1 . (1)Traveling through the country a couple of weeks ago on business, I was listening to the talk of the late UK writer Douglas Adams’ masterwork The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on the radio and thought- I know, I’ll pick up the next hitchhikers I see and ask them what the state of real hitching is today in Britain.

(2) I drove and drove on main roads and side roads for the next few days and never saw a single one.

(3) When I was in my teens and twenties, hitchhiking was a main form of long-distance transport. The kindness or curiosity of strangers took me all over Europe, North America, Asia and southern Africa. Some of the lift-givers became friends, many provided hospitality on the road.

(4) Not only did you find out much more about a country than when traveling by train or plane, but there was that element of excitement about where you would finish up that night. Hitchhiking featured importantly in Western culture. It has books and songs about it. So what has happened to it?

(5) A few years ago, I was asked the same question about hitching in a column of a newspaper. Hundreds of people from all over the world responded with their view on the state of hitchhiking.

(6)Rural Ireland was recommended as a friendly place for hitching, as was Quebec, Canada — “if you don’t mind being criticized for not speaking French”.

(7) But while hitchhiking was clearly still alive and well in some places, the general feeling was that throughout much of the west it was doomed.

(8) With so much news about crime in the media, people assumed that anyone on the open road without the money for even a bus ticket must present a danger. But do we need to be so wary both to hitch and to give a lift?

(9) In Poland in the 1960s, according to a Polish woman who e-mailed me, “the authorities introduced the Hitchhiker’s Booklet. The booklet contained coupons for drivers, so each time a driver picked somebody, he or she received a coupon. At the end of the season, drivers who had picked up the most hikers were rewarded with various prizes. Everyone was hitchhiking then.”

(10) Surely this is a good idea for society. Hitchhiking would increase respect by breaking down barriers between strangers. It would help fight global warming by cutting down on fuel consumption as hitchhiker would be using existing fuels. It would also improve educational standards by delivering instant lessons in geography, history, politics and sociology.

(11) A century before Douglas Adams wrote his Hitchhiker’s Guide, another adventure story writer, Robert Louis Stevenson, gave us what should be the hitchhiker’s motto: “To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive.” What better time than putting a holiday weekend into practice. Either put it to the test yourself, or help out someone who is trying to travel hopefully with his thumb outstretched.

3 . In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), the need for critical thinking among humans has become important.     1     This is where critical thinking steps in, helping humans stay ahead in an increasingly automated (自动化的) world.

Critical thinking is the process of actively and skillfully analyzing, evaluating, and constructing arguments. It involves the ability to question assumptions, recognize biases (偏见), and make informed decisions based on logic and evidence.     2    

Firstly, AI systems are designed to operate within predefined parameters (参数) and datasets. They are good at pattern recognition and data analysis but often struggle with unexpected situations. Humans, armed with critical thinking skills, can identify and address these blind spots, adapting their approach to tackling unforeseen challenges.     3     Critical thinkers are able to question the AI's outputs, challenge its assumptions, and ensure that decisions are based on a full understanding of the problem at hand instead of being influenced by these biases and errors.

    4     In a world where AI is automating routine tasks, the ability to think critically and creatively becomes a distinct factor. It allows humans to generate novel ideas, solve problems in unique ways, and contribute to social progress.

Moral considerations are also crucial in the age of AI. As AI systems increasingly make decisions that affect people's lives, the need for moral judgment and critical thinking cannot be overstated.     5    

In conclusion, critical thinking is vital in the age of artificial intelligence, ensuring a future that is both technologically advanced and human-centered.

6 . “Merry Christmas from the Family”, a country song by Robert Earl Keen, tells the tale of a festive get-together. Many listeners will recognize the chaos (混乱) the singer describes; even more than that, they will definitely identify with his struggle to recall how he is related to the various guests. “Fred and Rita drove from Harlingen,” Mr. Keen sings, “Can’t remember how I’m kin (有亲属关系的) to them.”

That may have something to do with the English language. It is often joked that anyone around your age is a “cousin” and anyone older is an “uncle” or “aunt”. English is rather bare in its terms for family members. Other languages pay far more attention to the details.

Take “brother” and “sister” for instance. Societies that value age-order highly often have different terms for older brother, older sister, younger brother and younger sister. These are ge, jie, di and mei in Chinese or ani, ane, ototo, imoto in Japanese.

Chinese even requires the speakers to remember whether a relative is older or younger than they are, whether relatives of their parents are older or younger than they, and so on. There are many armchair theories about the relationship between language and culture that do not hold up to careful examination. The East Asian languages’ focus on seniority (年长), however, is actually related to the importance Confucianism places on the virtue of respecting your elders.

Actually, all languages permit you to describe relationships in any amount of detail your listener would like. The focus that some cultures put on labelling every possible relation with a distinct term does not mean that those who lack those terms do not pay attention to family networks. Every English-speaking family seems to have at least one member who can sort out the complicated relations and tell you that Henry Ford was a great-great-great uncle. But each family also has members who couldn’t care less, waving a hand and saying “uncle” or “cousin”.

I was used to correcting my school essays (作文) with some red-ink marks until I met my high school English teacher, Linda Christensen. For our final projects, Ms. Christensen would write two-page letters with praise and professional comments. I had never had a teacher who was so thoughtful and careful with my writing.

I loved writing. It was a hobby. But Ms. Christensen was determined to make me an author. Her comments were more than just about fixing grammatical errors. She wrote questions to make my essays more detailed; she underlined passages that she agreed with. Her letters always started with how proud she was that I was brave enough to write the truth, how she saw potential (潜力) in me. I would read her words over and over.

I needed this care, this recognition. I was the last Watson child to attend Jefferson High School. My sister Cheryl was known for being one of the star writers of the school newspaper. Trisa, another sister, had participated in two study-abroad programs. Dyan, another sister, was good at playing the piano. My sisters were involved in all types of after-school activities, while I was the little one following them like a shadow. No one noticed my existence except Ms. Christensen.

Adapting to high school was challenging, and I felt unconfident. On the first day of my high school, a teacher greeted me with a hug, saying, “You have some big shoes to fill.” Then she showed me the trophies (奖杯) in the hallway. I immediately recognized several: Cheryl, Trisa, and Dyan. I was inspired, yes, but mostly worried.

My Spanish was so-so. I got good grades but was not a top student. I loved music, but I wasn’t good at playing any musical instrument. I tried to walk in my sisters’ shoes, but they didn’t fit. I tried to follow their steps, but it’s too hard, really.

And then I met Ms. Christensen.

It was Ms. Christensen that gave me the power to be an author.