Marriage Advertisements in India
Every Sunday morning millions of Indians settle down with a cup of tea and special weekend issues of their newspapers, just as Americans do. But here, with the marriage season approaching, many of them quickly to a Sunday feature that is particularly Indian-the-columns of marriage advertisements in which young people look for husbands and wives. This is relatively modern change in the age-old custom of the arranged marriage. The thousands of advertisements published each week increasingly reflect social changes that coming to this traditional society. For example, although women are still described in terms of appearance, or skill in "the wifely arts", information about her earning power is entering more and more of the advertisements. This reflects the arrival in India of the working wife.
Divorce, which used to be almost unheard of in India, is sometimes now mentioned in the advertisements as in the case of a woman whose advertisement in New Delhi newspaper explained that had been "the innocent party" when her marriage broke up.
Because the custom of the dowry (marriage payment) is now illegal, some advertisements say "no dowry" or "simple marriage", which means the same thing. However, the fathers of many bridegrooms still require it. In a land where light skin is often regarded as socially preferable, many also require that a woman have a "wheat-color" complexion or that a man be "tall, fair and handsome". Advertisements are placed and eagerly read by a wide range of people in the upper classes, mostly in cities. Many of them receive dozens of answers."There's nothing embarrassing about it," explained a Calcutta businessman advertising a son-in-law. "It's just another way of broadening the contacts and increasing the possibility of doing the contacts and increasing the possibilities of doing the best one for one's daughter."
Because of high unemployment and a generally poor standard of living here, one of the best attractions a marriage advertisement can offer is a permit to live abroad, especially in Canada or the United States. A person who has one can get what he wants. One recent Sunday in Madras, for example, a Punjabi engineer living in San Francisco advertised for a "beautiful slim bride with lovely features knowing music and dance". And a man whose advertisement said that he held an American immigration permit was able to say, only girls from rich, well-connected families need apply.

Teaching Children to Spend Pocket Money Wisely
School-going children need pocket money for food, stationery and bus fares. Parents give pocket money to their children in different ways. Some give a lump sum at the beginning of a month or a week. ____1____ The way in which pocket money is given affects how money is spent or saved. On the other hand, the children's spending habits may affect how pocket money is given.
Pocket money given on a daily basis is sometimes termed as "food money". ____2____ They learn how to manage small sums of money. As the money is limited, they have to control their spending. Some parents choose this method of allocating pocket money in order to prevent their children from overspending, hoping that in time they can be trusted with larger sums of money. ____3____.
Giving pocket money on a daily basis places responsibilities of budgeting on the parents, instead of the child. The child may spend every single cent of the daily pocket money by overindulging in junk food, as they know they will get another sum of money the next day. This results in children being short-sighted in their spending. ____4____ They may develop the mentality that money is meant to be spent. Others spend more than they are given. They borrow from their siblings or their classmates when they feel like indulging themselves. Then they may ask for money to pay off their debts. This habit of borrowing causes them to depend on others to solve their problems. ____5____.

Overcoming Difficulties
① Life is full of difficulties and obstacles, from birth to death. At times, Life seems like a hurdle race. We are sure of encountering hurdles, but almost always we are taken by surprise. It is necessary to accept that life in general is full of difficulties and adversities. This recognition is the first step. When faced with problems, we often feel, "I am the only one having such problems" Or, we tend to exaggerate our problems and regard them as most complex, most painful，and as an extreme case. But if we look around us, we find people in much worse conditions. As St. Augustine said, "I cried for boots, till I saw a man who had no legs."
② When faced with difficulties, we either complain or seek to dodge them. We behave like as ostrich in the desert. It is said that when there is a storm in the desert, the ostrich buries his head in the sand-hoping that the storm will go away if he ignores it-and finally gets buried under a heap of sand and dies. Some of us choose to pretend that the problems do not exist. We fail to realize that confronting and solving the problem-no painful the process-makes us grow.
③ Accept the woes of birth. It has many implied meanings. First, it means "accepting," i.e., being able to say that it is "my" problem and it is up to me to solve it. Many times we find ourselves putting the blame on others-parents, society or the circumstances of life. Nothing happens by chance, but all is the result of our past actions. There are times when what is needed is patience. We seek to come out of an unpleasant situation quickly. We must understand that if the cause had been operating for a long time, the effect also would last long-as even when the gas has been turned off, the burner remains hot for a long time. Similarly, we expect quick results; having put in the effort, we must be willing to wait. Patient acceptance of what is due to us makes us makes us take a step further in our development.
④ Once we have learnt to deal with a difficulty, the next time we encounter it, it ceases to be a difficulty. But, more often than not the cause of the problem is internal, i.e., within us, and often, it calls for a change. Often the difficulty is solved when we are willing to change—our way of thinking, our feelings, our likes and dislikes—and ready to adapt or adjust ourselves to a problematic situation or a person in life. We must realize that realize that change is inevitable, and always be mentally prepared for it.
⑤ Not all life's problems are such that they need to be dealt with all at once. Sometimes it is possible to take a step and wait for a long time. For instance, if the tap is leaking then we need to call a plumber as soon as we can. But having called him and having found that he can come only the following morning, we should wait patiently for the next 24 hours. In this period, people can get very anxious and go on talking about it to others. There are many such problems in life.

