Two young giant-panda twins born in the United States have returned home to China, but are straggling to adapt to the language and food.

    The 3-year-old sisters, Mei Lun and Mei Huan, wens the first surviving panda twins to be born in the United States, and were returned to China from Zoo Atlanta on Nov. 5. But the pair still understand English belter than Chinese, and prefer American biscuits to Chinese bread.

    A zoo-keeper said that his main concern is that the pair are so addicted to American biscuits that everything they eat — from bamboos to apples — has to be mixed with biscuits. They even want to snack on (零食) biscuits when drinking water.

    The zoo -keeper is trying to wean them off their biscuit habit, gradually replacing the American food with Chinese bread. Mei Huan is adapting, but Mei Lun doesn't want to touch the unfamiliar bread.

    Mei Lun is the livelier of the two, often jumping onto the roof and hanging upside down from a rail, but her slightly younger sister Mei Huan is calmer, preferring to sit still, observe her new environment and occasionally snack on bamboo.

    A language barrier is also reported. While the pair respond to their own names, and understand some English phrases such as “come here,” they don't understand the Sichuan dialect of Chinese.

    The news caused some laughter on Chinese social media, with some users commenting that the pandas would soon get used to Sichuan's famously spicy cuisine.

    I'll never forget the day when Mary came into my office and said, I am too old to learn how to use a computer. I shook my head. Here was a woman who had raised 6 children and who had made great progress in her career telling me that she was too old to learn something new. I told her that I always believed people were never too old to learn.

    Mary followed my advice and did learn how to use the computer. Now, she is retired and leading a very active life volunteering in her community(社区), using her computer skills and helping anyone that needs help.

    When she was in her sixties, one day she called me and said she had played the piano for others all her life, and now she was going to plan to make a CD of her own. My mind flashed back to the day when she told me she was too old to learn. You can imagine my surprise and delight.

    To produce the CD, she had a lot of things to learn. It was not just sitting at the piano and playing. She had to research the songs, learn about copyright(版权), and learn about marketing. It was pretty amazing for someone who once said she was too old to learn. And finally she made it. Now she has her own CD-Mixed Blessings.

    Most of you probably have heard about some people who have gone back to university in their seventies and have also graduated. They are on their way again to charging themselves with a new skill and a new attitude towards life. The point is you are unable to learn anything at any age if you believe you are too old. On the contrary, you can achieve anything at any age if you believe you can.

    When international aid is given, steps must be taken to ensure（确保）that the aid reaches the people for whom it is intended. The way to achieve this may not be simple. It is very difficult for a nation to give help directly to people in another nation. The United Nations Organization （UNO） could undertake to direct the distribution of aid. Here however rises the problem of costs. Also tied with this is time. Perhaps the UNO could set up a body of devoted men and women in every country who can speedily distribute aid to victims of floods and earthquakes.

    More than the help that one nation can give to another during a disaster, it would be more effective to give other forms of help during normal times. A common proverb says, "Give me a fish and I eat for a day, teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime." If we follow this wise saying, it would be right to teach people from less developed nations to take care of themselves. For example, a country could share its technology with another. This could be in simple areas like agriculture or in more complex areas like medical and health care or even in building satellites. Even a small country is able to help less developed nations. Sometimes what is taken for granted, like the setting up of a water purification plant or the administration of a school, could be useful for countries which are looking about to solve common problems. It does not cost much to share such simple things. Exchange students could be attached for a number of months or years and learn the required craft while on the site. They can then take their knowledge back to their homelands and if necessary come back from time to time to clear doubts or to update themselves. Such aid will be truly helpful and there is no chance of it being temporary or of it falling into the wrong hands.

    Many countries run extensive courses in all sorts of skills. It will not cost much to include deserving foreigners in these courses. Besides giving effective help to the countries concerned, there is also the build­up of friendships to consider. Giving direct help by giving materials may be effective in the short run and must continue to be given in the event of emergencies. However, in the long run what is really effective would be the sharing of knowledge.

    Over the past century, an alarming number of animals have become endangered or even extinct. Below are some animals whose numbers have been rapidly dropping in recent years.

    Panda Bear

    One of the biggest reasons contributing to the decline in the panda species is the destruction of its natural habitat. Farmers in China have gradually been claiming more and more of the land. As a result, pandas are forced to move away to places where it is hard to find bamboo for food.

    Green Turtle

    The green sea turtle species has survived for several millions of years, so you might wonder why it's only becoming endangered now. A major cause is the change in climate and temperature, which both affect the hatching rates of turtle eggs. Climate changes also cause violent weather and rising water levels to flood areas where turtles usually go to lay their eggs. Apart from this, oil spills and other poisonous pollution, as well as increased fishing activities can cause sickness, or even death to the green turtles.

    Cheetah

    Cheetahs are famous for being the fastest animal on land but even they can't run from some of the larger threats that have harmed them. Like the panda bears, cheetahs have gradually been losing their natural homes due to humans claiming land and developing in those areas. To make matters even worse, smaller animals move away when these areas are occupied, which means that the cheetah has less food! Don't forget that other large animals, such as lions, are also fighting for any food that they can find, so occasionally young cheetahs end up as prey too.

    Indian Elephant

    Elephants are extremely intelligent animals and also the largest mammals that live on land. Sadly, in Asia many elephants were killed so that people could remove their tusks to use as decorative objects. While this practice has been banned now, some people still illegally continue. Forests in India have also been steadily destroyed and elephants are sometimes killed when they end up on human territory.

    Misael is three times the size of other children at his age due to a symdrome(综合症 状) which means he is unable to stop eating.

    He is so heavy that he often stops breathing while sleeping — leaving his parents fearing that one day he may not wake up. His dad Manoel Abreu, 38, said, "Everything is hard for him — he is a baby carrying an adult's weight. His heart must be working under a lot of pressure. If he doesn't get the treatment he requires, there is a very good chance that he will pass away."

    Miseal, from Sanot, Brazil, was born a healthy 6lb 6oz, but immediately he started piling on the pounds. Doctors believe he may be suffering from Prader-Willi symdrome, a rare genetic condition that leaves him with greed. He now weighs a heavy 178lb and is still gaining despite following a low-fat diet and walking for 40 minutes each day.

    Mum Josiane, 37, said, "He has been putting on a lot of weight since he was a baby—even when I was breastfeeding him. But it was only when he was one and a half years old that we began to worry. He was gaining 3kg a month and was starting to get very heavy. We know we could lose him at any time. Sometimes when he is sleeping, I watch him to see if he is breathing. I cry a lot because we want to help him. But I am also very proud of him because he doesn't surrender(投降)."

    Misael visits a doctor every three months to try to control his condition, but currently there is no cure for Prader-Willi symdrome. Paediatric neurologist(儿科神经科专家)

    Lucio said, "Every time we meet, he has put on a lot of weight — sometimes up to 5 kg. I think Misael could get help from someone outside Brazil — both medically and financially — so that he can get the laboratory and genetic testing he needs."