Put technology in the hands of someone like Elon Musk and it can send people into space, make a future of clean and renewable energy a reality, or build electric cars. Put in your hands, and it can help you achieve all sorts of things, from learning to code to learning a language.

    Educational apps are becoming increasingly popular as a supplement(补充), and sometimes as an alternative(替代物), to traditional education. Why? Well, for starters, it's extremely convenient to learn on a pocket-sized device that you already carry around with you at all times. The best apps are also highly interactive and adaptive, coaxing you in and getting you hooked on learning.

 But apps, just like textbooks and language lessons, are a medium through which a language can be studied. The way you use them will affect how successful you are. If you flick through a textbook and don't dare say a word in your language lessons, you'll make slow progress. The keen reader who repeats each exercise in the textbook and engages the teacher in the conversation will move ahead. So how do you ensure you get the most out of your app, and what should you consider before you install(安装) one?

    Before that, a very quick introduction: I developed the following five points from my experience as both a language teacher and learner, and from working in startups in the field of language. I spent six years teaching in Germany and Spain as well as developing a video learning startup. However, I first came to language learning late. I started learning Spanish at 22, and was able to use Spanish and German freely by about 28. I've been using language apps for the last few years, and participated in two successful one-week challenges to go from zero to hero in Italian and French. If you're interested, you can see the French challenge here.

    So, just before downloading an app, here's what you should think about…

    Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May joined the opening ceremony of the 2018 “English is GREAT” activity, which aims to support and encourage more people across China to learn to speak English, during her visit to Wuhan University in Central China's Hubei province, Jan 31.

    Started by the British Council, the UK's international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities, this year-long activity sets out to improve fluency in spoken English in particular.

    Prize-winning online competition

    The activity also marked the start of an online competition, “My Favorite English Word”. You can join by simply posting your word of choice on the China Daily app. The most popular words will be included in a draw to win a variety of prizes, including Kindle, Polaroid camera and Bluetooth speaker. To participate, click here.

    English Teacher Award

    The activity establishes an English Teacher Award to recognise excellence in teaching among Chinese non-native teachers of English. Nominations(提名) will be made by students and English teachers.

    In order to recognise more inspiring teachers, monthly prizes will be presented and the winner of the grand final award will be announced later in the year. The winner will have the opportunity to take a four-week study trip to the UK—supported by the International House London.

    Throughout the activity, the “English is GREAT” website will provide access to free online resources and all kinds of materials for English learners of all levels.

    UK-Mandarin (Standard Chinese) Excellence Program

    The “English is GREAT” activity will reply to the UK-Mandarin Excellence Program, started in 2016, which aims to have 5,000 secondary school pupils in the UK fluent in Mandarin by 2020.

    Everyday Food—--by Martha Stewart

    No matter how busy you are, at the end of the day you want meals that are easy to prepare. And you want lots of choices and variations. You'll find all of that in this book: 250 simple recipes for delicious meals that bring freshness and nutrition.

Paperback, published by Random House, $ 16.79

    Zeroes —--by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti

    New York Times bestselling author Scott Westerfeld teams up with Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti in the book about six teenagers with amazing abilities. These teenagers have powers that set them apart. They can do things ordinary people can't.

    Paperback, published by Simon & Schuster, $12.99

    Mighty Jack —--by Ben Hatke

Jack dislikes summer. But he's got a good reason: summer is when his single mom takes a second job and leaves him at home to watch his sister, Maddy. It's lots of responsibility, and it's boring, too, because Maddy doesn't talk. But one day, at the market, Maddy does talk—to tell Jack to trade their mom's car for a box of mysterious seeds. It's the best mistake Jack has ever made.

    Hardcover, published by First Second, $ 14.15

    Only Daughter —--by Anna Snoekstra

    She's caught stealing. She's homeless and on the run. But she happens to look the same as a girl who went missing a decade ago, Rebecca Winter. She assumes (冒充) Rebacca's identity, using it as a way out.  She doesn't know anything about her new life as Rebecca is itself a prison and it looks like a killer might be after her.

Kindle edition, published by Harlequin Enterprises, $8.88

    Earthquakes happen without warning(前兆). They can happen any time of a day, at any point during the year. But don't worry because most are so weak that they cannot be felt. Only a few big ones hurt people. However, it's important to know what to do when an earthquake is happening.

    Do NOT go outside. You could get injured from falling glass or parts of buildings. If you are outside, stay away from buildings and power lines (输电线).

    Stay under a desk, table, or other strong furniture. Hold on to it. Or stay in a corner of the building. Cover your face and head with your arms and cover your mouth with a towel or clothing. Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside.

    Keep away from windows, pictures or advertisements on the wall or the building, and anything else that could fall and hurt you. Most people get injured by falling things during an earthquake, not by the shaking itself.

    Also keep away from a fire. You could fall down and burn yourself on the fire.

    If you are driving when an earthquake happens, stop the car if it's safe. Stay inside your car until the earthquake stops, and don't drive near bridges. Try not to stop by power lines or trees. These could fall and hurt you.

    Stay-at-home kids are named “generation nini” in Spain. They are those adults who still live at home and are neither working nor studying. But the problem is not limited to Spain. It is a worldwide problem.

    In Italy, they are known as “bamboccioni” or big babies. There are nearly 60 percent of 18-34-year-old adults still living in their parents' home, up from almost 50 percent since 1983. Once kept there by the love for their mama's home-cooked food, the economic crisis(经济危机)has seen a rise in adults left unable to hold down a steady job or afford a home of their own. Last year, an Italian government minister admitted that his mother washed his clothes and made the bed for him until he was 30. He demanded a law forcing young Italians to leave their parents' home at 18 to stop them becoming hopelessly dependent on their parents.

In the UK, the government has made the term NEETS—not in employment, education or training for these children. In England alone the percent of NEETS aged 19-24 surged to 18.8 percent of the age group-in the last quarter of 2010, up 1.4 percent on the same period a year before. The number of British men in their 20s living with their parents has risen from 59 percent to 80 percent in the past 15 years, while the number of women has risen from 41percent to 50 percent. The average age of the first-time house buyers is now 38.

    In the US, the problem is known as the “full nest syndrome(综合症)”. Adults there are left struggling to support adult children who have stayed at home with student debts and facing few job opportunities in a weak economy. A recent study showed almost a third of American adults aged 34 and under are living with their parents

    Throughout history, music spread among people of different cultures. In today's technological advanced society, however, people spread music online, sometimes without an artist's permission. This can lead to many problems, and music companies are now cracking down on this practice. Sharing music online without permission is theft (盗窃).

    Sharing music online prevents recording companies from making money from their efforts. They say that sharing music online has resulted in a huge drop in profits and sales over the past 10 years. People who find music for free online are not paying for CDs or every MP3 downloaded. To truly understand the influence of music piracy (盗版) on creators, one must understand how many people are involved in the recording process. For the sale of each album, profits must be shared between musicians, sound engineers, music producers, managers, advertisers, and the company selling the product. Many people believe sharing music only affects the recording artist, but the reality is that sharing hurts business for all companies involved.

    There are many people who don't see the harm in sharing music online and even think they have the right to do it. One online blogger states that he originally paid for an entire CD and that he should be able to do with the material whatever he wants. While he may have legally paid for the music, he does not have the right to provide permission, which means people like the blogger are thieves.

    Although we don't spread today's music the same way we did before, there's no doubt that people around the world love to share music. However, internet piracy would prevent musicians from continuing producing albums for fear of theft. Therefore, if people want to continue listening to their favorite artists, they need to buy their music so that artists will make enough profit to continue their music careers.