An environmental group called the Food Commission is unhappy and disappointed because of the sales of bottled water from Japan. The water, it angrily argues in public, has traveled 10,000 “food miles” before it reached Western customers. Transporting water halfway across the world is surely the extremely stupid use of fuel when there is plenty of water in the UK. It is also worrying that we were wasting our fuel by buying prawns from Indonesia (7,000 food miles ) and carrots from South Africa (5,900 food miles).

        Counting the number of miles traveled done by a product is a strange way of trying to tell the true situation of the environmental damage due to industry. Most food is transported around the world on container ships that are extremely energy efficient. It should be noticed that a ton of butter transported 25 miles in a truck to a farmers' market doesn't necessarily use less fuel on its journey than a similar product transported hundreds of miles by sea. Besides, the idea of “food miles” ignores the amount of fuel used in the production. It is possible to cut down your food miles by buying tomatoes grown in Britain rather than those grown in Ghana. The difference is that the British ones will have been raised in heated greenhouse and the Ghanaian ones in the open sun.

       What is the idea of “food miles” does provide, however, is the chance to cut out Third World countries from First World food markets. The number of miles traveled by our food should, as I see it, be regarded as a sign of the success of the global trade system, not a sign of damage to the environment.

    John was part of my childhood growing up in the 1970s and a link to sunny, fun-filled days spent on the beach at Bangor in Northern Ireland where we went for our summer holidays. To many, he was a mystery. Every afternoon John would wander to the end of the pier (码头) where he fed the seagulls and delighted in the sound of their excited cries as they flew around his head.

    Often I asked my family questions regarding John. Eventually I gave up as no one could tell me anything about him. As I grew up, my visits to the beach became less frequent, and my memories of John buried in a child's imagination.

    Last year memories came flooding back as I walked along the coastline, where I noticed a lady feeding the seagulls on the pier, and I decided to introduce myself. Then I came to know that the lady was John's daughter, and after John left this world she carried out the ritual (惯例), which had held such importance for her father.

    In some strange way I felt we shared a bond, each needing to remember. In return, Lucy told me of John's life, his days in the British Navy (海军) during World War I and how he almost lost hope when his ship was attacked by a German U-boat in the North Sea and he found himself in a lifeboat with five others.

    Close to death, he thought he heard the sound of wings. He put up his hands, only to catch a seagull that had landed on the side of the boat. The seagull saved the lives of the six men as it was used to catch fish, which kept them alive until they reached land. This period of John's life was one he never talked about. But the ritual he first performed as a young man remained a part of him until he died.

    Now I visit Lucy as often as I can, just to chat or very often walk along the beach to the pier end. We enjoy the comfortable silence, each lost in special memories.

How to Be Interesting

    Everybody tries hard to be interesting and well-liked in his or her life. If you feel like you are boring or dull, don't fret (苦恼)! {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Read this article to learn how.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The more you know about what is going on in the world, the more you can contribute to conversations. Interesting people are the ones who can bring something new to a conversation and share fun facts rather than just sitting there nodding. The more you learn, the better conversationalist you will become. So keep yourself educated by reading books and staying up-to-date with current events in the news and pop culture.

    Create more stories to share. Interesting people always seem to have a lot going on in their lives. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. The best way to accumulate interesting stories is by travelling, constantly meeting new people, and putting yourself in new and interesting situations.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Expand（扩展） your social circle by starting conversations with anyone and everyone. You never know when a stranger can turn into one of your new best friends! Give everybody you meet a chance to show you who they are, and welcome them into your life.

    Be yourself. Remember that even though you may feel uninteresting, you are one-of-a-kind. Don't try to get attention by pretending to be somebody you are not, because eventually the truth will come out and you will seem like a dishonest person. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.Instead, learn to highlight (强调)your positive qualities and downplay（轻视）your negative ones.

A. The more you do，the more stories you will have to share with others.

B. Everyone has the potential to be interesting, regardless of how unexciting your life may seem.

C. Get to know new people.

D. Be busy with what you do.

E. Be educated.

F. Accept yourself.

G. Don't hide who you are.

    The technique can lead to new ways to produce medicines, the researchers from the universities of Istanbul and Hawaii hope.

