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A man came home from work late again, lured and unrivaled, to (mil his 5-year old son wailing for him at the door. "Daddy, may I ask you a question':""

"eah, sure, what is it?" replied the man.

"Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?'

"That's none of your business. What makes you ask such a thing'.''" the man said angrily.

"I just want to know. Please tell me. how much do you make an hour?" pleaded the little boy.

"If yon must know. I make $20.00 an hour."

"Oh," the little boy replied, head bowed.

Looking up, he said, "Daddy, may 1 borrow $10.00 please?"

The father was furious'. "II the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight lo your room and go to bed. Think about why you're being so selfish2. I work long, hard hours everyday and don't have time for such childish games."

The little boy quietly went lo his room and shut the door. The man sal down and started to gel even madder' about the little boy's questioning. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money. After an hour or so. the man had calmed down, and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy vvilh that $10.00 and lie really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

"Are you asleep son?" he asked.

"No daddy, I'm awake." replied the boy

"I've been thinking, may be 1 was too hard on you earlier." said the man.

"It's been a long day and I look imaggravation4 soul on you. Here's that $10.00 you asked for."

The little hoy sat straight up\ beaming. "Oh, thank you daddy" he yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled up bills. The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted oul his money, then looked up al the man. "Why did you want more money if you already had .some?" the father grumbled6.

"Because I didn't have enough, hut now I do," the little boy replied.

"Daddy, I have $20.00 now. (.an I buy an hour of your time?"

Share $20.00 worth of lime with someone you love ••• just a short reminder to all of us working so hard for our living. However, let us not let time slip through our fingers without having spenl some quality time with those who really matter to us.

Paper is different from other waste produce because it comes from a sustainable resource; trees. Un-like the minerals and oil used to make plastic and metals, tees are replaceable. Paper is also biodegradable, so it does not pose as much threat to the environment when It is discarded. White 45 out of 100 tons of wood fibre used to make paper in Australia comes from waste paper, the rest comes directly from virgin fibre from forests and plantations. By world standards this is a good performance since tie world-wide average is 33 per cent waste paper. Governments have encouraged waste paper collection and sorting schemes and at the same time, the paper industry has responded by developing new recycling technologies that have paved the way for even greater utilization of useful fibre. As a result, industry' s use of recycled fibres is expected to increase at twice the rate of virgin fibre over the coming year.

Already, waste paper constitutes 70% of paper used for packaging and advances in the technology required to remove ink from the paper have allowed a higher recycled content in newsprint and writing paper. To achieve the benefits of recycling, the community must also contribute. We need to accept a change in the quality of paper products; for example stationery may be less white and of a rough texture. There also needs to be support from tie community for waste paper collection programmes. Not only do we need to make the paper available to collectors but it also needs to be separated into different types and sorted from contaminants such as staples, paperclips, strings and other miscellaneous items.

Like a lot of Negro kids, we never would have made it1 without our Momma. When there was no fatback to go with the beans, no socks to go with the shoes, no hope to go with tomorrow, she'd smile and say: "We ain't2 poor, we're just broke," poor is a state of mind you never grow out of, but being broke is just a temporary condition. She always had a big smile, even when her legs and feet swelled from high blood pressure and she collapsed across the table with sugar diabetes. You have to smile twenty-four hours a day. Momma would say. If you walk through3 life showing the aggravation you've gone through, people will feel sorry for you, and they'll never respect you. She taught us that man has two ways out in life—laughing or crying. There's more hope in laughing. A man can fall down the stairs and lie there in such pain and horror that his own wife will collapse and faint at the sight. But if he can just hold back his pain for a minute she might be able to collect herself and call the doctor. It might mean the difference between his living to laugh again or dying there on the spot.

So you laugh, so you smile. Once a month the big gray relief truck would pull up in front of our house and Momma would flash that big smile and stretch out her hands. "Who else you know in this neighborhood gets this kind of service?" And we could all feel proud—then the neighbors, folks who weren't on relief, folks who had Daddies in their houses, would come by the back porch for some of those hundred pounds of potatoes, for some sugar and flour and salty fish.4 We'd stand out there on the back porch and hand out the food, like we were in charge of helping poor people, and then we'd take the food they brought us in return.

And Momma came home one hot summer day and found we'd been evicted, thrown out into the streetcar zone with all our orange crate chairs and secondhand lamps. She flashed that big smile and dried our tears and bought some penny Kool-Aid. We stood out there and sold drinks to thirsty people coming off the streetcar, and we thought nobody knew we were kicked out— figured they thought we wanted to be there. And Momma went off to talk the landlord into letting us back in on credit. °

In the West, politics refers to the work and ideas that are connected with governing a country or a town. It is often considered as a profession and a means of winning and keeping governmental control. Those who are engaged in political activities are called politicians. As their business is politics, they are concerned with, political affairs. Very often a politician is a person who has been elected to a parliament or to a position in government. In this case, it has a neutral sense. But sometimes people use the word "politician" in a derogatory sense, which means a person who is skilled at dealing with people in a way that is advantageous to himself or herself or at using a system to his or her own advantage. However, the word "statesman" has a commendatory sense. It refers to an important and experienced political leader or government leader, especially one who has earned public respect as being wise, honorable and fair-minded. An elder statesman is an old and respected person, usually no longer in a position of power. But he is often asked for advice because of his or her long experience in politics.

