,
Lane 10), serves southern Taiwanese xiao chi -- local favorites
include tu tuo yu gen, a hearty soup with chewy, breaded lumps of
fish, and crispy oysters with pepper (in the local Taiwanese dialect,
Minnan, this dish is called oasu; in Mandarin, it's ke zi su). A small
bowl of the soup costs $1.50 and a small dish of oasu runs $3.

Heading north on the same side of Yongkang Street, you'll hit the
restaurant Yongkang Kou (No. 1, Lane 6). Here, if you dare, sample two
of Taiwan's most famous dishes, stinky tofu or chou doufu ($1.30) for
a small serving), which lives up to its name, and oysters in a broth
with vermicelli-like noodles (oamisua in Taiwanese, $1.15 for a small
bowl; $1.60 for a large one).

Now, cross to the other side of Yongkang Street, turn left (north),
and look for Tu Hsiao Yueh (No. 9-1 Yongkang St.).

Here you can sample southern Taiwanese-style minced pork noodles
(danzi mian), either dry or in soup. A small serving costs $1.50. Wash
down your noodles with the island's standby brew, Taiwan Beer ('Taiwan
pijiu' or 'Taipi' for short); one bottle costs $2.65.

5 P.M. DIN TAI FUNG
No culinary tour in Taipei would be complete without a stop at the
restaurant Din Tai Fung for a taste of its Shanghai-style pork-soup
dumplings (xiao long bao), served with sliced ginger and soy sauce.

Guidebooks swear by them; food snobs say they're overrated. Decide for
yourself. One serving costs $5.30 and includes 10 dumplings.

To get there, continue north on Yongkang Street from the stinky-tofu
joint, then hang a right on Xinyi Road. Just a few doors down is the
original location of this now-famous chain restaurant (No. 194 Xinyi
Rd., Section 2). Be warned, though: Hordes of tourist groups mob this
place at peak mealtimes, so be prepared for a wait. Of course, you may
need time to digest the other snacks you've just had.

6 P.M. NATIONAL CHIANG KAI-SHEK MEMORIAL HALL
Finish your tour with a brisk 15-minute walk west down Xinyi Road to
the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. This monument to the dead
autocrat (he ruled Taiwan from 1949 to his death in 1975), which
opened in 1980 in a sprawling 25-hectare plaza, includes a grand
concert hall at the other end of the square. It's best viewed at
night, when it's illuminated by ground lights, and groups of
middle-aged Taiwanese come to line dance to U.S. country-and-western
songs on the plaza.

After a good rest and a break from eating, try Taiwan's famous pearl,
or 'bubble' milk tea -- a shaved ice-and-tea confection served with
tapioca balls and jumbo-size straws. The place to get it is Chun Shui
Tang, the central-Taiwan store that invented it in late 1980s, and
there's a branch in the ground floor of the National Concert Hall on
the north side of the memorial plaza (the shop closes at 8:30 p.m.). A
small glass costs $2.20; a large glass that's big enough for two costs
$4.40.

6:50 P.M. KINMEN KAOLIANG LIQUOR
If you can make it in time, run by the Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor store, a
short walk from the Memorial Hall plaza's southwest corner (No. 3,
Roosevelt Rd., Section 1; open to 7 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays).

Sample the shop's famous Taiwanese sorghum liquor -- a fiery
concoction brewed on Kinmen (also known as Quemoy, a small island in
the Taiwan Strait controlled by Taiwan) -- and take a gift bottle with
you. There's a variety of sizes and strengths -- choose between 28-,
30-, 38- and 58-proof. You can taste a few for free before you decide,
but most people opt for the high-test 58-proof variety ($15.60 for a
750-milliliter bottle).

Assuming you can still fit in a taxi, hop in one here to return to your hotel.

FROM wall street daily

Swimming Head

2009-05-11T18:54:00.001-07:00

Three guys enter a disabled swimming contest. The first has no arms. The second no legs and the third has no body, just a head. They all line up, the whistle blows and "splash" they're all in the pool
　　
　　The guy with no arms takes the lead instantly but the guy with no legs is closing fast. The head of course sank straight to the bottom.
　　
　　Ten lengths later and the guy with no legs finishes first. He can still see bubbles coming from the bottom of the pool,so he decides he had better dive down to rescue him.
　　
　　He picks up the head, swims back up to the surface and places the head at the side of the pool, where-upon the head starts coughing and spluttering.
　　
　　Eventually the head catches his breath and shouts: "Three years I've spent learning to swim with my fucking ears, then two minutes before the whistle, some asshole puts a swimming cap on me!"

from http://www.douban.com/group/topic/4240064/

Love Your Mother

2009-05-09T18:18:00.001-07:00

The Childhood Days
　　When you came into the world, she held you in her arms. You thanked
her by wailing1) like a banshee2).
　　When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you. You thanked
her by crying all night long.
　　When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk. You thanked her
by running away when she called.
　　When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love. You
thanked her by tossing your plate on the floor.
　　When you were 4 years old, she gave you some crayons3). You thanked
her by coloring the dining room table.
　　When you were 5 years old, she dressed you for the holidays. You
thanked her by plopping4) into the nearest pile of mud.
　　When you were 6 years old, she walked you to school. You thanked her
by screaming, "I'M NOT GOING!"
　　When you were 7 years old, she bought you a baseball. You thanked
her by throwing it through the next-door-neighbor's window.
　　When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream. You thanked
her by dripping it all over your lap.
　　When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons. You thanked
her by never even bothering to practice.
　　When you were 10 years old, she drove you all day, from soccer to
gymnastics to one birthday party after another. You thanked her by
jumping out of the car and never looking back.
　　When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the
movies. You thanked her by asking to sit in a different row.
　　When you were 12 years old, she warned you not to watch certain TV
shows. You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.
Those Teenage Years
　　When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming5). You
thanked her by telling her she had no taste.
　　When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp. You
thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.
　　When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug. You
thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.
　　When you were 16, she taught you how to drive her car. You thanked
her by taking it every chance you could.
　　When you were 17, she was expecting an important call. You thanked
her by being on the phone all night.
　　When you were 18, she cried at your high school graduation. You
thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.
Growing Old and Gray
　　When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition, drove you to
campus, carried your bags. You thanked her by saying good-bye outside
the dorm so you wouldn't be embarrassed in front of your friends.
　　When you were 20, she asked whether you were seeing anyone. You
thanked her by saying, "It's none of your business."
　　When you were 21, she suggested certain careers for your future. You
thanked her by saying, "I don't want to be like you."
　　When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation. You
thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.
　　When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment.
You thanked her by telling your friends it was ugly.
　　When you were 24, she met your fiancéand asked about your plans for
the future. You thanked her by glaring and growling, "Muuhh-ther,
please!"
　　When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried
and told you how deeply she loved you. You thanked her by moving
halfway across the country.
　　When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby. You
thanked her by telling her, "Things are different now."
　　When you were 40, she called to remind you of an relative's
birthday. You thanked her by saying you were "really busy right now".
　　When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her.
You thanked her by talking about the burden parents become to their
children.
　　And then, one day, she quietly died. And everything you never did
came crashing down like thunder. "Rock me baby, rock me all night
long." "The hand who rocks the cradle... may rock the world".
　　Let us take a moment of the time just to pay tribute and show
appreciation to the person called MOM though some may not say it
openly to their mother. There's no substitute for her. Cherish every
single moment. Though at times she may not be the best of friends, may
not agree to our thoughts, she is still your mother!
　　Your mother will be there for you; to listen to your woes6), your
brags7), your frustrations, etc. Ask yourself "Have you put aside
enough time for her, to listen to her 'blues' of working in the
kitchen, her tiredness?"
　　Be tactful, loving and still show her due8) respect, though you may
have a different view from hers. Once gone, only fond memories of the
past and also regrets will be left.
　　Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart. Love her
more than you love yourself. Life is meaningless without her.

I am special

2009-05-08T20:07:00.001-07:00

In the entire world there's nobody like me. Since the beginning of
time, there has never been another person like me. Nobody has my
smile. Nobody has my eyes, my nose, my hair, my hands, or my voice.
　　I'm special.

No one can be found who has my handwriting. Nobody anywhere has my
tastes ― for food or music or art. No one sees things just as I do. In
all of time there's been no one who laughs like me, no one who cries
like me. And what makes me laugh and cry will never provoke identical
laughters and tears from anybody else, ever. No one reacts to any
situation just as I would react.
　　I'm special.

I' m the only one in all of creation who has my set of abilities. Oh,
there will always be somebody who is better at one of the things I'm
good at, but no one in the universe can reach the quality of my
combination of talents, ideas, abilities and feelings. Like a room
full of musical instruments, some may excel alone, but none can match
the symphony sound when all are played together. I'm a symphony.
　　Through all of eternity no one will ever look, talk, walk, think or
do like me.
　　I'm special.
I'm rare.

And, in all rarity there is great value. Because of my great rare
value, I need not attempt to imitate others. I will accept ― yes,
indeed, celebrate ― my differences. I'm special.
　　And I'm beginning to realize it's no accident that I'm special. I'm
beginning to see that I have been made for a very special purpose.
There is a job for me that no one else can do as well as I. Out of all
the billions of job applicants, only one is qualified, only one has
the right combination of what it takes. That one is me. Because...I'm
special.

FROM neworiental English

Habits and Goals

2009-05-07T20:11:00.001-07:00

"First we make our habits, then our habits make us."- Charles C. Noble

It's such a simple concept, yet it's something we don't always do.
It's not exceedingly difficult to do, and yet I think it's something
that would make a world of difference in anyone's life.

Break your goals into habits, and focus on putting those habits into autopilot.

Last week when I wrote my Ultimate Guide to motivation, there were a
number of questions about my belief that having One Goal to focus on
is much more powerful than having many goals.

There were questions about my personal goals (such as running a
marathon, eliminating debt, and so on) and how I was able to achieve
them while working on different projects, and so forth. How can you
have one goal that takes a long time, and still work on smaller
projects at the same time?

These are excellent questions, and my answer takes a little
explaining: I try to turn my goals into habits, and in doing so, I put
my goals on autopilot. Turning a goal into a habit means really
focusing on it, intensely, for at least a month, to the exclusion of
all else. The more you can focus on it, the more it'll be on
autopilot.

But once you put it on autopilot, once a habit is firmly established,
you don't really have to focus on it much. You'll still do it, but
because it's a habit, you only have to use minimal focus to maintain
that habit. The goal becomes on autopilot, and you can focus on your
next goal or project or habit.

