阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项 （A 、B 、C  和 D ）中，选出最佳选项。

When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation. I suggested that they should stay at "bed and breakfast" houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.

"We didn't stay at bed and breakfast houses," they said, "because we found that most families were on holiday." I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought "VACANCIES" meant "holidays", because the Spanish word for "holidays" is said "vacaciones". So they did not go to house where the sign outside said "VACANCIES", which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to houses where the sign said "NO VACANCIES", because they thought this meant people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels.

We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word "DIVERSION" means "fun". In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word "DIVERSION" on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road ended in a large hole.

English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris when someone offered me some more coffee, I said "Thank you" in French, I meant that I would like some more, however to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that "Thank you" in French means "No, Thank you".

    Gravity signals that race through the ground at the speed of light could help seismologists(地震学家) get a better handle on the size of large, destructive quakes soon after they hit，a study suggests. The tiny changes in Earth's gravitational field, created when the ground shifts, arrive at earthquake monitoring stations well before earthquake waves.

    “The good thing we can do with these signals is have quick information on the magnitude (震级) of the quake,” says Martin Vaillée, a seismologist at the Paris Institute of Earth Physics.

    Earthquake equipment in China and South Korea picked up gravity signals immediately after the magnitude-9. 1 Tohoku earthquake that destroyed parts of Japan in 2011. The signals appear as tiny accelerations on earthquake-recording equipment, more than a minute before the seismic waves show up.

    “We can look before the earthquake waves arrive,” says Vallée. “If we see nothing, we can say that the quake that made these was maybe large, but not huge. If we see the signals, it means we really have a very big quake. ”

    Had seismologists been monitoring for gravity changes, they might have realized sooner just how big the Tohoku earthquake was. A small increase in an earthquake's magnitude means a large change in the energy released by the quake-and the destruction expected. That information is important for emergency responders as they decide what resources to arrange.

    It'll be a major contribution if gravitational waves can beat down the time needed to know that a big earthquake is big. But much work remains before gravity signals can be considered a reliable tool in the vital minutes after a big quake. A few extra minutes of warning can save lives, particularly in coastal areas where people can flee ahead of an incoming tsunami.

    Careers in zoology are extremely varied and unique, and can provide incredible learning and work opportunities for anyone devoted to animal studies and welfare. Zoology, or the study of animals, is a wide field with many specialties, including research, conservation, veterinary (兽医的) medicine, and the care of animals. For people with a love of animals and some training, dreams of careers in zoology may come true.

    Some careers in zoology focus on research and scientific studies. These careers may allow those with a good theoretical science background to develop and run studies that improve human understanding of the animal world. Research in zoology can help create safer and more effective products for animals or can teach humans more about animal behavior in order to aid in conservation, breeding programs, and habitat preservation.

    Careers in zoology that focus on conservation attach great importance to the continued survival and increased protection of animal species. Conservationists may work with political groups or governments to help make laws to protect and preserve animals, or may work in the field gathering information on potential threats to the health of global ecosystems. Some conservationists work in educational fields, trying to improve human efforts to save animals from extinction.

    Animals are subject to illness and injury, and some careers in zoology help to create a safe, stable animal population. Veterinary medicine is an important specialty field, and may take several years of intensive training to qualify as a certified veterinarian. While many veterinarians focus on the small-animal practice of domestic pets, vets in rural areas often work with large farm animals and more adventurous veterinarians may work with exotic species in zoos and wildlife preserves. .

    Humans love to observe animals, and modern-day zoos and wildlife preserves help meet that interest while providing facilities to assist with conservation programs. Zoology careers in zoos can range from overseeing breeding programs, to creating the proper diet for a deer, to cleaning the tiger's cage. Many volunteer and entry-level jobs are available for people that love animals.

