The Bridge

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS

Definintion: “Economic Crisis”

LAVENDER SHI

It is known to all that the

economic crisis has had a strong,

immeasurable impact. It is a

situation in which the economy of

several countries have experienced a

sudden downturn brought on by financial crisis. The

economic crisis can most likely lead to falling GDP,

drying up of liquidity and rising or falling prices

due to inflation or deflation. It always takes the

form of a recession or a depression. For instance,

the latest as well as biggest financial crisis of USA

happened in September, 2008.It was caused by the

subprime mortgage lending crisis in the US and has

become more and more global now.

If you are familiar with economics, you must

know that any economy has four stages:

development, growth, boom, and recession. For

example, we can look at America, a developed

country with considerable daily trading volume. It

was also known as the only superpower worldwide,

but is now in the stage of recession and its GDP is

starting to fall.

Inflation has resulted and the prices of goods

have started to rise and this makes people suffer. In

addition, the housing bubble started to burst in 2006,

and the decline was accelerated in 2007 and 2008.

Housing prices stopped increasing in 2006, and

began decreasing in 2007, and have fallen about

25% from the peak so far. According to what we see,

this caused many problems, among which, I think,

the most serious one to the country is the increasing

unemployment rate, which means the number of

people without jobs would rocket very high.

In order to solve this problem, America has

began to turn to the world. First of all, Washington

tried to keep sustainability in economic

development and balance the number of imports and

exports. Besides, the U.S. Congress is devoted to

improve trading volume with the other countries

and to start to reestablish some close diplomatic

relationships, which is why the relations between

China and USA are getting more and more complex.

As a foreign student, I would like to ask, how

would the economic crisis impact us? In my opinion,

this situation will decide which country we will go

ahead and which will stay behind. People who want

to migrate will also be affected because countries‘

migrating policies can change. Inflation is also an

important point for us because all of us want the

cost of living abroad to be low. Overall, the

economic crisis has been a global problem which

has impacted us a lot and it may decide our future.

_________________________________________

To Youngsters—Suggestions

from Kaifu Lee

He went to USA alone when he was only ten

years old. In his childhood in the USA, he learnt the

values of creativity and innovation from the western

lifestyle. He became a postgraduate student of

Colombia University and he was even a classmate

of , Barack Obama. He is such a person who dares

to challenge himself. He is Kaifu Lee, who used to

work at Google as the CEO of China branch, and

now he has set up ―Innovation Works‖ which

provide opportunities for Chinese university

students.

He once said, ―You will have to make a decision

between the choices. Every step will decide the

next step of your life‖ The Lee‘s answer is to ask

your heart if an idea is worth, considering and not to

become too confused by the noise of the world. It is

hard to avoid the crossroads in your life. What you

must do is just follow your heart. Most teenagers

have the same tendency. Whenever they meet

trouble, they prefer to ask others for help; they are

so nervous and anxious. Instead, why don‘t you

calm down, have a cup of tea, consider and analyse

for a while, and follow your heart. You will find

that complicated things often turn out being simple

and easy. Actually, the road of your life depends on

the every choices.

A philosophy of Socrates is to recognize yourself.

This means you should know your own advantages

or drawbacks. For Lee, one‘s ability of cognition is

improved by research. A student wrote a letter to

him that revealed that he wanted to be a manager.

However, he was a graduate with no work

experiences. No one can be a manager from the

beginning, This graduate had no clear recognition if

himself. I have heard classmates who say they want

to be like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. This is

really an exaggeration as they only see the success

of famous people, but nothing about their failures

and difficulties. So, how do you recognize yourself?

First, you should read more books to derive as much

knowledge as you can. Lee is a technical person, but

during his time in the university, he read much

literature which helped him to recognize his own

identity and interests. Then, you should have the

ability of to judge yourself. This means you could

ask people about how they see you. You may be

perplexed, depressed, but if you persist with your

convictions, you can see that the first light of

morning.

The most vital part is that you need to know what

you really need. Lee used to study political science

at his first year of the university, but later on he

realised that he was not interested in it. In fact, he

was instead attracted to computer theory. Originally,

Lee did not want to become scientists or CEO at all.

