3 . How similar are language and music?

Language is part of our daily lives, no matter where we live in the world.     1     Both language and music play a huge role in our culture and here are some of their similarities.

Both language and music have a writing system.

In English we record language using the alphabet, which is a collection of letters. Similarly, we use notes (音符) to keep a record of music. Musicians read notes and create meaning in the form of music.     2     By writing pieces of text or music, we are able to share experiences through time. We can read the ideas or hear the composition (作品) of someone who lived hundreds of years ago.

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You can make a good guess at where someone is from by listening to the language he uses. In the same way, we know that styles of music are different around the world, giving us the opportunity to explore many different cultures through their music and providing us with music for every situation.

Both share emotion.

    4     Of course you may be able to see it in my face, but you will know for sure through my words. Similarly, music can sound angry, sad or happy. Music can show you exactly how the composer was or is feeling, and allows us to share that emotion. When you feel happy, you might want to sing and dance to a happy song to celebrate your happiness.     5     I think we have all used music to express or process our emotions, often combining it with language in the form of song lyrics (歌词).

4 . The beautiful island country of Madagascar has a serious school shortage. About a third of Malagasy children have no access to education because the schools are too far away or severely overcrowded. Thinking Hus, a non-profit dedicated to increasing global access to education, plans to tackle the issue with a series of 3D-printed schools, the first of which was completed in April 2022.

The 765-square-feet structure, named Bougainvillea, will house 30 students. The construction a began with the printer pouring a cement-like (水泥状) mixture in a pattern to create the walls. The entire process took just 18 hours! The roof, doors and windows were locally sourced, and the walls were made of a cement mixture that can resist big environmental pressures in the area. Bougainvillea was 3D printed by 14 Trees, a company with experience printing buildings throughout Kenya and Malawi.

Maggie Grouts, the 22-year-old founder of Thinking Huts, is a senior at the University of Colorado and was just 15 when she started Thinking Huts. Adopted from a rural village in China when she was 18 months old, Grout realized that not all kids were as fortunate as her and wanted to help. The idea for the 3D-printed schools came to her after brainstorming(集思广益) with her father on ways to use the technology for the greater good.

The 3D printing approach shrinks the construction turnaround time from months to days, as well as the cost. This allows more schools to be built in less time and reduces the building’s carbon footprints. And these savings in time, cost and materials meet a real need for education infrastructure (基础设施) to help bridge the global opportunity gap.

“Thinking Huts hopes to have a Thinking Hut in every community where children do not have a place for education and is fundraising to develop this goal. By using 3D printing, we are combining the potential of technology with architectural solutions that tackle real problems the world faces within education,” says Grouts.

6 . In your life, sometimes you may be asked to speak in front of a large group of people. Although it sounds a little scary, even those with stage fright can speak successfully to the group with adequate preparation.

Practice your speech before the big day.    1     If possible, practice the speech in front of a friend or family member to get used to saying it to real people. If you feel you must have note cards, limit the amount to about three cards. This will force you to keep your speech brief and help you keep your eyes focused on your audience.

Remember why you’ve been invited to speak. If you’re battling fear over speaking to a large group of people, keep your mind on the fact that you were selected for this important role. The speech organizers must have seen something valuable in you or your expertise.    2    

Remember that fear of public speaking is very common.    3     Most of the people in the audience would be feeling the same fear and stress that you do in your position. Knowing this may make you feel better.

    4     What you say should be tailored (专门的) to why you’re there and who you’re speaking to in order to avoid sounding general. If speaking to a charity group,mention the good work certain specific individuals have done for the cause. If speaking at a business conference, briefly state why you want to help these people.

Keep eye contact with the crowd.    5     Pick one person in each section and look at him while you’re speaking. After each important point in your speech, switch your focus to another section. When you focus only on one person at a time, the size of the crowd isn’t as frightening.

7 . Two British teachers have broken the world record for the longest journey in a tuk-tuk after pulling their failing vehicle for 43 miles. Richard Sears and Nick Gough traveled 37,500 kilometers around the world and passed through 37 countries. They did this to support grassroots education project in Africa, Asia and South America.

