I'm Mr. Lockwood and have been to see my landlord Mr. Heathcliff today. He was standing at the gate to his farm when I arrived. His black eyes looked at me suspiciously.

    The name of Mr. Heathcliff's house is Wuthering Heights. 'Wuthering' means 'stormy' or 'windy' in the local language and it describes the place well. The house stands on the top of a hill. On one side of it there are a few trees. They all lean in the same direction, blown by the strong north winds.

    Then we went into the sitting room. The floor was made of smooth, white stone. There was a big fireplace at one end of it and a large dresser at the other end. Several large hunting dogs were lying in the dark corners of the room. I sat down in one of the chairs near the fire. But unfortunately, when Mr. Heathcliff was out for his servant, Joseph, I was attacked by his hunting dogs.

    To my surprise, I enjoyed our conversation very much, though. When it was time for me to leave, I said, 'I'll come and see you again tomorrow'. I set out after lunch the following day. But Mr. Heathcliff wasn't in, and a young man led me to the sitting room. His manner was proud and free, so I couldn't decide if he was a servant or not. He was dressed like one and spoke like one.

    A few minutes later, Heathcliff walked in. We all drank our tea in silence and there was a very tense atmosphere in the room. I thought it was my fault so I tried to be sociable.

    This is a beautiful part of the country,' I said, 'but very isolated. However, you seem very happy here, with your wife and family…'

    'My wife!' Heathcliff exclaimed looking around him. 'Where? Are you talking about her spirit?'

    How stupid of me! Of course the girl wasn't his wife! She was much too young for him. She must be married to the young man.

    'Mrs. Heathcliff is my daughter-in-law', said Heathcliff, reading my thoughts. There was hatred on his face as he spoke.

    Ah, yes,' I said. 'You are very lucky to have such a lovely wife, young man.'

    The youth went red and looked down at his plate.

    I said she was my daughter-in-law, sir. She was married to my son,' said Heathcliff.

    And this young man is…'

    Not my son.'

    My name is Hareton Earnshaw,' growled the youth angrily.

    The atmosphere began to depress me. After a long silence I asked, 'Perhaps one of your servants is free now to take me home?'

    There's only Heathcliff, Hareton, Zillah the housekeeper, Joseph and me here', said the girl.

    Then I suppose I'll have to stay until the morning.' I replied

    That night, I was arranged in a house where the master didn't usually allow people to stay. I closed the door and got into bed. I put my candle on a small shelf next to a pile of old books. To my surprise, I saw that the shelf was covered in writing. These names were scratched in the paint: Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Heathcliff and Catherine Linton.

    I picked up one of the books on the shelf. It was a diary. On the first page I read, 'Catherine Earnshaw, her book', and a date of twenty-five years ago. Curious to know more about this Catherine, I started to read. I understand the following: Catherine Earnshaw's father was dead and she lived with her cruel older brother Hindley. Catherine and Heathcliff were close friends, but Hindley and his young wife Frances heated and abused the adopted Heathcliff.

    I had terrible dreams that night. There was a lot of noise-rapping and tapping sounds. I woke up. The branch of a tree outside was hitting the glass in the window. I got up, pushed my hand through the glass and pout out my arm. But instead of the branch my fingers closed on a little ice-cold hand. The hand held mine tightly and a sad voice sobbed, 'Let me in!'

    Who are you?' I said.

Catherine Linton' it replied. 'I've come home. I lost my way on the moor! Let me in!"

    "Iris scan (虹膜扫描), please," the bank's computer voice tells you . You step up and the computer reads your eye, comparing it to the stored file it has of your iris. The images had better match—otherwise you won't be able to get your money.

    Iris scanning and other technologies, such as fingerprint and voice scanning, have appeared in many science fiction movies in the past. Today, these advanced technologies are part of the real world. They are common at work, the bank, the airport, and your local prison. The iris scan, fingerprint scan, and voice scan are all examples of biometrics( 生物测定学) a fast developing area of automatic personal identification technology . Basically, biometrics uses various ways to verify a person's identity, based on the individual's unique characteristics, including fingerprints, voices, irises, body heat patterns, facial images, handprints, signatures and so on.

    Biometrics identification systems have a number of advantages over password systems. The primary advantage is that an individual has to be physically present in order to be identified. Another important advantage is that there are no passwords to remember, forget, lose or steal.

    The voice scan is the simplest and most affordable form of biometrics. It only requires a computer, a microphone and the correct software. The software records a subject's voice and then compares it to a stored voice sample for identification purposes.

    For additional safety, fingerprint and handprint scans can also be employed. Fingerprint scans take the image of a fingerprint and compare it to a stored file of prints. Handprint scans identify the unique features of a hand.

    Iris scans currently give the highest level of accuracy among all the available biometrics systems. Another technology, full facial scans, is currently in use at border crossings and airports. Facial scanning equipment can actually track and identify moving faces within a crowd.

