English has now achieved global status (position). Whenever we turn on the news to find out what's happening in East Asia, or Africa, or South America, or anywhere, local people are being interviewed and telling us about it in English.

    Indeed, if one looks at the facts about the amazing reach of the English language, he or she would be surprised. English is used in over 90 countries as an official or semi-official language. English is the working language of many international colleges as well as of most international research scientists. It is believed that over one billion people worldwide are learning English now.

    One of the most remarkable sides of the spread of English around the world has been the extent (程度) to which Europeans are accepting it as their language. English is spreading from northern Europe to the south and is now firmly set up as a second language in countries such as Sweden, Norway, Netherlands and Denmark. If one visits any of them, it would seem that almost everyone there can communicate with ease in English.

    Recently, a special survey of Europeans' use of languages has just been published. The report said that English is the most widely known foreign language now, with 43% of Europeans saying they speak it and that Sweden now holds the most of English speakers, with over 89% of the population. What's more, English is the language rated as the most useful language to know, with over 77% of Europeans who do not speak English as their first language considering it useful.

    English has without doubt become the global language.

Dear Derrick ,

    Although under great pressure, we all get on well with each other in this large office. You are one of the people who keep the social temperature at such a comfortable setting. I don't know anyone in the office who is better liked than you .

    You can perhaps help with this. The collection of contributions towards gifts for employees' personal-life events is becoming a little troubling. Certainly, the group sending of a gift is reasonable now and then. In the past month, however, there have been collections for two baby shower gifts, one wedding shower gift, two weeding gifts, one funeral remembrance, four birthday gifts, and three graduation gifts .

    It's not only the collected-from who are growing uncomfortable(and poor), but the collected-for feel uneasy receiving gifts from people who don't know them outside the office, who wouldn't even recognize their graduating children, their marrying daughters and sons, or their dead relatives.

    This is basically a kind gesture (and one that people think well of you for), but the practice seems to have become too wide-ranging and feels improper in today's office setting .

    Thank you for understanding .

    Cold weather during winter months may keep many people from leaving home and running in the open air.

    However, a new study shows that the drop in temperature is a good reason to run. In fact, researchers say, running in cold weather helps improve one's performance.

    Many people say running in the winter can be difficult. Two reasons are the low temperatures and bitter winds. Yet many runners might find it easier than running in hot weather.

    That could be because lower temperatures reduce stress on the body. When you run in cold weather, your heart rate and the body's dehydration (脱水) levels are lower than in warmer conditions. The body needs less water on a cold day than in warm weather.

    This information comes from sports scientists at St. Mary's University in London. John Brewer is a professor of applied sport science at St. Mary's.

    For this study, he and other researchers put a group of people into a room they called an "environmental chamber." The researchers then recreated summer and winter weather conditions in the room. The test subjects were asked to run 10,000 meters under both conditions. Brewer says he and his team recorded biological measurements of the runners.

    "We've got a group of subjects into the environmental chamber, we've changed the conditions to replicate the summer or winter and we've got them to run a 10km under both of those conditions and taken various measurements on each runner while they've been completing their 10km."

    Brewer says every movement runners make produces heat. He explains that one way in which we lose heat is by sweating. The body loses heat through droplets of sweat. He says the body also loses heat by transporting the blood to the surface of the skin.

    Mandara seemed to know something big was about to happen. So she let out a yell, caught hold of her 2-year-old daughter Kibibi and climbed up into a tree. She lives at the National Zoo in Washington D. C.

    And on Tuesday, August 23rd, witnesses said she seemed to sense the big earthquake that shook much of the East Coast before any humans knew what was going on. And she's not the only one. In the moments before the quake, an orangutan（猩猩）let out a loud call and then climbed to the top of her shelter.

    “It's very different from their normal call,” said Brandie Smith, the zookeeper. “The lemurs（monkeylike animals of Madagascar）will sound an alarm if they see or hear something highly unusual.”

    But you can't see or hear an earthquake 15 minutes before it happens, can you? Maybe you can—if you're an animal. “Animals can hear above and below our range of hearing,” said Brandie Smith. “That's part of their special abilities. They're more sensitive to the environment, which is how they survive.”

    Primates weren't the only animals that seemed to sense the quake before it happened. One of the elephants made a warning sound. And a huge lizard（蜥蜴）ran quickly for cover. The flamingoes（a kind of birds）gathered before the quake and stayed together until the shaking stopped.

    So what kind of vibrations（震动）were the animals picking up in the moments before the quake? Scientist Susan Hough said earthquakes produce two types of waves—a weak “P” wave and then a much stronger “S” wave. The “P” stands for “primary”. And the “S” stands for “secondary”. She thinks the “P” wave might be what sets the animals off.

    Not all the animals behaved unusually before the quake. For example, Smith said the zoo's giant pandas didn't jump up until the shaking actually began. But many of the other animals seemed to know something was coming before it happened. “I'm not surprised at all,” Smith said.

    On her first morning in America last summer, my daughter went out to explore her new neighborhood alone, without even telling my wife or me. Of course we were worried; we had just moved from Berlin, and she was just 8. But when she came home, we realized we had no reason to panic. Beaming with pride, she told us how she had discovered the little park around the corner, and had made friends with a few local dog owners.

    When this story comes up in conversations with American friends, we usually meet with polite disbelief. Most are horrified by the idea that their children might roam(闲逛) around without adult supervision(监管).

    A study by the University of California has found that American kids spend 90 percent of their free time at home, often in front of the TV or playing video games. Such narrowing of children's world has happened across the developed world. But German parents are generally much more accepting of letting children take some risks.

    “We are depriving(剥夺) them of opportunities to learn how to take control of their own lives,” writes Peter Gray, a research professor at Boston College. He argues that this increases the chance that they will suffer from anxiety, depression, and various other mental disorders, which have gone up dramatically in recent decades(十年).

    I am no psychologist like Professor Gray, but I know I won't be around forever to protect my girls from the challenges life holds in store for them. And by giving kids more control over their lives, they learn to have more confidence in their own abilities.

Music

    Opera at Music Hall: 1243 Elm Street The season runs June through August, with additional performances in March and September. The Opera honors Enjoy the Arts membership discounts. Phone: 241 ­2742.

    http://www.cityopera.com

    Chamber Orchestra: The Orchestra plays at Memorial Hall at 106 Elm Street, which offers several conceits from March through June. Gall 723­1182 for more information.

    http://www.chamberorch.com.

    Symphony Orchestra: At Music Hall and Riverbend. For ticket sales, call 381­3300. Regular season runs September through May at Music Hall in summer al Riverbend.

    http://www.symphony.org/honie.asp.

    College Conservatory Of Music (CCM): Performances are on the main campus of the university, usually at Patricia Cobbett Theater. CCM organizes a variety of events, including performances by the well­known LaSalle Quarter, CMM's Philharmonic Orchesira, and various groups of musicians presenting Baroque through modem misic. Students with I.D. cards can attend the events for free. A free schedule of events for each term is available by coiling the box office at 556­4183.

    http://www.ccm. uc.edu/events/calendar.

    Rivebent Music Theater.6295 Kellogg Ave« Large outdoor theater with the closest seats under cover (price difference). Big name shows all summer long! Phone:232­6220.

    http://www.riverbendmusic.com