Under new rules posted by the Civil Aviation (航空) administration of China on Friday, pilots will have to pass a “level four” test of Mandarin Chinese, China's official language. Those who speak with an accent that “often impedes” comprehension will not pass. These rules take effect in January 2016.

    China's 56 ethnic groups speak more than 80 languages and dialects. Even native Mandarin speakers can have trouble communicating with each other depending on the strength of their accents, which can be mutually unintelligible (难理解的).

    One flight trainer illustrated the scope for linguistic confusion, especially when common English aviation terms are used. Asked if there is a problem on board, a Chinese pilot might answer in the negative with the words mei you, or “there isn't.” But someone speaking with a heavy Sichuan accent would pronounce mei you as “May day” — unconsciously parroting the universally recognized distress call (遇难信号).

    Like their international counterparts (对应物), Chinese aviators have developed codes to avoid confusion resulting from homonyms (同音异义字) or near-homonyms. They use the terms yao for one and guai for seven, which are otherwise pronounced yi and qi respectively and easily confused.

    The new rule could affect all pilots, who must renew their license every six years, and adds to a growing list of burdens for the profession.

    In the mid-1950s, I was a somewhat bored early-adolescent male student who believed that ________________________ One day, this approach threw me into embarrassment

    In Mrs. Totten's eighth-grade math class at Central Avenue School in Anderson, Indiana, we were learning to add and subtract decimals (小数).

    Our teacher typically assigned daily homework, which would be recited in class the following day. On most days, our grades were based on our oral answer to homework questions.

    Mrs. Totten usually walked up and down the rows of desks requesting answers from student after student in the order the questions had appeared on our homework sheets. She would start either at the front or the back of the classroom and work toward the other end.

    Since I was seated near the middle of about 35 students, it was easy to figure out which questions I might have to answer. This particular time, I had completed my usual two or three problems according to my calculations.

    What I failed to expect was that several students were absent, which threw off my estimate. As Mrs. Totten made her way from the beginning of the class，I desperately tried to determine which math problem I would get. I tried to work it out before she got to me, but I had brain freeze and couldn't function.

When Mrs. Totten reached my desk，she asked what answer I'd got for problem No. 14. “I…I didn't get anything,” I answered，and my face felt warm.

    “Correct,” she said.

    It turned out that the correct answer was zero.

What did I learn that day? First, always do all your homework. Second, in real life it isn't always what you say but how you say it that matters. Third，I would never make it as a mathematician.

    If I could choose one school day that taught me the most, it would be that one.

    Mayor Day called me that morning, his voice full of an urgency I'd never heard before. "These Chinese big people are coming to our town and I need you to prepare something really special for them. I'm relying on you, Adrian. The whole town is. This could be just the thing to put us over the top."

    "Okay, I'm on it," I said. I'm a caterer (酒席承办人), and for years I've done all the mayor's events for Thomasville, Alabama, our little town of 4,099. He likes everything I make, but I knew exactly what he wanted this time, banana pudding, his favorite.

    It's my mama's recipe. It was her desserts that she was known for. Mama cooked her banana pudding on the stove. Hers was thick and cream-colored, not dark yellow like the other ladies made. I remember practicing in the kitchen when I was a young girl. Mama showed me how to make banana pudding properly. "Good job, Adrian," Mama would say. I was so proud when I finally got mine just right, the way she did.

    For months Mayor Day had tried his best to persuade some Chinese businessmen who ran a copper company to build their new plant in Thomasville, but our little town didn't have the land they needed. "We are leaning toward Houston or Lamar," the company representative told Mayor Day. "There is nothing personal, just business."

    "Wait! What about Wilcox County?" the mayor asked. Wilcox, just east of us, was one of the poorest counties in the entire United States and had got plenty of land. There hadn't been any kind of plant built there since the 1970s.

    "But that's not your county," the company representative said. "Why are you lobbying (游说) for them?"

    "Because if you build in Wilcox County their economy will grow and so will Thomasville's. Besides, there's something to be said for loving your neighbor, isn't there?"

    The representative agreed to visit Wilcox County before the final decision was made. All the top leaders would come and have lunch in Thomasville, lunch that I cooked. And for dessert, the dish the mayor hoped would sweeten the deal. Banana pudding with 300 jobs riding on it, I knew it had to be perfect, like Mama's.

    The luncheon was held at the Thomasville Civic Center. Next to each plate I'd placed a little cup of pudding. I looked on anxiously as the Chinese businessmen eyed the dessert. Were they curious or sickening? One of the men pointed at his cup and said something to the translator. I couldn't hear his answer but the businessman still looked puzzled. He took a spoon, inserted it into the pudding, then put barely a taste to his lips. For a moment there was no reaction. Then he smiled, a grin that went from ear to ear. The rest of the businessmen started eating their pudding, one bite after another. In seconds all the cups were empty.

    One of the businessmen looked toward me and said something to the translator, who waved me over to the table. "Excuse me," he said. "Is there more? More …" he searched for the word, "… pie?" I brought out all the banana pudding. Even last cup was finished. By the time the men put down their dessert spoons they'd reached an agreement. They needed to know more about Wilcox County. There would be another meeting, another lunch.

