From self-driving cars to carebots (care+robots) for elderly people, rapid development in technology has long represented a possible threat to many jobs normally performed by people. But experts now believe that almost 50 percent of occupations existing today will be completely unnecessary by 2025 as artificial intelligence continues to change businesses.

    “The next fifteen years will see a revolution in how we work, and a revolution will necessarily take place in how we plan and think about workplaces,” said Peter Andrew, Director of Workplace Strategy for CBRE Asia Pacific.

    A growing number of jobs in the future will require creative intelligence, social skills and the ability to use artificial intelligence.

    The report is based on interviews with 200 experts, business leaders and young people from Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. It shows that in the US technology already destroys more jobs than it creates.

    But the report states: “Losing occupations does not necessarily mean losing jobs — just changing what people do.” Growth in new jobs could occur as much, according to the research.

    “The growth of 20 to 40 person companies that have the speed and technological know-how will directly challenge big companies,” it states.

    A 2014 report by Pew Research found 52 percent of experts in artificial intelligence and robotics were optimistic about the future and believed there would still be enough jobs in the next few years. The optimists pictured “a future in which robots do not take the place of more jobs than they create,” according to Aaron Smith, the report's co-author.

    “Technology will continue to affect jobs, but more jobs seem likely to be created. Although there have always been unemployed people, when we reached a few billion people there were billions of jobs. There is no shortage of things that need to be done and that will not change,” Microsoft's Jonathan Grudin told researchers.

    Recently, people in US education have gotten extremely worried because a new report has shown that American students have a math problem.

    The 2015 Program for International Student Assessment(评估)(PISA) shows math scores in the US getting lower and no improvement in science or reading. PISA tests 15-year-olds from different countries and regions in their math, science and reading skills. About 540, 000 students from 72 countries and regions took part in the assessment in 2015.

    US scores in reading and science were about the same as three years ago, leaving Americans near the middle of the bigger group. But the situation in math is much more worrying. The US average score was 470, below the OECD(经合组织)test average of 490, meaning the US was No. 40 among the 72 countries and areas. It was 12 points lower than in 2012 and 18 points lower than in 2009. So, what is going on with American students' math skills?

    One reason may be that the US does not teach math in enough depth. "Students are often good at answering the first part of a problem in the United States, "said Andreas Schleicher, director of education and skills at OECD. "But as soon as students have to go deeper and answer the more complicated part of a problem, they have difficulties. "In comparison, many high-performing countries and regions in math teach a lot less but focus in much greater depth,  especially when you look at East Asia, Japan and Singapore, according to Schleicher.

    Another reason may be the fact that many people in the US are unwilling to travel to foreign countries to learn better teaching practices. "One of our biggest challenges in the US is that the teachers are not going out and seeing what high-performing countries do differently, "said Wendy Kopp, who started Teach for America, in a news program.

    The Mokoko tribe (部落) lived on the wrong side of the island of two faces. The two sides, separated by a great cliff (悬崖), were like night and day. The good side was watered by rivers and was filled with trees and abundant food, while on the wrong side there was hardly any water or plants, and wild beasts crowded together. The Mokoko had the misfortune of having always lived there, with no way to cross to the other side. Their life was hard and they lived in permanent terror of the beasts.

    Along the edge of the cliff separating the two sides, a skinny but strong tree grew, with which they could build two poles. There was no doubt that the tribe would choose the great chief and doctor to use the poles. But when the two of them were given their chance to make the jump, they didn't dare to. They thought that the pole could break or it would not be long enough. They put so much energy into these thoughts that they gave in.

    But into that tribe were born Nam and Ariki, a pair of young hearts. One day, they decided to take up the poles. Nobody stopped them, but everyone did try to discourage them, trying to present how dangerous the jumping was, using a thousand explanations.

    "And what if what they say is true?" wondered the young Naru.

    "Don't worry. I am a bit scared too, but it doesn't look so difficult," replied Ariki, ever determined.

    "But if it goes wrong, it will be a terrible end," continued Naru, undecided.

    "Perhaps the jump will go badly. But staying forever on this side of the island surely won't work out well either."

    "You're right. Let's do it tomorrow."

