Recently, a professor of philosophy in the United States has written a book called Money and the Meaning of Life. He has discovered that how we deal with money in our day-to-day life has more meaning than we usually think. One of the things he asks his students to do is to keep a record of every penny they spend for a week. From the way they spend their money, they often see what they really value in life.

    He says our relation with others often becomes clearly defined when money enters the picture. You might have wonderful friendship with somebody and you think that you are very good friends. But you will know him only when you ask him to lend you some money. If he does, it brings something to the relationship that seems stronger than ever before. Or it can suddenly weaken the relationship if he doesn't. This person may say that he has a certain feeling, but if it is not carried out in the money world, there is something less real about it.

    Since money is so important to us, we consider those who possess a lot of it to be very important. The author interviewed some millionaires in researching his book.

    Answer: The most surprising thing is why people give me so much respect. I am nothing. I don't know much. All I am is rich.

    People just have an idea of making more and more money, but what is it for? How much do I need for ant given purposes in my life? In his book, the professor uncovered an important need in modern society: to bring back the idea that money is an instrument rather than the end. Money plays an important role in the material world, but expecting money to give happiness may be missing the meaning of life.

Jim was shopping for a gift for his wife Della. The next day would be Christmas. With an income of twenty dollars per week, life was hard for the couple, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Jim wanted to buy a perfect gift for Della. He thought of the beautiful set of combs on show in one of the shop {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (window) on Broadway. Della had wanted those combs for so long. Tomorrow, Jim decided he {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (make) Della's dream come true.

Delicate, shining, and soft to the touch. The fabric called silk {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (find) its way into the heart of Chinese people in the past thousands of years.  {#blank#}2{#/blank#} origin of it is not clear, but the ancient Chinese people {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (credit) their own wisdom to Leizu, wife of the Yellow Emperor, as the inventor of sericulture (养蚕业).

The style and texture (质地) of silk are {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(variety). Hangluo satin from Hangzhou,Zhejiang province, is famous for its airy and thin texture, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Yunjin brocade from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, a luxurious fabric often {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (use) for royal clothes, represents China's silk weaving (纺织) technique at its best time. Yunjin brocade is best made  {#blank#}7{#/blank#} hand, in a complex procedure that comprises more than a hundred steps. Even the most skilled artisans can only weave a few centimeters a day.

In the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC—AD 24), with Zhang Qian{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (open) up the routes to the western regions, silk graced countries in Central Asia, and later other parts of Eurasia and beyond.  {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (appropriate), its name marked China's major international trade {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (route), the ancient Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road.

As one of the wonders of ancient China, silk is not merely a type of fabric but a cultural symbol and a representative of elegance.