Under new rules posted by the Civil Aviation (航空) administration of China on Friday, pilots will have to pass a “level four” test of Mandarin Chinese, China's official language. Those who speak with an accent that “often impedes” comprehension will not pass. These rules take effect in January 2016.

    China's 56 ethnic groups speak more than 80 languages and dialects. Even native Mandarin speakers can have trouble communicating with each other depending on the strength of their accents, which can be mutually unintelligible (难理解的).

    One flight trainer illustrated the scope for linguistic confusion, especially when common English aviation terms are used. Asked if there is a problem on board, a Chinese pilot might answer in the negative with the words mei you, or “there isn't.” But someone speaking with a heavy Sichuan accent would pronounce mei you as “May day” — unconsciously parroting the universally recognized distress call (遇难信号).

    Like their international counterparts (对应物), Chinese aviators have developed codes to avoid confusion resulting from homonyms (同音异义字) or near-homonyms. They use the terms yao for one and guai for seven, which are otherwise pronounced yi and qi respectively and easily confused.

    The new rule could affect all pilots, who must renew their license every six years, and adds to a growing list of burdens for the profession.

    One of the most recent social changes taking place in the world is social networking. Social networking has been in existence for at least 150 years, and probably longer than that. In the times before the invention of the computer and the World Wide Web (WWW), social networking was done in person. People who had similar likes and interests would gather together to share experiences, make new friends, and improve their businesses.

    On the Internet, social networking websites made their first appearances during the late 1990s. The first major social networking website in the United States was MySpace. MySpace allowed its users to exchange messages, share pictures, and make new friends in a way that was never thought of in the past. With MySpace, people who did not go out much could reach out to others from their own homes.

    In 2004, Facebook was created. It was first a website created for use by Harvard University's students and teachers, but it soon expanded to include just about everyone. It is now larger than some of the largest companies in the world. It is a website that is changing all the time. Facebook has completely changed the way people stay connected with each other and the rest of the world. The way it works is simple. Users can set up a new account (账户) easily. All a new user needs is an email address to start. Once a person has created an account and his friend also has his own Facebook page, he can invite his friend by sending a request out to him. Once you get started, making new friends will come easily.

    Winslow Homer was a famous American painter. Since Art History class in college, I had always admired his works and I was lucky to see a large exhibition of his works when I was in my early 30s.It was at this event that I bought a print of his painting, “Snap the Whip”. It always hung in my classroom until I retired from teaching.

    I thought it truly captured the freedom and fun of childhood. In the painting, a group of young boys are playing a game arm in arm on grass ground in front of a farm house. They are jumping and laughing wildly with great joy. One of the boys is falling down to the ground. They are not even wearing shoes!

    During my last year of teaching, there was a young woman in her first year of teaching right next door to me and we got to be good friends. She had been an art student before taking up education. Her eyes were drawn immediately to this print when she entered my room. So on my last day of teaching, after the students had left, I took the painting off the wall and walked next door and gave it to her.

    She was really surprised, but very glad to have it. I was delighted that she liked it and all the students she would have would treasure it as much as I had. We found the perfect place for it on one of her walls and hung it together. I was happy that she brought back this wonderful memory for me.

    In many businesses, computers have largely replaced paperwork, because they are fast, and do not make mistakes. And they are honest. Many banks say that their business is “untouched by human hands” and therefore safe. But they have no thought that the growing number of computer crimes (犯罪) show they can be used to steal.

    Computer criminals (罪犯) don't use guns. And even if they are caught, it is hard to punish them because there is often no proof. A computer cannot remember who used it. It simply does what it is told. The head teller(出纳主管) at a New York City bank used a computer to steal more than one and a half billion dollars in just four years. No one noticed this because he moved the money from one account (账户) to another. Each time a customer whose money he had stolen questioned the balance in his account, the teller said it was a computer mistake, then replaced the missing money from someone else's account. This man was caught at last.

    Some workers use the computer's power to punish their bosses they consider unfair. Recently, a large company fired its computer record assistant for reasons that were connected with her personal life rather than her job. She was given thirty days notice. In those thirty days, she stole all the company's computerized records.

    Most computer criminals have been common workers. Now police wonder if this is “the tip of iceberg”. As one official says, “I have the feeling that there is more crime out there than we are catching. What we are seeing now is all so poorly done. I wonder what the real experts are doing—the ones who really know a computer works.”

    The year 2018 will mark the 100th anniversary of the deadliest influenza outbreak in history. It is estimated that the influenza pandemic(瘟疫) of 1918 killed more than 50 million people around the world. Other estimates go much higher. Because of a lack of medical record—keeping, we may never know the exact number.

    The influenza was a fast killer. Some victims died within hours of their first symptoms. Others died after a few days. “Their lungs filled with liquid and they choked to death. ”The 1918 flu pandemic was also different from other outbreaks. It struck many young, healthy people. Viruses usually affect sick or old people.

    Although modem medicine effectively controls many diseases, influenza remains difficult to protect against, The World Health Organization estimates that every year influenza kills 250, 000 to 500, 000 people around the world. Each year, medical scientists develop flu vaccines(疫苗) which offer immunity(免疫)from some influenza viruses. But they can only guess which form of the virus will spread.

    Health officials remain concerned about another flu pandemic. New forms of the flu virus appear regularly. One example was the “swine flu”or H1N1outbreak in 2009. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Infectious diseases in the United States says that virus caused a true pandemic.

    To stop the next pandemic, scientists are now researching how to create a universal influenza vaccine. In October 2017, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the U. S. announced the Universal Influenza Vaccine Initiative. The university said researchers are leading an international effort to develop a universal influenza vaccine that will protect everyone against all forms of the flu anywhere in the world. The university added that researchers will begin tests in early 2018, the Human Vaccines Project, a public—private partnership, is funding the project. However, until a universal influenza vaccine is available, today's seasonal flu vaccine remains important.

    It is hard to say the first day of school in the United States because when the first day of school is and what happens on the first day of school usually are different by districts(地区).

    The first day of school for many school districts in different states is on the day after the first Monday in September. In some other school districts, school begins in mid-to-late August. For example, the Denver, Colorado schools go back in mid-August and schools in Cleveland, Ohio start back usually one week before the first Monday in September. The Boston, Chicago, New York City and San Diego schools start back on the Tuesday or Wednesday after the first Monday in September.

    Schools in Cleveland, Ohio used to start the school year on the day after the first Monday in September, but in the 1976-1977 and 1977-1978 academic years, the school year was affected by several bad snowstorms, extreme cold. In the 1978-1979 school year, the Ohio Department of Education moved the start of the year to late August, one week before the first Monday in September. This went into effect in the 1980-1981 school year.

    In most school districts in Utah, the school year starts between August 25 and August 30, and goes until the last week of May or the first week in June next year.

    In American high schools, the freshmen class usually goes back one or two days before the rest of the school body for an orientation(迎新)period. An orientation period helps the freshmen get familiar with their new school, its rules, and surroundings.

    In some schools, the freshmen classes have their photographs taken for identification purposes. Some high schools have tried to make the first week of school fun for incoming freshmen.