As more and more people speak the global languages of English, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic, other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6，000～7，000 languages spoken around the world today will likely die out by the next century, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

    In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations—UNESCO and National Geographic among them—have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.

    Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Centre, Yale University, who specializes in the languages and  oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following in that tradition. His recently published book, AGrammarofThangmiwithanEthnolinguisticIntroductiontotheSpeakersandTheirCulture, grows out of his experience living, working, and raising a family in a village in Nepal.

    Documenting the Thangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayan reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.

    At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials—including photographs, films, tape recordings, and field notes—which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection.

    Now, through the two organizations that he has founded —the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project—Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, found in libraries and stores around the world, available not just to scholars but to the younger generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected. Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet, Turin notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.

    Helen Thayer, one of the greatest explorers of the 20th century, loves challenges. She says, “I like to see what's on the other side of the hill.” She has gone almost everywhere to do that.

    In 1988, at the age of 50, she became the first woman to travel alone to the North Pole. She pulled her own sled (雪橇) piled with 160 pounds of supplies, and during her trip no one brought her fresh supplies. Accompanied (陪伴) only by her dog Charlie, she survived cold weather and meetings with polar bears. In fact, Charlie saved her life when one of them attacked her. Near the end of her trip, a forceful wind blew away the majority of her supplies. The last week of the trip, she survived on a handful of nuts and a little water each day.

    Helen goes to challenging places not only for adventure, but also for education. Before her Arctic journey, she started a website called Adventure Classroom. On the site, she shares her adventures in order to motivate (激发) students. She explains, “Although kids often see the world in a negative way, without hope for their future, we work to inspire them to set goals, plan for success and never give up…” Helen grew up in New Zealand. Her parents were athletes and mountain climbers. Following how parents' example, she climbed her first mountain at 9. Later, she climbed the highest mountains in North and South America, the former USSR and New Zealand.

    In 1996, she took on another challenge-the Sahara Desert. She and her husband, Bill, walked 2,400 miles across it! In 2001, she and Bill traveled on foot from west to east through the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. They hope to travel in mainland China into Sichuan and Tibet to study pandas this year.

    Helen plans to continue taking trips. She'll use her colorations, writing, photography and environmental work to create programs for her Adventure Classroom website. She wants to inspire her students never to stop facing challenges!

    Something about the four World Famous Statues

    The Little Mermaid

    The statue The Little Mermaid sits on a rock in the Copenhagen harbor at Langelinie in Denmark. Tourists visiting for the first time are often surprised by the relatively small size of the statue. The Little Mermaid is only 1.25 meters high and weighs around 175kg. designed by Edvard Eriksen, the statue was erected in 1913 to commemorate（纪念）the fairy tale The Little Mermaid. The poor lady has lost her head several times but each time it has been restored. Copenhagen officials announced that the statue may be moved further out in the harbor, as to avoid further vandalism(故意破坏)and to prevent tourists from climbing onto it.

    David Statue

    David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture sculpted by Michelangelo from 1501 to 1504. The 5.17 meter marble statue portray the hero after his victory over Goliath, Michelangelo chose to represent David before the fight contemplating(沉思)the battle yet to come. To protect it from damage, the famous statue was moved in 1873 to the Accademia Gallery in Florence in Italy, where it attracts many visitors. A replica was placed in the Piazza della Signoria, at the original location.

    Great Sphinx

    Located at the Giza Plateau near Cairo in Egypt, the Great Sphinx is one of the largest and oldest statues in the world, but basic facts as who was the model for the face, when it was built, and by whom, are still debated. It is the largest monolithic(独块巨石的)statue in the world although it is considerably smaller than the pyramids around it. Despite conflicting evidence and viewpoints over by the years, the traditional view held by modern Egyptologists at large remains that the Great Sphinx was built in approximately 2500 BC by the Pharaoh Khafre, the supposed builder of the second pyramid at Giza.

    Statue of Liberty

    The Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people France to celebrate the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, stands upon Liberty Island and is one of the most famous symbols in the world. It represents a woman wearing a stole, a radiant crown and sandals, trampling a broken chain, carrying a torch her raised right hand and a tabula ansata tablet in her left hand. The construction of the statue was completed in France 1886 until the jet age, it was often one of the first glimpses of the United States for millions of immigrants.

    Even nowadays there is a lot of misunderstanding between nationalities. Let's have a look at what the following people have to say.

    Maria Conti: I find the English people insincere, cold and unfriendly. They keep saying "Thank you", "I'm sorry" even when they don't know each other. They are even polite to their own relatives. Except for helping you find your way in the streets, they aren't really friendly and never invite you to their houses.

