There are about 200 countries in the world. People live there, and they speak all kinds of languages. In fact, there are about 7, 000 languages and dialects in the world.
People use those languages to1with others. They talk to each other. They learn about and2new ideas and knowledge. They can do all that in person and on the Internet.
However, there is a3. Not all 7, 000 languages and dialects are on the Internet. A lot of them are missing. According to a UNESCO study, 98% of the pages on the Internet are in just4Also, over 50% of those are in English. That's5for English speakers but not for many others.
A part of the problem comes from computer6. They only have letters in English or the other main languages on the Internet. So, it's7for the speakers of the missing languages to type their words.
Another part comes from computer programs. They are also in English and the other main languages. So, to8them, the speakers of the missing languages must have knowledge of the main languages.
People are working to solve this problem. They don't want to9any of the world's languages. They also want10to be able to use the Internet. Now, Wikipedia has articles in over 300 languages. It's not much, but it's a start.
I always think my daughter Kendall is the best—that's just what parents do. When she was only three, she1for the people, like a little angel.
When Kendall was five, we noticed that she2had a tic（面部抽搐）. When the problem got worse, we took her from doctor to doctor.3the treatment, Kendall continued to sing. Surprisingly, her tics disappeared when she sang.
When Kendall was sixteen, we thought she would be cured soon. However, a（n）4thing happened.
At a party, Kendall jumped on a friend for a piggyback ride. He bent lower than she expected, and she jumped higher than he expected. Kendall flew over his back and landed on the floor—on her neck. She was rushed to hospital, paralyzed（瘫痪的）from the neck down. She couldn't move. But her biggest5wasn't whether she would walk again, but was whether she could try out for a show called American Idol.
As the days went on, feeling on her left side6, but she was still paralyzed on the right. We weren't sure how much of her7would come back. A friend brought a microphone and put it on her bed. Every day, Kendall tried hard to pick it up. It was more8for her to pick up that microphone than a spoon or fork.
Sometimes she had to bite a toothbrush to take her mind off the pain. We all cried because of the9we witnessed. But on the day—only three months after her accident—we cried full of joy when she sang10she didn't enter the Top 24 of American Idol.
When she was a little girl, she asked me why it was she that had tics. My heart hurt, but I told her, "Kendall, you have a pure heart, a fantastic voice and a strong mind. And you are a beautiful presence. "
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A. How far is it from here? B. You can buy it in Qingtian Bookstore. C. The bookstore closes at 8：00 p. m. D. The bus stop is on the other side of the street. E. Can you tell me the way to it? F. Can I take a bus there? G. I'm not sure how to get there. |
A：Excuse me. Could you please tell me where I can buy the novel The Ordinary World?
B：Certainly.
A：I'm new here. I don't know the way.
B：Sure. Go east along this street and turn left at the second crossing. It's next to a supermarket.
A：
B：It's about three kilometers away.
A：
B：Yes, you can.
A：Which bus can I take?
B：You can take the No. 8 bus.Look! The bus is coming!
A：Thank you very much.
B：You're welcome.
Do you ever give up easily in difficult situations? If so, imagine yourself as someone with great abilities, like Batman. It will help you feel strong. You will not give up easily and will probably do better. This is called the Batman Effect.
In a study, researchers gave three groups of six-year-old children a difficult task to complete on a computer. In Group One, the children were told to repeat asking themselves," Am I working hard?" In Group Two, the children were told to ask themselves the same question in the third person—as in "Is Sam working hard?" And in Group Three, the children were told to imagine themselves as Batman and ask themselves," Is Batman working hard?" Researchers found that the children in Group Three did the best.
How can you make use of the Batman Effect? Imagine yourself as someone who is the best for the task you are doing. If you're facing a personal difficulty, imagine yourself as a wise family member. If you're running a race at school, imagine yourself as a top runner. In this way, you can become a little more like the person you wish to be.
Rules are everywhere. When you're reading at the library, playing basketball on the playground or driving on the road, you'll have to follow some rules. But have you ever read any rules on a plane? If you're traveling by air in America, you may find the following criteria （标准）.
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Exit Seat Criteria If you are sitting in an exit seat, read the information below. You must： 1）Be at least 15 years old and healthy enough to offer help. 2）Be able to speak, read and understand English well. 3）Be able to go along a safe way from the emergency exit （紧急出口）. 4）Be able to help others away from the plane. |
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You must not： 1）Travel with pets, like dogs, cats and so on. 2）Take someone that needs special care, such as a child. If you can't the criteria, ask crew members （工作人员） to move you to another seat. You do not have to explain why, and just say, "I do not want to sit in an exit seat. " |
Thirty-Six Stratagems （计谋）, which show our ancient Chinese wisdom, are our ancient culture treasure. And many of these stratagems can still be put into practice in many fields, such as war, politics, business and even daily life. The following are four of them. Let's enjoy the charm of our traditional culture.
