Do you think you could learn a language in an hour?

    We know, we know! We would expect you to be skeptical. It's ridiculous to think you can learn a language in 60 minutes. You wouldn't even get through the As in a bilingual dictionary in that amount of time! Best-case situation: in an hour, most of us could probably stuff a few words and ready-made phrases into our short-term memory (with a high likelihood of forgetting it all by the following day). Accomplishing anything more than that in one hour? Impossible. Unless…

    We posed the one-hour language challenge to four polyglots(通晓数种语言的人) who are experts on how to study languages. To keep the challenge from becoming completely impossible, we gave them a bit of a break: to learn Romanian in one hour. Why Romanian? Because it's a Romance language and shares many similarities with the languages that the polyglots already know: French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese. And to make sure their hour of learning was as effective as possible, all of them were assigned a personal Romanian tutor to help coach them on their way to success.

    Although each polyglot has a different technique for picking up and remembering a new language, all four methods offer valuable insights to anyone, from casual learners to hard-core language enthusiasts.

Alex Rawlings — UK

    "I'm a bit nervous. This is probably the craziest language-learning thing I've ever done, but learning languages has always been about fun. I expect that, after this, I'll be prepared to have a simple chat over a coffee in Romanian. Is that reasonable?"

    Method: Learn the verbs first

    With only an hour until he had to start demonstrating his grasp of Romanian, Alex knew he had to start talking quickly. He chose to focus first on commonly used verbs and how to conjugate（动词变形） them. Once he had some verbs down, he could start collecting nouns from his tutor and plugging them in to make more interesting and relevant sentences.

Luca Lampariello — Italy

    "Every time I have a conversation with native speakers, it really motivates me. Human contact is really important when learning a language."

Method: Start speaking right away

    Speaking doesn't mean speaking perfectly. Speaking even a little bit is a huge confidence boost. When you can say something in a new language and people actually understand you, it's very motivating. Yes, you'll make mistakes, but you'll also learn faster than if you try to get it all perfect in your head first.

Michael Youlden — UK

    "We all speak a variety of Romance languages which I think will help us get into Romanian quickly."

Method: Write everything down

    Language learning is about recall; there's no use learning something if you don't remember it. Speaking new words aloud is very important, but so is writing them down — after all, words exist as sounds and in written form. Taking notes is a proven way to put new vocabulary and grammar into your memory. Writing supports memorizing which supports speaking... it's a cycle. Plus, you have an easy reference when you want to review what you've learned.

Matthew Youlden — UK

    "I'm going to look for the patterns and similarities with languages I already know. We won't be able to speak fluently after an hour of study, but we should be able to get by with some basic vocabulary and phrases."

Method: Look for cognates

    Cognates are words in different languages that look and sound similar and have the same meaning, due to a common origin. Almost every language combination contains cognates (even if two languages aren't seemingly related), but languages from the same language family have many more. Whichever language you are learning, identify the familiar words and then use them to anchor the new words that aren't so familiar. To use English as an example, because it's a sort of Germanic-Romance hybrid, English already has many words that cognate with German, Dutch and Swedish on one hand, and on the other hand it also has lots of words that cognate with French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and, of course, Romanian!

    Learn a language with courses designed by the experts. Start here, today!

    Pick a language to learn. German, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Swedish.

     The answer to protecting and saving marine(海洋) wildlife can start with cutting back on something Americans use every day—plastic drinking straws. Actor Adrien Grenier, best known for playing Vincent Chase in 2015 movie Entourage, has launched a campaign to reduce the amount of single-use plastic usage in this country in order to protect and save marine wildlife and the environment. Plastic drinking straws are among many single-use plastic products contributing to the shocking loss of marine life, but they're a great place to start because they're something Americans are using by the hundreds of millions without any awareness that they're so damaging.

According to Ecocycle, an international environmental organization, Americans use more than 500 million straws daily, which are enough to fill 127 school buses each day, and they can't be recycled. They means plastic straws end up in landfills or oceans, where fish and other marine wildlife mistake the small bits for food and swallow them. After seeing a photo of a whale beached on the shore with a belly full of plastic, Grenier felt the inspiration to launch the Lonely Whale Foundation, hoping to inspire and educate others on the challenges facing marine life.

     Along with stopping the use of straws, Grenier hopes to educate consumers on the dangers of other single-use plastic items such as grocery bags and water bottles. While many Americans use these plastic products in their daily life, there are more sustainable alternatives that can help protect the environment. Ecocycle recommends the use of straws made from stainless steel, glass, and even bamboo instead of plastic. You can buy a number of these environmentally friendly straws online and in stores.

    Whenever the word “hero” comes to me, I immediately think of three Hs: honorable, hardworking, and happy. When I think more about this word, I picture someone who has accomplished good things for people and tries to do the right thing Hattie Elizabeth Alexander is one person whom I find to be very heroic.

