【推荐1】For the kids who have just started to read, choosing the right books is essential and their parents should be there to help them.

A proper book classification system would be of great help in this regard, since most parents do not know which books suit their children’s reading levels the most. An effective classification system for children’s books would help overcome this problem.

Chinese bookstores, online or offline, still prefer to use age rather than reading ability to categorize what they sell. In fact, reading ability and interests vary from child to child even when they are at the same age. This early form of classification is accepted by most bookstores and publishers, yet many young readers get books that are nowhere near their targeted reading levels.

China has at least 200 million children under the age of 14, and their enthusiasm for reading has increased over the years. The publishers of children’s books should try to introduce a juvenile-centered classification system to help their readers choose books that are suitable for their reading abilities.

Some don’t trust the call for more effective book classification, mentioning the need for youngsters to read extensively and avoid restricting themselves to one or two categories. There is a strong case for resisting selective reading, but not book classification, which is designed to help young children develop good reading habits and hold onto them in the long run.

Studies have found that kids are less likely to be into reading if they have not developed such a habit before the age of 10. That said, it is in their best interests to adopt targeted reading during childhood, as this can greatly improve their comprehension abilities. So greater efforts should be put into designing a book classification system that meets the needs of young readers.

【推荐3】This might not sound so extraordinary, but I didn’t just read a book in print, on an e-reader or even on a mobile phone. Instead, I read a book on dozens of devices(设备). I was not trying to set a Guinness world record. I wanted to answer a question I often hear: which e-reader or tablet（平板）is the best for reading books? So I set out to try them all, reading a chapter on each: the Amazon Kindle, the first and second generation Apple iPads and mobile phones. To be fair, I also read a chapter in that old-fashioned form — an old print paperback.

The book I chose was The Alienist. For the first chapter, I turned to an Amazon Kindle. Shopping on Amazon for the Kindle is simple; you go to Amazon’s Web site and buy the book, which is then sent to any devices with Kindle software installed(安装). Reading on the Amazon Kindle is a joy in many aspects. The Kindle is light．Its six-inch screen is the perfect size for reading, and reading on its black and white E Ink display doesn’t harm your eyes. Battery life is outstanding; on average you charge the device only once a month. My only complaint with the Kindle design is the placement of the keyboard at the bottom of the device. Amazon’s CEO has noted during past product announcements that the keyboard is there to help people take notes or search. But to me，it seems like a waste of space.

Despite the small screen on a mobile phone, I find reading on one to be simple and satisfactory. All of the mobile phones on which I read chapters felt somewhat similar; although screen brightness and the size of the phone’s screen did vary.

If I had wanted to, I could have bought my book through dozens of e-book apps (应用程序) in the Apple App Store. Most are free and offer access to thousands of free e-books or paid versions. But the big downside for many is that you can read them only on Apple devices. Both iPads 1＆2 offer an immersive（沉浸式）reading experience. I found myself jumping back and forth between my book and the Web, looking up old facts and pictures of New York City. I also found myself being sucked into the wormhole of the Internet and a few games of Angry Birds rather than reading my book. For the last chapters of the book, I read the paperback, which is still my favourite choice.

Since we are comparing devices so I guess I need to choose one. In the end it might come down to Kindle. But if money is tight, go for print. My used paperback cost only＄4 from Amazon.

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【推荐1】Many early approaches to language technology go stuck in a conceptual dead end: the rules-based approach in translation. This meant trying to write rules to analyze the text of a sentence in the language of origin, breaking it down into a sort of abstract “interlanguage” and rebuilding it according to the rules of the target language.

These approaches showed early promise. But language is full of ambiguities and exceptions, so such systems were hugely complicated and easily broke down when tested on sentences beyond the simple set they had been designed for.

Nearly all language technologies began to get a lot better with the application of statistical methods. This relies on software scanning vast amounts of data, looking for patterns and learning from precedent. For example, in parsing language (breaking it down into its grammatical components), the software learns from large bodies of text that have already been parsed by humans. It uses what it has learned to make its best guess about a previously unseen text. In machine translation, the software scans millions of words that already have been translated by humans and learns from a body of recordings and the transcriptions made by humans.

Thanks to the growing power of processors, falling prices for data storage and, most crucially, the explosion in available data, this approach eventually bore fruit. Mathematical techniques that had been known for decades came into their own, and big companies with access to enormous amounts of data were ready to benefit.

The final advance, which began only about five years ago, came with the arrival of deep learning through digital neural networks (DNNs). These are often claimed to have qualities similar to those of the human brain. But Nils Lenke, head of research for a language technology company, explains matter-of-factly that “DNNs are just another kind of mathematical model,” the basis of which had already been well understood for decades. What changed was the hardware being used.

Almost by chance, DNN researchers discovered that the graphical processing units (GPUs) used to produce graphics in applications were also brilliant at handling neural networks. The technique has already produced big leaps in quality for all kinds of deep learning, including decoding handwriting, recognizing faces and classifying images. Now they are helping to improve all manner of language technologies, often bringing enhancements of up to 30 percent. That has shifted language technologies from being usable in a pinch to being really rather good. But so far no one has quite worked out what will move it forward from being merely good to reliably great.

【推荐2】Some speaking activities do not give an exact picture of your true language skill. But storytelling does. Storytelling is the retelling of a story. It can be a short piece of invented story; or it can be the retelling of a news event. Or you can talk about something that happened in your own life.     1     On the other hand, an activity requiring your opinion can slow you down.     2    

For the storytelling activity, try to provide as much information as possible and aim for a recording of three minutes or fewer. Don’t just say, “I studied at the library.” Say, “     3     And most of the seats were taken, so I looked around and finally found a place, but it was near the window. It was cold, so I had to keep my coat on,” or something like that.

    4     Instead, it is to speak at a faster speed because you do not have to stop and think of each idea separately. Before the activity, you’d better speak out loud to yourself a few times to make sure you have your main points in mind.

When listening to the recording, do not expect to find all or even most grammar or vocabulary mistakes.     5     After the first recording, record yourself telling the same story at least once more and take note of your progress. But avoid memorizing your speech.

【推荐3】Hanukkah (光明节) is a Jewish festival. It is celebrated on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (犹太教历), which is usually sometime in December. It is often called the festival of lights. The festival celebrates the time, over 2，000 years ago, when the Jewish people fought against an emperor who would not let them follow their own traditions and religion. When the Jewish people won back their temple in Jerusalem, they found there was only little holy oil to keep the sacred light burning for one day. However, to their surprise, this small amount of oil kept the light burning for eight days and nights until the people had time to make more oil.

At the center of the Hanukkah celebrations is a candlestick (called a Menorah) that holds nine candles. On the first night of Hanukkah the first candle is lit, and each day this candle is used to light another candle, until on the eighth day, the last day, all the candles are lit. During Hanukkah, people go to the synagogue (犹太教堂) to pray and to remember the miracle (奇迹) of the holy oil. Hanukkah is a time for family and friends to come together. People exchange gifts and greeting cards, and children go to parties. Parents often give their children money at Hanukkah. Potato cakes, called latkes, are a traditional Hanukkah food.