He just followed his interests which destined him to

his future profession. However, you may ask

yourself why it is so hard to find what I really need?

I can tell you that you may have not exactly realised

what you want, and your desire will expand. Maybe

you have not yet found your advantages which will

reveal who you really are. Maybe who you are now

is an illusion.

So, not all people can become success like Lee,

but we all need to understand his philosophy. Be

brave to make choices; do not sit on the fence.

__________________________________________

What were they doing when

they were young?

ANNIE LIU It is said that if you

want to find out why famous

people succeed, you can just look

back to their childhood. I‘d like to

share two stories about the school

days of different eminent people.

The first story is about the founder of the

Apple Company—Steve Jobs. He dropped out

university after one semester; however, he was

deeply interested in calligraphy lessons so he still

continued attending these classes in university while.

He would sleep on the floor in a friend‘s room and

walk for hours weekly to a local temple in order to

get free food and showers. Shortly after, he formed

his own company and named it ―Apple‖. Jobs later

Shortly after his brief experience in college, Steve Jobs works with long-term partner Steve Wozniak for video game company, Atari. In the spirit of their independence, are seen here working in a garage.

stated,‖ If I had never dropped in on that single

course in college, the Mac would have never had

multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.‖

Another anecdote is about one of the richest

people in this world—Warren Buffett. Even as a

child, Buffett has displayed an interest in making

money. While still in high school, he carried out

several money-making ideas such as delivering

newspaper and selling golf balls. He used to be a

golf ball picker and he would sell the balls that he

found, but that took a huge amount of time, so he

hired several children to do the picking for him and

offered wages for each ball they get. This method

let him become rich quickly. At the age of 11, he

bought 3 stock shares for himself and 3 for his sister.

Thereafter, he became a famous stock broker and he

now owns billions of dollars each year.

These two stories show that it is so crucial to learn

what your interests are when you are young because

they will affect the way you live your life today as

well as in the future. These examples indicate that

we are more likely to succeed if we have a clear

determination to pursue our interests. So we can

just work hard on our dreams now and see what

happens!

ART & ENTERTAINMENT

Down-Stream Garage: A Place for

Independent Artists

KUMI WANG

Down-Stream Garage is its name

that was given by foreigners, but its

official name is ―Mecooon‖. This

venue is completely non-profit and it

offers a space for performance,

rehearsal, and equipment for free. It enables and

encourages artists to communicate with each other

and these artists specialize in many different things:

drama, music, art, dance, image and poetry. It is not

a public place. Artists who want to use the venue

need to apply first. Most of the artists are the youth

who have not had enough money to hold their own

performance or exhibition. All performances held

there are cheap or even free; sometimes the

performance does not require tickets but someone

will take out a donatation box on the stage after

performing. The audiences decide how much they

will pay. It is completely nonprofit.

Mecooon is not only in Shanghai, but also in

Beijing. The owner is also an owner of a big

commercial business that makes profit which is then

invested into Mecooon without any concerns about

profit and loss.

I went there because of my curiosity. It is very

hard to find it without a map. Since Down-Stream

Garage is really a garage, it looks very old and dirty.

However, the boring yellow-painted irony building

is filled with art and deep, initiative and critical

mind. Stepping onto the third floor, you will find a

irony gate without any decorates on it. Then you

can walk through a gallery to enable you go into

Whitehall--- the main venue for performing.

Fortunately, when I went to Down-Stream Garage,

there was a girl rehearsing there; otherwise I would

have been unable to get into the venue. She told me

that some people who had come here for shooting a

commercial had just walked out of the Whitehall

without paying. She complained that they had

interrupted her lonely rehearsal. I walked around

and watched her practice. She used the simplest tool

with most passion and effort. This place is mainly

for indie theaters; she‘s also a member of an indie

theater. Almost all of the actors here have their own

different jobs, hence they only have time during

weekends. She suggested to me that I go there at

weekends so that I will be able to see a lot of

imperfect but deep-side (?) rehearsals.

Warren Buffet in the 1940s in a rare moment of

relaxation.

