In our daily life, we often have to ask others to do things for us. The languages we use to ask for help will be different in different situations (情形). We are usually more polite when we are asking another person to do something for us.

The language also, of course, shows the relationship (关系) between the person who needs help and the person who will give help. If we are asking a stranger (陌生人) to do something, we use language which is much more polite than when speaking to a workmate in the office or a friend. For example, you need a person to help you turn on the printer (打印机). If a stranger is near it, you may say, “Could you please turn on the printer?” But if your friend is there, you may say, “Hi, turn on the printer for me.”

As China’s influence grows, many students in the US are working hard to learn Chinese. Parents and education experts (专家) in the US think Chinese speakers may have greater chances. The number of schools that teach Chinese has grown. Ten years ago, only about 300 schools in the US had Chinese lessons. Today, about 1,600 schools teach Chinese.

Lomond Elementary School in Ohio is one of them. Each week, all students in grades one through five have a one - hour Chinese class. They learn the language through songs, games and lots of talking. “We’re trying to make students interested in the language”, teacher James told Times For Kids. “We think it’s really important that all children receive these lessons”, he says. “We’d like to do even more.”

“Schools are looking to the future,” says Nancy, a US education expert. “China is becoming a really powerful country. Young people should not only know the language but under- stand the culture.” Students may not be thinking about the future, but they think learning Chinese language and culture is fun. “We wish we could go to China one day.” said Karl and his classmate, Walt, from Miami. More than 40 million foreigners around the world are studying Chinese. About 50,000 people in the US are learning the language.     Chinese has become the second most spoken foreign language in the US after Spanish.

If someone says you are smart, what do they mean? 【小题1】 The answer is not as easy as you might think. This is because the word smart has many meanings.

For example, someone could say you look smart or you are dressed smartly. 【小题2】 To use a daily expression, they could say, “You look really cool!”

【小题3】 If you fall down from a chair, you might shout, “Wow! That smarts!” Or if a friend says something that hurts your feelings, you can say you are smarting from the hurtful words. In fact, maybe that person is no longer your friend.

If you are standing too close to a campfire, you could say your eyes are smarting from the smoke of the fire. 【小题4】

But the most common meaning of “smart” is to be clever. If someone is smart as a whip (鞭), he is able to think very quickly.

【小题5】 Some people are considered street smart. They may not have a strong education, but they are good at dealing with people and problems in the real world. Other people might be book smart. They have spent many years in school, but they may not be so smart when dealing with people or real-world problems.