My Marathon Example

Let's look at my marathon goal as an example. I was just starting out
in running, and I had the brilliant idea to run a marathon within a
year. (Btw, that's not the brightest idea — you should run for a
couple years before attempting marathon training, or it'll be much,
much more difficult for you.) So that was my goal, and it was my main
focus for awhile.

But in order to achieve that goal, I broke it down into two habits:

1. I had to make running a daily habit (while following a training
plan I found online).

2. I had to report to people in order to have accountability — I did
this through family, friends and coworkers, through a blog, and
through a column in my local newspaper every two weeks. With this
accountability, there's no way I would stop running.

The daily running habit took about a month to form. I focused on this
exclusively for about a month, and didn't have any other goals,
projects or habits that were my main focuses. I did other work
projects, but they kinda took a backburner to running.

The accountability habit took a couple months, mainly because I didn't
focus on it too much while I was building the running habit. But it
stuck, and for that first year of running, I would report to people I
knew and blog about my running every day (this was in Blogger blog
that has since been deleted), and I would write a column every two
weeks for my local paper.

Once those two habits were firmly entrenched, my marathon goal was
pretty much on autopilot. I could focus on my debt reduction goal (as
an example) without having to worry too much about the marathon. I
still had to do the work, of course, but it didn't require constant
focus.

And eventually, I ran the marathon. I was able to achieve this
because, all year long, I had the daily running habit and daily
accountability habit. I put my marathon goal into autopilot, and that
made it much easier — instead of struggling with it daily for an
entire year, I focused on it for one month (well, actually two) and
was able to accomplish it while focusing on new habits and goals.

The Real Meaning of Peace

2009-05-06T17:47:00.001-07:00

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest — in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?

"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."

FROM China Daily

Work with the "Now"

2009-05-05T18:44:00.001-07:00

There are some people who are completely happy with themselves, their lives, and their prospects for the future. While they can be considered to be more fortunate than most, most who do not fall into that category are not as bad off as they tend to believe. Instead, they are simply lacking something, or making mistakes, which are standing in the way of their lives being as fulfilling as they would prefer. Some even go as far as to not realize the immense potential they possess.

What is the main difference between those lucky individuals whose lives seem to be wonderfully on-track and those who, often despite every step of trying on their part, appear to have all of the odds stacked against them? While in some cases it is a matter of some people having better luck than others, those whose lives are content in the moment and proceeding in the direction of their choice, do not live in the past.

Whether you are thinking about your personality or your life in general, success means focusing on the here-and-now. While it is important to acknowledge the choices and experiences which resulted in you being where you are today, it is equally important to not allow yourself to become so caught up in thoughts of the past that the present day passes you by.

Self-motivation is the key to ensuring that you do not continue repeating the same mistakes. You may have had one or more errors in judgment which led you to take the wrong path, or to make mistakes that were not in your best interest. You can acknowledge this without rehashing them over and over again in your mind, and simply be determined to make different, better decisions today.

Then is over; this is now. The less time and effort you put into looking at the past, the more you will have for living and experiencing this day. You will also find that letting go of the past will give you a deeper sense of strength. Instead of allowing past mistakes and worries to drain your energies, you will have a renewed energy to live your life to the fullest and enjoy it more.

Being content with yourself and optimistic about your future is not difficult. Whatever is in the past is over; learn from it and move on. When you are self-motivated enough to do this, you will see that moving ahead is the best definition of living life.

With that said, what can you do now? Sure it is easy for me to tell you to forget the past, yet it is a whole different practice to actually do it. Life is a complex set of events much of which of course is real, yet a large amount is just your view of what really happened.

Let me explain with an example. I know not everyone is a football fan but I am guessing most have watched at least part of a game on TV. Most plays and almost all the important plays are played over and over on the TV screen right after the play happened.

How many times have you watched a play and were certain and I mean certain of the outcome, say the player caught a pass, then watching the instant replay you realize you were totally wrong, the player dropped the pass. What you were certain you saw, never happened.

The first step in trying to minimize the effects of your past in order to concentrate on your future is to find out how much of the past that you are certain happened were just mistakes on your part.

A quick example might be as a teenager you tried to build a piece of furniture out of scrape wood in your father’s workshop. The piece of furniture looked good when you finished but fell apart before you could show your father and you assumed your were a lousy carpenter and the rest of your life you have avoided building anything. Yet the reality was the scrap wood you used was faulty and not your building ability.

Yet the rest of your life you have believed mistakenly you are a poor builder of things.

Enough is as good as a feast

2009-04-27T19:04:00.001-07:00

Many people believe that they will be happy once they arrive at some specific goal they set for themselves. However, more often than not, once you arrive " there" you will still feel dissatisfied, and move your " there" vision to yet another point in the future. By always chasing after another "there," you are never really appreciating what you already have right "here." It is important for human beings to keep soberminded about the age-old drive to look beyond the place where you now stand. On one hand, your life is enhanced by your dreams and aspirations. On the other hand, these drives can pull you farther and farther from your enjoyment of your life right now. By learning the lessons of gratitude and abundance, you can bring yourself closer to fulfilling the challenge of living in the present.

Gratitude

To be grateful means you are thankful for and appreciative of what you have and where you are on your path right now. Gratitude fills your heart with the joyful feeling and allows you to fully appreciate everything that arises on your path. As you strive to keep your focus on the present moment, you can experience the full wonder of "here."

There are many ways to cultivate gratitude. Here are just a few suggestions you may wish to try:

1. Imagine what your life would be like if you lost all that you had. This will most surely remind you of how much you do appreciate it.

2. Make a list each day of all that you are grateful for, so that you can stay conscious daily of your blessings. Do this especially when you are feeling as though you have nothing to feel grateful for. Or spend a few minutes before you go to sleep giving thanks for all that you have.

3. Spend time offering assistance to those who are less fortunate than you, so that you may gain perspective.

However you choose to learn gratitude is irrelevant. What really matters is that you create a space in your consciousness for appreciation for all that you have right now, so that you may live more joyously in your present moment.

Abundance

One of the most common human fears is scarcity. Many people are afraid of not having enough of what they need or want, and so they are always striving to get to a point when they would finally have enough.

Alan and Linda always dreamed of living "the good life." Both from poor working-class families, they married young and set out to fulfill their mutual goal of becoming wealthy. They both worked very hard for years, amassing a small fortune, so they could move from their two-bedroom home to a palatial seven-bedroom home in the most upscale neighborhood. They focused their energies on accumulating all the things they believed signified abundance: membership in the local exclusive country club, luxury cars, designer clothing, and high-class society friends. No matter how much they accumulated, however, it never seemed to be enough. They were unable to erase the deep fear of scarcity both had acquired in childhood. They needed to learn the lesson of abundance. Then the stock market crashed in 1987, and Alan and Linda lost a considerable amount of money. A bizarre but costly lawsuit depleted another huge portion of their savings. One thing led to another, and they found themselves in a financial disaster. Assets needed to be sold, and eventually they lost the country club membership, the cars, and the house. It took several years and much hard work for Alan and Linda to land on their feet, and though they now live a life far from extravagant, they have taken stock of their lives and feel quite blessed. Only now, as they assess what they have left -- a solid, loving marriage, their health, a dependable income, and good friends -- do they realize that true abundance comes not from amassing, but rather from appreciating.

Scarcity consciousness arises as a result of the "hole-in-the-soul syndrome." This is when we attempt to fill the gaps in our inner lives with things from the outside world. But like puzzle pieces, you can't fit something in where it does not naturally belong. No amount of external objects, affection, love, or attention can ever fill an inner void. We already have enough, so we should revel in our own interior abundance.

To Be or Not to Be

2009-04-22T18:29:00.001-07:00

"To be or not to be." Outside the Bible, these six words are the most famous in all the literature of the world. They were spoken by Hamlet when he was thinking aloud, and they are the most famous words in Shakespeare because Hamlet was speaking not only for himself but also for every thingking man and woman. To be or not to be—to live or not to live; to live richly and abundantly and eagerly, or to live dully and meanly and scarcely. A philosopher once wanted to know whether he was alive or not, which is a good question for everyone to put to himself occasionally. He answered it by saying, "I think,therefore I am."

But the best definition of existence I ever saw was one given by another philosopher who said: " To be is to be in relations." If this is true, then the more relations a living thing has , the more it is alive. To live abundantly means simply to increase the range and intensity of our relations. Unfortunately we are so constituted that we get to love our routine. But apart from our regular occupation how much are we alive? If you are interested only in your regular occupation,you are alive only to that extent. So far as other things are concerned—poetry and prose, music, pictures, sports, unselfish friendships, politics, international affairs.

Contrariwise, it is true that every time you acquire a new interest---even more, a new accomplishment---you increase your power of life. No one who is deeply interested in a large variety of subjects can remain unhappy; the real pessimist is the person who has lost interest.

Bacon said that a man dies as often as he loses a friend. But we gain new life by contacts, new friends. What is supremely true of living objects is no less true of ideas, which are also alive. Where your thoughts are, there will your life be also. If your thoughts are confined only to your bussiness,only to your physical welfare,only to the narrow circle of the town in which you live, then you live in a narrow circumscribed life. But if you are interested in what is going on in China, then you are living in China; if you're interested in the characters of a good novel, then you are living with those highly interesting people; if you listen intently to fine music, you are away from your immediate surrounding and living in a world of passion and imagination.

To be or not to be---to live intensely and richly, or merely to exist, that depends on ourselves. Let's widen and intensify our relations. While we live, let us live!

By William Lyon Phelps

The 50-percent Theory of Life

2009-04-15T20:38:00.001-07:00

I believe in the 50-percent theory. Half the time things are better than normal;the other half,they are worse. I believe life is a pendulum swing. It takes time and experience to understand what normal is, and that gives me the perspective to deal with the surprises of the future.

Let’s benchmark the parameters: yes, I will die. I’ve dealt with the deaths of both parents, a best friend, a beloved boss and cherished pets. Some of these deaths have been violent, before my eyes, of slow and agonizing. Bad stuff, and it belongs at the bottom of the scale.

Then there are those high points: romance and marriage to the right person; having a child and doing those Dad things like coaching my son’s baseball team, padding around the creek in the boat while he’s swimming with the dogs,discovering his compassion so deep it manifests even in his kindness to snails, his imagination so vivid he build a spaceship from a scattered pile of legos.

But there is a vast meadow of life in the middle where the bad and the good flip-flop acrobatically. This is what convinces me to believe in the 50-percent theoty.

