People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer because there are too many factors to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first language the differences are unimportant as people learn their mother tongue naturally, so the question of how hard a language is to learn only makes more sense when learning a second language.

    A native speaker of Spanish, for example, will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, for example, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different, so first language can affect learning a second language. The greater the differences between the second language and our first, the harder it will be for most people to learn. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning the Chinese writing system, and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for many foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, learning writing will be less difficult than for speakers of languages using the Roman alphabet.

    Some people seem to learn languages easily, while others find it very difficult. Teachers and the circumstances in which the language is learned also play an important role, as well as each learner's motivation for learning. If people learn a language because they need to use it professionally, they often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in their day to day life.

    Obviously , British diplomats and other embassy staff have found that the second hardest language is Japanese, which will probably come as no surprise to many, but the language that they have found to be the most problematic is Hungarian, which uses a similar alphabet to English but has 35 cases (forms of a nouns according to whether it is subject, object, genitive, etc). This does not mean that Hungarian is the hardest language to learn for everyone, but it causes British diplomatic personnel, who are generally used to learning languages, the most difficulty. However, Tabassaran, a Caucasian language has 48 cases, so it might cause more difficulty if British diplomats had to learn it.

    Different cultures and individuals from those cultures will find different languages more difficult. Therefore, it is impossible to say that there is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.

    SPORTS EVENTS

    BASKETBALL:

    Central Sports Centre. City Road.

    All Stars vs Rockets, Saturday 8: 30 p.m. $12

    Northerners vs Tigers, Sunday noon $14

    BUSHWALKING (越野走)：

    Meet at Wanda Station, Saturday 9:00 a.m. sharp for 3-hour walk to Canary Mountains. $7, ph 341-5432 Meet at Westley Station, Sunday 9:00 a.m. sharp for a full day walk to Wombak Valley. $5, ph 341-8643. Bring your own lunch.

    FOOTBALL:

    St Martins Sports Centre

    St Martins vs Doonsberg, Saturday 2:00 p.m. $8

    Eastside Central vs Light Hill, Sunday 2:00 p.m. $8

    Neill Park Recreation Centre

    Neill Park vs Robinson, Saturday 2:00 p.m. $11

    Essen vs Springwood, Sunday 2:00 p.m. $11

    LAWN BOWLS(草坪滚木球）：

    Tans Town B.C

    Tans Town vs White Vale, Saturday 9:00 p.m. $10

    Wake Hill B.C.

    Wake Hill vs Colls, Saturday 2: 00 p.m. $9

    Based on the State Information Center (SIC)'s definition for a sharing economy, payment for knowledge can be regarded as a process of turning knowledge into commercial products or services. To be specific, people can share their knowledge with others via Internet platforms, meanwhile bringing themselves extra income. These platforms, at the same time, earn their profits on that.

    The year 2016 marked the beginning of knowledge payment in China. An investigation jointly conducted by Guokr and Netease's online platforms shows that 70% of users have paid for online learning; while in 2015, the number was only 26%.

In May, 2016, Zhihu, a Chinese question-and-answer website, launched Zhihu Live (payment sharing). Within three days, these new platforms attracted over one million users. In June, Luo Zhenyu, founder of LUOgic Show, launched Li Xiang's Commercial References on iget(得到网)，and within two days over four million users subscribed; in August, Z/"7m's approval & tip function, Snowball O&A, Lenovo's Zhiliao Q&A came online; in September, Huxiu (虎嗅网)began to provide in-depth reports to VIP payment members. Other paid knowledge platforms such as Ximalaya FM, Douban，have also been developing their knowledge payment services.

    People with a wealth of knowledge and experience in specific areas are the most likely to benefit from payment for knowledge. Senior managers in large multinational companies like Google, financial elites with top university backgrounds and well-known psychologists, can all profit from these online platforms. But the opportunities also favor the ordinary: a body-builder, a girl who traveled around the world, or a student that passed a postgraduate entry exam can all set up a live classroom. One hundred minutes of audio sharing cost ¥ 19.9 or $2.9, and thousands of users might pay and join the course, bringing those with specific knowledge remarkable income.

    In the 2017 China's Sharing Economy Development Report provided by the SIC，the turnover in China's knowledge market measures about Y61 billion, or $9 billion，which is a 205% growth compared to last year; the number of payment for knowledge users reached 300 million, accounting for half of all Chinese Internet Users.

    The investigation shows that, males are the majority of the users, accounting for nearly 60%: 25-35 year olds account for 59.3%, which mirrors the majority of Internet users, 63% of the paying users are college graduates, and 53.9% of the paying users have an income of Y3-8k,or $ 441-1176, and most are employees and junior management.