In a Western country, people hold different political ideas, views and beliefs. A group or an association of people with the same political aims, opinions and beliefs may form a political party . A person who has joined a political party is a member of the party . And a person who supports a political party is a supporter of the party. The members of the political party try to win elections. Party politics refers to the political actions carried out by or for a political party.

Mr. Lu Xun had a plant pot in his sitting-room. It looked like the jar Euro-!>ean women fetched water with, as shown in paintings. It was of a bluish pay with a couple of ripples naturally embossed with its own glaze. It had a landle on each side near the top. Planted in it were a few evergreens.

[Tie first time I visited Mr. Lu Xun I asked:

"What is the name of this plant? There is no fire in the room, but it is not rozen."

:t was toward evening one winter day. The sitting-room downstairs was dim. Mr. Lu Xun was smoking a cigarette. When he took it away from his lips, raiding it between his fingers at the corner of his desk, small puffs rose as ligh as the top of his grayish hair and, further up, they were no longer visible.

"It's called 'evergreen.' It is always like this."He flicked the cigarette ash to he ashtray next to the pot and the cigarette glowed redder still like a small lower glimmering two or three inches from the cuff of his sleeve.

'It is not affected by the cold, is it?"I asked another time, not remembering acactly when.

'No, it is not," said Mrs. Lu Xun. "It's a tough plant." She held the pot by he top, shaking it for me to see. I noticed there were some pebbles around he bottom.

Later, as I got to know them better, I went once or twice up to the pot, which ras placed on a long black table, to examine it more closely. Coming from he cold north I always wondered why this plant did not wither even in winter.

Phe plant was now still alive. Sometimes it stood on the black table, other imes in front of Mr. Lu Xun's photograph.

Sut it had been transplanted into a glass pot through which their yellowish roots could be seen at the bottom.

Mrs.Lu Xun would chat with us while moving from one plant to another, checking if any of them had turned yellow and which one needed clipping at watering. She always kept herself busy in her room. Sometimes she examined the evergreens, sometimes she talked of Mr. Lu Xun, in front of his photograph, as if of someone of the remote past.

But where is the pot now? It is standing in the graveyard, in the grass, its bottom missing. The pot, empty, has been there spring through autumn when the pomegranate at the head of the neighboring tomb has blossomed and borne fruit.

Since the Japanese bombardment of Shanghai, only Mrs. Lu Xun has visited the tomb, but none of the others. The tomb must have been overgrown with wild grass and the porcelain bust of Mr. Lu Xun buried up to the chest, not to mention the pot.

As for us over here, there is not much we can do but write memorial articles. However, who will go and trim the grass on his tomb? We are getting further and further away from him, but no matter how far away we are, we must always remember the grass.

Such false greatness can further get confused with true greatness. From this it follows that greatness is always confused and confusing, and true greatness is always the consequence of re-decision.

Who are the most able to buy and steal greatness? Those who have power or a lot of money are. And we find living evidence in newspapers and other media, where they buy off writers and editors to write about how capable, kind, and brave they are, tell what big contributions they have made, and how they are loved by everybody. Or, since they have power, they simply make you do so. Or you do these willingly for them, before they tell you to. Or, they buy (or give themselves) opportunities to appear in these media, where they smile sweetly , say nice things, and make big promises. Thus, our newspapers are mainly about these living great people, on the screen we watch almost only their faces.

And many of them will remain great (and rich and powerful) until they die. Then, some of their contemporaries will get together to do something about the greatness they have either bought or seized by force. Some of these can be so brave as to suggest that their greatness be reconsidered, and new decisions be made.

Unfortunately, since then- power and money are so influential, such decisions can not be made immediately after they die. We have to wait for many years. We may have to wait until most of their contemporaries, especially their relatives and friends, have died out. Then, and only then will it be possible for "those who live after them" to start new discussions. This time, since their money and power have lost their influence, careful, un-prejudiced, and just decisions will be possible.

Further, since people with power and money can buy and steal greatness, they will also try to make it difficult for other people to become great. Or, when some of these people have become slightly great, great people who are rich and powerful will do everything possible to prevent them from becoming still greater, by giving them no more opportunities, by speaking ill of then: persons, or by smearing their good work and deeds. They may either do these evils themselves, or buy off other people to do these for them. And this evil force and influence can go on for many years, until these powerful great people die, and until their relatives and friends die out. Then, people who "live after them" will get together to make new decisions, so as to give greatness back to people who should long ago be considered great.