One spring I planted corn too early in a bottomlands so flood-prone that neighbors laughed. I felt chagrined at the wasted effort. Summer turned brutal the worst heat wave and drought in my lifetime. The air-conditioner died; the well went dry; the marriage ended; the job lost ; the money gone. I was living lyrics from a country tune——music I loathed. Only a surging Kansas City Royals team buoyed my spirits.

Looking back on that horrible summer, I soon understand that all succeeding good things merely offset the bad. Worse than normal wouldn’t last long. I am owed and savor the halcyon times. They reinvigorate me for the next nasty surprise and offer assurance that I can thrive. The 50-percent theory even helps me see hope beyond my Royals’s recent slump, a field of struggling rookies sown so that some year soon we can reap an October harvest.

For that one blistering summer, the ground moisture was just right, planting early allowed pollination before heat withered the tops,and the lack of rain spared the standing corn from floods. That winter my crib overflowed with corn——fat,healthy three-to-a-stalk ears filled with kernels from heel to tip——while my neighbor’s fields yielded only brown, empty husks.

Although plantings past may have fallen below the 50-percent expectation,and they probably will again in the future, I am still sustained by the crop that flourishes during the drought.

BY Steve Porter

Work and Pleasure

2009-04-08T20:38:00.001-07:00

To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say : "I will take an interest in this or that." Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like; you have got to like what you do. Broadly speaking,human being may be divided into three classes: those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual labourer, tired out with a hard week's sweat and effort, the chance of playing a game of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or business man , who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the weekend.

It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are divided into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the former are the majority. They have their compensation. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fortune's favoured children belong to the second class. Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vacation. Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere,of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.

by Winston Churchill

joke:Things Just Fallin' Off

2009-03-10T18:41:00.001-07:00

This morning as I was buttoning my shirt, a button fell off. After
that, I picked up my briefcase, and the handle fell off. Then I went
to open the door, and the doorknob fell off. I went to get into my
car, and the door handle came off in my hand. Now I'm afraid to pee.

Learn To Let Go

2009-03-05T00:11:00.001-08:00

With the flow comes the ebb. We have all experienced a friendship that gradually dissolves-one that may have been a part of your life for a long time,but for whatever reason doesn’t fit into it anymore. Less often,these friendships end because of an event,like an insurmountable disagreement. In each case,you make an evaluation of the friendship—either consciously or subconsiously and take steps to make it more comfortably distant in your life.

Accepting the demise of friendship means being realistic about life’s ups and downs. But what of loyalty,you might ask? What of sticking with your friends through thick and thin? Hear this: loyalty is an important,essential trait to being a good friend. However, we feel that taking a solemn oath that a-friend-now-is-a-friend-forever is more restrictive than helpful. People and situations inevitable change in ways that also alter friendships as well. You are entitled to amend your opinion about someone over time, whether or not the person has said or done something to directly affect you,or has simply turned into a person with values different from your own. As your mother might ask , “If your friend jumps off a cliff, do you follow him or her?” A pure loyalist might answer “yes” . A healthier answer is “no”. Even the best of friends may grow to find that their once-compatible beliefs are no longer in sync. Sometimes that disparity is stronger than any bond of formed earlier in life,and phasing out a friendship on those grounds—something Sally refers to as “spring cleaning” –is okay. In fact, it’s normal and healthy—as sensible as getting rid of something in your closet that doesn’t fit you anymore.

The ebb and flow of friendship is rarely more obvious than when a person from the past comes back into your life. We may seek out these old friends if we’re passing through their city or have circumstantial reason to re-connect; simply curiosity can often fuel the search as well. It is so interesting to find out how someone has changed, or more often than not, stayed the same. It’s miraculous that we sometimes find ourselves in wonderful,adult friendships with people who may have missed several eras of our lives.

The opposite situation can be very unrewarding, if not existentially disappointing, if you aren’t careful to shelter your feelings. Re-connecting with a long lost pal,only to find out that he is no longer the fair, open-minded guy you knew in college,is no fun at all. No matter the turnout, reconnecting with old friends serves many purposes in our own personal self-growth, and can be valued as one of life’s great experiences.

While learning to value the ebb and flow is more a philosophical concept than a hard-and-fast rule,it is key to enjoying all the pleasures of friendship. Without the acceptance that friendships, like life, take twists and turns that aren’t always pleasant, you risk falling into an endless cycle of getting hurt or feeling embittered. Friendship come and go,and that’s entirely okay.

from "the art of friendship" by Roger Horchow and Sally Horchow

附上自译文：

学会放手

潮落会有潮起，我们都经历过友谊的逐渐结束消失——这个可能在很长时间里面会成为我们生活的一部分，但无论出于什么原因不适合它了。很少的时候，这些友谊仅仅因为一些小事而结束，就像一个无法克服的意见不一。在每一次，你自觉地或潜意识地对友谊作出评价，而且采取措施让它在你的生活中处于更舒服的距离。

接受友谊的结束意味着生活浮沉的现实，但也许你会问：什么是忠诚？什么让你坚持和你朋友在一起？请听清楚这个：作为好朋友，忠诚是一个很重要而且必不可少的特征。然而，我们感觉到，抱着一个“现在是朋友就永远是朋友”的神圣誓言对我们只是一种限制而没有任何的帮助。人们和环境无可避免会发生各种各样的变化，友谊也一样。你有权随着时间的过去而改变你对朋友的看法，无论这个人是否说了或做了什么事直接影响到你，或者仅是这个人的价值观跟你不一样了。就好象你母亲可能会问你：如果你的朋友跳进一个悬崖里，你会不会跟着跳？一个纯粹的忠诚主义者会回答“是”，一个更有益更好的回答是“不”。即使最好的朋友也会随着长大最终发现他们曾经很合拍的信仰不再同步。有时候，相异是更好的纽带，这在生命的早期就已经形成，而在一些场合中逐渐淘汰一些朋友是正常的——就如Sally 提到的“spring cleaning” （春天大扫除）。事实上，那是很平常的，很健康的，就如在你的衣橱里面去掉一些不再适合你的东西一样合理。

友谊的结束和开始不会比一个人从过去回到你的生活中更明显，我们会找到这些老朋友如果我们经过他们的城市或者因为不可知的某些理由而重新联系，或仅仅是好奇心激起我们去寻找。当我们发现一个人发生了多大的变化是如此的有趣，或者往往没有任何变化。有时候发现我们自己跟一个可能已经在我们的生活中消失了好几个世纪的人有一段极好成熟的友谊，那简直是一个奇迹。

如果不想失望，如果你不在乎掩饰你的情感，这种对立的事情是非常不值得去做的。重新跟一个消失很久的朋友联系，只会发现他不再是你在大学里面认识的那个公正而思想开明的家伙，那根本一点乐趣都没有。无论结果是怎样，跟一个老朋友联系在我们的个人成长中起到很好的作用，而且会成为我们生活中的一个宝贵经验。

当学会如何看待潮起潮落，这是一个比务必遵守的规则更有哲学性的概念，它是享受友谊所有快乐的关键。如果没有接受友谊就像生活那样不总是欢乐还会有曲折，你将会陷进一个没完没了的受伤或怨恨循环中的险境。

而友谊的来来去去，是完全正常的。

Find the balance

2009-02-24T17:43:00.001-08:00

In a health friendship,the give-and-take of listening is balanced. Day-to-day exchanges are epually about each other's experiences and feelings. When you have a more serious need to talk, your friend will happily take on the listening role, knowing that when she has a problem, you will be all ears. Roger's friend Jacques has an amusing take on this aspect of their relationship:at the beginning of their weekly lunch,he asks, "Do you want to be the baby today? Or do you want to be the father?"

You may not discuss the balance as openly,but you should be aware of it-and avoid letting it tilt too far in one direction. Being a good listener does not mean that all you do is listen;it means that you respond sensitively,and share your own relevant experiences. A relationship in which one person does all the talkingand the other all the listening is a shrink-patient relationship,not a friendship!

from<the art of friendship> by Roger Horchow

Listen before you speak

2009-02-13T17:43:00.001-08:00

A real conversation cannot be one-sided. When talking with a friend, or potential friend, take the time to listen first, and worry later about being heard yourself. Your generositywill be reciprocated.

The foundation for a meaningful friendship, one that is based on mutual respect and caring, starts the moment you meet someone. At that point, you are presented not only with that person's words, but also with lots of other information: his or her tone of voice, body language, colloquialisms, and mannerisms. The way you absorb and respond to that wealth of information can make or break the new relationship. If someone senses that you are not making the effort to listen or are not really interested in what he or she is saying, he or she will probably just stop talking to you. But if you make an effort to genuinely hear and understand, you will generate further conversation--and a real connection. Listen up!

In your next conversation, note any tendency on your part to drift away while the other person is speaking, and focus your attention on their words.

=====

from <The art of friendship>, Roger Horchow, Sally Horchow

=====

new words:

generosity

reciprocate

colloquialism

genuinely

tendency

proverb

2009-02-09T06:25:00.001-08:00

Humor has been well defined as thinking in fun while feeling in
earnest. (Mark Twain , American novelist )
幽默被人正确地解释为"以诚挚表达感受，寓深思于嬉笑"。(美国小说家马克*吐温)

The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation ; the two
keep in their downward tendency.( Johan Wolfgang von Goethe , German
poet )
文学的衰落表明一个民族的衰落。这两者走下坡路的时间是齐头并进的。(德国诗人歌德 . J . W .)

Activity is the only road to knowledge . (George Bernard Shaw ,
British dramatist)
行动是通往知识的唯一道路。 (英国剧作家肖伯纳. G.)

A great part to the information I have was acquired by looking up
something and finding something else on the way .(Adams Franklin ,
American humorist )
我的大部分知识都是这样获得的：在寻找某个资料时意外的发现了另外的资料。(美国幽默作家富兰克林. A.)

Imagination is more important than knowledge .(Albert Einstein ,
American scientist )
想象力比知识更为重要。 (美国科学家爱因斯坦. A. )

Eternal truths will be neither true nor eternal unless they have fresh
meaning for every new social situation . (Franklin Roosevelt ,
American president )
永恒的真理如果不在新的社会形势下赋予新的意义,要么就不是真理,要么就不是永恒的。 (美国总统罗斯福 . F.)

Histories make men wise ; poems witty; the mathematics subtle; natural
philosophy deep ; moral grave ; logic and rhetoric able to contend
.(Francis Bacon , British philosopher )
历史使人明智；诗词使人灵秀；数学使人周密；哲学使人深刻；伦理使人庄重；逻辑修辞学使人善辨。(英国哲学家培根)

If you don't learn to think when you are young , you may never learn
.(Thomas Edison , American inventor )
如果你年轻时就没有学会思考，那么就永远学不会思考。(美国发明家爱迪生 . T.)