By the way, I never saw someone rehearsing

before. She impressed me strongly. A mirror was

standing in front of this girl as she used a faked lion

head and a hand-made drum. Perhaps she looked

like a psycho as she starred at herself through the

mirror. I guess she is trying to make her passion and

expression be more infective. She even changed her

voice and accent several times. You cannot get the

feeling without going there to see their rehearsal for

yourself. I can truly feel that she was performing for

herself and not for me.

Notice that most of the dramas, festivals and

exhibitions are held in autumn, otherwise the

climate is not very suitable and comfortable enough

for both artists and audiences.

Society has become more and more impetuous

nowadays. Everything is commercialized. It‘s very

hard to find a real place for art especially one that is

free. Down-Stream Garage has been alive for seven

years and it still not been commercialized. If you

are addicted to art, go there. It will never disappoint

you.

PROFILE:

Mecooon/Down-

Stream Garage/ 下

河迷仓

Floor 3,#100, Lane 200, Long Cao Road, Xuhui

District, Shanghai

上海市徐汇区龙漕路 200 弄 100 号 3 楼

Indie Music Is an

Attitude LIZ XIONG

Don‘t tell me you are still

listening to‖Lady Gaga‖ or ―Justin

Bieber‖! Try this instead!

―Indie music‖ does not belong to any genre

of music. The word ―Indie‖ is the abbreviation of

―independence‖. Few people know it actually and it

represents the spirit of freedom. You might find it

similar to the 80s rock music as well as American

underground music, but it is different and it is

something you have likely never heard. After the

90s, it has gained many branches such as, indie rock,

indie pop, indie dream, post-rock, sad core, space

rock.

Not everyone is going to put this into Ipod

because it is sometimes considered as too whimsical

and sensitive, too soft and delicate, too personal and

obscure , but it has become the major style of the

American Underground.

Few years ago while I was listening to

Hardcore Emotional Rock (a.k.a. ―Emo‖), it really

made me scream and cry like a mental. After that, I

was looking for slower but releasing rock music,

such as Evanescence. Now I am getting my feet

wet with ―Indie music‖, playing it, circulating it,

and figuring what the lyrics are all about.

If you are really interested, Radiohead is a pretty

good band to start with. I like ‖Steps‖ and ―No

Surprises‖ from them. Most of you like the movie

Twilight, from which there is a great song called

―Flightless Bird, American Mouth‖ from a band

called Iron & Wine. It is romantic and soul-

catching. Hope you will start to listen to them and

taste the bittersweet flavor in this type of music.

Many fans of independent music look to Radiohead‘s 1998

album, OK Computer, as a breakthrough for

unconventional sound.

_____________________________________

Bridging a Connection between The

King’s Speech and Our Studies VICKY CHEN

If you have paid attention

to the recent film awards, you will

probably notice that there are two

films almost monopolizing all the

important prizes. One of them is

The Social Network, which talks

about Facebook. The other one is The King’s

Speech.

The King’s Speech is a story of the British

King, George Ⅵ, and his language therapist, Lionel

Logue. George Ⅵ was the father of incumbent

British Queen, Elizabeth Ⅱ . He was forced to

become the King of the British Empire after his

elder brother, Edward Ⅷ, abdicated, but he had a

serious defect, which was hesitation while speaking,

and this causes his lack of confidence while he

speaks in public. Lionel Logue, who is an ordinary

person, helps the future King overcome this

drawback and to give a famous speech to encourage

the British people and soldiers before WWⅡ.

This is not really a typically entertaining

film, but definitely a stimulating and educated one.

In the film, Logue uses many different methods to

assist the King, which result in success. However,

in my opinion, it is the friendship between them that

helps the King finally give an excellent speech.

Friendship is one of the most magical miracles in

the world. It makes them ignore the different

statuses between them and become friends with

each other for the rest of their lives. The deep trust

between them helps George Ⅵ to get rid of the

horrible difficulty, which impressed me very much.

In our life, when we are depressed, sometimes the

only thing we need is a friend who will forever

stand by us.

Most of us might have the same problem

that the King has in the film – we are not confident

enough to give a presentation in front of a group of

people. It is possibly because of trauma we had in

our childhood just like him, or we just do not

believe in ourselves. If we interview any of the

students who are afraid of public speaking, I firmly

believe that the most common answer would be

nerves – they are terrified of people laughing at

them. Like the King in the film, students may think

that people will ridicule them if they hesitate and

therefore, they will not be supported. There is one

thing important that we need to realize clearly: what

other people have said about us is none of our

business—it is out of our control. Nothing in the

world could

defeat us. The

only one we need

to conquer is

ourselves.

