When we talk about stars, especially women stars, it seems that they are always young, pretty and own charming body shapes. But recently a Britain's Got Talent（英国达人）star Susan Boyle has changed our views absolutely.

    Simon Cowell, one of the judges of the talent show spoke of his shock over Ms Boyle's voice. "This lady came up, and I'm thinking, 'This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea'. That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed to Dream from Les Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face through -it was one of my favorite moments," Cowell said.

    The performance was posted on line and before long, the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world.

    Speaking from her home in Scotland, Ms Boyle said that she hasn't thought of changing her appearance. She said that her friend helped her with make-up. "I mean, that's hardly a makeover（改头换面）," she added. Ms Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her vocal talents, "I was kind of slow at school, so getting like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and thus it built my confidence."

    When my brother and I were young, my mom would take us on Transportation Days.

    It goes like this: You can't take any means of transportation more than once. We would start from home, walking two blocks to the rail station. We'd take the train into the city center, then a bus, switching to the tram, then maybe a taxi. We always considered taking a horse carriage in the historic district, but we didn't like the way the horses were treated, so we never did. At the end of the day, we took the subway to our closest station, where Mom's friend was waiting to give us a ride home — our first car ride of the day.

    The good thing about Transportation Days is not only that Mom taught us how to get around. She was born to be multimodal(多方式的). She understood that depending on cars only was a failure of imagination and, above all, a failure of confidence — the product of a childhood not spent exploring subway tunnels.

    Once you learn the route map and step with certainty over the gap between the train and the platform, nothing is frightening anymore. New cities are just light-rail lines to be explored. And your personal car, if you have one, becomes just one more tool in the toolbox — and often an inadequate one, limiting both your mobility and your wallet.

    On Transportation Days, we might stop for lunch on Chestnut Street or buy a new book or toy, but the transportation was the point. First, it was exciting enough to watch the world speed by from the train window. As I got older, my mom helped me unlock the mysteries that would otherwise have paralyzed my first attempts to do it myself: How do I know where to get off? How do I know how much it costs? How do I know when I need tickets, and where to get them? What track, what line, which direction, where's the stop, and will I get wet when we go under the river?

    I'm writing this right now on an airplane, a means we didn't try on our Transportation Days and, we now know, the dirtiest and most polluting of them all. My flight routed me through Philadelphia. My multimodal mom met me for dinner in the airport. She took a train to meet me.

GAOMI, Shandong, Oct. 11(Xinhua)—China writer Mo Yan said last Thursday that he was “very surprised” at winning the Nobel Literature Prize.

    “I am very happy,” he said. “I was having dinner when I received the news. I was surprised.”

    “Thank you for coming all the way to Gaomi. This should be a season of red sorghum, but no such crop is planted any more. I believe none of you have seen the crop.” he said.

    “The Nobel Literature Prize is a very important literature prize, but not the top award. It represents the opinions of the jury(评审团). I am satisfied with my major works and I still keep writing by hand. My works are Chinese literature, which is part of world literature. They show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs. Meanwhile, my novels described human beings in the broad sense. I wrote in the perspective（角度） of a human being. These works stand beyond regions and ethnic(民族的)groups,” he said.

    Mo's win brought joy to other writers and readers throughout the country as he is the first Chinese native to win the Nobel Literature Prize in its century-long history.

    A new web standard is expected to kill passwords, meaning users will no longer have to remember difficult logins(登录) for each and every website or service they use.

    The Web Authentication (WebAuthn网络认证) standard is designed to replace the password with tools that users already own, such as a security key, a smart phone, a fingerprint scanner or webcam. Instead of having to remember long characters, users can authenticate their login with their body or something they have, communicating directly with the website through Bluetooth, USB or NFC.

    "WebAuthn will change the way that people access the Web," said Jeff Jaffe, CEO of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the body that controls web standards. One example of how WebAuthn will work is that when a user visits a site, they put in a user name and then get a message on their smart phone. Tapping on the message on their phone then logs them into the website without the need for a password.

    WebAuthn promises to protect users against phishing attacks(钓鱼攻击) and the use of stolen information as there will be nothing to steal, the authentication sign is produced and used once by their special tool each time the user enters.

    "After years of increasingly serious data and password being stolen, now it is the time for service providers to end their dependency on easily-attacked passwords and use phishing-resistant FIDO Authentication(快速身份认证联盟) for all websites and apps," said Brett McDowell, CEO of the FIDO Alliance, one of the bodies pushing the new standard.

