A PAIR OF SILK STOCKINGS
One day, little Mrs. Sommers found herself possessor of fifteen dollars. It seemed to her a very large amount of money, and for some days she constantly thought about how to spend judiciously that money. She thought in particular during the night.
She intended to spend the money on clothes, shoes, caps and hats for Janie and Mag. The vision of her children looking fresh and dainty makes her thoughtful and sleepless.
The neighbors sometimes talked of certain "better days" that little Mrs. Sommers had known before she had ever thought of being Mrs. Sommers. However, she didn't think of past nor of future; all her faculties absorbed her in present.
Mrs. Sommers knew the value of bargains, and was very determined and persistent. But that day she was a little faint and tired; she had even forgotten to eat her lunch, because of preparing herself for the shopping bout.
First, she sat herself upon a revolving stool before a counter. She realized that her hand lay upon a pile of silk stockings. A placard nearby announced that they had been reduced in price from 2,50£ to 1,95£ and a young clerk asked her if she wished to examine them. Mrs. Sommers seemed charmed by the stockings. Suddenly she blushed and asked the clerk if there are any eights-a-half among the pile of stockings. There were lots of pair of that size; Mrs. Sommers selected a black one, examined it and paid for it. She put the parcel in her shabby old shopping-bag
Mrs. Sommers went into the region of the ladies' waiting room and changed her old cotton stockings with the new silk ones. She was very satisfied, but she couldn't explain why. She wasn't thinking at all. She took a rest and reveled for a little while in the new stockings. Then she went into the shoe department.
She was fastidious and wanted to find a pair of shoes which would match for the stockings. In the end she bought a pair of polished, pointed-tipped boots that made her look very pretty and stylish. She couldn't realize they belonged to her.
Mrs. Sommers bought also a pair of white, long-wristed gloves. Previously, Mrs. Sommers wore only cheap "bargains". She spent other money on two high-priced magazines. Her stockings, her boots and her gloves had given her more assurance and a sense of belonging to the well-dressed multitude.
She was very hungry, therefore decided to go into a restaurant. She never entered its doors, but from the outside she was always very marveled by it. Another time she would have brewed herself a cup of tea at home or taken a snack of anything that was available. She sat at a small table alone and ordered a moderate lunch (a half-dozen blue points, a plump chop with cress, a crème-frappee, a glass of Rhine wine, a small cup of coffee).
She enjoyed her gloves, her magazines, her lunch, her stockings and her boots. She could hear a soft strain of music; a gentle breeze was blowing through the window. After that, she paid for the lunch and left an extra coin to the waiter, whereupon he bowed before her as before a princess.
There was still money in her purse and so she decided to watch a play at the theatre. She sat into a vacant seat between brilliantly dressed women who had gone there to kill time, eat candy and display their gaudy attire. No one present bore quite the attitude which Mrs. Sommers did to her surroundings. She laughed and wept, as the gaudy woman next to her did. They talked a little together.
After the play, Mrs. Sommers took the cable car. A man with keen eyes, who sat opposite her, seemed to be attracted by her and tried to decipher her. She wanted the cable car not to stop anywhere, but to go on and on with her forever.

HONESTY IS STILL THE BEST POLICY - PART 1
Are there any limits to honesty?
I think it's impossible for a person to be completely honest. Sometimes a person modifies the truth unconsciously or has no option but to tell a lie. However, in most of the case honesty is the best policy. Telling lies often makes you tell other lies or have trouble with yourself or somebody else. In easy situations, lies don't create big problems, but in more difficult ones they only create other worries and make the matter worse than before.

Should students, doctors, lawyers, engineers and bankers be severely punished for cheating?
As for students of primary or secondary school, I don't think that cheating is a big guilt. However, it's unfair to students who really study. On the contrary, cheating in university exams should be punished, because university must form real doctors, architects, engineers, etc. and not pretended ones.
I think doctors should be severely punished when they don't tell the truth because millions of people's lives depend on their professionalism. In my opinion, they must be absolutely honest.
Lawyers too should be honest. Defense lawyers shouldn't distort the real facts in order to guarantee a right trial. Engineers should tell the truth so as not to damage people with the equipment they developed. Finally, bankers should be honest and tell the true condition of their banks to avoid bankruptcy to many families.

To what extent can we cross the media when they are privately owned or even when they are public services?
Media are often defiled by the writer's or promoter's opinion. Newspapers or TV broadcasts are often influenced by the policy of state or opposition. Besides, not all the truth is told in newspaper or TV. A lot of information is kept secret; the website Wikileaks proved this. Therefore, we should read newspaper articles or watch TV news very carefully and objectively.

Do certain TV ads give a dishonest picture of the product being promoted? Give some examples.
Sometimes TV ads give exaggerated or groundless pictures of the promoted product. Slimming and face creams, food which make your health better, sport tools are good examples. Moreover, cars and medicines are publicized without specifying price or side effects distinctly.

HONESTY IS STILL THE BEST POLICY - PART 2
Should the media be allowed to reveal top secret information as in the case of Wikileaks or should such disclosure be considered a crime?
I think some "top secret information" should be revealed, but not all. It's unfair to keep all the deep world facts secret. There should be more communication. In fact we live in democratic states, where the people have got the power. However, there is still information which, if it were revealed, would cause serious problems (for instance, relations with countries in war).

Should bankers who take huge risks to increase their own fortune and cause severe poverty and loss of property be sent to prison terms?
I think this kind of speculators should be sent to prison terms. It's unjust all that wealth passes in their hands and lots of people suffer poverty and misery.

Are we more or less honest today than in the past?
I think today's people are as honest as past's ones. The humankind hasn't changed through the ages and it behaves in the same way. However, in the past penalties were harsher.

Who is the most honest person you have ever met or ever heard of?
I can't name the most honest person I have ever met. Every person has told at least a lie in his life, because it's impossible to be perfectly honest.