Wouldn't it be wonderful to travel 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 would 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 are so convinced that this technology is imminent that they're wondering if their kids should 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“Noes Bueno dormer mucho” into“It's not good to sleep too much”. Replacing a word with its equivalent（对等词）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, situations, 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.

   Communication is part of our everyday life. Humans are social beings and we need to _______ other people. When we communicate, we can _______ both spoken and written language. But are they _______? The answer is “No”. Sometimes we have to communicate by using body movements instead of _______. This is called body language. Body language is very important in our life for several _______.

Firstly, it makes our communication more colorful. It’s really _______ to imagine a conversation without any body language _______. How dull and boring it will be to just talk without any gestures, facial expressions _______ any other body movements! Body language makes our talking more _______ and interesting.

Secondly, it makes our communication more ________. Sometimes a gesture or a facial expression can make us more easily and quickly understood. ________ a good speaker for example: his or her body movements will help him or her leave a deeper and stronger impression on ________.

Finally, sometimes we have to use body language. On some occasions, we are not allowed to speak ________. Examples of this are in the library or in the ________ classroom. Then body language will be quite ________. Also, when we meet someone in the street, there is no need for us to ________ for a chat, so a nod or wave of the hand may be OK.

Your body language sends a strong message to others, so be aware（意识到）that ________ you have your arms folded across your chest while you talk, you are ________ others out, for example. If you land an interview, mind your body language, ask good questions, and convey ________ and enthusiasm. Your body language indicates your level of self-esteem. So ________ body language is a crucial（关键性的）part of meeting someone new and cannot be overlooked.

Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to this class 【小题1】 English words. I am Professor John Morris ; I 【小题2】 ( be) your teacher for the next thirteen weeks. As you can 【小题3】 ( probable) tell, this is one of the most popular — and crowded — classes; indeed, every time this course 【小题4】 ( offer), this room is very full. Why is that? Well, in order to use the English language, it is very important to have at least a basic 【小题5】( understand) of how words are formed. Just to mention one figure — and there are many — there are about one million words in English. If you are an English learner, you might wonder 【小题6】 you can possibly remember all of these words. Well, you know, there are shortcuts. For example,【小题7】 you know how words are formed by using parts of words from other 【小题8】 (language), such as Greek and French, you’ll understand a good number of English words when you first come across 【小题9】 ( they) . Let me put it this way,【小题10】 (know) the rules will help you to master a large number of words. This is probably the number one reason why this class is so popular.

My name is Ann. I've been in China in a few years. With the help of Li Hua, a good friend of mine, I've been used to live in China. Li Hua, like other girls, are beautiful and lively. We became friends after we meet each other a few years ago. Although her English isn't easy to understand, but we enjoy chatting and we usually talk a lot about our favorite books. We're all surprised that Chinese culture and American culture are so differently. Now we are planning nice party for next Sunday. There, I will introduce Li Hua to my friends, one of who has been to China several time.

Different Cultures

The cultures of the East and the West really distinguish themselves from each other a lot. 【小题1】.

The origin of the Eastern culture is mainly from two countries:China and India. Both of the two cultures are developed by rivers — the Yellow River in China and the Indus River in India. 【小题2】

When the two mother rivers gave birth to the Eastern culture，another famous culture was brought up on the Mesopotamian plain（美索不达米亚平原）一the Mesopotamian Civilization. This civilization later on developed into the cultures of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greek.【小题3】 Like the Chinese culture，the European culture also crossed waters. When the British settled down in America，their culture went with them over the Atlantic Ocean. So the American culture doesn't distinguish itself from the European culture a lot.

【小题4】 Take the language system for example. In the East，most languages belong to the pictographic language while the Western languages are mostly based on the Latin system. Other causes like human race differences count as well. But what's more，due to the far distance and the steep areas between the East and the West，the two cultures seldom communicate until recent centuries. So they grew up totally in their own ways with almost no interference（干预）from the other.

The differences are everywhere. 【小题5】 But different cultures make the world in the 21st century more varied. The cultural gap should not be the obstacle to the civilization of human beings. It ought to be the motivation for our going farther.