    As part of an effort to improve treatments for life-threatening illnesses, a team of scientists have created rabbits that glow(发光) in the dark.

    Their efforts produced two rabbits out of a litter of eight that went from being a normal, fluffy white to glowing green in the dark. The rabbits were born at the University of Istanbul as part of a collaboration（合作） between scientists from universities in Turkey and Hawaii.

    The rabbits glow to show that a genetic manipulation technique can work efficiently, though the specific color is more cosmetic than scientific. "The green is not important at all – it's just a marker to show the experiment can be done successfully," said University of Hawaii associate professor Stefan Moisyadi.

    To produce the glowing effect, researchers injected jellyfish DNA into a mother rabbit's embryos. Those altered embryos（胚胎）. Those altered embryos were then inserted back into the mother. Similar experiments have resulted in glowing cockroaches and cats.

    Eventually, the researchers hope the technique can lead to new ways to produce medicines, Moisyadi said. “The final goal is to develop animals that act as barrier reactive to produce beneficial molecules in their milk that can be cheaply extracted, especially in countries that can't afford big pharma plants that make drugs, that usually cost $1bn to build, and be able to produce their own protein-based medication in animals," Moisyadi said.

    The rabbits are expected to have the same life span as their non-glowing counterparts（副本）, but Moisyadi said he understands people can object to this kind of experimentation involving live animals.

    "To the people against, I say: think about, what are the benefits and what are the injuries?" Moisyadi said. "And if the benefits outweigh the injuries, let's go with the benefits."

    Moisyadi, a native of Turkey who is now with the University of Hawaii, started developing the project in 2006, and researchers are now waiting to see if pregnant sheep produce similar results.

    Imagine jet-setting from Tokyo to Paris, enjoying first-class travel, a four-course dinner and a city tour－all without leaving the ground. This is the future of air travel according to Japanese company First Airlines, which has used the power of virtual reality to create dream vacations.

    Passengers avoid the costly airport transfer, the baggage fees or busy airport terminal（航站楼）－and instead enjoy the privileges of business or first-class travel and an expensive tour of Paris－all while remaining motionless in Tokyo. As well as Paris, First Airlines also offers the virtual destinations of New York, Rome and Hawaii.

    After boarding, guests can settle down for the two-hour flight on their advanced Airbus seat－surrounded by decoration that is modeled on the inside of an aircraft, for maximum realism. There is flight service and VR, foods, music for every destination. Passengers will be served a delicious meal by air stewards, alongside drinks and other desserts. The menu depends on the destination of choice－Manhattan clam chowder and cheesecake for New York and salmon tartar and onion soup for Paris. After landing at the destination, guests can enjoy a 360-degree tour of the destination－all thanks to projection（投影）mapping and video.

    It makes for a supposedly stress-free vacation, perfect for those whose ability to travel abroad is limited by cost or health. Virtual reality is becoming increasingly present everywhere at all times in the world of travel－allowing travelers to appreciate the wonders of the world, all without leaving their house.

    At just 4,980 yen（$ 46）for business class and 5,980 yen（$ 56）for first class－these two- hour flights are far more affordable than their real-life flights. Tokyo citizens eager to experience First Airlines can book a trip on the website, with reservations currently being taken until May 2018.

Huang Shunjie might have the best job in the world. The 24-year-old is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} panda photographer and zookeeper. Huang spends each day {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (look) after 18 baby pandas at the Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in China. He prepares their meals, checks on their health and{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (carry) them between their sleeping pens and their public enclosure (围场).

"I can get very close to the baby pandas, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} makes many people jealous (忌妒的)," Huang says.

Any job{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (certain) has downsides. In Huang's case, it's the regular scratches (抓伤) he gets from the 45 - to 55-pound bears. But it's a small price to pay to spend each day with the cute pandas.

"I'm a full-time daddy for these baby pandas," says Huang. "If I take some{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (day) off to go home, I feel empty inside."

For many years, giant pandas were one of the world's most endangered creatures as construction destroyed their {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (nature) habitat in bamboo forests.

But populations have recovered in recent years due {#blank#}8{#/blank#} programs to help pandas breed (繁殖). Today, there {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (be) 1,864 pandas in the wild, up from only 1, 114 in the 1970s, according to China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration. Two-thirds of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (they) live across 67 nature reserves.