    STA Travel, the world's largest students and youth travel agency, beats any price! Every day we're working with our partners around the globe to get you (students, teachers and anyone under 26) the cheapest and most comfortable flights and top-rated accommodations. This part of www.statravel.com provides great tips for green travel — how to pack, how to leave your house or apartment, and how to plan for your trips. You'll also find a great selection of green travel adventure trips to all corners of the world.

    Green travel means responsible (负责任的) travel! Leave as little influence as possible on the places you visit and protect the environment both at home and during your trip. Think “Green” when you pack and when you travel. You'll help prevent long-term effects on the communities you leave and visit! Here's some advice on how to do that.

    Before you leave

    Turn your water heater to its lowest setting.

    Turn off your water from the outside.

    While you travel

    Pack suitable clothes in your luggage, none of which is to harm the environment.

    Try products made from recycled materials.

    Don't buy souvenirs produced from endangered species.

    Carry a reusable bottle for water and refill it as you go.

    Use the bathroom in the airport, NOT on the plane. The fuel used for a single flush (冲洗) could run a car for six miles.

    "Fast fashion" means clothes which are inexpensive but look like the latest designs. One reason for the success of fast fashion is the rise of the social media. A report by the investment research firm Bernstein found that Millennials—people born in the 1980s and 90s— wanted to wear a variety of clothes in the photos they posted on social media. As a result, many businesses which offer trendy and low-cost clothes are growing.

    But the situation is changing now. Maxine, a woman in her early thirties, looks in her closet full of clothes, but she has nothing to wear. She says she hates always shopping for what is in style.    Instead, she wants to buy fewer clothes that she can wear over and over. "Other people want the same thing." she says.

    So Maxine and a business partner, Soraya, started a "slow fashion" clothing company called Zady. "Slow fashion" means clothes that last a long time. They often feature classic colors and shapes, and are made from natural materials.

    The terms "fast fashion" and "slow fashion" are related to "fast food" and "slow food": fast food is still popular in the U.S., but many restaurants increasingly offer high-quality, more expensive and relaxed meals.

    Like slow food, slow fashion also aims to use sources that are good for the environment and workers. Maxine says people in her generation want to know where their clothes come from and who is making them. To answer Millennials' demand for information about the products they buy, Ms Maxine's company, Zady, includes details about the history of the brands. It also describes the process in which the clothes are made. Maxine says Zady aims to tell shoppers where their clothes come from, where they go, and how they impact the world.

    The international business H&M is answering Millennials' demands in another way. It has created a recycling program for clothes. Shoppers who bring clothes they no longer want to H&M stores can receive a discount on new things they buy. An H&M spokesman says, "We have a clear vision to avoid and minimize waste that goes into landfills."

    Before the 1830s most newspapers were sold through annual subscriptions in America, usually $8 to S10 a year. Today $8 or $10 seems a small amount of money, but at that time these amounts were forbidding to most citizens. Accordingly, newspapers were read almost only by rich people in politics or the trades. In addition, most newspapers had little in them that would appeal to a mass audience. They were dull and visually forbidding. But the revolution that was taking place in the 1830s would change all that.

    The trend, then, was toward the "penny paper" ­ a term referring to papers made widely available to the public. It meant any inexpensive newspaper; perhaps more importantly it meant newspapers that could be bought in single copies on the street.

      This development did not take place overnight. It had been possible (but not easy) to buy single copies of newspapers before 1830, but this usually meant the reader had to go down to the printer's office to purchase a copy. Street sales were almost unknown. However, within a few years, street sales of newspapers would be commonplace in eastern cities, At first the price of single copies was seldom a penny ­ usually two or three cents was charged ­ and some of the older well-known papers charged five or six cents. But the phrase "penny paper" caught the public's fancy, and soon there would be papers that did indeed sell for only a penny.

    This new trend of newspapers for "the man on the street" did not begin well. Some of the early ventures were immediate failures. Publishers already in business, people who were owners of successful papers, had little desire to change the tradition. It took a few youthful and daring businessmen to get the ball rolling.