In the United States most people are simultaneously consumers and producers; they are also voters who help inf luence the decisions of the government. The mixture among consumers, producers, and government changes constantly, making a dynamic rather than a static economy. In the last decade consumers have made their concern known and government has responded by creating agenci es to protect consumer interests and promote the general public welfare. In another development, the population and the labor f orce have moved dramatically f rom farms to cities, f rom the f ields to the f actori es, and above all to service industries, thus providing more personal and public servi ces. In today’s economy these providers of services f ar outnumber producers of agricultural and manuf actured goods.﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏Every year 80000 Chinese die f rom antibiotics abuse, making China one of the worst offenders in the world. Statistics show that among the country’s 15 best-selling medicines, 10 are antibiotics. More than 50 per cent of the medical expenses f or Chinese in-patients goes to cover di ff erent kinds of antibiotics, while the f igure in Western countries is just 15 to 30per cent.The side eff ects of antibiotics use can damage organs, cause disorders in the body’s normal bacteria and increase the resistance of disease causing germs. Many Chinese believe the myth that antibiotics can diminish inf lammation, so they use them to treat everything f rom toothache to f ever. A story from the Xinhua News Agency said that more than 80 per cent of Chinese families have antibiotics stored on shelves at home in case of different kinds of infections.Children have becom e the biggest victims of antibiotic abuse where the drug kills normal bacteria leading to damage of children’s still growing organs. Statistics in Guangzhou showed the some 17 per cent of local residents now suffer from antibiotic-resisitant diseases while the f igure was 50 per cent for children, according to data f rom the local children’s hospital. The marked increase of asthma in children recently has a lot to do with antibiotics abuse.﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏Television news reports and programs bring about both positive and negative inf luence. From the news reports, people will happen in the world, such as wars in the Middle East and famine in Af rica. As a result they broaden their mind. By watching television programs people also get to know other peoples and their cultures. However, television news reports and programs may mislead people. V iolence and drug problems are harm f ul to young people. Political scandals, illegal campaign contributions an illegal f inancial manipulation greatly damage the nation’s image. Things t o worse especially when international audiences lack context f ram e of reference.﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏The last century saw a steady gradual increase in literacy, and thus in the number of readers. As readers increased, so the number of potential listeners declined, and thus there was some reduction in the need of read aloud. As reading f or the benef it of listeners grew less common, so came the f lourishing of reading as a private activity in such public places as libraries, railway carriages and off i ces, where reading aloud would cause distraction to other readers.Towards the end of the century there was still considerable argument over whether books should be used f or inf ormation or treated respect f ully, and over whether the reading of materi al such as newspapers was n some way mentally weakening. Indeed this argument remains with us still in education. However, whatever its virtues, the old shared literacy culture had gone and was replaced by the printed mass media on the one hand by books and periodicals f or specialized readership on the other.﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏什么叫抠门？你是否会在快用完的洗发水瓶里加点水可以再多洗一次？或者在垃圾筐里陈一个塑料袋？是否会把大孩子穿过的一条牛仔裤或一条裙子给小孩子穿？或者用前一天的剩菜再做一顿新的吃？这些事情是否表明你是一个守财奴或吝啬鬼呢？尽管“抠门主义者”会说一分钱扮成两半用并不意味着抠门的生活方式，但是如果我们有意节省，我们会更能掌控手中的钱财。
节省、抠门或经济（无论你用哪个词）是一个见仁见智的事情，或者说，是一个因人而异的事。
就像别的任何事情一样，你投入的精力越多，你的收获越大。
人们过着各自不同的抠门生活。
有些人天生就很节约，有些人是迫不得已而为之，还有些人是看样学样。
但是，对于有些人来说，那种有意不买很多东西的念头是不正常的、愚蠢的、不可思议的。
美国的主流社会已经太过习惯在购物、驾车和吃喝中寻求满足感，不去疯狂购物就好像是上帝赋予的追求幸福的权利的亵渎。
当这种对幸福的追求将我们诱入债务的圈套，使我们面临破产和财政崩溃的深渊时，又会怎样呢？“抠门”这个词可能使人联想到日复一日的黑豆汤和垫纸板的写字。
“吝啬”和“小气”是两个很快想到的同义词。
将就、匮乏、贫穷是用来描述一种状态的另外词语，这种状态并不是好事，而是一种威胁：是竭力去避免的而不是去追求的。