Stammering

King George Ⅳ

became a symbol

of British

national

resistance in WW

Ⅱ through the

broadcasts of his

wartime speech,

so then why can‘t

we surmount a

bit of shyness.

As this film is based on real history, we

would find that the historical background of this

story is quite familiar to students in G1 and G2

classes – Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill,

Hitler, and WWⅡ. Relating it with our history class

would help us to understand the characters better.

The King’s Speech won 12 nominations at this

year‘s Academy Awards. It is a wonderful movie

that deserves everyone‘s love.

Colin Firth (above) won “Best Actor” for his portrayal of King George VI.

A picture of the real King George VI with Winston Churchill during World War II.

Try it out: Tongue Twisters In the film, The King‘s Speech, Lionel Logue, a speech

therapist, has Prince Albert practice the following tongue

twister:

“I am a thistle-sifter. I have a sieve of sifted thistles and a sieve of unsifted thistles because I am a thistle sifter.”

Tongue Twisters can be used as a warmer or as a type of

punishment. It is also a fun way to improve pronunciation.

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.

The red bug bled on the black bug‘s bed.

What noise annoys an oyster? A noisy noise annoys

an oyster?

She sells seashells at the sea-shore. Are the

seashells she sells, seashells for sure?

Silly Sally is shaking some sugar on her shiny

shoes.

The rat ran through the river with a lump of raw

liver.

They think that this Thursday is the 30th.

Jolly General Jimmy Jones joked with Japanese

John.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a

woodchuck could chuck wood? A

woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could

chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where

is the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

__________________________________________

An Outstanding Rookie in Japanese

Literature AVA ZHONG

“We can even make a snowfall in the desert easily.

What we need is just a strong wish.” -extraction from Desert

When I walked along

the bookshelves, these words

caught my eyes. How can I

make a snow fall in the

desert!? With the question I

took up a book named

Desert. It was my first

encounter with Kotaro Isaka

(伊坂幸太郎), an outstanding writer of detective

stories, and since then I have become a fan of him.

Isaka was born in a northern city, Sendai, in

Japan. This place is the stage of most of his stories.

He debuted on the Japanese literature world with

the book called The Pray of Audubon, one of his

representative books. After that he has written many

fascinating novels, which were later nominated for

one of the most influential literature awards, The

Naoki Award, and also made into films.

The heroes of

his books vary from

a normal university

student or a salary

man, to a god of

death. However, they

all have something

in common: an odd

and vivid character.

The backgrounds of

his stories are also

unique and splendid.

In The Pray of

Audubon, there is a

scarecrow that can speak and can predict the future.

Another noticeable point of his works is the

‗connection‘ between each hero and their destinies.

The things you thought were irrelevant at first could

finally bond with each other, and you would never

be aware of how they are going to intersect until

you had read about it. As well, a hero in one of his

stories may show up in another of his books. His

progressive way of writing attracts a wide range of

readers as well as fans of suspense novels.

My favorite character among his books is a

burglar with an appealing appearance and a cool

mind. He is a professional thief who also works as a

detective. His first appearance is in Lush Life, but he

also appears in

Gravity Pierrot and

the Isaka short

story collection

Fish Story. You

will find out how

this charismatic

burglar becomes a

detective in the

Lush Life.

Chinese translations for Desert are available, but unfortunately many of Isaka’s works have yet to be translated into English

FICTION

The Golden

Apple (Prologue

and Act I)

by Venus Xiong The following is an play

excerpt from a

reinterpretation of the

story of The Golden

Apple, the story of a

jealous god who causes

chaos at a wedding by introducing a prized item

into the ceremony.

