I almost can’t believe my eyes. Here in Majorca, Spain, my husband and three kids are playing in the Mediterranean, splashing and diving and floating in the picture-perfect sea! How did the five of us _______ here, many kilometers from our home in Victoria?
For as long as I can remember, my husband and I _______ taking our kids on a trip around the world. It was something we _______ wanted to do one day after our kids came into the world. The dream was _______. We would pack a few things, get on a flight across the Atlantic and just _______ the sun and our interest. Putting the plan into _______, however, was a little more complicated.
In the blink（眨眼）of the eye and 14 years later, we have three delightful boys who are growing up fast. It was time to _______ those plans. We spent dozens of hours discussing, researching, planning, and booking flights and cars and places to stay. We planned a _______ around Europe and South Africa, to Australia, around Asia and then, for the last few months, to South America. We had to arrange time off from work. We _______ how many children’s necessities we need, went to the ________ to have the boys' teeth checked, renewed our passports, and then ________ our luggage. By July, we were as ________ as we could be.
Of course, dreams never turn out ________ as planned. Our first week, after being a little too ________ in our camper vehicle in Iceland, we miscalculated and ________ our flights to Ireland by a day. We didn't want to pay too much to rebook our ________, so we got on another plane to Paris, and had a(n) ________ weekend there, right ________ for the World Cup. It was almost as if we had ________ it that way.
After having been traveling for two months, we are learning as we go, and we seem to be finding our travel ________ as we journey together.
1.A.break up B.end up C.stay up D.got up
2.A.dreamed about B.insisted on C.avoided D.enjoyed
3.A.rarely B.sometimes C.always D.once
4.A.accurate B.unique C.simple D.amusing
5.A.follow B.admire C.avoid D.explore
6.A.power B.use C.heart D.action
7.A.make B.perform C.change D.improve
8.A.flight B.show C.path D.process
9.A.figured out B.made up C.brought out D.thought up
10.A.agent B.grocer C.dentist D.teacher
11.A.posted B.packed C.delivered D.carried
12.A.adventurous B.curious C.active D.ready
13.A.regularly B.exactly C.separately D.directly
14.A.surprised B.relaxed C.concentrated D.satisfied
15.A.missed B.booked C.canceled D.caught
16.A.hotels B.tables C.flights D.trips
17.A.unfortunate B.unexpected C.long D.quiet
18.A.in search B.in love C.in time D.in exchange
19.A.planned B.enjoyed C.made D.guessed
20.A.companion B.destination C.enjoyment D.restriction
How to Make Your Email Really Secure
Email is the most used communications medium for business and for many of us at home too, but few people outside IT know how to truly secure their email. Here's a quick look at some of the ways you can carry on encrypted(加密的) conversations.1.
Your Gmail messages being sent are encrypted. However, unless the receiver is reading email using a Google browser(浏览器) or Gmail app, they don't stay encrypted. And, of course, Google itself freely admits that its software reads all of your email for advertising purposes. Some programs, like the paid version of Outlook, offer an encryption feature. 2. It requires that you and your receiver exchange something called a digital signature.
3. The disadvantage—and you knew there would be one—is that your receiver must also subscribe to that service, or enter a password to open each message you send. They're fine if your only secure conversations are with one or two people. 4.
Another option for those wishing to send secure text correspondence: Don't use email at all. 5. These apps encrypt your messages on both ends and throughout their sending. Here again, though, they limit your communication to people who also have and use those same apps.
A.Protect the machine you use email on.
B.Free accounts limit the size of your messages and attachments.
C.But setting it up takes much trouble, and surely not for the masses.
D.Instead, use a chat program like CryptoCat, ChatSecure, or PQChat.
E.But you're never going to persuade the whole world to sign up to get your emails.
F.Email providers like Tutanota, and Protonmail automatically encrypt all the mail you send.
G.The concern that your words could be stolen and used against you someday will be solved.