    Hattie was born in Baltimore, Maryland on April 5, 1901. During her time at College she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Bacteriology and Physiology. These were just the first steps towards what she was finally going to be remembered for. After college Hattie attended Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and received her medical degree.

    After her education, she pursued her career, and after much time and hard work, she drastically reduced the number of infants(幼儿) dying from meningitis(脑膜炎). Hattie was very dedicated to her work and helped at as many locations as she could. Spending substantial(大量的) time in the laboratory, Hattie successfully developed a cure against the disease, which decreased the death rate to 20 percent. At the same time, she was also a teacher working with Columbia University.

    She was a caring lady interested in other people's lives. When she was teaching at Columbia University, other members would talk to her about students that were failing their classes, and somehow Hattie could always find convincing reasons as to why they should not be driven away. Later, Hattie became an instructor in Pediatrics at New York City's Babies Hospital. After many honors, she became the first woman president of the American Pediatric Society in 1965. This was her last major achievement, for soon after, Hattie died of cancer on June 24, 1968.

    Hattie is my hero because her positive attitude and strength helped her accomplish great things for others. She gave them her strength by developing medicines against diseased, which, by doing so, made them stronger. This is what makes Hattie Elizabeth Alexander my hero.

    Antiquities are ancient objects and artworks. Museums acquire works to display from many different sources. Sometimes they purchase them. Other times they receive donations. Today there are strict rules forbidding art that has been stolen from other countries. However, antiquities that have been at museums for decades or even centuries may have arrived there by questionable means. Now, some countries claim that museums have a responsibility to return these antiquities to their original locations.

    There are many examples of this debate. Perhaps the most famous is the argument between Greece and the UK over the Elgin marbles. In the early 19th century, the Earl (伯爵) of Elgin had numerous sculptures taken from Greece to the UK. When Elgin did this, Greece was still a part of the Ottoman Empire. He claimed that he had received a permit to export the sculptures. Today the marbles are on display in the British Museum^ However, Greece wants them to be returned to their original location.

    Should museums return these antiquities? Experts disagree. Malcolm Bell III says yes. Bell is a retired professor of art at the University of Virginia. He says, “Many antiquities and artworks have special cultural value for a particular community or nation. When these works are removed from their original cultural setting they lose their context and the culture loses a part of its history.”

    According to Bell, a country's request for the return of an antiquity “usually has a strong legal basis.” It “was exported illegally, and is now stolen property.” He called the return of antiquities “an expression of justice.”

    James Cuno says not always. Cuno is president of an art museum in Los Angeles. He is also the author of the book Who Owns Antiquity?. Cuno agrees that museums have “a social and legal responsibility” to return illegally exported antiquities. However, he doesn't support the return of legally acquired works.

    “An area of land held today by a given nation-state in the past likely belonged to a different political entity (实体). Even if one wanted to reunite scattered works of art, where would one do so? Which among the many countries, cities, and museums in possession of parts of a work of art should be the chosen 'home' of the reunited work?” Cuno believes that museums should collect art from the world's diverse cultures. This should be done “through purchase or long-term loan and working in cooperation with museums and nations around the world.”

    This debate is far from over. As a complex question with no easy answer, the issue requires more study.

    Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone（克隆）, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your ambitions become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably achieve what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions.

    My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren't written until the final threat.

    I've been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working toward her master's degree in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a "vo-tech" student (技校学生). They're called "motorheads" by the rest of the student body.

    When a secretary in my office first called him "motorhead", I was shocked. "Hey, he's a good kid," I wanted to say. "And smart, really."

    I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don't often make school honor rolls (光荣榜).

    But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who labor in clean shirts in offices don't have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was estimated at $800. "Hey, I can fix it," said Jody. I doubted it, but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose.

    My son, with other motorheads, fixed the car. They got parts (零件）from a junkyard, and ability from vo-tech classes. The cost was $25 instead of $800.

    Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbors and co-workers trust their car repairs to him.

    These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes.

    I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanics, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don't need clones in footsteps or anywhere else.

    My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine.

    Eye Health Care

    Daily

    Healthy habits mean healthy eyes. Here are some daily tips for eye health.

    P Clean your eyes with pure cold water regularly. This is one of the best ways to keep eyes healthy and disease free.

    Avoid looking directly at the sun

    Roll your eyes up and down, then side to side. Then move your eyes in a circular motion（圆周运动） Exercise5tol0 times a day to relax your eyes

    Keep a good distance from the computer screen-sit about 22-28 inches away from it.

    Visit your eye doctor on a regular basis

    There are also some tips for healthy contact lens（隐形眼镜）wear and care to help prevent eye infections (感染). Please visit CDCS healthy contact lenses website and you can also follow them on social media(www.cdc.goy/contactlenses).