The United States has always been a country of many cultures. Before Europeans came to North America, many groups of Native Americans lived here. Different Native American groups had different cultures. The first Europeans in the United States were from England and Holland, but immigrants came from all European countries. Many people also immigrated from Asia and Africa. Sadly, many Africans were brought to the United States as slaves. Many immigrants come from Latin America too. Today, the United States has people from more cultures than ever.

    In the 19th century, people spoke of the United States as a “melting pot.” People thought that all immigrates should forget their native cultures and languages and become English-speaking Americans. They felt that people should assimilate-join American culture. However, not everyone wanted to assimilate completely. Many people tried to keep parts of their cultures, such as foods, customs, and languages. However, their children often forgot their parents' or grandparents' language. But most Americans, even those whose families have been here a long time, can tell the countries their relatives came from. And of course, new immigrants take great pride in their curare and language.

    For all of these reasons, melting pot is no longer a good way to describe the United States. Instead, people now call the United States a “salad bowl.” They say salad bowl because in a salad, you can still see all of the individual parts (lettuce, tomato, and so on), but all the different parts mixed together and begin to take on the flavor of one another.

    When I walked into the house after school, I found my dad at home.

    "What are you doing home already?" I asked casually.

    "Andrew, I was laid off today," he answered quietly.

    I was sure he was joking. "No, you weren't. Why are you really home?"

    Then I noticed his expression and realized he was telling the truth. My father has always been a hard worker and prided himself on his career. My father's unemployment created many changes in our lives. He was home all day, which meant my bed had to be made, my room cleaned up, and my homework done right after school. I would come home every day to find him at the computer searching for jobs. I began to notice how down he seemed, and how losing his job had affected his self-esteem, though he tried to be optimistic. He asked my brother and me to spend less money. I gave up my allowance, which even though it wasn't much, felt like the right thing to do. I also found a part-time job.

    After several difficult months of searching, my dad decided to go in a totally different direction. He explained that he never wanted to be laid off again, so he was going to start his own business. Day by day, I watched him build it, and I admired how much time and energy he devoted to it.

    One evening I asked if he needed help. "Only if it doesn't interfere（打扰，妨碍） with school," he said, which sounded like a yes.

    I showed up at his office the next afternoon, and most afternoons after that for two months. I always knew he was a hard worker, but watching him in action really influenced me. Although this was one of the worst experiences for our family, it taught me a lot about dealing with adversity. Now I know that through creative problem-solving, I can always find Plans, ask for help, and take risks.

    Next month, I'm traveling to a remote area of Central Africa and my aim is to know enough Lingala — one of the local languages — to have a conversation. I wasn't sure how I was going to manage this — until I discovered a way to learn all the vocabulary I'm going to need. Thanks to Memrise, the app I'm using. It feels just like a game.

    "People often stop learning things because they feel they're not making progress or because it all feels like too much hard work," says Ed Cooke, one of the people who created Memrise. "We're trying to create a form of learning experience that is fun and is something you'd want to do instead of watching TV."

    Memrise gives you a few new words to learn and these are "seeds" which you plant in your "greenhouse". When you practice the words, you "water your plants". When the app believes that you have really remembered a word, it moves the word to your "garden". And if you forget to log on (登录)，the app sends you emails that remind you to "water your plants".

    The app uses two principles about learning. The first is that people remember things better when they link them to a picture in their mind. Memrise translates words into your own language, but it also encourages you to use "mems". For example, I memorized motele, the Lingala word for "engine", using a mem I created — I imagined an old engine in a motel (汽车旅馆) room.

    The second principle is that we need to stop after studying words and then repeat them again later, leaving time between study sessions. Memrise helps you with this, because it's the kind of app you only use for five or ten minutes a day.

    I've learnt hundreds of Lingala words with Memrise. I know this won't make me a fluent speaker, but I hope I'll be able to do more than just smile when I meet people in Congo. Now, I need to go and water my Vocabulary!

