People in the western state of California who are in the United States illegally can now request a driver's license. The law went into effect on January l. California is not the first American state with such a law, but it has the largest number of illegal immigrants. More than a million people began to request licenses shortly after the new state law went into effect. Among them was Christian Alvarado. Mr. Alvarado entered the United States from El Salvador eight years ago without permission from the U.S. government. Some call such people "illegal immigrants." Others call them "undocumented immigrants".

    Mr. Alvarado thinks it so exciting, for he has been waiting for the license for a long time. But some are worried that their personal information will be used to find them and deport them. Armando Botello is a spokesman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV. He says people should not be afraid, for such information will not be shared.

    The new licenses are the same as licenses given to citizens except that they have the words "Federal Limits Apply". That means the license cannot be used to travel on an airplane or enter a federal building. Ana Garcia, working at the Central American Resource Center, says some illegal immigrants fear those words will be used to abuse them. Civil rights groups say the police and others will not.

    Dan Schnur, a political scientist at the University of Southern California, said that the main argument against the new law is that it rewards illegal behavior. But Professor Schnur argued that young, white Americans generally support immigration reform, including giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants

    "It's simply because they grew up in a much more multicultural society than their parents or their grandparents did." Professor Schnur says he believes the changes in beliefs about illegal immigrants that have taken place in California will spread throughout the United States.

    If Confucius (孔子) were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.

    While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.

    But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.

    In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy (哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.

    So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.

    Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.

    As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.

    World Elephant Day is the perfect time to find out more about these amazing animals and what we can do to preserve them so they do not go the way of the mammoth（猛犸象）.

    World Elephant Day was created in 2011 by two Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Thailand's Elephant Reintroduction Foundation and was first celebrated on August 12, 2012. They made the documentary Return to the Forest, a fascinating 30 minute film about the reintroduction of caught Asian elephants to the wild.

    Currently, the demand for ivory（象牙）is becoming bigger and bigger, whose price is higher than that of gold, making elephants bigger targets than ever. Habitation loss is also a danger to the world's elephant population as it robs elephants of the hundreds of pounds of food they need every day, making it more difficult for them to breed and making it easier for hunters to track them down. Circuses and tourism are also serious threats to the animals' well-being.

    The best way to celebrate this day is to take the opportunity to educate yourself about these magnificent（巨大的）mammals and share your knowledge with others. As ever, simply spreading the word about the dangers these magnificent mammals face via social media can actually make a real change. Expose that “training” elephants often involves tying and beating them daily for months on end. If you want to get a bit more involved, you could choose to make a donation to a foundation dedicated to protecting elephants from hunters or relocating them to locations better suited to their needs.

    Whichever way suits you best, make sure that you spend this day in a way that helps elephants all over the world, so we, in turn, can continue to wonder at them and their uniquely fascinating way of life.

    Chinese consumers' crazy appetite for luxury goods and services appears unstoppable,with just 2 percent of the Chinese population responsible for one-third of the world's luxury items.

    As China's economic miracle develops,the market opportunities for all sorts of luxury goods and services are increasing.Luxury consumption in China now extends ways beyond well-known car,clothing and jewelry brands.For example,the luxury jet market in China is the fastest-growing in the world,even outstripping that of the United States, with a market share of 25 percent.This trend appears to continue,with 20 to 30 percent growth expected in China, compared with only 2 to 3 percent in the US.But more importantly,China's luxury jet market growth represents a major development in the private consumption of luxury items.

    China's high-quality red wine market also provides evidence of the growth in private consumption of luxury goods.In 2013,China became the largest market for red wine in the world,even overtaking France,with l.86 billion bottles consumed in China last year.Over the past five years,China's red wine consumption has grown 136 percent.

    According to my ongoing consumer research in this area while working at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing,public consumption of such expensive global luxury brands such as Prada and Armani is easily explained by the desire to "gain face" and publicly display social climbing through material possessions.On the other hand,it is "self-reward" that lies behind consumer motivation in this area.Chinese consumers who have experienced rapid financial and economic gains appear particularly prone to the need to reward themselves for their success.But this has little to do with "gaining face" and impressing others and much more to do with the need for personal contentment.

    Finally,the growth in private luxury consumption in China is set to continue in part due to the maturity of the Chinese consumer and advancement of Chinese consumer culture generally.

    If you are invited to a wedding, baby shower or other celebrations, you will be expected to bring a gift. Unless you know the host very well, the gift should be modest in value, about $25 or so.

    For a wedding, the bride will have "registered (登记)" at one or two local department stores，indicating the items she prefers. You can buy the couple a gift that isn't listed , but most people buy something listed on the registry (记录簿). If you buy an item listed on the registry, be sure to tell the store that you are doing this, so that the couple doesn't receive duplicate (重复的) gifts. For a baby shower, bring a gift appropriate for a new born baby.

    If you wish to give a gift when you leave to return to your country, the best gift   is something unique to your country. It does not need to be especially valuable or rare. Possibilities include a book about your country, an inexpensive piece of handicraft( 手工艺品)or art, or something else that reflects your culture. If the children collect coins and stamps, they would be very pleased with a set of your country's coins or a selection of stamps from your country.

    If you owe a debt of deep gratitude to an American host family, a common way of repaying it is to take the family to a form of entertainment, such as a baseball, basketball, or a good restaurant.

    Gift giving is not as important in America as it is in other countries, so there is nothing wrong with not giving a gift. If you need help, talk to a salesperson at a department store. Tell them about the person who will be receiving the gift and the reason for the gift, and they will help you find something appropriate.

    A few years back I worked in a university building that also housed a department full of psychologists, all of whom seemed to see us as perfect guinea pigs(豚鼠) for their latest theories. If an eager graduate student showed up in my office bearing desserts and asked me to pick one, I'd cast a careful glance and ask "Why?" before grabbing the apple pie.

    So one day, when someone from the Psychology Department posted instructions in the bathroom persuading all of us to "Think about five things for which you're grateful every day for a week!" my response was frankly doubtful. I did the math. Five things a day for seven days is a lot of brainpower to expend without so much as the promise of an apple pie.

    I wandered into the office of Heidi Zetzer, the director of our school's Psychological Services Clinic. "What's with the gratitude thing?" I asked. You don't ask an academic question－even a simple one unless you're prepared for a long answer. Heidi came alive, and I sat down. That's when I first heard the term "positive psychology". The gratitude thing, as I had called it, was but one small and simple element of the practice. "Kind of like training the brain to focus on joy," my friend Heidi explained. "It's only a week," she urged. "Try it." I did. And guess what? It worked.

    Every day for a week, I found five distinct things for which I was thankful. They had to be different every day. I couldn't get away with just being grateful for my wonderful husband. But I could, suggested Collie Conoley, another positive psychologist, express my gratitude for specific aspects of a certain person each day. He's a great cook. He always puts our family first.

    Life will never be perfect. I still see new stories that annoy me. The traffic in my city is maddening. I wish I could speed up my recovery. But with just one simple exercise, I'm rediscovering the peace of that old saying: accepting the things I can't change, working without complaint to change what I can, and being wise enough to know the difference.

    And all it took was a little gratitude.