A recent study found people's lives are made shorter in North China. It is showed the life expectancy(平均寿命) had been cut down by 5.5 years there. Researchers（研究者）think that the heavy air pollution in China should be to blame(承担责任). It's really the truth. Our government has already done something. However, it doesn't seem to work so well.

    “Air pollution in China is doing harm to people's health. The harm is much more serious than we can imagine,” said Chen Yuyu of Beijing University, one of researchers of this study.

    Dirty air brings serious problems in North China. In January this year, the air pollution was worse than that in other places. That was caused by rising temperature and waste gas（气体）from coal heating（燃煤）.

    Chinese government should strongly fight with air pollution. They should think of more proper ways to deal with the problem. People should be encouraged to take buses, ride bicycles or walk, instead of driving cars. The factories that pollute heavily should be closed.

    “We need to improve our environment, although it might be expensive. Protecting our environment means protecting ourselves,” Li Hongbin, another researcher of the study said.

    The Vieira family moved to the United States in 1981. At that time, they decided to stop speaking Spanish at home and only speak English.  This was because they were now living in an English-speaking country.

    Now the Vieira children are adults, and they sometimes travel to Spain to visit their family and friends. But they can't communicate with them. Unfortunately this is common. When people move to new countries, they often leave their own customs and mother language behind. This is a mistake because there are many benefits to knowing more than one language.

    One advantage of speaking more than one language is that you can communicate directly with more people around the world. You do not have to depend on others to talk for you, so you're more independent (独立). People who know only one language must use others to help them communicate.

    Furthermore, speaking a second language also allows people to experience other cultures and customs more effectively. Local expressions, vocabulary, and even jokes can have a powerful effect on a person's understanding of another culture. So, knowing more than one language increases your knowledge of other cultures.

    Finally, having more multi-language speakers improves relationships between countries. If people from different countries can communicate well, the world can become closer. Countries will then have more respect for each other and better understand each other.

    The benefits of knowing more than one language are clear. In fact, there are no disadvantages. It is very sad that many people don't try to learn another language. It is even worse when people let themselves forget their mother language and become silenced.