If you want to understand today , you have to search yesterday .(Pearl
Buck , American female writer )
想要懂得今天，就必须研究昨天。(美国女作家赛珍珠)

Ordinary people merely think how they shall spend their time ; a man
of talent tries to use it . (Arthur Schopenhauer , German philosopher
)
普通人只想到如何度过时间，有才能的人设法利用时间。(德国哲学家叔本华. A. )

The time of life is short ; to spend that shortness basely, it would
be too long . (William Shakespeare , British dramatist )
人生苦短，若虚度年华，则短暂的人生就太长了。(英国剧作家莎士比亚. W.)

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money ; it lies in the
joy of achievement , in the thrill of creative effort .(Franklin
Roosevelt , American president )
幸福不在于拥有金钱，而在于获得成就时的喜悦以及产生创造力的激情。(美国总统罗斯福. F.)

To really understand a man we must judge him in misfortune .(Bonaparte
Napoleon , French emperor )
要真正了解一个人，需在不幸中考察他。 (法国皇帝拿破仑. B .)

All the splendor 1 in the world is not worth a good friend .(Voltaire
, French thinker)
人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。 (法国思想家伏尔泰)

Sloth , like rust , consumes faster than labor wears .(Benjamin
Franklin , American president)
懒惰像生锈一样，比操劳更能消耗身体。 (美国总统富兰克林. B.)

If you wish to succeed , you should use persistence as your good
friend , experience as your reference , prudence as your brother and
hope as your sentry. (Thomas Edison , American inventor )
如果你希望成功，当以恒心为良友、以经验为参谋、以谨慎为兄弟、以希望为哨兵。 (美国发明家爱迪生. T.)

Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly ever
acquire the skill to do difficult things easily . (Friedrich Schiller
, German Dramatist and poet).
只有有耐心圆满完成简单工作的人，才能够轻而易举地完成困难的事。(德国剧作家、诗人席勒. F.)

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look
for circumstances they want , and if they cannot find them .they make
them. (George Bernard Shaw , British dramatist )
在这个世界上，取得成功的人是那些努力寻找机会的人，如果找不到机会，他们就去创造机会。(英国剧作家肖伯纳. G.)

from http://shiyong.neworiental.org/Default.aspx?TabID=1253&InfoID=100409&SettingModuleID=4866

Change your day-to-day habits

2009-02-09T06:12:00.001-08:00

We all have regular routines we follow and ingrained patterns of
behavior . Here are some suggestions for changing your day-to-day
habits to allow for more spontaneous and fun meetings:
Take time rith breakfast instead of rushing.Stop at a different coffee
shop. Instead of sitting hunched over your coffee reading the
newspaper ,make a point of saying hello to one person.
Lunch is the perfect time of day to take a break from your
routine.Pack a lunch and go to a local park to eat it. Enjoy the
noontime sun and be open to connections.
Dinner of cocktail hour is the most popular time to ger together with
friends.Shake up the routine and try a new restaurant or bar .Organize
a cocktail party and invite a new acquaintance.
Although the shortest distance between two points is a straight line
,it can also be the least interesting route.Try a different path or
vary your mode of transportation.
If you might have fallen into the habit of watching television or
reading a book to unwind;instead consider a visit your local bookstore
to browse.or find a comfortable park bench and watch the sunset
instead of TV.
Answering your daily quota of e-mails can be more than simply
routine.Take this opportunity to reconnect by sending a message to a
friend with whom you've lost touch. Even beter,handwrite a card and
send it the old-fashioned way.
If you like to read ,join a book club.
If you're normally a homebody who rents movies, invite some
acquaintances over for a movie night.
The people who live in your neighborhood,condo,or building already
share something in common with you. Introduce yourself :many lasting
friendships have been formed over the backyard fence or in the
apartment building foyer.
Your work brings you in contact with a multitude of people . Instead
of a quick nod, take the time for an introduction that might lead to a
meaningful connection.
Make a plan to meet in person a work colleague you know only through
the phone or e-mail.
Stepping outside your comfortable boundaries might cause an edge of
trepidation or nervousness. Accept the challenge! Wint each new
encounter, the next becomes easier.

------from <the art of friendship> Roger Horchow and Sally Horchow

爱你的一百个理由 in English

2008-09-03T20:30:00.001-07:00

   1. 因为爱你所以爱你

    because i love you，so i love you

    2. 因为你爱我所以我爱你

    because you love me，so i love you

    3. 因为世界上没有人比我更爱你

    because no one in the world love you more than me

    4. 因为无时无刻想著你

    because i miss you every moment

    5. 因为你的温柔体贴

    because of your gentleness and considerate

    6. 因为你的坦白率真

    because of your frankness

    7. 因为你那可爱的笑容

    because of your lovely smile

    8. 因为你那迷人的眼睛

    because of your charming eyes

    9. 因为你的一举一动都让我著迷

    because your every action make me fascinated

    10. 因为你所散发出来的高贵气质

    because of your noble disposition

    11. 因为抱著你的感觉是这么温暖

    because of the warmth when i hold you in my arms

    12. 因为一个人寂寞的时候只有你陪著我

    because only you accompany me when i am lonely

    13. 因为爱你让我充满自信

    because loving you makes me confident

    14. 因为你的任性

    because of your wilfulness

    15. 因为照顾你是我的责任

    because it is my responsibility to look after you

    16. 因为有些是不必说出来你就能明白

    because of something you can understand without my explaination

    17. 因为只有你最了解我的个性

    because only you know of my personality best

    18. 因为只有你能包容我的一切

    because only you can tolerate everything of mine

    19. 因为没有你我就不知该如何活下去

    because i dont know how to continue my life without you

    20. 因为有你我的生活充满快乐

    because of you , my life is full of happines

    21 因为有你情人节才有花可送

    because of having you ,i can send flowers on Valentine

    22 因为所有的花都不及你漂亮

    because no flower is more beautiful than you

    23 因为我眼中只有你一个

    because i only have you in my heart

    24 因为即使海枯石烂我只爱你一个

    the seas may run dry and the rocks crumble,you are the only person i love

    25 因为喜欢过马路时牵著你的感觉

    because i love the feeling of holding your hands,when we cross the road

    26 因为感谢上天赐予我一个独一无二的你

    because thank the god to bestow unique person-you

    27 因为有你我就满足了

    because i am satisfied with you

    28 因为只有你陪我渡过不如意的时候

    because only you accompany me to pass unhappy days

    29 因为时间一分一秒过去爱你的感觉却与日剧增

    because although time passes by minute and second, the sentiments of loving you grow with each passing days

    30 因为我们俩最谈的来

    because we two get along well with each other

    31 因为你让我有保护你的念头

    because you make me have the thought of protecting you

    32 因为初见你的感觉是前所未有的

    because the feeling of seeing you for the first time never existed before

    33 因为你是我的梦中情人

    because you are the lover in my dream

    34 因为一见锺情在我的内心燃烧著

    because the feeling of falling in love at the first sight burns in my heart

    35 因为我是你倾吐心事的对象

    because you are the only person who listens to my mind

    36 因为你让我非常放心

    because you set my mind at ease

    37 因为有你让我对明天充满期待

    because i am full of expection for tomorrow with you

    38 因为我已不再对任何人动心

    because you make me never open my heart to others

    39 因为爱你是最温柔的不自由

    i love you because to me you are a gentle but "no freedom"

    40 因为我俩一起看天看海看日落日出

    because we enjoy the sky, the sea and the sunrise, the sunset together

   41 因为沙滩印著我俩的足迹

    because there are our footprints in the sand beach

    42 因为只有你肯陪我看恐怖片

    because only you like to accompany me to watch horrible movies

    43 因为你曾为感人剧情而哭的淅沥哗啦的

    because you were ever moved to tears by the play

    44 因为我们侧夜长谈分享彼此

    because we talk all night and enjoy each other

    45 因为我们是天生一对

    because we were born of a couple

    46 因为爱过你就好

    because it is fine of experiencing love you

    47 因为只愿等你一个人

    because I only want to wait for you

    48 因为有你我看到美好的未来

    because you make me see the beautiful future

    49 因为有你我看到了其他人羡慕的眼光

    because of having you ,i see the envious sights of others

    50 因为你让我体验了爱情的伟大

    because i experience the great love with you

    51 因为你的善良

    because of your kind heart

    52 因为有我就有你

    because where there is me ,there is you

    53 因为你让我感到身为一个男人的骄傲

    because of you ,i am proud of being a man

    54 因为任何事与爱你抵触者无效

    because nothing will happen,if it is contradict with loving you

    55 因为除了我再也找不到另一个与你相配的男人

    because except me you can't find another perfect match

    56 因为我们俩曾互许终身

    because we ever promised to be life-long companions

    57 因为我们要做七世情人

    because we plan to be lovers of generations

    58 因为我要带你环游世界

    because i will show you around the world

    59 因为我要让每个地方都留下我俩的回忆

    because i want every place to have our two person's memory

    60 因为我要继续写爱你的理由

    because i will continue to write the reasons of loving you

    61 因为我不能放弃爱你的念头

    because i cant give up the ideas of loving you

    62 因为我恨没有早一些认识你

    because i regret not knowing you earlier

    63 因为你让我追的好辛苦

    because it is hard to chase you

    64 因为我要打败其他条件比我好的人

    because i want to defeat all the others of better conditions than me

    65 因为你选择了我

    because you choose me

    66 因为我发誓要好好照顾你

    because i promised to take good care of you

    67 因为我了解你对我的心

    because you know of my heart

    68 因为你喜欢放风筝

    because you love flying kites

    69 因为你的打扮很有个性

    because your make-up has a stong character

    70 因为我有占有你的私心

    because i have the selfish idea of owning you

    71 因为你喜欢打排球

    because you like playing volleyball

    72 因为你喜欢唱歌

    because you like singing songs

    73 因为你的生日快到了

    because your birthday is coming

    74 因为你喜欢看书

    because you like reading books

    75 因为你的开朗

    because of your sanguine disposition

    76 因为我们分隔两地却两心相系

    because we miss each others even if we live in differet places

    77 因为身边有你的欢笑

    because of your cheerful smile around me

    78 因为你喜欢贝壳

    because you love seashells

    79 因为一颗心只能爱你一个

    because one heart can only love you one

    80 因为没有人痴的像我

    because no one is infatuated like me

    81 因为你的心将我淹没了

    because i am addicted in your love

    82 因为有你我就不孤单

    because of you ,i am not lonely any more

    83 因为上辈子我们在一起

    because last generation we were lovers

    84 因为爱你是我甜蜜的负担

    because loving you is my sweet burden

    85 因为你我拒绝了其他的仰慕者

    because we two reject others

    86 因为我的朋友都叫我要好好的把握

    because my friends ask me to hold it well

    87 因为不爱你实在太过分了

    because not loving you is excessive

    88 因为不爱你实在太对不起自己了

    because i feel sorry for myself,if i don't love you

    89 因为不爱你我的朋友会打我

    because my friends will beat me ,if i don't love you

    90 因为我的目标只有一个...爱你

    because i only have one aim-love you

    91 因为说了那么多爱你的理由我不得不爱你

    because i have said so many reasons of loving you,i have to love you

    92 因为我渴望101次求婚的结局

    because i am eager to the result of the 101 proposal

    93 因为我期待每一个明天的到来

    because i expect the coming of every tomorrow

    94 因为我喜欢等你电话的感觉

    because i love the feeling of waiting for your telephones

    95 因为我有千千万万的理由爱你

    because i have thousands of reasons for loving you

    96 因为我只选择最爱你的一百个理由

    because i only choose these one hundred reasons to show my best love to you

    97 因为我特地在情人节这一天对你表白

    because i chose specially to assert my love to you on Valentine's Day

    98 因为我已经写的很累了

    because i feel very tired when i write here

    99 因为我要向世界大声说

    because i want to announce to the world loudly

    100 因为我爱你!!!

    because i love you!!