    And on the next day, Naru and Ariki jumped to the good side of the island. When taking up the poles, while feeling their desire, the fear hardly allowed them to breathe. And while flying through the air, helpless and without support, they felt that something must have gone wrong and death awaited them. But when they landed on the other side, they thought the jump really hadn't been so bad after all.

    Literature is an important part of a total language arts program at all grade levels because of the many benefits it offers.

    Literature provides pleasure to listeners and readers. It is a relaxing escape from daily problems, and it fills leisure moments. Making time for recreational reading and using high-quality literature help to develop enthusiastic readers and improve achievement. Developing a love of literature as a recreational activity is possibly the most important outcome of a literature program.

    Literature builds experience. Through reading, children expand their horizons through vicarious(引起共鸣的)experiences. They visit new places, gain new experiences, and meet new people. They learn about the past as well as the present and learn about a variety of cultures, including their own. They discover the common goals and similar emotions found in people of all times and places. Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly, Giff, a hard survival story, is set in Ireland during the potato hunger of I845,and Patricia Polacco's The Butterfly, deals with Nazis, resistance, and Jewish persecution(迫害)during World War II.

    Literature provides a language model for those who hear and read it. Good literature exposes children to correct sentence patterns, standard story structures, and varied word usage. Children for whom English is a second language can improve their English with the interesting context, and all children benefit from new vocabulary that is woven into the stories.

    Literature develops thinking skills. Discussions of literature bring out reasoning related to sequence; cause and effect; character motivation; predictions; visualization of actions, characters, and settings; critical analysis of the story; and creative responses.

    Literature helps children deal with their problems. By finding out about the problems of others through books, children receive insights into dealing with their own problems, a process called bibliotherapy. Children might identify with Gilly, living angrily in a foster home in Katherine Paterson's The Great Gilly Hopkins, or with Mary Alice, a city girl forced to live with her grandma in a "hick town" in Richard Peck's A Year Down Yonder.

    Children who spend more time reading with their parents have a greater chance of becoming better readers than those who don't. With the help from their parents, children can learn techniques to improve their reading skills.

    "A lot of parents think after their child learns to read, they should stop reading to them," Donna George said. "They are sadly mistaken."

    George offers her services to parents at the Title I Learning Centers. She said reading aloud to children may be the most valuable thing parents can do. "It is better for children to hear things at a higher level than where they are," George said. "Parents are their child's first teacher." Parents help their children build listening, phonics, comprehension and vocabulary skills when they read aloud to them.

    Before parents can identify reading problems, they should escape the enemy —television and limit the time their children spend watching television. George suggested not allowing kids to have a TV in their bedrooms, setting a schedule of when kids can watch or keeping a list of how many programs children watch. Louise Joines said while her 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son enjoy reading, the television sometimes becomes a distraction. So she tries to build the situation by suggesting books the entire family will enjoy reading together, like the Harry Potter series.

    Parents who do not read themselves should not count on their children being interested in it. If parents would read to their children at least 15 minutes every day, children would not have so many problems in school. It is the parents' job to help build that desire in their children, and of course to know what kind of books to read is also important.

    When my father married my mother in 1943 he gave my mother a 1937 crown coin and told her to keep it in the back of her purse and not spend it. This would mean that she always felt that she was protected and would always have money if she really needed it.

    When I was married in 1970 my husband who had heard this story obtained a 1937 crown for me and I have always kept it in my wallet and I have always had enough for my needs.

    A friend recently fell on hard times partly through external (外部的) circumstances and partly through poor planning. Friends and I have loaned her money, paid her bills, even given her food and tried to teach her budget techniques, but none of them has been a solution. She has just slipped deeper and deeper into financial trouble and depression.

    Last week she looked pale and unwell, very depressed and hopeless. I then thought about how the crown, a reminder of another's care and love, had protected me so I went to the bank for a $100 dollar bill. I told my friend the story and asked her to keep the $100 in the back of her wallet. It turned out that she didn't have a wallet so she put the money in a little pencil case where she kept her coins. She immediately felt better. "I feel rich and thank you for being a good friend" she said and we were both a bit teary.

    The reason for passing this on is not to praise any generosity on my part but to show the power of "random acts of kindness". I went home and remembered a little wallet I had that I'd never used and thought "I'll give that to my friend." I opened it and inside found $100. The universe is very just and if your heart is open the reward always comes.