Being less than perfectly well-dressed in a business setting can result in a feeling of great discomfort that may well require treatment to eliminate. And the sad truth is that “clothing mismatches” on the job can ruin the day of the person who is wearing the inappropriate attire(着装)—and the people with whom he or she comes in contact.

    Offices vary when it comes to dress codes. Some businesses have very high standards for their employees and set strict guidelines for office attire, while others maintain a more relaxed attitude. However, it is always important to remember that no matter what your company's attitude is regarding what you wear, you are working in a business environment and you should dress properly. Certain items may be more appropriate for evening wear than for a business meeting, just as shorts and a T-shirt are better suited for the beach than for an office environment. Your attire should reflect both your environment and your position. A senior vice president has a different image to maintain than that of a secretary or sales assistant. Like it or not, you will be judged by your personal appearance.

    This is never more apparent than on “dress-down days”, when what you wear can say more about you than any business suit ever could. In fact, people will pay more attention to what you wear on dress-down days than on “business professional ” days. Thus, when dressing in “business casual” clothes, try to put some good taste into your wardrobe choices, recognize that the “real” definition of business casual is to dress just one notch(等级) down from what you would normally wear of business-professional attire days.

    Remember, there are borders between your career and our social life. You should dress one way for play and another way when you mean business. Always ask yourself where you are going and how other people will be dressed when you get there. Is the final destination the opera, the beach, or the office? Dress properly and you will discover the truth in the principle that clothes make the man—and the woman. When in doubt, always misjudge on the side of dressing slightly more traditionally than the situation demands.

    Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping, has drawn extensive attention from people both at home and abroad for her charisma and grace. Accompanying her husband on his first overseas trip after becoming president, Peng Liyuan exhibited graceful demeanor, a pleasant personality and well-chosen dress, prompting people to coin the term “Liyuan style”.

Peng Liyuan, as one of China's best-known singers, was popular among Chinese people long before her husband became the president. Loved by her fans, she has been in touch with the people for years.

    “Liyuan style” is not only representative of a fashion idol, but also overpass cultural and diplomatic barriers. The beautiful handbags Peng has carried, and the plain but elegant and delicate dresses she has worn have become popular. Her choice of clothing, made-in-China instead of luxurious foreign brands, shows her belief in domestic dress designs.

But “Liyuan style” is not only about clothing and a woman's paraphernalia. It is also about diplomacy and promoting China's soft power. In Moscow, Peng visited a boarding school for orphans and children estranged (疏远) from their parents, encouraging them to strive for a better life, which brought out the maternal side of her character. In Tanzania, she donated sewing machines and school bags to women and children. And as a World Health Organization ambassador in the fight against AIDS, Peng is devoted to many public causes, including those relating to charity and healthcare.

    Some observers have already started saying that Peng's activities have become part of public diplomacy in China.

Also, “Liyuan style” has boosted the confidence of the Chinese people. Modem but not flashy, elegant but not arrogant, Peng has all the virtues of a Chinese woman and carries them to the international stage.

Since the 18th Party Congress and the annual sessions of the NPC and CPPCC, the country's new leadership has vowed to adopt a down-to-earth work style to connect with the people. Peng's plain but elegant style shows that thriftiness and an earthy style need not be drab and boring.

    So it can be said that Peng's first appearance on the international stage has kicked off well.

    It was one of those terribly hot days in Baltimore. Needless to say, it was too hot to do anything outside. But it was also scorching in our apartment. This was 1962, and I would not live in a place with an air conditioner for another ten years. So my brother and I decided to leave the apartment to find someplace indoors. He suggested we could see a movie. It was a brilliant plan.

    Movie theaters were one of the few places you could sit all day and—most important —sit in air conditioning. In those days, you could buy one ticket and sit through two movies. Then, the theater would show the same two movies again. If you wanted to, you could sit through them twice. Most people did not do that, but the manager at our theater. Mr. Bellow did not mind if you did.

    That particular day, my brother and I sat through both movies twice, trying to escape the heat. We bought three bags of popcorn and three sodas each. Then, we sat and watched The Music Man followed by The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. We'd already seen the second movie once before. It had been at the theater since January, because Mr. Bellow loved anything with John Wayne in it.

    We left the theater around 8, just before the evening shows began. But we returned the next day and saw the same two movies again, twice more. And we did it the next day too. Finally, on the fourth day, the heat wave broke.

    Still, to this day I can sing half the songs in The Music Man and recite half of John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart's dialogue from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance! Those memories are some of the few I have of the heat wave of 1962. They're really memories of the screen, not memories of my life.

    Our “Mommy and Me” time began two years ago. My next-door neighbor and fellow mother, Christie, and I were out in our front yards, watching seven children of age 6 and under ride the bikes up and down. “I wish I could take one of my children out alone,” said Christie.

    Then we worked out a plan: When Christie takes one of her children out, I'll watch her other three. And when she watches two of mine. I'll take someone out.

    The children were extremely quick to accept the idea of “Mommy and Me” time. Christie's daughter, McKenzie, went first. When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of questions. McKenzie was smiling broadly. Christie looked refreshed and happy. “She's like a different child when there's no one else around,” Christie shared with me quickly. With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn't have to make an effort to gain attention.

    Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also discovered something different in each of my children. For example, I am always surprised when my daughter, who is seldom close to me, holds my hand frequently. My stuttering (口吃的) son, Tom, doesn't stutter once during our activities since he doesn't have to struggle for a chance to speak. And another son, Sam, who's always a follower when around other children shines as a leader during our times together.

    The “Mommy and Me” time allows us to be simply alone and away with each child-talking, sharing, and laughing, which has been the biggest gain. Every child deserves to be an only child at least once in a while.

    The kids in this village wear dirty, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They have no school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can make words.

    The key to their success: 20 tablet computers(平板电脑) dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a U.S. group called One Laptop Per Child.

    The goal is to find out whether kids using today's new technology can teach themselves to read in places where no schools or teachers exist. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they're already amazed. “What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten,” said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program.

    The fastest learner—and the first to turn on one of the tablets—is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse. The device's camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out its workings and made the camera work. He called himself a lion, a marker of accompli shment in Ethiopia.

    With his tablet, Kelbasa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own. “Seven months ago he didn't know any English. That's unbelievable,” said Keller.

    The project aims to get kids to a stage called “deep reading,” where they can read to learn. It won't be in Amharic, Ethiopia's first language, but in English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs.

    In China, chain restaurants especially the big multinational ones are cool. Going to Starbucks, for example, is a status symbol. It not only says, "I'm rich enough to buy this overpriced coffee, "but also, "I'm cosmopolitan (见多识广的) enough to be part of globalization."

    Where I come from in the UK, however, chains are neither fashionable nor gourmet (美食的). Chains are where you go on New Year's Day when nowhere else is open, or when you are 5 years old and your parents can't stand hearing, "I'm hungry!" any longer. In my own case (with regards to McDonald's), a chain is where you are taken on your first "date". Even at the age of 13, I knew to give the guy the "let's just be friends" phone call the next day.

    In the UK, independent cafes and restaurants are making a comeback on the fashion scene. Nowadays, a Londoner who says "let's meet for a coffee at Monmouth" (an independent café) is much cooler than one who says "let's go to Starbucks". Even if Monmouth's coffee is a little more expensive, there's a satisfaction in knowing your pounds aren't going straight to the big corporations.

    Of course, there are chain stores all over the UK; you can't go five minutes without spotting a Costa Coffee. But numbers do not add up to good taste.

    I do, however, have a confession (坦白). After moving to China I had moments when all the rice and Kung Pao Chicken became too much. I, too, have retreated to McDonald's.