Joke:NO SEX TONIGHT!

2008-09-01T20:48:00.001-07:00

　　I never quite figured out why the sexual urge of men and women differ so
　　much. And I never have figured out the whole Venus and Mars thing. I have
　　never figured out why men think with their head and women with their heart.
　　
　　FOR EXAMPLE: One evening last week, my girlfriend and I were getting into
　　bed.
　　
　　Well, the passion starts to heat up, and she eventually says "I don't feel
　　like it, I just want you to hold me."
　　
　　I said "WHAT??!! What was that?!"
　　
　　So she says the words that every boyfriend on the planet dreads to hear...
　　"You're just not in touch with my emotional needs as a woman enough for me
　　to satisfy your physical needs as a man." She responded to my puzzled look
　　by saying, "Can't you just love me for who I am and not what I do for you in
　　the bedroom?"
　　
　　Realizing that nothing was going to happen that night, I went to sleep.
　　
　　The very next day I opted to take the day off of work to spend time with
　　her. We went out to a nice lunch and then went shopping at a big, big
　　unnamed department store. I walked around with her while she tried on
　　several different very expensive outfits. She couldn't decide which one to
　　take so I told her we'd just buy them all. She wanted new shoes to
　　compliment her new clothes, so I said lets get a pair for each outfit. We
　　went onto the jewelry department where she picked out a pair of diamond
　　earrings. Let me tell you...she was so excited. She must have thought I was
　　one wave short of a shipwreck. I started to think she was testing me because
　　she asked for a tennis bracelet when she doesn't even know how to play
　　tennis. I think I threw her for a loop when I said, "That's fine, honey."
　　She was almost nearing sexual satisfaction from all of the excitement.
　　Smiling with excited anticipation she finally said, "I think this is all
　　dear, let's go to the cashier."
　　
　　I could hardly contain myself when I blurted out, "No honey, I don't feel
　　like it."
　　
　　Her face just went completely blank as her jaw dropped with a baffled
　　WHAT?"
　　
　　I then said "honey! I just want you to HOLD this stuff for a while. You're
　　just not in touch with my financial needs as a man enough for me to satisfy
　　your shopping needs as a woman." And just when she had this look like she
　　was going to kill me, I added, "Why can't you just love me for who I am and
　　not for the things I buy you?"
　　
　　Apparently I'm not having sex tonight either.

Joke: five hundred times!

2008-08-27T21:00:00.001-07:00

Five Hundred Times

　　In the traffic court of a large mid-western city, a young lady was brought before the judge to answer a ticket given her for driving through a red light. She explained to his honor that she was a school teacher and requested an immediate disposal of her case in order that she might hasten on to her classes. A wild gleam came into the judge's eye. "You are a school teacher, eh?" said he. "Madam, I shall realize my lifelong ambition. Sit down at that table and write 'I went through a red light' five hundred times."

joke:The Shiny-Walled Box Thingie

2008-07-11T19:40:00.001-07:00

An Amish boy and his father were visiting a nearby mall. They were
amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny
silver walls that moved apart and back together again by themselves.

The lad asked, "What is this, father?"

The father, having never seen an elevator, responded, "I have no idea
what it is."

While the boy and his father were watching wide-eyed, an old lady in a
wheelchair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The
walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The
walls closed and the boy and his father watched as small circles lit
up above the walls.

The walls opened up again and a beautiful twenty-four-year-old woman
stepped out.

The father looked at his son anxiously and said, "Go get your mother."

joke: teacher and students

2008-07-09T23:21:00.001-07:00

A teacher asked a child, "If your mother cuts two oranges and two bananas into ten pieces, what will you get?"
　　And the student said, "Fruit salad!"

the cat lover

2008-07-08T18:59:00.001-07:00

One day, a fairy visits a lonely widow and says that she is there to give her three wishes.

''I wish I was 21 and beautiful!'' The wish is instantly granted.

''I wish I had a million dollars!'' The wish is granted.

''I wish that my cat here were the most handsome guy in the world and was madly in love with me.'' The wish is granted. The now young lady and her man go inside. They start to cuddle, and the man looks at her.

''Aren't you upset that you had me fixed?''

Joke: now we run!

2008-07-08T18:46:00.001-07:00

A priest is walking down the street one day, when he notices a very small boy trying to press a doorbell on a house across the street.
However, the boy is very small and the doorbell is too high for him to reach.
After watching the boy's efforts for some time, the priest moves closer to the boy's position. He steps smartly across the street, walks up behind the little fellow, places his hand kindly on the child's shoulder and gives the doorbell a sold ring.
Crouching down to the child's level, the priest smiles and asks, "And now what, my little man?"
The boy replies, "Now we run!"

-----
new words:
crouch: Crouching down to the child's level...

What's Green Timer?

2008-05-29T02:41:00.001-07:00

What's Green Timer?

Green Timer(URL: http://code.google.com/p/greentimer, Chinese name: 绿色报时器) is a little software that can notify you to do something, by displays a little message bolloon in the rightdown position of you screen. It can notity you to have a rest every one hours, or notify you to call a customer tomorrow morning.

So, you won't forget anything important now.

Green Timer aim at a good time managment habit for you. When you can arrange your time rightly, you will find out that your job turnning easy, and you may find that you can spend more time staying with your family. So we call it "Green Timer".
You can learn more of time managment by Green Timer in our wiki:
http://code.google.com/p/greentimer/wiki/GreenIdeal

more info:

Green Timer Download Page:
http://code.google.com/p/greentimer/downloads/list

User Forum:
(Google) http://groups.google.com/group/greentimer
(douban) http://www.douban.com/group/greentimer

Rational:
http://www.gtdlife.cn/

JOKE: Girl Power!

2008-05-29T00:01:00.001-07:00

Girl Power!

　　A little boy is playing with his new football and a little girl asks if she can play. He tells her, "No. These are for boys."
　　
　　The little girl runs into the house and tells her mother. The next day the girl sticks her tongue out at the boy and waves her new football in his face. The little boy angrily points to his boy's bike and says, "Oh yeah? Well, only boys can get these!"
　　
　　But the next day, the little girl has the same bike. The little boy gets furious, pulls down his pants, points to his unit, and says, "Look, only boys have these and your mom can't buy you one!"
　　
　　The next day he walks by and the little girl promptly pulls up her dress, points to her bits, and proclaims, "My mother tells me that as long as I have one of these, I can have as many of those as I want."

Everything I know about women . . .

2008-05-22T23:09:00.000-07:00

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/relationships/article3736523.ece

Everything I know about women . . .

. . . Our correspondent learnt from his two-year-old niece � from not making her cry to the art of gift giving

Tad Safran

As a single man in my mid-thirties, I've spent 20 years trying to understand women, with mixed results. It wasn't until six months ago, however, that I was given a clear insight into how the female mind works.

It came in the form of Lou-Lou, my two-year-old niece. I know, as a grown-up, that the onus is on me to teach her useful stuff rather than the other way around, but in this case, the instruction was mutual. I taught her how to wink, blow raspberries, burp and count to 10, sort of. "One, two, three, seven, nine, ten", which is good enough for me, as, personally, I've always thought the numbers four, five, six and eight were overrated.

In return, I learnt more about women in two months than I had gleaned on my own in two decades. This does not mean, by the way, that I think women are like two-year-olds and should be treated as such. I love my niece. I respect my niece. I'd dive on an unexploded grenade for my niece, and not just to amuse her. I would only dive on it if there was real danger of it exploding and hurting her. Women are all individuals and I'm making generalisations, but in the two-year-old Lou-Lou is the undiluted, unaffected essence � the "id" � of womanhood. Here's what I've learnt.

1 Ignore them

1If I come into a room and bounce up to Lou-Lou like a clown, trying to amuse and entertain, she blanks me completely. It's as if I don't exist. If I walk straight past her, however, I guarantee she will call out my name and want to play with me.

2 Bribe them

Gifts work. Preferably something noisy or sparkly. With Lou-Lou, that means stuffed animals that sing or sequined hair grips. With grown women, I suppose that equates to, say, cars and jewellery.

3 Compliment them

I've mistakenly always held that compliments are like diamonds: valuable only for their scarcity. Flood the market and they lose all value. Not so. Lou-Lou poos in her nappy, everyone cheers � as if she just came up with a workable solution to world hunger � and she beams like a lighthouse. The same works with grown women, although, of course, only the general principle applies rather than the specific example given here. (I learnt this one the hard way.)

4 Listen to them

I've spent my life trying to preempt what women want. I needn't have bothered. If I just pay attention, Lou-Lou will tell me exactly what she wants: eat, dance, doll, jump, run, sing, play, read. Then all I have to do is organise it. How much simpler my life would have been if I had listened and acted accordingly.

5 Apologise

It doesn't matter what you've done. It doesn't matter if you don't even know what you've done. I might have slighted Lou-Lou by putting the wrong doll in the pram. What seems to you or me like a minor infraction is, to her, on a par with genocide. The best policy is to throw yourself on her mercy and beg forgiveness. But you must sound sincere. You don't have to be sincere, just sound sincere. This is so elementary, yet how many men ignore this advice?