    Even plant can run a fever, especially when they're under attack by insects or disease. But unlike human, plants can have their temperature taken from 3,000 feet away straight up. A decade ago, adopting the infrared（红外线） scanning technology developed for military purposes and other satellites, physicist Stephen Paley came up with a quick way to take the temperature of crops to determine which ones are under stress. The goal was to let farmers precisely（精确的） target pesticide（杀虫剂） spraying rather than rain poison on a whole field, which always includes plants that don't have pest problems.

    Even better, Paley's Remote Scanning Services Company could detect crop problems before they became visible to the eye. Fixed on a plane flown at 3,000 feet at night, an infrared scanner measured the heat sent out by crops. The data were transformed into a color﹣coded map showing where plants were running "fevers". Farmers could then spot﹣spray, using 50 to 70 percent less pesticide that they otherwise would.

    The bad news is that Paley's company closed down in 1984, after only three years. Farmers resisted the new technology and long﹣term supporters were hard to find. But with the renewed concern about pesticides on produce and refinements（改进） in infrared scanning, Paley hopes to get back into operation. Agriculture experts have no doubt that the technology works. "This technique can be used on 75 percent of agricultural land in the United States," says George Oerther of Texas A&M, who recently retired from the Department of Agriculture, thinks remote infrared crop scanning could be adopted by the end of the decade. But only if Paley finds the financial support which he failed to obtain 10years ago.

What a Messy Desk Says About You

    For some time, psychologists have been studying how personality traits affect health and health-related choices. Not surprisingly, they have found that people blessed with innate conscientiousness, meaning that they are organized and predictable, typically eat better and live longer than people who are disorderly. They also tend to have immaculate offices.

    What has been less clear is whether neat environments can produce good habits even in those who aren't necessarily innately conscientious. To find out, researchers at the University of Minnesota conducted a series of experiments. In the first experiment, they randomly assigned a group of college-age students to spend time in two office spaces, one of which was very neat, the other wildly cluttered (乱堆) with papers and other work-related stuff. The students spent their time filling out questionnaires unrelated to the study. After 10 minutes, they were told they could leave with an apple or a chocolate bar. Those students who sat in the orderly office were twice as likely to choose the apple as those who sat among the mess.

    A second experiment, however, found that working in chaos has its advantages, too. In this one, college students were placed in a messy or a neat office and asked to dream up new uses for Ping-Pong balls. Those in messy spaces generated ideas that were significantly more creative, according to two independent judges, than those in offices where stacks of papers and other objects were neatly arranged.

    The results were something of a surprise, says Dr. Vohs, the leader of the study. Few previous studies found much virtue in disorder. The broken window theory, proposed decades ago, holds that even slight disorder and neglect can encourage indifference and poor discipline.

    But in the study by Dr. Vohs, disordered offices encouraged originality and a search for novelty. In the final portion of the study, adults were given the choice of adding a health "boost" to their lunchtime smoothie that was labeled either "new" or "classic." The volunteers in the messy space were far more likely to choose the new one; those in the tidy office generally chose the classic version. "Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition," Dr. Vohs and her co-authors conclude in the study, "which can produce fresh insights."

    The implications of these findings are also practical. "My advice would be, if you need to think outside the box for a future project", Dr. Vohs says, "then let the clutter rise and free your imagination. But if your primary goal is to eat well or to go to the gym, pick up around your office first. By doing this, the naturally messy can acquire some of the discipline of the conscientious."

    Fallingwater is a house built over a waterfall in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Frank Lloyd Wright, America's most famous architect, designed the house in 1935. It instantly became famous, and today it is a National Historic Landmark.

    In-Depth Tour

    The tour is best if you desire a greater understanding of what Wright was seeking to create with his masterwork. The number of visitors on each tour is limited and photography is permitted for personal use only. Children nine years and older may be accompanied by adults on this tour.

    $65.00 per person (Available by advance ticket purchase only)

    Daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

    Guided House Tour

    This tour features all the major rooms of the house and lasts about one hour. Photography is not permitted during this tour. The Guided House Tour allows children six-year-old and older to enjoy the house with their parents.

    Adults —$20.00 with advance purchase

    —$23.00 when purchased on site

    Youth (aged 6-12) —$14.00 with advance purchase

    —$17.00 when purchased on site

    Brunch (早午餐)Tour

    The guests join their guide for brunch before they leave. Children nine years and older may be accompanied by adults on this tour. Please allow three hours in total for this experience.

    $115.00 per person (Available by advance ticket purchase only)

    May through September- Saturdays & Sundays at 9:00 a.m.