    Giannis Stinios: On the contrary I found them broad-minded and friendly.I was invited to people's houses and they all showed great interest in my ideas,Greek life and people.In England I learned that it was possible to be warm, friendly and polite at the same time.

    Judy Brown: I lived in both Italy and Greece for a few years.At first there were a few misunderstandings between my foreign friends and myself. For example, I once gave a Greek friend a present for her birthday party.I was rather sorry that she did not unwrap it immediately. What's more, she even didn't thank me until I asked her if she liked it.I've learned from different experiences that a lot of foreigners find our attitude to what we English people call politeness rather insincere. They feel that politeness isn't necessary between friends.

    The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max's internals are nearly the same: With each, you get a 12 megapixel camera, better-sounding speakers and the ability to pack two SIM cards into one device for international travelers or people who have to turn between a device for work and one for personal use.

    The phones come with Apple's new A12 bionic chip, which helps make Face ID and games load faster. Apple played up the speed of these new phones during its product announcement, and they are fast. But so were the models before them.

    Both models feature beautiful OLED screens that make watching videos, especially on the XS Max, totally surprising.

    Battery life is also improved on both devices. Apple (AAPL) says you can spare about 30 minutes longer on the XS compared to last year's X, and 90 minutes longer on the Max. It's not a game changer, but we'll take any extra minutes we can get.

    There is one major difference between the iPhone XS and XS Max: size. The Max is unquestionably big, but it's technically the same size as the iPhone 8 Plus. The edge-to-edge screen creates the illusion（幻想）the device itself is 21% larger than its predecessor, but it'll fit in your hands just as easily (or not) as older Plus models.

    But it's hard to shake the feeling that the device is big just to be big. Unlike the Samsung (SSNLF) Galaxy Note or the iPad, the XS Max doesn't support many features tailored for bigger screens, such as another row of apps or a side-by-side display that lets you use two apps at once. It's a missed opportunity.

    The real star of the new models is the camera. A new feature called Smart HDR shoots a four-frame object taken at different exposures and settings and mixes them together to create more detailed shots — similar to an existing feature on the Google Pixel 2.

    But the likely fan favorite feature is a change to the iPhone's Portrait Mode that lets you change the depth of a photo after you take it, allowing you to have more creative control. For example, you can snap a shot of a friend on a beach and change the background for an artsy feel. If you decide later you want to see more of the ocean, you can change the background via the edit button.

    It's an impressive feature, but the results also depend on your photo skills and the lighting. When it's good, it's really good. When it's not, you'll still get a good-looking picture. The Pixel 2 and Samsung Galaxy S9 offer a similar feature, too.

    The XS and XS Max come with headphones, but unlike last year, you won't find an adapter included in the box. This means you'll need to spend $9 more if you want to use an old pair of headphones. It's Apple's way of saying it's finally time to get over the fact there's no longer a headphone jack.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CAR RENTAL IN CANADA

    When you fly into Canada you don't have many choices. A car is often the only way to reach the spectacular destinations which Canada is famous for. Most major car rental companies have offices at airports, towns and cities across the country.

    What do you need in order to rent a car in Canada?

    ● Valid Driver's license and International Driver's Permit if your license is not in English or French.

    ● When picking up your car, you may have to show your passport and a return airline ticket.

    ● Credit Card for the deposit—Renting a car in Canada without a credit card is impossible.

    Fly-Drive Packages from Home

    You may get the best deal on car rental if you book a fly-drive package from home or if you book a long time in advance. Rental coast varies to a great extent, depending on the time of year, type of vehicle and length of rental.

    Minimum Age

    The driver has to be at least 21 years old and have a minimum of 12 months of driving experience in order to rent a car in Canada. A "Young Renter Fee" will be applied to your car rental, if you are between the ages of 21 and 24 and will be charged on top of the rental rate.

    Insurance

    Most car rental companies in Canada offer a collision damage waiver (CDW) for an additional charge. Some credit card companies include CDW insurance on car rentals when you use their cards to pay for the rental. Check your credit card's terms and conditions.

    Fuel and Service Stations

    Most rental cars use unleaded gas. Remember, driving distances in Canada are long and a large amount of your vacation budget will go towards gasoline. Filling up in larger cities is usually cheaper than in small towns. If you are heading up to the Northwest Territories, gas prices will be much higher than in the south.

    Cross-Border Travel

    Some rental companies don't allow their cars to drive across borders, like from Canada to the US or across provinces. If this is the case, watch out; GPS may be used to track your route.