6 Let them do it

Whatever "it" is. No matter how ridiculous it may seem to you, let her do it. When Lou-Lou gets an idea into her mind, there's no talking her out of it. In fact, be supportive, encourage her even. Then sit back and hope she discovers for herself that it was a stupid idea. The downside is that she might decide it was an excellent idea. One day, I found myself playing dolls' tea party for two whole hours and drank so many cups of imaginary tea, I was imaginary peeing all afternoon.

7 Don't tell them what to do

The best way to guarantee that she doesn't do what I want is by telling her to do it. The clever thing is to make it seem like her idea � and make it seem fun. One of my proudest moments was convincing Lou-Lou that watching the rugby World Cup final would be more fun than playing in the sandpit.

8 Don't complain to them

This is a tricky one. What I mean by this is, don't burden her with your petty problems. When I complain to Lou-Lou about a bad meeting or a sore back, she couldn't care less, but if there's genuinely something wrong, she will instinctively sense it and, with one hug, pick me up more than I thought possible.

9 Don't argue

There's simply no point. You will never win, and if you do win, it will be a hollow victory because of the mood she'll be in for a long time afterwards. Quite frankly, who needs the aggro? This leads to my final and most important point:

10 Don't make them cry

There is nothing more distressing than watching Lou-Lou's enormous, innocent brown eyes overflow with tears, while her mouth becomes a gaping, drooling, mournful air-raid siren that pierces through to the core of my heart. I'm utterly defenceless when she cries. And there's no known antidote. Food? Monkey impressions? A pony? Stabbing myself in the eye with a chopstick? I will agree to anything to stop her crying � and doesn't she.

Some Famous sentences in movies

2008-05-22T21:56:00.001-07:00

source: http://blog.beanwoo.com/english/31/2008/05/23/542

今天为大家介绍一些比较经典的台词，只是某些其中蕴涵的深意已随时间流逝了，我也班门弄斧的品评一番，也算经典的"平民化"吧？

《飘 (乱世佳人) Gone with The Wind》

1.Land is the only thing in the world worth working for, worth fighting for, worth dying for. Because it's the only thing that lasts.

土地是世界上唯一值得你去为之工作, 为之战斗, 为之牺牲的东西,因为它是唯一永恒的东西。

注：这是封建社会以来根深蒂固的观点吧，土地作为不动产，价值是不可估量的，正如我们中国人对房产的热爱，存在并非完全不合理吧？

2.I wish I could be more like you.

我要像你一样就好了。

注：这是一句日常用语，感叹或者羡慕夹杂其中，我们是可以活学活用的。

3.Whatever comes, I'll love you, just as I do now. Until I die.

无论发生什么事,我都会像现在一样爱你,直到永远

注：虽然绝大多数时候这都是一句空话、假话，但是又有哪个人在面对如此深情的表白的时候能够无动于衷呢？况且人间自有真情在，地震中，为妻子挡飞石的、将妻子的尸身捆缚送至太平间的，岂不正是一曲"上穷碧落下黄泉"的生死赞歌？爱，是需要表达的，无论语言，还是身体力行……

4.I think it's hard winning a war with words.

我认为纸上谈兵没什么作用。

注："纸上谈兵"的成语咋翻译过来，就觉得韵味尽失呢？不知道是不是我理解有问题？

5.Sir, you're no gentleman. And you miss are no lady.

先生,你可真不是个君子,小姐,你也不是什么淑女

6.I never give anything without expecting something in return. I always get paid.

我做任何事不过是为了有所回报,我总要得到报酬。

注：这真是一句实话，只是很多人敢做而不敢言。故而，真小人总比伪君子更让人待见。套用鲁迅的一句话，这是一个想做君子而不得的时代，那么直来直去又何妨呢？

7.In spite of you and me and the whole silly world going to pieces around us, I love you.

哪怕是世界末日我都会爱着你

8.I love you more than I've ever loved any woman. And I've waited longer for you than I've waited for any woman.

我从未像爱你一样爱过任何女人，而且我也从未像等你一样等过别的女人。

注：都说女人是傻的，乐于陷于情网，爱听情话，可期盼着一段幸福有错吗？

9.If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill, as God as my witness, I'll never be hungry again!

即使让我撒谎,去偷,去骗,去杀人,上帝作证,我再也不要挨饿了

注："仓廪实而知礼节"，在最恶劣的环境下，人们的原始道德才备受考验。很多事情只有经历过才知道能否承受，所以对待弱者，请多给予一些宽容和支持吧！

10.Now I find myself in a world which for me is worse than death. A world in which there is no place for me.

现在我发现自己活在一个比死还要痛苦的世界,一个无我容身之处的世界

11.You're throwing away happiness with both hands. And reaching out for something that will never make you happy.

你把自己的幸福拱手相让,去追求一些根本不会让你幸福的东西

注：这是一个哲学命题：你最需要的是什么？这样的拷问总是深入肺腑。在这个物质的年代，很多人忘却了身边的快乐，忽略了最亲爱的人，却孜孜以求一些阿堵物之类，值得吗？时不我与，人生是一条单行线，抓住每一时刻的风景，好好欣赏吧，鱼和熊掌是一对永恒的博弈！

12.Home. I'll go home. And I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.

家,我要回家.我要想办法让他回来.不管怎样,明天又是全新的一天。

注："明天又是全新的一天"，多好的话！无论是充满希望也好，自欺欺人也罢，明天真的是我们未曾经历过的，不要轻易对明天失去信心，前方没有路，可希望在转角。

《泰坦尼克号 TITANIC 》

1.Outwardly, I was everything a well-brought up girl should be. Inside, I was screaming.

外表看,我是个教养良好的小姐,骨子里,我很反叛.

2.We're the luckiest sons-of bitches in the world.

我们是真***走运极了.(地道的美国骂人)

3.There is nothing I couldn't give you, there is nothing I would deny you, if you would not deny me. Open you're heart to me.

如果你不违背我,你要什么我就能给你什么,你要什么都可以.把你的心交给我吧.

注：这实在是一句自私至极的情话！可很多被爱情遮住了双眼的少男少女们，却愣呆呆的一头扎进这个精心编织的网中，便被缚上了枷锁再也逃不出来。如果感情是完全以一方的意志为主导，以牺牲自尊为代价，这是真正的爱吗？父母尚不能要求子女无条件服从，何况一求爱之人？此类的感情真要弃若敝履，一点也不值得怜惜！

4.What the purpose of university is to find a suitable husband.

读大学的目的是找一个好丈夫.

注：有不少媒体都如此转载女大学生的话，但是请相信，即使有个别真实情况存在，这也是极其片面的，"一叶障目，不见泰山"，实在是要不得的！

5.Remember, they love money, so just pretend like you own a goldmine and you're in the club.

只要你装得很有钱的样子他们就会跟你套近乎。

注：很多人笑贫不笑娼，此话是对劣根性的最好注解！但，有时候我们就是牢笼里挣脱不得的金丝雀，明明渴望自由的天空，却也只能婉转的唱出和谐的清啼。商场上，为了订单，手段、伪装，无所不用其极，即使痛恨，又能如何？

6.All life is a game of luck.

生活本来就全靠运气。

注：贝多芬说"要扼住命运的咽喉"，可怀才不遇之人古今中外比比皆是。生活，有时候真的需要运气，当你失意的时候，请记住，只是你的运气尚未光顾！但还有一句话应该补充在后面，"机遇只垂青有准备的人"，这样就相得益彰了吧？

7.I love waking up in the morning and not knowing what's going to happen, or who I'm going to meet, where I'm going to wind up.

我喜欢早上起来时一切都是未知的,不知会遇见什么人,会有什么样的结局。

注：其实这是一种很好的心态吧，以初生婴儿的好奇心看待周围的一切，又怎会觉得生活索然无味呢？

8.I figure life is a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You never know what hand you're going to get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you.

我觉得生命是一份礼物,我不想浪费它,你不会知道下一手牌会是什么,要学会接受生活。

9.To make each day count.

要让每一天都有所值。

注：说着容易，可每天我们虚掷了多少时光呢？真理有时候就是最最简单的，只是我们明知却不为！

10.We're women. Our choices are never easy.

我们是女人,我们的选择从来就不易。

11.You jump, I jump. (another touching sentence)

你跳,我就跳.

注：这是这部电影中最感动的话之一，生死相随，不离不弃，大家都向往，只是事到临头，退缩者恒有之……

12.Will you give us a chance to live?

能不能给我们留一条生路?

13.God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death. Neither shall there be sorrow or dying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former world has passed away.

上帝擦去他们所有的眼泪.死亡不再有,也不再有悲伤和生死离别,不再有痛苦,因往事已矣.

14.You're going to get out of here. You're going to go on and you're going to make lots of babies and you're going to watch them grow and you're going to die an old, an old lady, warm in your bed. Not here. Not this night. Not like this.

你一定会脱险的,你要活下去,生很多孩子,看着他们长大.你会安享晚年,安息在温暖的床上,而不是今晚在这里,不是像这样的死去。

注：爱一个人就是让她幸福，不在于朝朝暮暮、长相厮守，只是想着心爱的人与别人共结连理，是会心如刀割吧？故而，我没有那么高尚，于我，两个相爱的人就是比翼鸟的双翼，相互契合，除非不得已，爱就绝不能轻易放弃，记得给爱留一个机会，给爱一丝生机！

The Top Ten Myths of Marriage

2008-05-22T04:20:00.001-07:00

this page comes from: http://marriage.rutgers.edu/Publications/pubmyths%20of%20marriage.htm

The Top Ten Myths of Marriage
David Popenoe

1. Marriage benefits men much more than women.

Contrary to earlier and widely publicized reports, recent research finds men and women to benefit about equally from marriage, although in different ways. Both men and women live longer, happier, healthier and wealthier lives when they are married. Husbands typically gain greater health benefits while wives gain greater financial advantages.¹[Source]

2. Having children typically brings a married couple closer together and increases marital happiness.

Many studies have shown that the arrival of the first baby commonly has the effect of pushing the mother and father farther apart, and bringing stress to the marriage. However, couples with children have a slightly lower rate of divorce than childless couples.²[Sources]

3. The keys to long-term marital success are good luck and romantic love.

Rather than luck and love, the most common reasons couples give for their long-term marital success are commitment and companionship. They define their marriage as a creation that has taken hard work, dedication and commitment (to each other and to the institution of marriage). The happiest couples are friends who share lives and are compatible in interests and values.³[Sources]

4. The more educated a woman becomes, the lower are her chances of getting married.

A recent study based on marriage rates in the mid-1990s concluded that today's women college graduates are more likely to marry than their non-college peers, despite their older age at first marriage. This is a change from the past, when women with more education were less likely to marry.⁴ [Sources]

5. Couples who live together before marriage, and are thus able to test how well suited they are for each other, have more satisfying and longer-lasting marriages than couples who do not.