    The potential of biometrics is exciting and encouraging. With continued development, testing, and application, current technologies will become even more effective in the future. Soon, the days of password and car keys will be gone. Just don't leave home without your fingerprints!

    Most animals on land are known to us, but many living things underwater are not. Now let's get to know some of them.

    Sea cucumber

    Sea cucumber are strange animals living at the bottom of the sea. They wear brown or white green coats. When summer comes, they stay deep to sleep because they are afraid of heat. And when it is autumn, they move to shallow (浅的) water and get their food.

    Pike

    The pike is a kind of freshwater fish. They are good swimmers and like swimming near boats, waiting to be fed. They have sharp teeth to catch fishes. When they are young, they live in groups. However, when they grow up, they prefer to live alone.

    Cuttlefish

    A cuttlefish can swim quite fast, so it is also called rocket (火箭) fish. It has eight arms and two feelers on its head, just around its mouth. It ejects ink (喷墨) when it is in danger. Its meat is delicious, and it is often the first choice for many people.

    Octopus

    An octopus has long arms, with which to catch food and protect itself. When it is sleeping, one or two of its arms are still on duty, keeping moving. Once it feels something dangerous, it can wake up at once to take action.

    Television in the United States is free. To pay for programs, there are many advertisements. Often these advertisements are short plays with actors. The following television advertisement is like many others that Americans see daily.

    We see a man and his wife at the breakfast table. They have been married for a long time. They are not speaking to each other. They haven't spoken to each other at the breakfast table for years. The husband is reading his newspaper. We can't see his face. The wife looks very bored as she pours a cup of coffee for him. Today, she is using a new kind of coffee for the first time. The husband picks up his cup. He isn't very interested. He tastes his coffee. Suddenly he puts down his newspaper. Something is different. Can it be the coffer? He takes another taste. It's wonderful. He smiles. He looks at his wife and says in amazement, “Doris, when did you cut your hair?” Doris is pleased. She answers, “Two months ago.” Doris asks, “Herbie, when did your hair begin to turn grey?” He replies, “A long time ago.” Doues says, “Oh, very handsome.” Now they aren't bored anymore. Breakfast is different. Having a new kind of coffee changed their lives.

    NASA's (美国宇航局的) newly announced space tourism program is possibly the biggest mistake in the agency's history.

    Beginning as early as 2020, NASA will offer visits to the International Space Station for $35,000 per night, not including transportation, to pretty much anyone who can pass a physical.

    The reason this is a mistake, and a big one, is that NASA has worked for generations to create an image of astronauts as extraordinarily skilled, highly trained, courageous heroes. For example, NASA invites grade schools to participate in creating experiments that are carried on the space station. The astronauts talk to kids from space, sending a message that if you study, work hard and learn math and science, you may reach these heights, too.

    According to one report, Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace is making plans to haul four tourists at a time to the space station on SpaceX rockets. U.S. taxpayers forked over a hundred billion dollars to build the International Space Station. It would be nice to try to preserve the image of it as an inspirational achievement, instead of turning it into a flying Howard Johnson's.

    NASA's press release about the space tourism program tries to cast it as a partnership with the private sector to "provide expanded opportunities" at the space station to "manufacture, market and promote commercial products and services." But it also states that one goal is "quantifying NASA's long-term demand for activities in low-Earth orbit."

    The space station has been costing U.S. taxpayers between $1.5 billion and $3 billion each year. If it's perceived as a private Disneyland for the top tax bracket, public support for the entire space program could be at risk.

    But worse, we will have degraded what once inspired us. Sometimes a nation needs stars in its eyes.

World War Ⅱ lasted from 1939 to 1945.Life changed for everybody,including women and children because of the war.Millions of people lost their lives during the war.The Diary of a Young Girl was a record of that time.The book was written by a girl named Anne Frank.

Anne Frank was born in Germany in June 1929.Because the German Nazis hated the Jews and warned to kill them,her family had to move to another country.In July 1942,they went into hiding in a secret place in her father's office.During that difficult time,Anne kept writing diaries until she and her family were discovered by the Nazis in August 1944.They were caught and sent to a Nazi camp.The next year,her mother died.In the same year,she and her elder sister died of illness,before the war ended.

After the war,her father collected her diaries and the book The Diary of a Young Girl came out in 1947.It has been put into over 30 languages since then.The book has been read by people all over the world.In her diary,Anne wrote down her thoughts,her feelings,her hopes and her dreams for the future,"I want this diary itself to be my friend,and I shall call my friend Kitty." "I can't spend all day complaining because it's impossible to have any fun!...Every day,I feel the beauty of nature and the goodness of the people around me.With all that,why should I be sad?"

The Diary of a Young Girl has also become a symbol of the greatness of the human spirit.It is called one of the wisest and most moving records on war.