Who taught you to speak English? Your parents, while you were a young child? Your teachers at school ? Perhaps even the BBC as a grown-up. Whoever it was, somehow you have developed an understanding of what is rapidly becoming a truly global language.

    There are now about 376 million people who speak English as their first language and about the same number who have learnt it besides their mother tongue. It is said there are one billion people learning English now and about 80% of the information on the Internet is in English.

    Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? Should we celebrate the fact that more and more of us can communicate, using a common language, across countries and cultures? Or should we worry about the dangers of “mono-culturalism", a world in which we all speak the same language, eat the same food and listen to the same music?

    Does it matter if an increasing number of people speak the same language? On the contrary (相反),I would have thought——although I have never accepted the argument that if only we all understood each other better, there would be fewer wars. Ask the people of India (where many of them speak at least some English) and Pakistan (the same situation with India)…

    If we all speak English, will we then all start eating McDonald's burgers? Surely not. If English becomes more dominant (占主导地位的), it will kill other languages? I doubt it. When I travel in Africa or Asia, I am always surprised by how many people can speak not only their own language but also one or more other related languages, as well as English and perhaps some French or German as well.

    When we discussed this on Talking Point a couple of years ago, we received a wonderfully poetic email from a listener in Ireland. "The English language is a beautiful language. Maybe it's like a rose," he said. "But who would ever want their garden just full of roses?"

    Well, I love roses, and I think they make a beautiful addition to any garden. But the way I see it, just by planting a few roses, you don't necessarily need to pull out everything else. If more and more people want to plant English roses, that's fine by me.

    I believe in the power of holding on. What do I mean by holding on? Hugging, or holding on, is the power we possess when we put our arms around someone. It can change relationships, makes a patient a person, an acquaintance a friend.

    My grandmother taught me about holding on, whenever she gathered me in her strong, loving Irish arms. She always hugged even when her back became curved .My mother hugs my children the same way—heart open and arms wide, breathing them into her soul.

    Once I became aware of its power, I started experimenting: I held my mother-in-law a moment too long then moved onto my sisters-in-law, aunts, nieces, nephews, and cousins. I tried it with a friend who had made my life rich with laughter, but I was too embarrassed to tell her, and acquaintances that I wanted to be friends with. Some were bothered, others accepting, but all had one thing in common—the next time I hugged them, they hugged me back.

    For me, holding on has become more than a physical interaction; it has become a way of thinking. My answer to life's dilemmas and tough choices, it's a mixture of acceptance, forgiveness, and patience—not always easy or understood but it guides me to be quiet and listen, look for the good, have a sense of humor and laugh, stop worrying and be patient because if I let it, something will change.

    I've often wondered how different my life would have been if I hadn't learned the power of holding on. If during that time in my life, when I was crumbling into myself, my mother had stopped holding on to me, I might have missed something so vital to my existence. I believe that a hug is like a battery charger—a good one can keep me going for a long time.

                                       Cell phones：Is there a cancer link?

    Could your cell phone give you cancer? Whether it could or not, some people are worrying about the possibility that phones, power lines and Wi-Fi could be responsible for a range of illnesses, from rashes to brain tumors.

    Some say there is evidence to support the growing anxieties. David Carpenter, a professor of environmental health sciences at the university at Albany, in New York, thinks there's a greater than 95 percent chance that power lines can cause childhood leukemia (白血病). Also there's a greater than 90 percent chance that cell phones can cause brain tumors. “It's apparent now that there's a real risk, ”said Carpenter.

    But others believe these concerns are not justified. Dr Martha Linet, head of radiation epidemiology (流行病学) at the US National Cancer Institute, has looked at the same research as Carpenter but has reached a different conclusion. “I don't support warning labels for cell phones, ”said Linet. “We don't have the evidence that there's much danger.”

    Studies so far suggest a weak connection between EMFs (电磁场) and illness—so weak that it might not exist at all. A multinational investigation of cell phones and brain cancer, in 13 countries outside the US, has been underway for several years. It's funded in part by the European Union, in part by a cell phone industry group. The final report should come out later this year, but data so far don't suggest a strong link between cell phone use and cancer risk.

