Maybe you have heard the expression “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. So when you want to do business in France, you have to get to know French culture, to make marketing plans, and to run your business by local laws．

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The French take great pride in their language, so anyone who does not speak it may run the risk of being disrespected by his French colleagues or business partners. Also, another reason why learning French is important is that it is a great way to show every possible French business partner that you care and respect their country's culture and language．

    The first thing that you should do when meeting someone new is to shake his hand firmly and always look the person in the eye. In social meetings with friends, kissing is common．

    Use first names only after being invited to. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The French will sometimes introduce themselves using their surname first, followed by their first name．

    Dress well. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Your business clothing is a reflection of your success and social status. Always try to be tasteful and stylish.  Women are advised to dress simply but elegantly. Wearing make-up is practiced widely by business women．

    The French are passionate about food, so lunches are common in doing business in France, which usually consist of an appetizer, main meal with wine, cheese, dessert and coffee, and normally take up to two hours． {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Do not begin eating until the host says, “bon appetite”. Pass dishes to the left, keep wrists above the table and try to eat everything on the plate. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}  This may suggest that you find the food tasteless. If eating in a restaurant, the person who invites always pays．

A． The French draw information about people based on their appearance．

B． This is a time for relationship building．

C． Remember to be as polite as possible．

D．Language should be the focus of anyone planning to do business in France．

E． Be careful with adding salt, pepper or sauces to your food．

F．Use Monsieur or Madame before the surname．

G．Make an appointment with your business partner in advance．

Finding the Real You

    Psychometric testing—personality testing—has been very popular nowadays as studies show their results to be three times more accurate in predicting your job performance. These tests are now included in almost all graduate recruitment (招聘) and are widely used in the selection of managers.

    The most popular of these personality tests is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). It is based on the theory that we are born with a tendency to one personality type which stays more or less fixed throughout life. You answer 88 questions and are then given your “type”, such as Outgoing or Quiet, Feeling or Thinking.

    Critics of personality testing raise doubts about “social engineering”. Psychologist Dr. Colin Gill warns that the “popular” personality traits (特性) have their disadvantages. “People who are extremely open to new experiences can be butterflies, going from one idea to the next without mastering any of them.” However, the psychometric test is here to stay, which may be why a whole sub-industry on cheating personality tests has sprung up. “It's possible to cheat,” admits Gill, “but having to pretend to be the person you are at work will be tiring and unhappy and probably short-lived.”

    So can we change our personality? “Your basic personalities fixed by the time you're 21,”says Gill, “but it can be affected by motivation and intelligence. If you didn't have the personality type to be a doctor but desperately wanted to be one and were intelligent enough to master the skills, you could still go ahead. But trying to go too much against type for too long requires much energy and is actually to be suffered for long. I think it's why we're seeing this trend for downshifting—too many people trying to fit into a type that they aren't really suited for.”

    Our interest in personality now exists in every part of our lives. If you ask an expert for advice on anything, you'll probably be quizzed about your personality. But if personality tests have any value to us, perhaps it is to free us from the idea that all of us are full of potential, and remind us of what we are. As they say in one test when they ask for your age: pick the one you are, not the one you wish you were.

    Rick Garcia is going to play outside with his friends. He is taking out his reliever inhaler (缓解物吸入器) and taking two puffs (吸). Five minutes later, he's on the field with his friends, running after a soccer ball. Rick has asthma (哮喘), but he knows how to control it.

    Asthma is a lung disease. A person with asthma may cough or suffer from shortness of breath. Asthma can begin at any age. Childhood asthma, often beginning when a child is younger than 10 years old, is one of the most common childhood diseases. Doctors report that the number of young people with asthma is increasing. It is the number one cause of absence from school. If parents have asthma, their children are more likely to develop the disease. Children in homes where an adult smokes are more at risk.

    It is important to find out the triggers for asthma. As we know, dust, pollen, or animals often make people suffer from asthma. Once a child learns the triggers, he can help prevent future attacks. About half of all children outgrow asthma and then asthma attacks stop when they are teenagers. However, many people live with the disease into adulthood.