Characters Hera (Roman Juno): Queen of the gods and

goddess of the heavens, women and marriage; wife

of Zeus

Athena (Roman Minerva): Goddess of war and

crafts; daughter of Zeus

Aphrodite (Roman Venus): Goddess of love, beauty,

and procreation; daughter of Zeus

Paris: Prince of Troy; son of Priamos

Zeus (Roman Jupiter): King of the gods and the

greatest of the twelve Olympians

Hermes (Roman Mercury): God of husbandry, trade,

messengers and travel; son of Zeus

Eris: Goddess of discord; sister of Ares (Mars)

Eros (Roman Cupid): God of love; son of Aphrodite

Peleus: Greek hero

Thetis: Goddess of the sea

Prologue [The chorus enters]

Chorus:

Last night I had a lovely dream,

Just as wondrous as it could be,

At a sacred wedding, where we lay our scene.

A golden apple addressed ‗To the Fairest‘

Tell me the reason, Muse

What was the wound to their divinity

What about their tolerance---where has it gone?

Before the eternal ones they quarrel—with this

madness

First came white-armed Hera, the jealous queen;

Followed by Athena, pulling off her mighty helmet;

Even Love herself appeared with lovely Eros,

Her beauty more desirable and fair

So he chose her, the daughter---loving goddess,

Yes the other two turned green with envy,

Inevitably the ten-year war began,

It led to, if not more, hundreds of deaths

Beauty is universally treasured,

Yet beauty could also bring great misfortune;

But what can be better, when one‘s heart is stolen,

Than the whisperings of maidens and smiles

And songs with sweet delight and love,

And, graciousness?

[Exits]

Act I Voice-over: The story begins at the Wedding of

Peleus and Thetis to which all of the gods were

invited, except for one, Eris, the goddess of discord.

Eris overcome by the pangs of angry jealousy,

wandered in search of a way to disturb the banquet

of the gods….

[Eris enters with a golden apple in her hand.]

Eris: How evil it is, a cursed wedding! How come

they forgot all about me, sister of Ares①? Will

anyone ever recognize my sway, then, or pay my

honor or pray to me, as to a goddess? And how vain

is she vaunting, daughter of the sea ② ! Am I

defeated, simply to stop seeking revenge, and let the

wedding last in harmony? No, I‘d like to see myself,

the goddess of discord, involved in something.

[She cast the golden apple on the ground. Exits.]

[Music. Peleus and Thetis enter with other gods.

God/Goddess A: A perfect couple.

God/Goddess B: Oh Peleus, it‘s a great honor for

you to have Thetis as your wife!

God/Goddess C: Congratulations!

[They exit. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite enter.]

Hera: What sorts of things have they spoken? Why

is Thetis surrounded by praise and compliments?

Athena: She, however, even has closed her body in

all those loveliness, can never compete against us.

Aphrodite:Oh, indeed!

[Aphrodite picks up the golden apple.]

Aphrodite: Who has left this at the wedding? Look,

there are words on it…

Hera & Athena & Aphrodite: ‗ To the Fairest‘!

Hera: Dear Cytherea③, kindly hand that apple to

me. I‘m the royal queen of the heavens, so it ought

to be and must be mine.

Athena: Hang on! I will not give it up; Human

beings worship me as a goddess in whom power and

wisdom are harmoniously blended④. If there‘s a

winner of this apple, it should be me.

Aphrodite: (Eagerly) But that‘s not fair, my sister, I

will not yield. The lovely fruit should belong to me,

the ideal of female grace and beauty.

Hera: It‘s mine!

Athena & Aphrodite: No, it‘s mine!

Hera: Now, stop fighting. Would you listen to me,

children, if I were to ask you? Or would you refuse

my words? It is my will that Zeus, who commands

and governs the events of gods and men, should be

our judge, since he is our greatest.

Aphrodite: Mother of gods, who is mad enough to

shun the terms you offer? Who would prefer to

strive with you in war? If only fortune favor the

course you urge. For I am afraid whether father

could make up his mind, me and Pallas⑤ are both

his daughters. But---Go. I‘ll follow you.

Athena: Don‘t you worry, Cytherea, father always

has the brightest ideas. And Hera, I think whatever

is your heart‘s desire shall not go unaccomplished.

[Zeus and Hermes enter.]

Zeus: What‘s happened?

Hera: Oh, son of Cronos⑥, who with eternal power.

Look at this brilliant fruit addressed ‗To the Fairest‘.