A UK supermarket has become the first in the world to let shoppers pay using just the veins (纹理)in their fingertips. Customers at the Costcutter Store, at Brunel University in London, can now pay using their unique vein pattern to identify themselves.
The firm behind the technology, Sthaler, has said it is in "serious talks" with other major UK supermarkets to adopt hi-tech finger vein scanners at pay points across thousands of stores. It works by using infrared(红外线)to scan people's finger veins and then links this unique biometric map to their bank cards. Customers' bank details are then stored with payment provider Worldpay and in the same way you can store your card details when shopping online. Shoppers can then turn up to the supermarket with nothing on them but their own hands and use them to make payments in just three seconds.
Previous studies have found fingerprint recognition, used widely on mobile phones, is likely to be hacked and can be copied even from fingerprint left on phone screens. But Sthaler claims vein technology is the most secure biometric identification method as it cannot be copied or stolen. The technology uses an infrared light to create a detailed map of the vein pattern in your finger. It requires the person to be alive, meaning in the unlikely event a criminal hacks(非法侵入)off someone's finger, it would not work.
Sthaler said it takes just one minute to sign up to the system firstly and, after that, it takes just seconds to place your finger in a scanner each time you reach the supermarket checkout. Simon Binns, commercial director of Sthaler, told the Daily Telegraph, ''This makes payments so much easier for customers. There are no known occurrences where this security has been broken. ''
1.Which supermarket in the world can now use the vein-recognition technology?
A.Grocery stores in London.
B.Thousands of stores in the UK.
C.University supermarkets in the UK.
D.Costcutter Store at Brunel University in London.
2.What message does Sthaler intend to convey according to Paragraph 3?
A.The system is safe. B.Hacker attacks are unlikely.
C.Vein patterns can be copied. D.The technology is convenient.
3.What should customers do before using the system?
A.Copy the fingerprint. B.Protect against hacking.
C.Contact the supermarket. D.Register on the system.
4.What do we know about the vein-recognition system?
A.It has been hacked.
B.It will be adopted by more shops.
C.Its company is optimistic about it.
D.Its technology needs further improvement.
If someone is crying in an attempt to fake sorrow, we say they are shedding “crocodile tears”. But how and why did we start relating insincere displays of feelings to crocodiles?
The origin may have become popular around the 14th century when a bestseller, The Voyage and Travel of Sir John Mandeville, referenced a kind of snake who drops tears while eating their human victims.
In the centuries since, crying crocodiles have been related to fake sorrow. The expression has been used as a story to teach sincere regret, by Shakespeare and, more recently, by media mocking tearful politicians or murder suspects.
In 2007, University of Florida zoologist Kent Vliet actually proved that the animals do drop tears while snacking. But because crocodiles eat while in the water—making a study of their meal-time tears difficult—he studied their close relatives, alligators, who might dine on dry land. Out of the seven he filmed eating at a Florida alligator park, five teared up before, during, and after eating.
Vliet’s theory is that when the animals enthusiastically hit their jaws, the movement forces air through the crocodiles’ sinuses and finally empties tears into their eyes. Their eyes not only water but can bubble, as Vliet witnessed at the alligator park, where some even teared up in expectation of their meal of chicks and other food.
Vliet was asked to investigate the biology behind this phenomenon by Malcolm Shaner, a doctor, about why facial palsy sufferers cry when they chew. Findings suggest that this is similar to the case of crocodiles.
1.What does “crocodile tears” express?
A.False sadness. B.Sincere apology.
C.Untrue suffering. D.Faithful concern.
2.Who has studied humans’ shedding tears while chewing?
A.John Mandeville. B.Shakespeare.
C.Kent Vliet. D.Malcolm Shaner.
3.What's the meaning of the underlined word “mocking” in Paragraph 3?
A.Teasing. B.Reporting. C.Fooling. D.Comforting.
4.What's the author's purpose in writing the passage?
A.To describe the physical appearance of crocodiles.
B.To give a biological explanation of crocodile tears.
