Blind imitation is self-destruction. To those who do not recognize their own unique worth, imitation appears attractive; to those who know their strength, imitation is unacceptable.

    In the early stages of skill or character development, imitation is helpful. When I first learned to cook, I used recipes and turned out some tasty dishes. But soon I grew bored. Why follow someone else's way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role models is like using training wheels on a child's bicycle; they help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without relying on them.

    In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we subconsciously (下意识地）hold poor role models. If, as a child, you observed people whose lives were bad, you may have accepted their fear and pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did. If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you will get the results of the weak choices of others.

    In the field of entertainment, our culture praises and admires celebrities. Those stars look great on screen. But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be disastrous. If you are going to follow someone, focus on their talent, not their bad character or unacceptable behaviors.

    Blessed is the person willing to act on their sudden desire to create something unique. Think of the movies, books, teachers, and friends that have affected you most deeply. They touched you because their creations were motivated by inspiration not desperation. The world is changed not by those who do what has been done before them, but by those who do what has been done inside them. Creative people have an endless resource of ideas. The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; it is what to do with the material knocking at the door of imagination.

Study your role models, accept the gifts they have given, and leave behind what does not serve you. Then you can say, "I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors' tragedies and declare victory, and know that they are cheering me on."

    My parents moved to Mississippi when my brother and I were small children, and we were separated from our Oklahoma grandparents by some 600 miles. This long distance allowed us to only visit our grandparents once a year, either at Christmas or during summer vacation.

    Most of my classmates lived near their grandparents, and I would often hear stories of big families regularly spending time with one another, fishing at “grandpa's” house or going over to “grandma's”for her famous fried chicken. We were disappointed that we did not get to spend more time with our grandparents, but our love for them remained deep and strong.

    We always expected a road trip to Oklahoma. We would count the days, and when the day came, the entire family would pile into our car at four o'clock in the morning. Crossing the Mississippi River into Louisiana, the scenery changed. Crossing the Red River in Oklahoma, we were in a foreign world.

    Every trip to see my grandparents can't be without bringing delight. We jumped out of the car in their driveway to be met with bear hugs. My grandparents wanted to know everything about their grandchildren, and we would sit for hours and tell story after story. Grandma had a meal planned, and you could guess she prepared her grandsons' favorite foods. Of course the best part of the visit was that we were able to do whatever we wanted without punishment from our grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa always had presents for us, short trips planned and lovely surprises, such as the time we got to a local restaurant and ate the world's largest hamburger.

    Have you ever imagined traveling to a foreign country without having to worry about the headache of communicating in a different language?

    In a recent Wall Street Journal article, technology policy expert Alec Ross argued that, within a decade or so, we'll be able to communicate with one another via small earpieces with built - in microphones. That's because technological progress is extremely rapid. It's only a matter of time. Indeed, some parents firmly hold the idea that this technology is approaching and they're wondering if their kids should even learn a second language.

    It's true that an increase in the quantity and accuracy of the data loaded into computers will make them cleverer at translating “No es bueno dormir mucho” as “It's not good to sleep too much.” Replacing a word with its equivalent (同义词) in the target language is actually the “easy part” of a translator's job. But even this seems to be a discouraging task for computers.

    It's so difficult for computers because translation doesn't--or shouldn't--involve simply translating words, sentences or paragraphs. Rather, it's about translating meaning. And in order to infer meaning from a specific expression, humans have to interpret a mass of information at the same time.

    Think about all the related clues that go into understanding an expression：volume，gesture, situation, and even your culture. All are likely to convey as much meaning as the words you use.

    Therefore, we should be very skeptical of a machine that is unable to interpret the world around us. If people from different cultures can offend each other without realizing it, how can we expect a machine to do better? Unless engineers actually find a way to breathe a soul into a computer, undoubtedly when it comes to conveying and interpreting meaning using a natural language, a machine will never fully take our place.

    There are so many expressions in American English that sound pleasant but are not.