    Christa Marie Eastburn has added a new name to the list of people she sends Father's Day cards to—a father she grew up never knowing. In North Kansas City, the 57-year-old woman thought her father died 54 years ago, but this summer she learned he is alive. "I have a real father to send a card to this time, "she told the newspaper last week. “But I still don't have everything that goes with it—like the memories.” Her parents, Karl Beinfohr and Ingeborg Mueller, got married in Germany in the 1940s when World War II was on and a year later Marie was born—a daughter who grew up thinking her father, a German soldier, died in the war.

    This year, Eastburn found and got in touch with relatives in Germany, hoping they could tell her about her father. One day, a letter arrived in her mailbox.

    "All these years of quietness, "Beinfohr wrote, "I don't know what you have lived through. The news that she had a father who lived an ocean away brought tears to Eastburn's eyes.

    Eastburn and her father began writing to each other. In his letters, Beinfohr tried to explain the years lost. Finally, last month, Eastburn went to Germany to meet her father. They looked through old photos. Beinfohr showed his daughter one of her old toys he had kept.

    With the New Year weeks approaching, you're looking forward to watching the splendid fireworks shows that will welcome 2019 worldwide. Unfortunately, visually impaired and blind people can't experience this joyful celebration. That may change soon thanks to Feeling Fireworks, a fireworks experience invented by the Disney Research Lab in Switzerland.

    To experience the show, users stand before a large flexible screen, place their hands at the base of the screen and move them around to feel the fireworks. Alternatively, their hands can be situated in the center of the screen, where the initial explosions happen, and then moved across to explore other fireworks.

    As the fireworks begin to explode, five nozzles (喷嘴) at the back of the screen start to shoot water, creating movement of water imitating the show. One specializes in the "blooming flower effect", another reproduces the "crackle" effect, and the rest take care of rockets and explosions. A computer controls the timing, and Feeling Fireworks allows users to experience fireworks similar to those in the sky.

    Paul Beardsley, who led the research team, says, "We want blind, visually impaired, and sighted people to all try Feeling Fireworks, and to have a shared and enjoyable memory of a fireworks evening." And the screen displaying the vivid images created by water makes it fun for everyone.

    The low-cost technology is still in its early stage, with only a 66 percent success rate. However, the team plans to continue improving the experience and believes the day when everyone will be able to enjoy the thrill of fireworks shows is not far. When ready, Feeling Fireworks will initially be available only at the Disney theme parks, and then hopefully, at fireworks shows worldwide.

Walk in London's cobblestoned streets, cross centuries-old bridges and wander through covered markets — before the morning drizzle (毛毛雨) has given way to afternoon sun, history will become alive before you. The city's old buildings, black taxis and red double-decker buses all have long and complicated stories that are deeply rooted in London's traditions. So do fish and chips. Apart from being a fast-food favourite, fish and chips are also typically served as a Friday meal, in schools for lunch and at home for dinner. Former British prime minister Winston Churchill famously called fish and chips "the good companions".

More than 229 million portions of white fish fillets are sold each year in England, each one coated in a light batter (面糊) and deep-fried, and served alongside fat fried slices of potatoes. For many English people, fish and chips are best served wrapped in newspapers and wolfed down with a combination of a wooden fork and greasy fingers, preferably seaside.

Most historians agree that it was in London, not on the coast, that the first fish and chip shop opened its doors. It was here too that the city's working class pushed the dish into popular cooking culture. And it is in London that one of the oldest surviving chippies still stands today.

This is an understandable source of despair for nutritionists: Fish and chips may contain an abundance of vitamins and minerals, but both main ingredients are also deep-fried in oil that often contains unhealthy saturated fats. For all its traditional popularity, however, according to a 2016 study by the U. K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, fish and chips consumption has lost significant market share in recent years to other takeaway items such as pizza and kebabs.