Many studies have found that those who live together before marriage have less satisfying marriages and a considerably higher chance of eventually breaking up. One reason is that people who cohabit may be more skittish of commitment and more likely to call it quits when problems arise. But in addition, the very act of living together may lead to attitudes that make happy marriages more difficult. The findings of one recent study, for example, suggest "there may be less motivation for cohabiting partners to develop their conflict resolution and support skills." (One important exception: cohabiting couples who are already planning to marry each other in the near future have just as good a chance at staying together as couples who don't live together before marriage).⁵ [Sources]

6. People can't be expected to stay in a marriage for a lifetime as they did in the past because we live so much longer today.

Unless our comparison goes back a hundred years, there is no basis for this belief. The enormous increase in longevity is due mainly to a steep reduction in infant mortality. And while adults today can expect to live a little longer than their grandparents, they also marry at a later age. The life span of a typical, divorce-free marriage, therefore, has not changed much in the past fifty years. Also, many couples call it quits long before they get to a significant anniversary: half of all divorces take place by the seventh year of a marriage.⁶ [Sources]

7. Marrying puts a woman at greater risk of domestic violence than if she remains single.

Contrary to the proposition that for men "a marriage license is a hitting license," a large body of research shows that being unmarried―and especially living with a man outside of marriage―is associated with a considerably higher risk of domestic violence for women. One reason for this finding is that married women may significantly underreport domestic violence. Further, women are less likely to marry and more likely to divorce a man who is violent. Yet it is probably also the case that married men are less likely to commit domestic violence because they are more invested in their wives' wellbeing, and more integrated into the extended family and community. These social forces seem to help check men's violent behavior.⁷ [Sources]

8. Married people have less satisfying sex lives, and less sex, than single people.

According to a large-scale national study, married people have both more and better sex than do their unmarried counterparts. Not only do they have sex more often but they enjoy it more, both physically and emotionally.⁸ [Sources]

9. Cohabitation is just like marriage, but without "the piece of paper."

Cohabitation typically does not bring the benefits―in physical health, wealth, and emotional wellbeing―that marriage does. In terms of these benefits cohabitants in the United States more closely resemble singles than married couples. This is due, in part, to the fact that cohabitants tend not to be as committed as married couples, and they are more oriented toward their own personal autonomy and less to the wellbeing of their partner.⁹ [Sources]

10. Because of the high divorce rate, which weeds out the unhappy marriages, people who stay married have happier marriages than people did in the past when everyone stuck it out, no matter how bad the marriage.

According to what people have reported in several large national surveys, the general level of happiness in marriages has not increased and probably has declined slightly. Some studies have found in recent marriages, compared to those of twenty or thirty years ago, significantly more work-related stress, more marital conflict and less marital interaction.¹⁰ [Sources]

¹The research on this topic is reviewed in Linda J. Waite and Maggie Gallagher, The Case for Marriage (New York: Doubleday, 2000): Ch. 12 [back to text]

² Carolyn Pape Cowan and Philip A. Cowan, When Partners Become Parents: The Big Life Change for Couples (New York: Basic Books, 1992); Jay Belsky and John Kelly, The Transition to Parenthood (NewYork: Dell, 1994); Tim B. Heaton, "Marital Stability Throughout the Child-rearing Years" Demography 27 (1990):55-63; Linda Waite and Lee A. Lillard, "Children and Marital Disruption" American Journal of Sociology 96 (1991):930-953 [back to text]

³ Finnegan Alford-Cooper, For Keeps: Marriages the Last a Lifetime (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1998); Judith Wallerstein and Sandra Blakeslee. The Good Marriage (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995); Robert Lauer and Jeanette Lauer, "Factors in Long-Term Marriage" Journal of Family Issues 7:4 (1986): 382-390 [back to text]

⁴ Joshua R. Goldstein and Catherine T. Kenney, "Marriage Delayed or Marriage Forgone? New Cohort Forecasts of First Marriage for U. S. Women" American Sociological Review 66 (2001):506-519 [back to text]

⁵ Alfred DeMaris and K. Vaninadha Rao, "Premarital Cohabitation and Marital Instability in the United States: A Reassessment" Journal of Marriage and the Family 54 (1992):178-190; Pamela J. Smock, "Cohabitation in the United States" Annual Review of Sociology 26 (2000); William G. Axinn and Jennifer S. Barber, "Living Arrangements and Family Formation Attitudes in Early Adulthood" Journal of Marriage and the Family 59 (1997):595-611; Susan L. Brown, "The Effect of Union Type on Psychological Well-Being: Depression Among Cohabitors Versus Marrieds" Journal of Health and Social Behavior 41 (2000):241-55; Catherine L. Cohan and Stacey Kleinbaum, "Toward a Greater Understanding of the Cohabitation Effect: Premarital Cohabitation and Marital Communication" Journal of Marriage and the Family 64 (2002): 180-192 [back to text]

⁶ Norval D. Glenn, "A Critique of Twenty Family and Marriage and Family Textbooks" Family Relations 46-3 (1997):197-208 [back to text]

⁷ Jan E. Stets, "Cohabiting and Marital Aggression: The Role of Social Isolation" Journal of Marriage and the Family 53 (1991):669-680; Richard J. Gelles, Intimate Violence in Families, 3^rd ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: 1997); Linda J. Waite and Maggie Gallagher, The Case for Marriage (New York: Doubleday, 2000): Ch. 11 [back to text]

⁸ Linda J. Waite and Kara Joyner, "Emotional and Physical Satisfaction with Sex in Married, Cohabiting, and Dating Sexual Unions: Do Men and Women Differ?" Pp. 239-269 in E. O. Laumann and R. T. Michael, eds., Sex, Love, and Health in America (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2001); Edward O. Laumann, J. H. Gagnon, R. T. Michael and S. Michaels, The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1994) [back to text]

⁹ Stephen L. Nock, "A Comparison of Marriages and Cohabiting Relationships" Journal of Family Issues 16-1 (1995): 53-76; Amy Mehraban Pienta, et. al., "Health Consequences of Marriage for the Retirement Years" Journal of Family Issues 21-5 (2000):559-586; Susan L. Brown, "The Effect of Union Type on Psychological Well-Being: Depression Among Cohabitors versus Marrieds" Journal of Health and Social Behavior 41(2000):241-255; Susan L. Brown and Alan Booth, "Cohabitation Versus Marriage: A Comparison of Relationship Quality" Journal of Marriage and the Family 58 (1996):668-678. [back to text]

¹⁰ Norval D. Glenn, "Values, Attitudes, and the State of American Marriage" Pp. 15-33 in David Popenoe, D. Blankenhorn and J. B. Elshtain (eds.) Promises to Keep: Decline and Renewal of Marriage in America (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1996); Stacy J. Rogers and Paul R. Amato, "Is Marital Quality Declining: The Evidence from Two Generations" Social Forces 75 (1997); Stacy J. Rogers and Paul R. Amato, "Have Changes in Gender Relations Affected Marital Quality?" Social Forces 79 (2000):731-753; General Social Survey, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago. [back to text]

English saying:defense

2008-03-12T19:44:00.001-07:00

The best defense is a good offense.

进攻是最好的防守。

English Joke: Dinner Choices

2008-03-09T07:50:00.001-07:00

Dinner Choices

　　A guy is on a trip on a small airline.
　　The stewardess says, "Would you like dinner?"
　　He says, "What are my choices?"
　　She says, "Yes or no."
===
new words:
stewardess: the waiter in ship or airplane

English joke: My Father, The Whorehouse Piano Player

2008-03-09T07:23:00.001-07:00

English joke: My Father, The Whorehouse Piano Player

A grade school teacher was asking students what their parents did for a living. "Tim, you're first," she said. "What does your mother do all day?"

Tim stood up and proudly said, "She's a doctor."

"That's wonderful. How about you, Amie?" Amie shyly stood up, scuffed her feet and said, "My father is a mailman."

"Thank you, Amie," said the teacher. "What about your father, Billy?"

Billy proudly stood up and announced, "My daddy plays piano in a whorehouse."

The teacher was aghast and promptly changed the subject to geography. Later that day she went to Billy's house and rang the bell. Billy''s father answered the door. The teacher explained what his son had said and demanded an explanation.

Billy''s father said, "I'm actually an attorney, but how can I explain a thing like that to a seven-year-old?"

==========

new words:

1.Whorehouse: whore house. The place of porn. Relative letters:whoredom, the same with whorehouse;whoreson, for curse.

2.attorney:lawyer

A little poet: who care?

2008-03-08T17:37:00.001-08:00

WHO CARES?
--Diane Collett
As the clouds move in the skies,
I listen to the Indians' cries.

It hurts my heart and tears my soul,
How can the whites be so cold?

Do they not care what they have done?
Can't they hear the cries of the little ones?

One by one they're fading away,
Their land was taken in a passing day.

But I want you to know someone does care.
I wish I could have only been there.

===============
I found this poem in a book with the name "savage honor", which I'm reading for English learning.

Einestein quote of the day: pfenning and idea

2008-03-08T17:15:00.001-08:00

Einestein quote of the day: pfennig and idea

If I give you a pfennig, you will be one pfennig richer and I'll be one pfennig poorer. But if I give you an idea, you will have a new idea, but I shall still have it, too.

=============
new words:
pfennig: 芬尼，German penny

English joke: respectfully cheating

2008-03-05T17:29:00.001-08:00

English joke: respectfully cheating

Jack and Betty are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

"Betty, I was wondering -- have you ever cheated on me?"

"Oh Jack, why would you ask such a question now? You don't want to ask that question..."

"Yes, Betty, I really want to know. Please."

"Well, all right. Yes, 3 times."

"Three? When were they?"

"Well, Jack, remember when you were 35 years old and you really wanted to start the business on your own and no bank would give you a loan? Remember how one day the bank president himself came over to the house and signed the loan papers, no questions asked?"

"Oh, Betty, you did that for me! I respect you even more than ever, that you would do such a thing for me! So, when was number 2?"

"Well, Jack, remember when you had that last heart attack and you were needing that very tricky operation, and no surgeon would touch you? Remember how Dr. DeBakey came all the way up here, to do the surgery himself, and then you were in good shape again?"