    “Face the music” is a good example. When someone says they have to face the music, it does not mean they are going to a musical performance or concert. To face the music means to accept the unpleasant results of an action.

    Imagine a friend asks you to take care of her beautiful red sports car. She gives you the keys and says, “Thanks so much for watching my car while I'm away. But please do not drive it. It is an extremely fast car and you are not on the insurance (保险).”

    But you do not listen. You want to show off to some friends and pretend the car is yours. So, you drive it around town one night. As bad luck would have it, you lose control of the car and drive it into a stop sign. The damage is severe. When your friend returns you must tell her what you have done and “face the music”.

    The “music” here is the consequence or result of your actions. It could be losing her friendship or paying for repairs to her sports car or both. Whatever the music is, you must face it.

    There are other American expressions that mean the same as “face the music”.

    To “take your medicine” means to accept the results from something bad you have done. And if someone says, “You made your bed. Now lie in it.” He means you created a bad situation and now you will experience the results, or as we say in American spoken English, you must deal with it!

    “Pay the piper” also means the same as “face the music”. But, that expression has its own very interesting beginning. We will talk about that on another Words and Their Stories.

    Shopping for and choosing clothes is challenging enough. But imagine if you were unable to use your arms to do anything, or used a wheelchair.

    The conditions are reality for four people who became the "customers" of 15 students at Parsons School of Design at the New School this year. The students spent their spring term creating clothing to fit their customers' unique requirements as part of a class run by Open Style Lab, a nonprofit organization whose aim is to design functional and fashionable clothing for people with disabilities.

    "Disability overlaps (关联、一致) with aging and universal design," said Grace Jun, the director of the program. "We need to see it as part of our life cycle. It's something that we need to not only see from a human rights standpoint but also for its economic value."

    "I'm always looking at me being the problem and the clothing as being OK," said Kieran Kern, who gets around in a wheelchair. When Ms. Kern approached Open Style Lab, she was looking for a coat that would be easy to put on with the limitations of a weaker body. Her team came up with a design with a circular rod (杆) that runs through the collar and allows Ms. Kern to swing the coat across her back with one hand.

    "The idea of having a coat that sees the parts that make me as just parts and not as a problem that I need to solve was really liberating in an identity sense," Ms. Kern said. "Because generally, when you have a different body, you don't really see yourself."

    "I think the challenges the students faced throughout the course had a lot to do with the exchange of ideas," Ms. Jun said. "They were able to understand that no two people with a disability are alike. Being able to design uniquely means you have to have a collaborative (合作) process. We're designing with each other, not for."

    Modern day robots may not be as entertaining as R2D2 or the robot from Lost in Space, but robots are very important to space exploration and are being used in a variety of different ways for several important reasons.

    Robots make great explorers on planets, moons, and other landing areas. Aside from the earth, just about every surface in the solar system is unsafe for humans to explore. The air on most other planets is insufficient fortunate for humans to explore. The air on most other planets is insufficient for humans to breathe, making it necessary to wear a space suit and oxygen equipment. The temperatures on these surfaces are much too hot or much too cold for any humans to withstand. Plus there would be complications with radiation, weather, and a lack of gravity. Robots have much less limitation in these areas and can survive much longer under these conditions.

    Robots are designed for collecting scientific data. Robots are also able to perform many tasks at one time and can process information much quicker and more efficiently. Important scientific projects from detecting minerals, analyzing ground samples, to finding water are all performed much quicker and accurately by robots.

The use of robots has made the cost of space exploration much less expensive than it would cost for humans to do the work. In order to successfully send humans into space we would need to build a vehicle that can not only carry humans, but also enough | food and water to keep them alive for the duration of the trip. Moreover, robots have no problems working for hours on end. Robots never complain, they don't require food or water, and they never need a bathroom break.

    Over the past 30 years or so there have been many different types of robots used successfully in the exploration of space. Perhaps the most famous and successful robots are Spirit and Opportunity who have both been exploring the surface of Mars. They have both been very successful with experiments on soil and rocks and have even found evidence of water in Mars' history.