Spiritual Bond
Besides, do not forget to appreciate the ''spiritual bond'' between people. I've met numerous people in Japan, the US, and Australia. In the beginning, I was __1__ by the differences in the views and cultures. After studying in the US, I got __2__ to the American way of thinking. So when I first moved to Australia, I had __3__ thoughts about Australians, I thought they were quiet and passive. I felt that I couldn't understand them and that I didn't __4__ in. That is when I met the Happy Science teachings. I learned about how people go through reincarnation （转世） and are born again and again in different races and in different countries.
Therefore, I realized that the people I meet in this lifetime are __5__ connected to me from my past. We have known each other before. When I __6__ this spiritual perspective, I reflected on my narrow-Mindedness.
When I found out that people who I thought I couldn't understand could be spiritually connected to me, I felt __7__ even for people I used to __8__ .I felt a feeling of oneness and I was able to make many friends creating bonds of understanding and respect. Value and __9__ every spiritual bond between you and the people you meet and continue to work hard to develop yourself in order to __10__ others and be a good influence.

300 Hurdles
Now comes the first hurdle. __1__ We all make it over this hurdle with ease. This symbolizes.
Those obstacles in life that we struggle to get over, but we always manage to do so. You can look at that hurdle in two ways: "I can’t make it over, I’m too tired" or "I am one more hurdle closer to finishing this race". This is an example of taking a negative situation and seeing something positive in it.
The next part of the race is every hurdle between the first and last one. __2__ This happens a lot in life too. There may be a situation that arises where you feel as though you can’t make it and all you can think about is giving up. You may fall over that "hurdle" or struggle getting over it, but somehow you find it in yourself to jump over it and move on with the race.
Next is that last 100m of the race. You feel as though you just want to say, "No I can't do this." __3__.
Now lastly is the last hurdle. This hurdle is the toughest out of all of them. In life we find ourselves falling and falling, and maybe getting too lost in our problems that we fell like have been though enough and there’s no hope. __4__ It's one step close to the end of the race.
Once you finish, you look back on it and you realize that you made it not by leaping, but step by step. "Yard by yard, life is very hard. But inch by inch, life can be a cinch."__5__.

Talking to Kids about SARS
School age children may be learning about SARS from adults and the media, but may not know what to make of the situation, says a national health charity.
The Lung Association says parents should take time to talk to their ____1____ and explain the facts about SARS and how to avoid the illness.
The following is based on recommendations ____2____ Thursday by the Lung Association:
Ask your children if they have heard ____3____ SARS at school, from friends, from TV, etc. Finding out what they already know can be a good ____4____ to start the conversation and to clear away any wrong ideas they might have about the illness and how it is spread.
School age children are usually old ____5____ to understand concepts such as getting sick from germs and how to avoid illness. A simple reminder ____6____ to cough on people and to wash their hands often may be sufficient for younger kids. All children should be shown how to ____7____ their hands properly.
Remember to keep it simple so ____8____ not to overwhelm children with information, but answer them truthfully. Kids can tell when you're not being honest or if your're hiding something, and sometimes the unknown can be more frightening than the ____9____ . Parents with anxious children will know how their kids will handle information on SARS and can tailor their discussion accordingly.
One way to explain the illness is to tell children that SARS is like a bad breathing problem. It is ____10____ from a cold, but people can catch it in the same ways—such as coughing on someone, not washing your hands or sharing a glass with a sick person.