"I can't believe it! Betty, I love that you should do such a thing for me, to save my life! I couldn't have a more wonderful wife. To do such a thing, you must really love me darling. I couldn't be more moved. When was number 3?"

"Well, Jack, remember a few years ago, when you really wanted to be president of the golf club and you were 17 votes short?"

================
English learning: new words
anniversary: celebration of a year
tricky: (job)difficult,hard
surgeon: doctor
surgery: operation

sentences:
1.have you ever cheated on me?
2.I respect you even more than ever.
3.I couldn't have a more wonderful wife.
4.I couldn't be more moved.

English joke: Two blondes

2008-03-05T17:14:00.001-08:00

English joke: Two blondes

Two blondes are waiting at a bus stop.

When a bus pulls up and opens the door, one of the blondes leans inside and asks the bus driver:''Will this bus take me to 5th Avenue?''

The bus driver shakes his head and says,''No, I'm sorry.''

At this the other blonde leans inside, smiles, and twitters: ''Will it take ME?''

===========
English learning: new words
1. blonde: the beauty that with golden hair and blue eyes.
2. Avenue: road, street.
3. twitter: speaks in a pretty way.

Einstein quote

2008-03-04T00:23:00.001-08:00

Einstein quote of the day:

I love to travel, but hate to arrive.

--------------
A funny remark. If you do think so, any travel must be happy to you. Also, more than travel.

English Joke: Tough love

2008-03-04T00:14:00.001-08:00

English Joke: Tough love

A dying man smells his favorite oatmeal raisin cookies cooking downstairs. It takes all the strength he has left but he gets up from the bed and crawls down the stairs. He sees the cookies cooling on the counter and staggers over to them. As he reaches for one, his wife's wrinkled hand reaches out, smacks his and she yells:

"No, you can't have those! They're for the funeral!"

====================
new words:
Tough: hard, rough
oatmeal: 燕麦(粥)
raisin: 葡萄干
crawl: 爬行
stagger: 蹒跚，摇摇晃晃（地走）
wrinkled: 干皱的
smack:hit
yell: shout

English Joke: Chastity Belt

2008-03-03T22:22:00.001-08:00

English Joke: Chastity Belt

A man decided to march in the holy crusades. Concluding that his wife should wear a chastity belt while he is gone, he locks up her nether regions and gives the key to his best friend. He tells him, "If I do not return within four years, unlock my wife and set her free to live a normal life."

So, the husband leaves on horseback and about a half hour later, he sees a cloud of dust behind him. He waits for it to come closer and sees his best friend. "What's wrong?' " he asks.

"You gave me the wrong key!"

==================================
new words:
holy crusade: 十字军东征。Everyone who knows a little about the history of Europe should familiar with it.
chastity belt: A kind of underwear. The husbands let their wife to wear it, so that the woman can't copulate with others. But she can pee of course:)

English saying:Beggars can't be choosers.

2008-03-03T22:12:00.001-08:00

每日一词

subtle　 (a.) 不明显的;微微的;隐约的

Body language is sometimes subtle, so watch closely!
肢体语言有时不太明显,所以要注意看。

每日一句

Beggars can't be choosers.
乞丐没有选择的余地。人穷志短。有实力才有自由。

　　这个短短的句子在英语和汉语的语境中都常常听到，汉语中类似的说法还有，"要来的饭别嫌馊"，"乞丐没的挑"。英文的解释是，beggars have to accept whatever they get. A poor person has very few choices in life.（乞丐不得不接受他们多得到的。一个贫穷的人在生活中很少有选择的余地。）如今，这句话更多是作为励志的形式出现，告诉人们，生活中胜利的永远是强者，乞求是无法得到尊重的。

Three English poems

2008-02-28T04:31:00.001-08:00

Below is three English poems, which I learned it from the Enyglish Lession tonight. The poem is easy to read and remember, so it's a good material for English learniing. What is more, the second one is not so easy to understand. Using your heart to read it:)
--------------------------------------------------------
Brotherhood

Brotherhood is always around.
It's in the city, it's in the town.n
It's in the country and everywhere.
It's a kind of blessing the we should share.
--------------------------------------------------------

To my mother
                   Robert Louis Stevenson
You too, my mother, read my rhymes
    for love of unforgotten times.
And you my chance to hear once more
    the little feet along the floor.

--------------------------------------------------------
Friendship

I met a little friend
    Who came from another land
I couldn't speak his language
   But I took him by the hand
We sang together
    And have such fun!
Singging is a language
   You can speak with anyone.

some quote of the day

2008-02-23T21:55:00.001-08:00

Leadership quote of the day:
Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. ~ Dwight Eisenhower

Einstain quote of the day:
The release of atomic power has changed everything except our way of thinking ... the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker. (1945)

JOKE:What animal is this

2008-02-22T01:50:00.001-08:00

Eddie's first-grade class was having a game of Name That Animal. The teacher held up a picture of a cat and asked, "What animal is this?"

"A cat!" said Suzy.

"Good job! Now, what's this animal?"

"A dog!" said Ricky.

"Good! Now what animal is this?" she asked, holding up a picture of a deer.

The class fell silent. After a couple of minutes, the teacher said, "It's what your mom calls your dad."

"A horny bastard!" called out Eddie.

NAIL IN THE FENCE

2008-02-20T17:21:00.001-08:00

NAIL IN THE FENCE

A Good Story for Great Friends.....Make sure you read all the way down to the last sentence!

There once was a little girl who had a bad temper. Her mother gave her a bag of nails and told her that every time she lost her temper, she must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the girl had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as she learned to control her anger, the
number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. She discovered it was easier to hold her temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the girl didn't lose her temper at all. She told her mother about it and the mother suggested that
the girl now pull out one nail for each day that she was able to hold her temper. The day passed and the young girl was finally able to tell her mother that all the nails were gone.

The mother took her daughter by the hand and led her to the fence. She said, "You have done well, my daughter, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one." You can put a knife in a person and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us .

The Farmer’s Donkey

2008-02-20T17:13:00.001-08:00

The Farmer's Donkey

A story from The Feel Good Page

One day a farmer's donkey fell into an abandoned well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was too old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; so it just wasn't worth it to him to try to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. Realizing what was happening, the donkey at first cried and wailed horribly.

Then, a few shovel-fulls later, he quieted down completely. The farmer peered down into the well, and was astounded by what he saw. With every shovel-full of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up on the new layer of dirt.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off, to the shock and astonishment of everyone.

The Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to stop wailing, and not let the dirt bury you, but to shake it off and take a step up. Each one of our troubles is a stepping-stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

JOKE:the wrong way

2008-02-20T17:07:00.001-08:00

As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his cell phone rang.

Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there''s a car going the wrong way on Route 280. Please be careful!"

"It's not just one car," said Herman, "It's hundreds of them!"

Chinese Poem: A Moonlit Night On The Spring River

2008-02-20T00:06:00.001-08:00

A Moonlit Night On The Spring River

原著：张若虚英译：许渊冲

In spring the river rises as high as the sea,
And with the river's rise the moon uprises bright.
She follows the rolling waves for ten thousand li,
And where the river flows, there overflows her light.

The river winds around the fragrant islet where
The blooming flowers in her light all look like snow.
You cannot tell her beams from hoar frost in the air,
Nor from white sand upon Farewell Beach below.

No dust has stained the water blending with the skies;
A lonely wheellike moon shines brilliant far and wide.
Who by the riverside first saw the moon arise?
When did the moon first see a man by riverside?

Ah, generations have come and past away;
From year to year the moons look alike, old and new.
We do not know tonight for whom she sheds her ray,
But hear the river say to its water adieu.

Away, away is sailing a single cloud white;
On Farewell Beach pine away maples green.
Where is the wanderer sailing his boat tonight?
Who, pining away, on the moonlit rails would learn?

Alas! The moon is lingering over the tower;
It should have seen the dressing table of the fair.
She rolls the curtain up and light comes in her bower;
She washes but can't wash away the moonbeams there.

She sees the moon, but her beloved is out of sight;
She'd follow it to shine on her beloved one's face.
But message-bearing swans can't fly out of moonlight,
Nor can letter-sending fish leap out of their place.

Last night he dreamed that falling flowers would not stay.
Alas! He can't go home, although half spring has gone.
The running water bearing spring will pass away;
The moon declining over the pool will sink anon.

The moon declining sinks into a heavy mist;
It's a long way between southern rivers and eastern seas.
How many can go home by moonlight who are missed?
The sinking moon sheds yearning o'er riverside trees.

春江花月夜

张若虚

春江潮水连海平，海上明月共潮生。

滟滟随波千万里，何处春江无月明！

江流宛转绕芳甸，月照花林皆似霰；

空里流霜不觉飞，汀上白沙看不见。

江天一色无纤尘，皎皎空中孤月轮。

江畔何人初见月？江月何年初照人？

人生代代无穷已，江月年年望相似。

不知江月待何人，但见长江送流水。

白云一片去悠悠，青枫浦上不胜愁。

谁家今夜扁舟子？何处相思明月楼？

可怜楼上月徘徊，应照离人妆镜台。

玉户帘中卷不去，捣衣砧上指还来。

此时相望不相闻，愿逐月华流照君。

鸿雁长飞光不度，鱼龙潜跃水成文。

昨夜闲潭梦落花，可怜春半不还家。

江水流春去欲尽，江潭落月复西斜。

斜月沉沉藏海雾，碣石潇湘无限路。

不知乘月几人归? 落月摇情满江树。

JOKE:The Mexican smuggler

2008-02-18T17:06:00.001-08:00

Juan comes up to the Mexican border on his bicycle. He's got two large bags over his shoulders.

The guard stops him and says, "What''s in the bags?" "Sand," answered Juan. The guard says, "We'll just see about that get off the bike." The guard takes the bags and rips them apart; he empties them out and finds nothing in them but sand.

He detains Juan overnight and has the sand analyzed, only to discover that there is nothing but pure sand in the bags. The guard releases Juan, puts the sand into new bags, hefts them onto the man''s shoulders, and lets him cross the border. A week later, the same thing happens. The guard asks, "What have you got?" "Sand," says Juan. The guard does his thorough examination and discovers that the bags contain nothing but sand.He gives the sand back to Juan, and Juan crosses the border on his bicycle. This sequence of events if repeated every day for three years. Finally, Juan doesn't show up one day and the guard meets him in a Cantina in Mexico. "Hey, Buddy," says the guard, "I know you are smuggling something. It's driving me crazy. It's all I think about..... I can't sleep. Just between you and me, what are you smuggling?" Juan sips his beer and says, "Bicycles."