The pair, who set off from London, thought their expedition was over when the vehicle started to fail. When the tuk-tuk broke, they were only 70 kilometers from their destination. They decided to pull it the rest of the way. The tuk-tuk, which weighs 800 kilograms, was pulled in turns by Richard and Nick over three days. On arrival in Chepen, Peru, they discovered a mechanic who specialized in tuk-tuks and managed to fix it.

The pair were back on the road and aiming for their next goal. Along their journey they had to tackle deserts and jungles. They also survived close encounters with elephants in Uganda and Botswana and an accident in Malaysia. The greatest hardship on the tuk-tuk was the mountain ranges lying in their path, including the Alps, the Himalayas and the Andes.

Nick and Richard uncovered some inspirational projects across Africa, Asia and South America. They witnessed firsthand the educational challenges facing these areas today. They joined street children in the slums of Cairo, Khartoum, Kampala, Mumbai and Phnom Penh. They visited Congolese refugees (难民) in camps in Eastern Burundi. They witnessed how education could free sex-workers in Delhi and victims of human trafficking in Nepal.

The pair established the Tuk-Tuk Educational Trust, a U.K. registered charity.

Talking about their motivation, Richard said, “The world’s leaders have made a commitment to achieving universal primary education but in spite of this pledge (承诺), over 57 million primary-aged children worldwide are still out of school; many more are in school, though still cannot access quality learning opportunities.”

8 . My teacher held up a piece of broken glass and asked, “Who broke this window?”

Thirty boys tried to think about not only what they had done, but also what the teacher might have found out. She seldom became angry, but she was this time.

“Oh,” I thought. I was the one who broke the window. It was caused by a naughty throw of a baseball. If I admitted guilt, I would be in a lot of trouble. How would I be able to pay for a big window like that? I didn’t even get an allowance. “My father is going to have a fit as a result of it,” I thought. I didn’t want to raise my hand, but some force much stronger than I was pulled it skyward (朝向天空). I told the truth, “I did it.” It was hard enough to say what I had done.

My teacher took down a book from one of our library shelves and I had never known my teacher to strike a student, but I feared she was going to start with me.

“I know how much you like birds,” she said as she stood looking down at my guilt-ridden face. “Here is the field guide about birds that you are constantly checking out. It is yours now. It’s time we got a new one for the school anyway. You will not be punished, but remember that I am not rewarding you for your misdeed (恶行), but I am rewarding you for your truthfulness.”

I couldn’t believe it! I wasn’t being punished and I was getting my own bird field guide — the very one that I had been saving up money to buy.

The lesson my teacher taught me stays with me every day, and it will echo forever.

9 . China is recognized as a world leader in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and facial recognition systems. A Chinese company says it has created a new facial recognition system that can identify people even if they are wearing masks (口罩). Engineers at the Beijing-based company say their system is the first to be created to effectively identify people wearing face masks.

The company told a news agency that a team of 20 people built the system in about a month. The system is based on existing technologies developed over the past 10 years. The process involved adding a collection of about 6 million unmasked faces and a much smaller collection of masked faces, the company said.

The company is now selling two main kinds of products that use the new technology. One performs “single channel” recognition, which is designed to be used at the entrances to buildings. The other product is a “multi-channel” recognition system that uses groups of surveillance (监视) cameras. It can identify individuals in a crowd of up to 30 people within a second.

“When people are wearing a mask that covers the mouth and the nose, the recognition rate can reach about 95%, which can ensure that most people can be identified,” said Huang, vice president of the company. He added that the system’s success rate for people not wearing a mask is about 99.5%.

However, the new system struggles to identify people wearing both a mask and sunglasses. “In this situation, all of the key facial information is lost. In such cases recognition is graunchy,” Huang said.

People react to the new technology differently. While some citizens have been against using such tools, the majority have accepted the technology as an effective way to reduce crime and catch criminals.