Long ago, people in Rome (罗马) talked to one another in Latin (拉丁语). Books are in Latin, too.

Some Romans (罗马人) went to other parts of the world. They took their language with them. Soon Latin was used in many countries. It became a world language.

But people in other countries did not talk in Latin as Roman did. In each land, they changed the language a little. As time went by, they made more changes. At last they did not talk in Latin any more. New languages had come from the old one.

People do not talk to one another in Latin today. But they still use many Latin words. You do, too. Street, wall, city, and salt are some of the Latin words we are still using today. If you are a pupil in school, “pupil” is a Latin word. It means "little doll".

Have you ever thought of the reasons why we had better learn a second language? As a matter of fact, in today’s highly-connected world, there are many benefits of it. Here are a few of them.

It helps you better understand the world.

Learning a language isn’t just about learning words and grammar. 【小题1】. Learning new languages can broaden your horizons(眼界)and bring you closer to people of different nationalities. You may develop a deep appreciation for another culture, or become friends with someone totally different from you.

【小题2】.

As you learn and get better at the language, you’ll find that you have increased self-awareness and more confidence using your second language, which can also make you more attractive to others! Truly, people will respect the fact that you’re learning another language. Native speakers will be impressed with your efforts, friends and family will be proud of you and strangers will be interested in your story.

It makes you smarter.

Believe it or not, it is said that learning a second language improves your memory and strengthens your problem-solving abilities. 【小题3】. The more you use your brain to learn, the more powerful your brain will become.

You can help more people.

【小题4】! Perhaps it’s obvious, but speaking another language allows you to help more people. There are volunteer programs around the world where multilingual(多语言的) speakers are valuable to the team. Being the bridge of communication between cultures is a great feeling, and the joy you’ll get from helping someone in need will make all the hard work of learning the language worth it.

There are so many positive effects of learning a second language. 【小题5】.

Nobody is sure where and when the expression “apple-pie order” began. Some say that Scottish and English writers used the expression a long time ago. Others say it was first used in the northeastern American states known as New England. The housewives of New England cut their apples in even slices. Then they filled pie pans with them in an organized way, row upon row. As one writer said, the women of New England loved to have everything in its place. This perhaps explains why it generally is believed that the expression “apple-pie order” began in New England.

Another old expression, “apple of discord”, comes from ancient mythology(神话), however. The myth says that all the gods and goddesses were sitting around the table to celebrate the marriage of Thetis and Peleus. One of the goddesses-Discord was a troublemaker. She threw away a golden apple on the table to be given as a prize to the most beautiful goddess.

At one time, the tomato was called a love apple. That was a mistake. This is how the mistake happened: In the sixteenth century, Spain brought the tomato from South America after Spanish explorers had landed there. Spain then sold the tomato to Morocco. Italian traders carried it on to Italy. The Italian name for the tomato was “pomo di Moro” meant “d’amour” -the French word for love. And so “pomo di Moro” became the apple of love.

People believe many things about the apple. One belief is that it has great powers of keeping people healthy. A very common expression is "an apple a day keeps the doctor away."

Another belief is based on fact. The expression is "one rotten apple spoils the barrel." When an apple begins to go bad, it ruins all the other apples around it in the container. The expression has come to mean that one bad person in a group can cause everyone to act bad.