Speaking frankly, majesty, you are entirely free to

think out whoever pleases you. Choose the most

beautiful one among us, for we are eager to know

whom that shall be.

Zeus: Dear lady, what sort of task have you given

me! Do you want me to be hated by the misfortune

forever? It is tough; no other gods could make this

decision, since each of you---is more excellent than

all, and desire to have the apple. Hermes, my son, it

should be a human who makes the decision.

Hermes: Yes, Father, Let me find one.

Zeus: My son, you have heard of a son of Priamos,

Paris, the splendid youth, who tends his herds on

the hills of Troy, bid him judge the goddesses‘

beauty. And let her that is preferred have the

famous fruit to carry away as the prize of the fairer

and ornament of the Loves.

[They exit. But Aphrodite stays. ]

Aphrodite: (calling) The contest is at hand, dear

child!

[Eros enters.]

Aphrodite: Today it is beauty of face that judges me.

Hera, she shares the bed of Zeus, and Athena they

ever call the queen of battles. I only, am an

unwarlike goddess, and I have no queenship of the

gods. But I am fearful that I will fail, that I‘ll lose

the honor I had from the very beginning!

Eros: Take your zone⑦, mother, and hide it away

in the fold of your bosom. It is elaborate, loveliness

is figured upon it, and passion of sex is there, and

with the whispered endearment that steals the heart

away. You will get it, mother, I can feel it.

[Exit.]

In Act II, Paris will be given the difficult task of choosing which of the goddesses is the “fairest”. He will be the sole judge in this ancient beauty pageant.

Notes ① Eris is a daughter of Zeus and Hera and the companion of

Ares according to most traditions.

② ‗The daughter of the sea‘ is Thetis.

③ Another name for Venus (Aphrodite), derived from the

name of Cythera.

④ Athena‘s father, Zeus, is the most powerful and her mother,

Metis, was the wisest among the gods, so Athena was a

combination of the two.

⑤ Pallas was a friend of Athena‘s who was accidentally killed

by the goddess. Athena addressed herself as ‗Pallas Athena‘

after her death.

⑥ Roman Saturn, father of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter,

Hades and Hestia. After Zeus drove him from Olympus, he

settled in Italy, for which reason is sometimes called Saturnian

land.

⑦ Aphrodite possesses a magic girdle which has the power of

inspiring love and desire for those who wore it. It was

borrowed by Hera when she wished to stimulate the love of

Zeus.

SPORTS

A Brief History of Badminton

BILL TU

In 14th century, there was

a sort of sports which

used wooden rackets

which found popularity

in Japan. Unfortunately, after a long duration,

the people‘s enthusiasm decreased. Then, 400

years later, Indians invented a sport having

much more similarities with modern

badminton. Specifically, at that time, a net

started to be used in this sport. Similarly, the

players still use wooden rackets to impact the

ball to another side of the net. Finally, in 1873.

modern badminton presented itself as

―badminton‖ named after a small town in

Great Britain There was a duke who held a

party in his villa, and introduced this ―game‖

(at that time ,people did not know it will

become a sport). Unpredictably, the guests

found this game very attractive and showed

their curiosity about it. The guests who were

invited to this party belonged to the upper

class of England, so badminton spread

instantly in the whole country. As a

consequence, skill and tactics became more

advanced in England in the early years of

badminton‘s history. After that, in 1899,

the first official badminton competition was

staged. This competition has extended to

today and it invites players all over the world.

In 1934, the international badminton

federation was set up with its centre located in

London. Five years later, the standard

badminton rules were decided upon.

Between the 1920s and 1940s ,

Western countries focused more on the

development of badminton skills , especially

in England, America, Canada, and Denmark.

Later, in the 1950s, after the Second World

War, badminton found its popularity and

acceptance among the Asian countries, and

just after several years, these countries

became masters of badminton competition.

1992,it premiered at the Olympics in

Barcelona, Spain and ever since then it has

been one of the most popular sports in the

international competition.

TECHNOLOGY

How It Works: Phone Touch Screens KEVIN LI The iPhone has become a fashion

nowadays. However, have you ever

thought how the screen of iPhone and

HTC differ from other cell phones such

as Nokia? Apart from the great design

of such phones, their screens also

provide comfortable using experiences. .

