Many students think that learning a new language is very difficult. But if your brain (大脑) is only the same size as a bird's, you will know how difficult it is to learn English. That is what some birds can do.

Many birds can copy (模仿) the sounds of language. A type of African parrot is very good at doing this. This kind of parrot has grey feathers and people say they are clever.

Every December in London, the National Cage and Aviary Bird Show tries to find the best "talking" bird in the world. One bird named Prudle stood out (突出) among the " talking birds"  by winning this prize every year from 1965 to 1977. In 1958, somebody took Prudle from his nest in Uganda, and then sold it to a woman named Iris Frost. She then took care of him at her home in Seaford, England. Before he died in 1994, aged 35, Prudle knew almost 800 words in English. Prudle was also the oldest bird in the world that lived in a cage.

Another parrot named Puck was tested in 1993. It turned out that Puck knew even more words than Prudle. Puck knew more than 1,700 English words. In the 2003 Guinness Book of World Records, Puck was listed as knowing more words than any other bird in the world.

Who do you think is the greatest English writer of all time? I think that person should be William Shakespeare. His popular sayings, like "To be or not to be, that is a question", and his stories such as the tragedy(悲剧), Romance of Romeo and Juliet, are almost known in every corner of the world.

In 1594, William Shakespeare became a key playwright(剧作家) of a popular acting company in the city. Whether comedies or tragedies, Shakespeare's plays catch people's hearts with the complicated(复杂的) characters and plots(情节) that show truths about human nature.

His comedies are always full of romance, and they always have happy endings. That's why people enjoy his comedies a lot. His tragedies, however, can be very dark, Macbeth tells the story about a Scottish man who becomes the king by killing all his enemies(敌人).

Shakespeare's works have had a big influence(影响) on the English language. He was a master(大师) of words. He created about 1,700 English words, including everyday ones like "lonely", "hurry" and "critical", according to the New YorkPost.

Of course, Shakespeare wrote 400 years ago and his English was very different from that of today. His plays have been translated into many languages and are acted more often than any other playwright. There are over 400 films and TV dramas adapted(改编) from his works. Shakespeare is not for an age, but for all time.

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping offered to build a Silk Road Economic Belt (经济带) and a 21st Century Maritime (海上) Silk Road, which became known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, "一带一路"倡议). The BRI has brought cultures together for over ten years. As the BRI continues to bring the world together, young people from the Belt and Road countries can see how it continues to develop and have a deeper understanding of it. We did a survey of 125 Chinese students. The following survey is about BRI in the eyes of the students. The diagrams (图表) below show the results.

Diagram Ⅰ DiagramⅡ

Diagram Ⅲ Diagram Ⅳ

For many people, their first plane trip is not very good. The following will help you have a good trip.

The first and most important thing is to be EARLY! Call the airport 4 hours earlier and make sure that the flight (航班) is still on time. Get to the airport 2 hours early. This will give you much time to get your boarding pass (登机证) and pass the security check (安检).

Be sure to take something to chew (咀嚼) when you are in the air. Taking a book with you can help you kill your flight time. You also need to take some special things like glasses or medicine, because you may need them on your trip. Take the ID card and enough money with you. Because you need them when having a trip.

When you get on the plane, make sure that you are in the right seat. Don't be afraid when the plane is taking off (起飞). Take-off may be a difficult part of your trip. When it is over, you can release (解开) your seat belt (安全带), and you can go to the lavatory (卫生间) if you want.

Wish you a happy flight!