What is American Sign Language?

American Sign Language （ASL）is a complete, complex language that employs signs made by moving the hands combined with facial expressions and postures of the body. 【小题1】 It is also one of several communication options used by people who are  deaf or hard of hearing.

Is sign language the same in other countries?

No one form of sign language is universal. 【小题2】 For example, British Sign Language（BSL）is a different language from ASL, and Americans who know ASL may not understand BSL.

【小题3】

The exact beginnings of ASL are not clear, but some suggest that it arose more than 200 years ago from the intermixing of local sign languages and French Sign Language （LSF）. Today's ASL includes some parts of LSF plus the original local sign languages , which over the years have combined and changed into a rich,complex, and mature language. Modern ASL and modern LSF are distinct languages. 【小题4】

How does ASL compare with spoken language?

【小题5】 But for people who are deaf （particularly those who are profoundly deaf）, the sounds of speech are often not heard, and only some speech sounds can be seen on the lips. Sign languages are based on the idea that vision is the most useful tool a deaf person has to communicate and receive information.

   Teachers help shape us into the people we become. They teach us academic skills，but their impact（影响）extends far beyond the classroom. Teacher Appreciation Week runs from May 2 to May 6.People across the country use this special week to show teachers how important they are to their lives. We asked our readers to tell us about their most inspiring（鼓舞人心的）teachers. Read about these outstanding educators and recommend your favourite ones.

◆A teacher who inspires me is my art teacher，Mrs. Imel. Mrs. Imel is the best person I have known. She is always smiling and saying，"I love it！I love it！"She believes in me and in every child she teaches.

◆Ms. Berra has helped me become a happier learner. She makes her class funny，and makes school funnier. When the class doesn't understand anything，she explains it in a funny way that makes sense. She makes everybody laugh all through her class.

◆My 6th grade language and literature teacher in my former school in India was Mrs. Dias. She always made sure we got to class on time and helped us with problems outside of school. Mrs. Dias also taught me to always believe in myself，no matter what the odds were. I will always remember the valuable lessons she taught me and I will always remember her.

◆I am a Chinese citizen and moved to the United States in 2014.In fifth grade，I met a teacher named Mr. Mabushay. Every day，I went to his class and he taught me how to speak to people and act according to American culture. He taught me the importance of having an open mind. He inspired me to expand my vocabulary and come out of my shell. Now, I am no longer feeling lonely. Instead, I feel comfortable in America. It feels great to have lasting friendships with my classmates and my English continues to get better every day. Thanks, Mr. Mabushay!

   So let’s say that you’re sitting at a restaurant and when your food arrives, you take one bite and decide that something is preventing you from taking a second bite. No matter what the reason is, this dish is going back to the kitchen, and now it’s up to you to find a way to send it back politely.

First of all, the single most important thing to do when you’re sending something back is to do it immediately. If you eat half the dish before sending it back, the server and kitchen will believe that you really don’t need to send it back.

If a dish is too salty that it cannot be eaten, you should first let the server know what the situation is, and they’ll take it back to the kitchen and bring you a new one. Remember that it is not the server’s fault, so don’t take it out on them. Also, don’t be afraid that they’ll get angry at you, or someone will spit (吐) in your food. It’s their job to make sure that you’re satisfied, and if the kitchen clearly makes a mistake the server will be frustrated with the kitchen, not with the diner who has been served an inedible meal. A new dish will be cooked, and nobody’s going to spit in it.

There is, however, one example when you are sending back a dish which will really annoy both the server and the kitchen. If you order a pasta dish that contains pancetta but then send it back to the kitchen because you’re a vegetarian (素食者) and don’t know what pancetta is, and then congratulations because you’re one of the most unbearable types of customers a restaurant can have. A perfectly good plate of food is just thrown out because you don’t ask what pancetta is before ordering.

So the bottom line: Use common sense if you think that you need to send your dish back. If the kitchen do something wrong, then they’re on the hook for a new plate of food. If you do something wrong, then hopefully you’ve learned a lesson.