The screen the iPhone uses is called a ―capacitive-touch-

screen‖. It consists of three layers of insulation such as glass

(the blue layer in the picture), coated with a transparent

conductor. Usually they use indium tin oxide (green layer in

the picture) to form a capacitor.

There are four sensors at the corners of the glass which can

detect very weak current changes. As we touch the screen the

electrostatic field of the capacitor will change and at that point

will be

distorted and

the

capacitance

will become

bigger at that

point and

allow more

current to be

stored in it, so

the current

will flow to the touch location. The different distances from

the sensors will gave different currents and the collector will

work out the position of the location. By adding more sensors,

multi-touch can be achieved. That is why we can enlarge the

photo in our iPhone by using two fingers simultaneously.

By using capacitive-touch- screen which superior to resistive

screen on both sensitivity and endurance

So next time why you buy a new phone remember capacitive-

touch- screen can be your best choice.

HAPPENINGS by Yvonne and Dana

Love Knot Club As we all know, Tree Planting Day is coming.

Love Knot club of CIC will have an event that day-

——planting trees in a place called East Oasis, with

beautiful lawns and sceneries. We cannot only learn

about planting, but also enjoy the amazing power of

nature which can create such a brilliant landscape of

vegetation.

The main objective of the club is to promote the

notion of protecting the environment and trying to

improve and help students to create a better way for

communication with others. It also helps them

become interdependent.

Show us your enthusiasm!!

(Information from: G1-A Rita)

Photography Club Photography Club is set up by a group of

students who are fans of the art of taking

pictures. The members in the club take lessons

every week to broaden their horizon both in

taking photos and in other aspects in life. The

teachers who give classes are experts in

photography. Also, they have outside activities

twice a month. As for the latest activity, they

are going sightseeing in Shanghai to take some

photos of ancient buildings on Sunday.

For more information, they have their own

website to display students‘ works and they

organize the site on their own.. What‘s more,

they recorded the whole process of the

Christmas party of our school and made CDs to

sell them to students and teachers as souvenirs.

Frankly speaking, they are worthy to be

collected because perhaps in the near future

they might bring you a very different sense of

perception. Buy one if you are willing, they are

not expensive.

If you are fond of taking photos then come

join us please!!

(Information from: Pre-A Daniel)

__________________________________________

Laos Gets Rich! Interview: Mr

Rich’s journey in Laos INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY RODGER

HUANG

Most students

are curious

about your

journey as the

Lao People‘s

Democratic

Republic has

been a mysterious nation with its long history in the

mind of most Chinese. People seldom have chance

to visit such a remote nation. So may I ask you

some questions about your vacation?

MR. RICH: Sure. Go ahead.

RODGER: Firstly, how long did your trip last for?

MR. RICH: 3 weeks, actually. I went there during

the Spring Festival.

RODGER: Was there anyone going with you like

your girlfriend?

MR. RICH: I may disappoint you. I went there only

with Mr Romano.

RODGER: Okay. How did you get to such a remote

place? By plane?

MR. RICH: Em. We flied to Bangkok. After that,

we took a five-hour train through Ubon Ratchathani.

Eventually, we arrived in Pakse of Lao. We rent

motorbikes there and drove around the Bolaven

Plateau.

RODGER: It seems a long and wriggly way to go.

Wait, you rent motorbikes in the journey?

MR. RICH: Yeah. It is enjoyable to drive your bike

against the gentle wind and in the warn sun. It is a

free way to travel as you can drive wherever you

want to go.

RODGER: I see. So where did you stay?

MR. RICH: There are two kinds of accommodation.

You can choose to stay at either guesthouse or

bungalow.

RODGER: Guesthouse is built by bamboo and

leaves along the river, isn‘t it?

MR. RICH: Yes. It‘s near the nature however the

mosquito and bugs bothered us a lot. In comparison,

bungalow is better and cleaner.

RODGER: It must be. What about the climate? I

remember Lao has tropical rainforest climate. Was

there rainy all the time?

MR. RICH: Luckily, we had met no rain but it was

quite hot there.