    Children often take control drugs once or twice a day to help prevent asthma attacks, if a child begins to have an asthma attack, a quick-relief drug is also necessary. This is often an inhaler. School-aged children usually carry their inhalers with them. This medication works quickly and children begin to breathe more easily in a few minutes. If a child has a serious asthma attack, he may need full-time care at a hospital or a doctor's office.

    One afternoon I toured an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting. I was looking forward to a quiet view of the art works.

    A young couple viewing the paintings ahead of me chatted nonstop between themselves. I watched them a moment and decided the wife was doing all the talking. I admired his patience for putting up with her continuous talk. Distracted by their noise, I moved on.

    I met with them several times as I moved through the different rooms of art. Each time I heard her constant burst of words, I moved away quickly.

    I was standing at the counter of the museum gift shop making a purchase when the couple came near to the exit. Before they left, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a white object. He extended it into a long stick and then tapped his way into the coatroom to get his wife's jacket.

    “He's a brave man.,” the clerk at the counter said, “Most of us would give up if we were blinded at such a young age. During his recovery, he made a promise that his life wouldn't change. So, as before, he and his wife come in whenever there's a new art show."

    “But what does he get out of the art?” I asked. “He can't see.”

    “Can't see? You're wrong. He sees a lot. More than you or I do,” the clerk said. “His wife describes each painting so he can see it in his head.”

    I learned something about patience, courage and love that day. I saw the patience of a young wife describing paintings to a person without sight and the courage of a husband who would not allow blindness to change his life. And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away.

    They are called "sea parrots", and sometimes "clowns (小丑) of the sea"!

    Atlantic puffins (海鹦) are small seabirds which are around 25 cm in length. They have black and white feathers and a large parrot-like beak (鸟喙). The beak changes color during the year. In winter, the beak has a dull gray color, but it turns orange in spring!

    Puffins spend most of their lives out at sea, resting on the waves when not swimming. They live on the eastern coast of Canada and the United States, and the western coast of Europe.

    Puffins live off small fish such as herring, hake and sand eels. Puffins flap (拍) their wings up to 400 times a minute and speeding through the air at up to 88 km an hour. Wow! What's more, puffins can dive down 60m under water in search of their favorite fish.

    In spring and summer, thousands of puffins stay together on the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic Ocean to start a puffin family. They usually pair up with the same partner as before some may have been together for 20 years! Puffins dig out a hole usually in a grassy bank. Both parents take it in turn to incubate (孵化) the egg for the next 36-45 days!

Although puffins are not classed as an endangered animal, their population in some places is becoming smaller. The main reasons are overfishing, which can lead to a shortage of food for puffins, and pollution—especially oil spills (溢出). Not only does the oil make these beautiful birds sick, it harms their feathers.

    Kids Connect is a camp specifically for children with physical and mild intelligence disabilities aged 9-16 (Single consideration given to those over the age of 16). It is held in Blockhouse Bay, Auckland. Occasionally we require meeting a child before camp to ensure we are able to meet their needs during the camp. Acceptance is not automatic, but at the decision of the camp director.

    Our camps are conducted by experienced staff. We take every effort to give your children a safe and enjoyable weekend. Our aim is that every child comes away with lasting memories of what they have experienced, explored and enjoyed at our camp.

We focus on building strong, healthy relationships with other children (with and without physical disabilities) and with group leaders.

    We have a weekend packed full of activities, action and fun.

    Team games and competitions, songs

    Cross-country race on a wheelchair accessible track

    Motorcycling

    Process design

    Discussions, great food and loads of fun!

    The camp fee is approximately $135 (subject to change). We also accept payment by way of Ministry of Health carer support forms.

    Day visits and rates can be organized on a personal basis if a full weekend stay is unsuitable

    For a registration form or for more information, please email info@cbm.org.nz or phone 09 6305271

    Kids Connect

    Box 8774, Symonds Street Auckland 1150

    Website: www.cbm.org.nz