    There aren't many actors around the world who have enough self confidence to turn down an offer from Steven Spielberg. Maybe that was why Juliette Binoche gave him a choice. She said she'd be happy to be in Jurassic Park as long as she could play a dinosaur. Of course he turned her down and it was probably a good thing. It's difficult to imagine Juliette ripping people apart with her teeth. However, her decision doesn't seem to have done her career any harm. She has gone on to make a string of hits, including The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The English Patient (for which she won an Oscar) and Chocolat.

    Success in the United States has not been so easy for other foreign stars. Gerald Depardieu is a good example. Since his first film in 1967, his filmography (影片集锦) lists 172 acting credits. But he has struggled on the other side of the pond. While some of his films have been popular in the US, they have usually been French films that travelled. One possible exception was Green Card, directed by Peter Weir, where he plays a French immigrant who goes through a fake wedding in order to stay and work in the United States. This is a predictable but sweet romantic comedy which typecasts (分配同一类型角色) its lead actors in terms of national stereotypes. While some reviewers were kind, others shredded both the film and Depardieu's performance.

    While Monsieur Depardieu hasn't received the recognition he would have liked in the United States, one Mexican actor has achieved almost instant success. Gael Garcia Bernal first gained recognition in Amores Perros in 2000 and a year later in Y tu mama tambien. Since then he has appeared with hometown hero, Brad Pitt in Babel and, under the direction of top producer and director, Jim Jarmusch, he starred in Limits of Control. He hasn't picked up an Oscar yet, but he was nominated for a BAFTA (英国电影电视艺术学院奖) in 2005 for his performance as the South American hero revolutionary Che Guevara, in Motorcycle Diaries. In the same year he played American music icon Elvis Presley in The King.

    Hobbies in general are becoming something of the past. Our lives are already filled with classes, homework, working, relationships and sleeping. When we do have a spare moment, it is all too easy to spend it on the endless entertainment and media that are right at our fingertips.

    I do not doubt that there are some people who could become a great writer or musician. I only fear that so many people are busy pursuing their education and their careers, but they never even see the potential (潜能) they have. The next great photographer or singer could be going to college right now. But they might not even know they have a gift for photographing or singing if they've never picked up a camera or a guitar.

    Of course, the final goal of pursuing a new hobby shouldn't be to become rich and famous. For most people, a hobby is just something they enjoy doing for the purpose of the thing itself. Such hobbies are still very useful. Studies have shown that people who have a hobby are less likely to have stress and more likely to have more meaningful lives.

    Most importantly, a hobby is just something you do to make you happy. I hate to break it to you, but we all have a long lifetime of work and stress ahead of us. It will make things much easier if we can practice the piano or make some collections after work.

    Sure, it's not easy to start a new hobby while going to school, but it will likely never get easier than it is right now. So think about the thing that you have always wanted to try but were too embarrassed or busy or whatever. You never know, you might become the world's next great people. If not, you'll at least be a little more well-rounded, more interesting and less stressed.

    Do you still use a power button(开机键)to open your smart phones or computers? You are out of fashion! Now most smart phones are using facial-recognition system(面部识别系统), and we already have machines that can know you from your fingers and your voice too. But some companies are still willing to invent other systems to "break" these systems, for example, the eye-recognition system. As is reported, you'll just have to look at the computers and machines, and this system will be able to tell you who you are by looking at your eyes, even when you are wearing glasses.

    Do you wonder if this system will work well? The answer is YES. All you need is just look at your machines. The eye scanner(扫描仪)is put in the cameras of your machines. The eye-recognition system is safer and easier than other systems. This is because everyone's eyes are different. Since the system works easily, you won't have to remember a group of code when you want to open your computer or take money out of a bank in the future. Eye-recognition system is better than other kinds of systems because your eyes don't change as you get older, and don't get dirty like hands or fingers. Even twins' eyes are not the same. So the eye-recognition system can be up to 94 percent correct, but it depends on how good the technology is. Some systems may only 51% right. In Britain, it was found that 91 percent of the people who had tried it said that they liked the idea of eye-recognition. So scientists think it will become more popular than other systems.

    The eye-recognition system has already been tested in shops in the USA, Britain, Spain, Italy and Turkey Soon it will become a popular way among public. In the future, your computer will be opened by looking at your eyes.