Itzhak Perlman is one of the finest violinists alive today. Several years ago, Perlman agreed to attend a charity(慈善) reception after one of his concerts. At the reception one guest said, “Mr. Perlman, you were truly amazing tonight.” Perlman smiled and thanked him graciously. The man continued, “I have never heard anyone play the violin as well as you.” Perlman smiled again but said nothing, and the man continued, “You know, Mr. Perlman, I would give my whole life to be able to play the violin like you did tonight.” Perlman smiled once more and said, “I have.” That is the difference. While some of us sit around thinking, I would give my whole life to be able to do that, or, I hope that happens to me one day, people like Perlman are getting the job done. They are giving their whole lives to the fulfillment of their dreams. All men and women have dreams, but only some achieve their dreams. Why is this? The reason is that some people dream and wait for their dreams to come true. They look at others, whom they consider fortunate or lucky, and think, I hope that happens to me one day! Others devote themselves to excellence and go out onto the stage of life chasing their dreams, living life passionately. They make their dreams come true.

For many people, the most exciting way to shop is at a street market. Here are five world-famous markets. The Grand Bazaar in Turkey is more than 500 years old and it has more than four thousand shops under one roof. You can buy almost anything here, but the most popular items for tourists are the beautiful carpets. In Asia, the most famous market is perhaps in Thailand, a place called Danneon Saduak. From six in the morning to midday, every day, people sell fresh fruit and vegetables from their boats. Many Italians say the Campo de’Fiori in Rome is the most beautiful square in the world. It’s the home of a colorful flower, fruit and vegetable market, open from seven o’clock in the morning to midday every day except Sunday. It is a lively place to meet friends and to have a meal. Every year, thousands of people travel to Germany to visit the famous Christmas Markets. The old town of Nurnberg has the biggest market, open from the end of November until Christmas. Here people can buy toys, hand-made gifts and Christmas decorations. One of the world’s most unusual markets is in Mexico City: at the Sonara Market. As well as toys and birds, you can buy herbs and natural medicines which (they say) can help with anything—from problems at work to problems with your marriage!

During the COVID-19 outbreak, many children were isolated at home. They often felt very unhappy as their normal lives were suddenly interrupted and completely changed. Sproutel Purrble came to save some of these children out of trouble. An interactive(互动的) plush(毛绒) toy which is equipped with seven sensors(传感器) that respond to touch, Purrble’s able-to-touch heartbeat speeds up to 135 beats per minute when it senses somebody is playing with it. Kids can then comfort their companion with gentle touching and soft voice, slowing Purrble’s quick heartbeat to a low continuous sound—calming themselves as well in the process. Developed through using research from the Committee for Children, a nonprofit and global leader on social-emotional learning, the device aims to help children learn to manage their emotions, such as keeping them calm. Early research shows that Purrble is doing just that: in a study with 20 families, 19 parents reported that the toy helped their kids calm down when they needed to. “I grew up with a long-time illness as a child and would have loved to have this,” says Aaron Horowits, head of Sproutel, the company which designed the toy.

English is spoken by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, but do the development of translation technology and “mixed” languages damage its status (地位)? For how much longer will English qualify as the “world’s favorite language”? The World Economic Organization estimates that about 1.5 billion people around the world speak it—but fewer than 400 million have it as their first language. English is the world’s favorite lingua franca—the language people are most likely to turn to when they don’t share a first language. Imagine, for example, a Russian speaker who speaks no French in conversation with a French speaker no Russian. The chances are that they would use English. Five years ago, perhaps. But not any more. Thanks to advances in computer translation and voice-recognition technology, they can each speak their own language, and hear what the other speaker is saying, which is machine-translated in real time. So English’s days as the as the world’s top global language may be numbered. That is: the computers are coming, and they are winning. So is the future of English at risk? I don’t think so, although its global influence may become less over the coming decades. Like all languages, it is constantly changing and adapting (适应) to new needs. Until recently, “text” and “friend” were nouns. Now, they are also verbs, as in “I’ll text you,” or “Why don’t you friend me?”