    "And we will have again the banana pie?" one of the leaders asked.

    Mayor Day didn't miss a beat. "Absolutely," he said. "Adrian's lunches always come with banana pie."

    And a few months later, when it was announced that the plant would be built in Wilcox County instead of Houston, everyone joked that the decision had come down to one thing. Mama's been away for a few years now, but I like to think she's up in heaven, looking down on that new copper plant going up in Wilcox County, and saying, "Good job, Adrian."

    Can you remember the first time you learned to ride a bike or drive a car? Learning these skills changed your life forever and opened up new horizons. Learning about computers can be like learning how to ride a bike or drive a car. Once you have invested the time to master the skills , you will never go back to the old days. The new technology is simply too convenient and too powerful.

    Technological developments through the years have enabled us to do more with less effort. We have continuously looked for better ways of doing things. Each invention and new development has allowed us to extend our capabilities. Today we see one of the most dramatic technologies ever developed—the computer. It extends the capabilities of our minds.

    Computers have saved organizations millions of dollars. Furthermore, these same computer systems have opened up new opportunities that would have gone undiscovered or neglected. The computer may multiply what we can do, and the return on investment is high. The growth of computer usage is surprising. On the other hand, the computer can do serious damage. Invasion of privacy(侵犯隐私), fraud(欺诈), and computer-related mistakes are just a few shocking examples.

    The computer is like a double-edged sword. It has the ability to cut us free from some activities, but it can also cut deep into profits, personal privacy, and our society in general. How it is used is not a function of technology. It is strictly a function of how people decide to use or misuse this new technology. The choice is yours, and only through a knowledge of computer systems will you be able to avoid the dangers while enjoying the many, many benefits of the computer age.

    People from Britain and Ireland first came to live in Australia in 1788. They brought different dialects （方言）of English with them. These different kinds of English began to mix and change. The newcomers soon began to speak with their own typical accent（口音） and vocabulary. More and more people came to Australia during the Gold Rush in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some came from Britain and Ireland; others came from non-English speaking countries. Australian English continued to grow and change.

    Australian English has also been influenced by American English. During the Second World War, there were many American soldiers staying in Australia. More importantly, American television shows and music have been popular in Australia since the 1950s.

    Australians use many words that other English speakers do not use. The famous Australian greeting, for example, is G'day! A native forest is called the bush and central Australia is called the outback. Many words were brought to Australia from Britain and Ireland. For example, mate means "friend", and it is still used in Britain. Some of these words have changed in meaning. Some words have come from Australian original languages, many of which are names for animals, plants and places, like dingo and kangaroo.

    Australian spelling comes from British spelling. In words like organise and realise, -ise is the expected and taught spelling method. In words like colour, favourite, -our is the normal, but nouns such as the Labor Party and Victor Harbor are spelled with -or. Program, on the other hand, is more common than programme.

    There are also differences in the definition （定义）of words Australians use in different parts of the country. For example, football means "rugby" in New South Wales and Queensland, but "Australian rules football" in everywhere else in Australia. In New South Wales, a swimming costume is called a cossie or swimmers, while in Queensland it is called togs and bathers in Victoria.

    Many people believe Henry Ford invented the automobile (汽车). But Henry Ford did not start to build his first car until 1896. That was eleven years after two Germans developed the world's first automobile. Many people believe Henry Ford invented the production line that moved a car's parts to the worker, instead of making the worker move to the parts. That is not true, either. Many factory owners used methods of this kind before Ford. What Henry Ford did was to use other people's ideas and make them better. And he made the whole factory a moving production line.

    In the early days of the automobile, almost every car maker raced his cars. It was the best way of gaining public notice. Henry Ford decided to build a racing car. Ford's most famous race was his first one. It was also the last race in which he drove the car himself.

    The race was in 1901, at a field near Detroit. All of the most famous cars had entered, but only two were left: the Winton and Ford's. The Winton was famous for its speed. Most people thought the race was over before it began.

    The Winton took an early lead. But halfway through the race, it began to lose power. Ford started to gain. And near the end of the race, he took the lead. Ford won the race and defeated the Winton. His name appeared in newspapers and he became well-known all over the United States. Within weeks of the race, Henry Ford formed a new automobile company. In 1903, a doctor in Detroit bought the first car from the company. That sale was the beginning of Henry Ford's dream. Ford said: "I will build a motor car for the great mass of people. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for one person to operate and care for. It will be built of the best materials. It will be built by the best men to be employed. And it will be built with the simplest plans that modern engineering can produce. It will be so low in price that no man making good money will be unable to own one."

    The Model T was a car of that kind. It only cost $850. It was a simple machine that drivers could depend on. Doctors bought the Model T. So did farmers, even criminals. They considered it the fastest and surest form of transportation. Americans loved the Model T. They wrote stories and songs about it. Thousands of Model T's were built in the first few years.