Last weekend I went to Beijing. We went to the hotel {#blank#}1{#/blank#} taxi. During the taxi trip. the taxi driver told us many {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (interest) stories about the city. We were very happy and excited to hear them.

    When we {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (get) to the hotel, I couldn't find my mobile phone (手机).But the taxi driver got away. So I went to the police station {#blank#}4{#/blank#} help. There were three mobile {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (phone) in the police station. One of them {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (look) like mine. But it wasn't. Just at that time. the driver {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (come) to the police station and I saw him bringing a mobile phone with him. Ob. it was my mobile phone. I thanked him for {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (return) it tome. I felt so {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (luck) to see my mobile phone again. After I went back to the hotel. I thought the people in Beijing were very {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (friend).

    There once was a wise man who was very respected for his wisdom. This great man was called the Wise Circle Maker. His people believed that he had special powers to make it rain.

    But the Wise Circle Maker did not know everything about life often, when he saw things that he did not understand, he would ask questions, hoping to find the answers.

    One day, he noticed a man panting a fruit tree. He asked the man, "When will this tree bear fruit? How long will it take?"

    The man said that it would take 70 years for fruit to come to the tree.

"And how old are you now?" asked the Wise Circle Maker.

    "I am almost 50 years old" replied the man.

"And do you think you will live to taste the fruit from this tree?" asked the Wise Circle Maker.

    "I am already old and will never taste the fruit from this tree I plant. But when I was born, I saw many fruit trees like this planted by my father, and his father. And I ate the fruit from those trees." replied the man.

    "This tree is for my children, my grandchildren and for their children too. They will taste the fruit of this tree. That is why I am planting it not for me, but for them."

The Wise Circle Maker was impressed. He could easily see the meaning He walked away happily, knowing that he still had much to learn about life.

AI could make it less necessary to learn a foreign language. That's good news for travelers, but bad news for soulful connection. Travel has long been one of the reasons for study unless people start to feel AI tools offer a good enough service. 

Some are worried that apps are turning language learning into a weakening need. Douglas Hofstadter, a writer, has argued that something important will disappear when people talk through machines. He describes giving a not so fluent (流畅的) speech in Chinese, which required a lot of work but offered a great sense of achievement in the end. Who would show off taking a plane to the top of Mount Everest? 

  ★  They don't take the weakening as a big deal. Most people do not move abroad or have the kind of continual contact with a foreign culture that requires them to put in the effort to become fluent. Nor do most people learn languages for the purpose of developing themselves or training their brains. On their holiday, they just want a beer or pizza. 

As AI translation becomes a more popular labor-saving tool, people will divide into two groups, just as the above. There will be those who want to challenge their minds, put themselves in other cultures or force their thinking into new ways. This group will take on language learning, often aided by technology. Others will look at learning a new language with a mix of admiration and confusion, as they might say with extreme sports (极限运动): "Good for you, if that's your thing, but a bit painful for my taste."

However, a focus on the learner alone misses the basically social nature of language. It is a bit like discussing the advantages of close relationship to heart health but turning a blind eye to the inner value of those bonds themselves. When you try to ask directions in broken Japanese or make a joke in simple German, you are making direct communication with someone. And when you speak a language well enough to tell a story with perfect timing or put stress on an argument, that connection is till deeper. 

Every year the students at Harry's school put on a concert. Their friends and parents go to the concert. Some students sing and dance. Others act in plays.

Harry likes to act. He also likes to write plays. For one concert he wrote a play about a spaceman. He called it Lost in Space. He acted in his play. He was the spaceman.

Harry made his own costume. It was a spacesuit. He used plastic bags to make the pants. He wore a shirt that belonged to his mother. It was an old shirt. It was made of silk. She did not want it anymore.

His shoes were an old pair of his father's. He didn't want them anymore either. They were made of leather.

Harry's helmet was an old motorcycle helmet. 

Harry painted his costume with silver paint. He looked like a spaceman. 

There was only one problem. No one could hear what he said! 

My little sister is in Grade Seven this year. Her favorite subject is math and she is very good at it.

One day, a friend of my father's from America showed us some {#blank#}1{#/blank#} about America and invited us to his home. My sister wanted to go there very much, but my father said she must speak English very well. From then on, she {#blank#}2{#/blank#} to work hard. She kept reading English for about half an hour every morning. In class, she listened very {#blank#}3{#/blank#} and answered the teacher's questions as soon as possible. There was an American teacher in her school. After school, she talked to him in English as {#blank#}4{#/blank#} as he was free. Now she always says, "My dream is to be a diplomat (外交官)." I am sure her dream will come {#blank#}5{#/blank#} one day.