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Stratagem One When a thief is in your house, you'd better shut your doors at once in order to prevent him from running away. Why? For our ancient Chinese, there are two reasons. First, if you let your enemy run away, he will come back. Second, once your enemy succeeds in running away, it is dangerous for you to chase him. |
Stratagem Two This stratagem is from a poem by Du Fu, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty. A line in the poem reads: "To shoot the man on horse—back, shoot his horse first; To catch the robbers, capture their leader first." In a war if you want to beat the enemy, attack the leader first. Once the leader is caught, their forces will break down and fall into chaos. |
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Stratagem Three Chinese always believe that tigers are more powerful when they are in the mountains. Once they leave mountains, they will become less powerful. And there are a few Chinese sayings linking tigers with mountains. The stratagem advises you not to directly attack an enemy in his own area. Instead, you should try to make him leave his place first, making him lose the geographical advantage. In this way, your enemy will be beaten easily. |
Stratagem Four Experienced fishers all know how to prevent a hooked fish breaking the line. Move the fish line from side to side to gradually make the fish calm down and get tired, and then you can catch it easily. In the same way, once your enemy is trapped, be will often struggle, trying to run away, Leave him the false feeling that he still has a chance to run away, When he gets tired and loses his guard, you can capture him with less difficulty. |
Culture Insider：Children's Games in Ancient China
During ancient times, children didn't have smart phone, ipad or computer to entertain them. Instead, they came up with interesting games to play in their childhood. Let's take a look.
Kicking stone balls
During the Qing Dynasty, kicking a stone ball around was a popular game in the northern part of China, and it was often played in winter to keep warm.
Playing hide-and-seek
Hide-and-seek is a traditional game for children, popular around the nation. There are two ways to play：covering a child's eyes while other kids run around to him, or more commonly, others hide and one child must try to find them.
Flying kites
Kites have quite a long history. The earliest kites were made of wood, instead of paper. The three most famous kites are the Beijing kite, Tianjin kite and Weifang kite. Each has its own feature. For example, the bird—shaped kite with long wings is a special kind of the Beijing kite.
Watching shadow plays
The closest thing to watching a film during ancient times was going to see a shadow play. The artist control puppets （木偶）behind the screen and tell stories with the music.
The world's highest highway tunnel（公路隧道）, Mila Mountain Tunnel, was open to traffic on April 26, 2019, at an altitude（海拔）of over 4, 750 meters above sea level in Southwest China's Tibet.
The two-way tunnel is over 5. 7 km long, which is a part of the 400-km highway connecting Lhasa with Nyingchi. People started building the tunnel on the 5, 018-meter-high Mila Mountain in 2015. And it was finished in 2019, helping shorten the 18-km distance over the mountain to 5.7 km.
It wasn't easy to build the highest tunnel in China. Terribly cold weather and too little oxygen（氧气） were two main difficulties. Besides, carrying everything to the building site（工地） was a great challenge for over 2, 000 workers.
However, everyone at the site worked hard to finish building the tunnel on time and more than 10 latest techniques were developed while the workers were doing this great project. "We've worked here for several years and lived in simple houses," said Xu Yong, the leader of the project. "Everything was so difficult, but we never feel sorry for ourselves here. It is a great project. "
The highway is an important way to the eastern part of Tibet. It can help to make more people visit Tibet and bring traffic convenience to local people.
When I was alone at home one day, I was more excited than being afraid. My parents had gone for an invitation and left me behind. I was feeling free like a bird for the first time in my life.
I read a storybook for about an hour and then decided to take a break. I sat on the sofa and watched TV. It was around 7：30 pm and I was watching my favorite program when the lights went off. I found myself in darkness. "What bad luck," I thought to myself. I was feeling a bit afraid in the dark. Suddenly I heard a loud thud on the door. Then again another loud knock! My heart beat fast! I called my neighbor immediately. At that time, the electricity was on again. I didn't feel clam until my neighbor came.
We heard some noises in the kitchen. When we walked closer, we saw two monkeys sitting on the table. I pulled out a large bag from the shelf and threw it on the animal. My neighbor was quick to pounce on it and quickly tied up the bag. The other monkey ran away through the window and now we had caught one!
The next day the workers from the zoo came and took the monkey away. People in my neighborhood were now talking about my story. I felt proud that I was now the hero of the town.
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long history |
over 1,500 years |
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very popular |
in different parts of China, the young or the old, do well in... |
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different shapes |
animals, flowers... |
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