At all times, these powerful and rich great people are trying hard to make other great people appear less great than they really are, by the same means as mentioned above. And, again, after the death of these evil great people, and of their relatives and friends, people who "live after them" will come together for new judgments, so as to make great people appear to their grandchildren just as great as they really were.

In all these cases, in order to make such new judgment and decisions possible, it is essential to say something different from what was said by those who became great by unjust means. And this practice of speaking ill of the dead is, indeed, a healthy one. Owing to this practice, our grandchildren, or their grandchildren, will be able, after all, to give greatness back to those who are truly great, to take back what was stolen, and to decide about the right degrees of greatness. And this is part of what we call JUSTICE.

Negotiation is a special communication task that uses special verbal and nonverbal skills.

A recent study of negotiation between companies in New Zealand and Argentina asked businesspeople to rate the importance of four factors in negotiation: 'communication, de pendability (of the other party), customer orientation, and cultural sensitivity." Cultural sensitivity was rated as least important by the respondents. Communication was the most important factor.

At first glance this seems to contradict what this book is saying: that culture matters. However, the study goes on to report that the researchers broke down communication into four dimensions: friendliness, congeniality, keeping to time, and punctuality. Yet all these dimensions are determined by culture. What defines "friendliness" varies by culture, especially friendliness on first face-to-face contact. Is it friendly to shake hands or not? To greet visitors standing or to go to the street door to escort them in? What constitutes "congeniality"? Smiling, maintaining harmony and avoiding confrontations, emphasizing the positives, trying to cooperate — all are driven by culture. Issues of time have already been discussed here (and Chapters 3 and 7) as culturally defined. So in this study "communication" was another way of talking about culture's influence on negotiation.

The most important of the four factors in communication, according to both New Zealand and Argentine businesspeople, is friendliness. Showing openness and goodwill in connecting with someone from a different culture forms the basis for further relationships.

The moon is seen rising gradually in the east. It hangs quietly in the evening sky like a silver dish. The hills, the fields, the trees, and the houses are all seen but dimly , as if they were seen by one who has just awaked from a sound sleep and sees all things as in a dream.

In the world flooded with moonlight, a poetic feeling arises and softness pervades the atmosphere. The air is suffused with a sweet scent. The moon gives the world a peculiar appearance and people a peculiar feeling. With her soft silvery light, the moon covers all ugly and hideous things and comforts distressed and wretched humanity. In the cloudless sky, how beautiful, mysterious and charming it is!

Typically the host sets the agenda and guides the visitor through the course of engagement. The host will determine whether to meet for dinner, at a bar, at a nightclub, or in his or her home. The host also will invite the appropriate persons. These arrangements may be fairly easy. More complicated is the question of how fast to proceed to business. Businesspeople from cultures that consider time a perishable commodity want to move fast; after all, time is money. They may invite the potential partner into their house for dinner but then proceed to talk business most of the evening.

In cultures in which business is based on trust, the personal relationship must be established before any business discussions can begin. Businesspeople from these cultures use the social gathering as a way to get to know the other person and avoid business discussions during that time.

No culture is right or wrong; cultures are different and approach business differently. They develop different norms and expectations. For example, Americans are used to the business breakfast, the business lunch, and the business dinner. If a manager invites people for a working breakfast, it is understood that the participants should arrive on time and focus on business. If a business breakfast is not the custom, the participants may not know what to expect and what to do. Uzbeks, for example, do not do business breakfasts. When an American invited people for a business breakfast for 8 A. M., two other Americans were there. The Uzbeks came gradually. The last one arrived an hour and a half late. The Uzbeks felt uncomfortable and did not know what the rules for such an occasion were. Businesspeople should learn how the other side approaches business and what the principles of hospitality are. Then they can make the necessary adjustments or openly talk about the differences and come to a mutual understanding. Generally, however, the rules of the host culture carry more weight. If you are doing business in another culture, you may have to be the one who makes most of the adjustments.

My grandmother, a remarkable woman in some ways, lives alone in a village, in a fiercely independent style.

She has a green thumb. Anything she plants springs up strong and healthy. Her tomatoes are bright red and so heavy they almost break their stems. One year she planted onion seeds and. forgot about them only to discover a bumper crop of onions later. In fact, her vegetables grow so plentifully that she has to give half of them away to friends. As for flowers, her dahlias and roses always win first prize at the country fair. Yes, growing things respond beautifully to her touch.

From time to time someone ferries her over to northeast city to see my mother — her daughter — but usually it is my mother and the rest of the family who go to see her. She does not seem to be lonely even though solitary. She enjoys talking to people and never tires of listening to their problems. Because of her kindness, people love her. She offers everyone her best, and she receives the same in return.