C.To clarify a misunderstanding of political leaders.
D.To introduce results of research on human feelings.
Carl Jones' love for animals began in his childhood. As a boy, he rescued injured wild creatures. In the 1970s, when the 24-year-old biologist learned that the Mauritius kestrel(红隼) is dying out, he decided to do his part.
He arrived on the island in an age of extinction. Even his employers of BirdLife International instructed him to “pull out elegantly” and leave the kestrel-saving to Mauritius government officials. That actually meant closing it down, because the Mauritians didn’t have the resources or ability.
Despite various difficulties, Jones holds the belief that all species are savable and humans need to live closely with other species. He has done so all his life and developed his hands-on approach to saving species.
Jones challenges the classic conservation wisdom that we must first understand the reasons for a species, decline and restore its habitat. Instead, he argues that scientists must identify the limiting factors on a species' population—food, nesting sites, competition, killing, disease—with practical fieldwork. “If there's a shortage of food, you will start feeding. If there's a shortage of nesting sites, you will put up nesting boxes. You don't need endless PhD students studying a species for 20 years. ” Conservation science, he argues, is often too remote. “Do you sit back and monitor a sick patient or do you treat them and see what works? A lot of species have been studied to extinction. ”
In Mauritius, Jones has preserved many plant species and nine animals. Without Carl Jones, the world might have lost the Mauritius kestrel, the pink pigeon and more.
1.What did BirdLife International want Carl Jones to do?
A.Live closely with other species. B.Do his part in an age of distinction.
C.Co-operate with the local government. D.Give up his decision to save the Mauritius kestrel.
2.What's Carl Jones’ approach to saving species?
A.Working on specific factors. B.Getting necessary resources.
C.Analyzing reasons for a species' decline. D.Following the classic conservation wisdom.
3.When it comes to saving endangered species, what's Carl Jones' opinion on studying them?
A.It's a waste of time. B.It's an impractical approach.
C.It should be done in remote areas. D.It takes highly educated personnel.
4.What can we infer about Carl Jones' work?
A.It is based on abundant research. B.It has produced beneficial results.
C.It received the government’ support. D.It is against the basic laws of fieldwork.
Many famous churches as listed below have a long religious history, inventive architecture and dedicated craftsmanship.
Sagrada Familia
This church located in Barcelona, Spain is a UNESCO World Heritage Site(世界文化遗址). It is a Roman Catholic Church planned by architect Antoni Gaudi and its construction began in 1882. However, it remains incomplete till today. This is mainly because of its huge size and the process to return the earliest construction to its original condition would never end. A tour of the whole church would take about a week.
Saint Basil’s Cathedral
This famous church is located in Moscow, the capital of Russia and marks the exact center of the city. It was completed in 1561 under the rule of Ivan the Terrible and has a very colorful architecture unusual for a church. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is perhaps one of the most famous churches in the world because it appears in many movies.
Westminster Abbey
This famous church is in London and is one of the iconic(标志性的) buildings in the country. It was built in the 10th century and today is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Thames River and Westminster Palace are both located near the Abbey and the Gothic(哥特式的) architecture draws many tourists each year. Westminster Abbey is also the place for important events of the royal family.
Church of the Nativity
This church is located in Bethlehem, Palestine and is believed to be the birthplace of Jesus. Its construction was started 327AD and today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This church, however, does not see many tourists because of the ongoing conflict in Palestine.
1.What's the common character of the churches?
A.They're Gothic architectures. B.They are located in city centers.
C.They are UNESCO world heritage sites. D.They are visited by many tourists every year.
2.Which church has the longest history?
A.Sagrada Familia. B.Saint Basil’s Cathedral.
C.Westminster Abbey. D.Church of the Nativity.
3.Why is Sagrada Familia still incomplete?
A.Its construction didn't start until recently. B.Repair is needed before completing it.
C.Early buildings will be pulled down. D.People want to make it larger and larger.