Personal Finance
When it comes to our finances, each of us has our own individual approach. Some of us are savers, some are spenders, and others are some-where in between. This continuum is a paradigm that our popular culture uses to frame differences in the way people approach money.
I believe that the way we approach our finances goes beyond that particular behavioral characteristic. In reality, I think our approach to finances can be viewed in more of a multi-dimensional setting, where money has a different role in our lives. For some, money means survival, plain and simple. For others, money is something that is a part of their lives but rarely on their mind, regardless of the role it actually plays. For yet others, money is an obsession, as accumulation indicates achievement. Some people view money as a defensive resource to protect against future setbacks. Some people want money to provide a good home, to contribute to the ability to have certain hobbies, or to provide something to future generations and so on. Sometimes the same person may view money differently in different situations. The bottom line is that we each have our own relationship with money, and our own conscious and subconscious needs for money, rooted in our value systems.
This is an area of personal finance that has interested me for a while. Why do people behave the way they do with respect to their money? What's driving this behavior? Of course, a starting point for anybody is to consider how you personally view things. Taking an introspective approach，I have spent time figuring out my own take on money，and the role it plays in my life. What I have determined is that for me，it fits into a framework that includes the following elements：health, wealth, and relationships. These are linked together as a part of a system. They're all connected, and to the extent one is strengthened, the others will be strengthened as well. If one is weakened, the others will be weakened as well. So to me, money is a part of the wealth aspect of HWR. Beyond basic survival, money gives you the opportunity to live a healthier life, with the time and means to have more positive relationships. One thing I want to make clear is that I am not saying that money buys friends. Well, it could, but those aren't true friends. What I am saying is that the more money you have ,on balance, the less stressed you are about it, and the more time you have to do other things, such as cultivate true, genuine relationships that aren’t based on money. Money is but a component in the system.

Learn from Mistakes
You can only learn from a mistake after you （1） you’ve made it. As soon as you start blaming other people (or the universe itself) you distance yourself （2）any possible lesson. But if you courageously stand up and honestly say “This is my mistake and I am responsible” the possibilities for learning will move towards you. Admission of a mistake, even if only privately to yourself, makes learning （3）by moving the focus away from blame assignment and towards understanding.
This advice （4）counter to the cultural assumptions we have about mistakes and failure, namely that they are （5） things. We’re taught in school, in our families, or at work to feel guilty about failure and to do whatever we can to （6）mistakes. This sense of shame explains why many people give up on their goals: they’re not （7） for the mistakes and failures What’s missing in many people’s beliefs about success is the fact that the more （8）the goal, the more frequent and difficult setbacks will be. The larger your ambitions, the more dependent you will be on your ability to overcome and learn from your mistakes.
But for many reasons admitting mistakes is difficult. An implied value in many cultures is that our work represents us: if you fail a test, then you are a （9）. If you make a mistake then you are a mistake. Learning from mistakes requires three things: putting yourself in situations where you can make interesting mistakes; having the self-confidence to admit to them; being （10）about making changes.

Materials and Tools for Language Learning
① The range of materials and tools available to help you with your language studies is huge, from dictionaries to language courses. All of them can help you in different ways, and the appropriate use of these materials and courses will make your language learning much easier and more effective.
② Possibly the most useful tools there are for learning a language are dictionaries. Dictionaries come in a number of formats including bilingual, monolingual, illustrated, electronic and online. Bilingual dictionaries are perhaps the most useful ones for beginners and intermediate learners, while monolingual dictionaries, which are designed for native speakers, are also useful for advanced learners. Pocket dictionaries are good for quick reference and easy to carry around. Larger dictionaries are better if you want more definitions, examples of usage, and information about pronunciation, and grammar. Electronic dictionaries are available as handheld units, or as software. Handheld ones are portable, easy and quick to search, and often provide other functions, such as, text-to-speech, voice recognition and speech synthesis organizers, address books. They tend to be rather expensive though. Software dictionaries offer many of the same functions, and can be used on computers, and mobile phones.
③ The traditional courses tend to consist of textbooks containing dialogues, exercises, notes on grammar, and maybe cultural information. Accompanying cassettes, CDs and/or mp3s are often available. Most such courses are intended for complete beginners or people with only minimal knowledge of the language. Intermediate and advanced-level courses are available for some of the popular languages, such as French, German, Italian and Spanish.
④ Audio courses usually consist solely of cassettes or CDs, though some may also include a limited amount of printed material. All dialogues, exercises, instructions and explanations are recorded and the focus of these courses is teaching you to understand and speak the languages. They are very good at teaching you authentic pronunciation and a manageable amount of vocabulary.
⑤ Various computer-aided courses are available on CD-ROMs and DVDs. Each course is different but they generally include dialogues, audio, exercises and tests. Some also include phrasebooks, dictionaries, videos, games and provide online and/or telephone support.