Many people think that there should be some sort of universal service around cash, forcing banks to provide it and sellers to accept it. I disagree, but I do understand why they think it appealing.

One of their arguments is that cash is a necessary fallback, the only payment method that society can depend on in the event of nuclear war or natural disaster and therefore businesses should be forced to keep the ability to distribute and collect notes and coins. They think that cash is the backup in a disaster. It really isn’t. When things go really wrong, it is the people who keep their money in cash who suffer the most.

Remember the Japanese disaster of a decade back, where following a severe earthquake off the northeast coast of Japan’s Honshu Island in 2011, a huge tsunami (海啸) towering a hundred feet above the ground went crashing into cities, towns and villages destroying more than 200 square miles. Since Japan remains a cash-based society and a great many people keep their savings in cash in their homes, the disaster led to the unusual phenomenon of safes and cash washing up on beaches. Yasuo Kimura, a former bank employee then aged 7, said that he had many friends who lost everything. “I had tried to convince them to put their money in a bank,” he said. “They always thought it as safer to keep it at home.”

Another argument they make is that electronic payment can be bad for privacy, making cash remain the best backup. They ask “How do you stop data thieves and data brokers from monitoring your buying history?” and suggest paying in cash is the answer. Personally, I think using electronic payments is a better answer, though measures should be taken to enhance privacy-protecting technologies, but that’s a discussion for another day.

A new study shows that U.S. teens see more television commercials (广告) for alcohol than for jeans, sneakers, or other teen products, the New York Times reported Dec. 18.

For the study, the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University studied the 208,909 alcohol commercials on television. They found that nearly 25 percent of the ads were viewed mainly by teenagers, rather than adults.

Furthermore, 12-to-20-year-olds viewed more commercials for beer and other alcoholic drinks than products marketed directly to young people, such as gum, snacks, and juice. “No one is watching what the industry is doing, and the industry is in denial (拒绝承认),” said David A. Kessler, dean of the School of Medicine at Yale and an adviser to CAMY.

The alcohol industry uses voluntary rules to reduce the number of ads seen by those under age 21. The rules say that ads should not air during programs where at least half of the audience is underage (未成年的).

“We do not forgive illegal underage drinking under any circumstances,” said Jeff Becker, president of the Beer Institute. “This industry does not, and never has, targeted our advertising to people who can’t legally buy our products.”

However, the report found that alcohol ads ran during 13 of the 15 most popular shows for teenagers, including “Seventh Heaven,” “Gilmore Girls, ” “Dark Angel,” “That ‘70s Show,” “Friends,” “E.R.,” and sporting events.

Jim O’Hara, executive director of CAMY, said the industry rules are false. He added, “These standards do not protect youth from exposure and overexposure to alcohol advertising and marketing.”

Sociologists, working in western countries, have found that a large number of women wished they had been born men. 【小题1】　

“Women often wish they had the same chances as men have, and think it is still men’s world.” said Dr. James Helen, one of the sociologists who did the study.

【小题2】 A man has to make money to support his family and to make the important decision, so it is right for men to be paid more. Some are even against their wives working at all.【小题3】 If women take full-time jobs, they won’t be able to do what they are best at doing: making a nice home and bringing up the children.

Some women disagree. They say they want to get out of their homes and to have freedom to choose between work and home life.【小题4】

Anne Harper has a very good job. She also believes in “Women’s Liberation”, “I don’t wish I were a man,” she says, “and I don’t think many women do. But I do wish people would stop treating us like second-class people. At work, for example, we usually do the work that men do but get paid less. There are still a lot of jobs only to men—usually they are the best ones.【小题5】 How many women scientists are there…or engineers?”