RODGER: Oh, that‘s great. As we know that the

vast majority of Laos believe in Buddhism. Do you

find anything interesting about Laos culture? Or in

another words, are there any taboos in local region?

MR. RICH: There are a lot. Well, for example, you

should never point your feet or left hand to others

because the Lao think these limbs are dirty and

filthy. In addition, you should never touch their

heads. In their opinion, the head is where the spirit

stay. It‘s the most sacrosanct part of our body, they

believe.

RODGER: Most people hear that there are many

UXO (unexploded ordnance) in the Bolaven Plateau,

part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail because of the

bombing during the Vietnam War. Are there still so

many bombs lying under the ground of the villages

and travelling resorts?

MR. RICH: There are many. Usually, in some

famous temples in the forest of the plateau, tourists

will find red alarming lines aside the narrow paths.

They must not cross those red lines because there

are possibly some unexploded land mines. There is

real danger just a few meters beside the tourists

and local residents.

RODGER: So they just leave the danger there?

MR. RICH: Absolutely not. The nations who

invaded Laos before like Japan and France have

started to help local residents to clean up the UXO

left in the war.

RODGER: Yeah, I think it is their responsibility.

Did you get any souvenirs for your journey?

MR. RICH: Look at my hand. I got the yellow spire

lamella from Buddhists. They said it would bring

fortune to me and I should let it fall off naturally

and never drop it.

RODGER: If I don‘t invade your privacy, I wander

how much you cost totally in your journey?

MR. RICH: Let me see. I think maybe 4000RMB

maximum. Not expensive for a 3-week journey.

RODGER: Em. Do you like Lao? And why?

MR. RICH: You can say I love Lao. It‘s a

wonderful place for vacation. The environment is

perfect. Blue sky and white clouds, green forests

without boundary and fresh air. It‘s a paradise

hiding in the forests. And what‘s more, Laos treat

people with earnestness. They always keep the

space for others. They always keep their voice low

in public places. And if you drive on the road, the

track behind will slow down and light the lamps to

let you aware. Then the driver will slowly overtake

your motorbike. The amicable atmosphere with

rapport between Laos is the most unforgettable

thing in my journey, in fact.

RODGER: It seems you really enjoy your journey.

Will you go to Lao again?

MR. RICH: Although I have been there twice, the

first time was 5 years ago, I still plan to visit Lao

again. You should visit there if you have chance.

RODGER: I will take my time. After the interview,

I know Lao is an attractive place from your words.

Thanks for your time and sharing. Enjoy your

lunch.

MR. RICH: You are welcome.

_______________________________

EDITORIAL

Defining

“Present” LORITA LIANG

What is happiness?

What is future? What do

you want to be? Why am

I so upset all the time?

Why do I exist in this world?

Have you ever considered these questions? I

believe you do. We are all around 17 years old,

and it is a conflicting age. We are not mature

enough to fix everything, but we are not at the

age of following directions told by parents any

more. We have to decide where to go

immediately, although we are still confused

about all the things around us. Complaint,

rebellion and anxiety fill our lives. Now it is the

time for us to be involved in our lives.

The past cannot be changed.

What are you complaining about? What are

you afraid of? It is failure which is the most

horrible evil. We always recall the moment of

fail over and over, and it makes us fear to try

again. However, only if we get hurt, we can

grow up. When we are babies, we did not know

how to walk until we had fallen down several

times.

Future will be the “today”.

―Tomorrow will be another day.‖ It is a

famous lines from Gone with the wind, and

most of us use this to comfort ourselves which

lead us to numbness. We are waiting for the

beautiful and exciting ―tomorrow‖ without

planning and working. It is just like that a

farmer seed but does not take care of it, and he

hopes he can have food some day.

Today is the present.

Present has two meanings. One is now, and

the other is gift. Present is a gift to us. The only

thing we can control is today. Therefore, if you

want to live happily, if you try to reach the top

or if you just want to lose weight, start from

now, and start where you are.

Why are you still standing here and hoping

that all the fantasy will happen spontaneous?

Are you willing to miss the gift from god? The

opportunity to take advantage of the present is

fair to everyone.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is my mystery.

Today is a gift. That’s why we call is the

present.

----Spencer Johnson <The Present>