A new book called “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua has caused a debate (争论) about cultural differences in parenting. Amy Chua is a teacher in an American university and both of her parents are Chinese. In the book, Ms. Chua writes about how she taught her daughters. She told NBC television that she had a clear list of what her daughters were not allowed to do, such as having a play date, watching TV or playing computer games and getting any grade less than an A.

    Many people are against Amy Chua's parenting style (风格), even her husband, who is American. They say it is rude and unfair to children. But she says her parents raised her and her three sisters in that way.

    Ms. Chua says after her younger daughter shouted “I hate my life! I hate you!” she decided to retreat because she was afraid of losing her daughter. But she also says American parents often have low expectations of their children's abilities.

    “The debate is about what it means to be a successful parent and what it means to be a successful child,” said Stacy DeBroff, who has written four books on parenting. She says Amy Chua's parenting style is not limited to Chinese families. It is a traditional way of parenting among immigrants (移民). They hope to get a better future for their children.

    She also sees a risk (风险). When children have no time to be social or to develop their own interests, they might not develop other skills that they need to succeed in life. DeBroff advises parents to develop their own style of parenting and not just repeat the way they were raised.

    Some years ago, writing in my diary used to be a usual activity. I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day's events, feelings, and impressions in my little blue diary. I did not really need to express my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certain satisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper. After all, isn't accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?

    When I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey on foot in a great valley, well-equipped with pens, a diary, and a camera. During the trip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across. I felt proud to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for future generations a detailed description of my travels. On my last night there, I wandered out of my tent, diary in hand. The sky was clear and lit by the glare of the moon, and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screen of shadows. I automatically took out my pen…

    At that point, I understood that nothing I wrote could ever match or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramatic beauty of the valley. All I remembered of the previous few days were the dull characterizations I had set down in my diary.

    Now, I only write in my diary when I need to write down a special thought or feeling. I still love to record ideas and quotations that strike me in books, or observations that are particularly meaningful. I take pictures, but not very often—only of objects I find really beautiful. I'm no longer blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old. I realize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera, busy preserving the present so as to live it in the future.

    I don't want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile of pictures and notes. Maybe I won't have as many exact representations of people and places； maybe I'll forget certain facts, but at least the experiences will always remain inside me. I don't live to make memories—I just live, and the memories form themselves.

    Have you ever been sad because of failure? Please remember, for quite often achieving what you set out to do is not the most important thing.

    A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house. As he was working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. “What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a while, the boy picked up a jar. He showed it to the visitors. It was full of all kinds of stones and insects. Then he said calmly and confidently, “Maybe I can't finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I've found during this period!”

    The boy's goal was far too difficult, but it did cause him to go on. And that is what a goal is for－to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen, in other words, to cause us to keep working!

    Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you fall short of your aim, maybe you can say, “Yes, but look at what I've found along the way! There are so many wonderful things having come into my life because I tried to do something!” It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really makes sense.

    I now work 40 hours a week at a weather company and I love it Compared to when I became a mom, I don't feel bad about being away from my three kids. When I had my first child, I was a busy manager. My husband had a part-time job and cared for her the rest of the time. Once I became pregnant with my second kid, I quit my job to focus fully on writing.

    At first I felt like I was living the dream. I was a work-from-home mom who never had to be away from my children. But working from home can end up being more stressful than working full-time or being a stay-at-home mom.because you're frequently exhausted between work, keeping house and telling sweet faces you don't have time to play. Ever tried writing an article with a baby screaming? It was awful.

    I was so stressed that I eventually started taking my kids to 8 day care center a couple of days a week. The whole reason I worked so hard to be able to write for a living was to be at home with my kids and here I was taking them to a day care center.I thought I was a failure then.

    Over the past five years of being a freelancer(自由作家), I've realized a couple of things. As I wrote six months  ago, "I though I felt bad leaving my daughter for ten hours a day but now she is old enough to ask me to read her a story .Try telling your kid no, 20 times a day. It's cruel. You end up feeling worse for having to ignore them." I also realize not socializing with people weren't good for my mental well-being.

    Not only that, but I can now show my kids that Mom is important and has a job at a flashy office building, something they didn't realize when1 sat around in yoga pants typing on my computer all day long.

    In a foreign country, a man visited a local restaurant. He didn't speak their language. He ordered something indecipherable off the menu. When the waiter brought him a plate of delicious looking fried noodles, he smiled and made an OK sign at the waiter with his thumb and forefinger linked in a circle. Looking angry, the waiter then picked up the dish and thrown it to his lap. What he did wrong, he wondered. Well, nothing is quite as it seems when it comes to using hand gesture in another country.

    Gestures have been used to replace words in many countries, and they are often specific to a given culture. Gesture may mean something complimentary in one culture, but is highly offensive in another.

    The gesture “thumb-up” is commonly misinterpreted. In English, it is popularly known as 'thumbs up', despite the fact that the action is commonly performed with only one hand. English-speaking Caucasians use it to signal 'OK', which is the same meaning as O.K. ring gesture. The two can in fact be used almost interchangeably.

    Avoid using this gesture in Southern Sardina or Northern Greece unless you want to invite a fight. While American, British and Australian would use the thumb up to signal hitch-hiking to the drivers, this message will not encourage a Greek driver or motorist to stop to give them a ride.

    There are no right or wrong signals, only cultural differences. Lack of cultural understanding will lead to disharmony among people from different cultures. When we know what to look for, such encounters with other cultures are actually very interesting, fascinating and fun. It is certainty a great topic to discuss over a cup of coffee and cakes.

    Frequently, we speak about people being “color-blind” but very few of us are. Even those who describe themselves as color-blind are normally just color lack. A strongly, color-blind person will still be able to tell 20 different colors, compared to the 100 or so that normal-sighted people see.

    Pingelap, a tiny island in the Pacific, is a beautiful spot but one that has a genetic trouble. It is known as Color-blind Island because so many people who live on this remote island can only see black and white.

    Not being able to see colors is bad enough. But one islander, Herrol, who's a fisherman, also struggles in full sunlight because all he sees is a painful burnt-out image. “I find it difficult to go outside in the sun,” he says, “because when it's sunny I cannot see to do my work.”

    But if being truly color-blind is rare, why is it that around 10% of the population of Pingelap live in a totally black and white world?

    Well, we know that in 1780 the population of Pingelap was all but wiped out by a tsunami (海啸). As few as 20 people survived, one of whom was the king. It's believed he had a genetic fault that causes colour-blindness and he passed this fault on to his many generations.

    There is one advantage. Herrol can see well, really well, in the dark. So when it gets dark, Herrol and his friends get in their boats and hunt flying fish. They hang up flaming torches and the fish are attracted to the flames. “This type of fishing is fun,” Herrol says, “especially if we catch plenty. So even though it's hard work we enjoy it.”