    WebAuthn should also help people use special login details for each and every service they use, instead of using the same login and password for every site, which many people still do, leaving them further attacked if one site is hacked(黑客攻击).

    The W3C has moved WebAuthn to what's called the "candidate recommendation" stage – the last-but-one step before it becomes an approved web standard – inviting sites and services to begin using it. The web standards body announced that Google, Microsoft and Mozilla had been devoted to supporting WebAuthn, meaning that all major web explorers except Apple's Safari will use the new standard.

    "While there are many web security problems and we can't fix them all, relying on passwords is one of the weakest links. With WebAuthn's solutions we are removing this weak link," said Jaffe.

    Several sites and services already use similar methods to enter, including Google and Facebook, which can both be entered using a USB security key. But a single cross-platform, cross-service standard approved by the W3C will mean that many more sites and services will be able to kill the password as the login method.

    WebAuthn is the top of many years of work and the change will not happen overnight. But as it increasingly seems unavoidably that our email or other online services will get hacked into, removing the password is an important step in improving online security and making using sites and services easier.

    For many students who desire to move around but not far freely, one of the most common vehicles is the bicycle. For such a seemingly simple invention, its story is not that simple.

    Most historians trace its origin back to 1817, when a German nobleman named Karl von Drais invented a wooden, two­wheeled machine that riders moved forward with their feet. His invention became popular in both England and France, where it eventually became known as the velocipede. Unfortunately, it was eventually banned as a danger to pedestrians and was rarely seen after the early 1820s.

    Things were quiet for several decades until the bicycle development took off in the 1860s. An important milestone happened in Paris in 1863 when pedals were added to the front axle (轴). This occurred in Pierre Michaux's workshop, but it's unclear whether he or his employee, Pierre Lallement, should be given credit for the innovation Lallement moved to the United States, where he obtained a patent for "improvements in velocipedes" in 1866. These new machines proved to be popular, and the name "bicycle" had come into use by 1869. However, many people referred to them as "bone shakers", which described their clunky ride due to a heavy wooden frame and steel wheels.

    In the 1870s, "high wheelers" or "penny­farthings" became popular. However, with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel, they could be dangerous, if riders had to stop suddenly, as they would "take a header" when their momentum (动量) carried them over the front wheel onto their heads. Eventually, English inventor John Kemp Starley designed a "safety bicycle" with two same small wheels, a chain drive, and a set of gears. With tires added in and brake systems bettered in the following decades, bicycle production had skyrocketed to over one million bicycles by 1899.

    Mass production of bicycles increased their popularity greatly, since they became affordable for the average person. Over the course of the 20th century, manufacturers continued to improve the features and design of bicycles as new technologies appeared.

    From whale watching to shopping, the activities are as varied as the scenery along Queensland's Great Sunshine Way.

    Day 1

    Morning

    The Sunshine Way begins in Queensland's Gold Coast. Start the day with a visit to one of the Gold Coast's world-class theme parks. Then see stunt (特技) shows at Warner Bros Movie World. You can also jump on exciting rides and visit the new Lego Store at Dreamworld.

    Afternoon

    While the drive to Brisbane only takes an hour, enjoy a trip inland into the Gold Coast hinterland and explore the rainforest hikes and waterfalls in Tamborine, Lamington and Springbrook national parks.

    Day 2

    Morning

    Wake early to climb Brisbane's famous Story Bridge, where you can see the sun rise over the city. From the top, you'll be rewarded with full views over the snaking river, out to Moreton Bay in the east and the green hills of the Scenic Rim to the west.

    Afternoon

    Drive 144 kilometers north to Noosa. Hastings Street is thick with designer fashion stores and impressive restaurants. Explore one of the walking trails that run through Noosa National Park. The Coastal Track is a popular choice. Look out for dolphins and whales between May and November.

    Day3

    Morning

    Continue 185 kilometers north, through the gold rush towns of Gympie and Maryborough to the whale watching capital of the world, Hervey Bay. About 10,000 humpback whales visit it every year, making it the best place to see the ocean giants up close.

    Afternoon

    From River Heads, catch a 50-minute ferry to the world's largest island completely made of sand, Fraser Island. Alternatively, continue 110 kilometers north to Bundaberg. Then travel just east of the city to Mon Repos Beach in time for the sunset.