Blind tasting is a very strange activity. Contrary to what many people imagine, it has nothing to do with blindfolds. It involves tasting a wine without seeing the label and it can deliver shocking surprises. I tasted seven champagnes (香槟) blind with a group of professionals recently. There was a shock when they discovered the wine most of them preferred carried a label they regarded as their least favorite. That sort of result is especially common with champagne, the most image-driven rather than quality-driven wine of all. But it happens all the time when wine is tasted blind.

    Because I'm interested in how wines really taste instead of how I think they should, I taste wine blind as often as I can, especially when assessing similar young wines. But blind tasting when you know absolutely nothing about the wine in front of you is something completely different. The most difficult Master of Wine exams include three sessions during which you have a dozen glasses in front of you and nothing more helpful than a printed exam paper asking you to identify each wine as closely as possible, and assess its quality.

    Now that the MW is behind me, I taste wine completely blind only very rarely, and never in public. So my blind tastings these days are round the dinner table with good friends and once a year when I act as a judge, with Hugh Johnson, in the Oxford vs Cambridge wine-tasting competition. This is the most extraordinary match, always held before the Boat Race but taken just as seriously nowadays. This year's taste-off took place at the end of last month, as usual in the Oxford and Cambridge Club on Pall Mall in London.  

    As they migrate(迁移), butterflies and moths(飞蛾) choose the winds they want to fly with, and they change their body positions if they start floating in the wrong direction. This new finding suggests that insects may employ some of the same methods that birds use for traveling long distances. Scientists have long thought that insects were simply at the mercy of the wind.

    Fascinating as their skills of flight are, migrating behavior has been difficult to study in insects because many long distant trips happen thousands of feet above ground. Only recently have scientists developed technologies that can detect such little creatures at such great heights.

    To their surprise, though, the insects weren't passive but active travelers on the winds. In autumn, for example, most light winds blew from the east, but the insects somehow sought out ones that carried them south and they positioned themselves to navigate(导航) directly to their wintering homes.

    Even in the spring, when most winds flowed northward, the insects didn't always go with the flow. If breezes weren't blowing in the exact direction they wanted to go, the insects changed their body positions to compensate(抵消). Many migrating birds do the same thing.

    The study also found butterflies and moths actively flew within the air streams that pushed them along. By adding flight speeds to wind speeds, the scientists calculated that butterflies and moths can travel as fast as 100 kilometers an hour. The findings may have real-world applications.

    With climate warming, migrating insects are growing in number. Knowing how and when these pests move could help when farmers decide when to spray their crops.

    Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English ruler tried to conquer(征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result in that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south is an independent country.

    In the 1840s the main crop, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage(短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.

    For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people will work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.

    The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Creeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.

    Hiking England

    DAY 1: ST. BEES TO ENNERDALE BRIDGE

    Our journey sets out early this morning with a Coast to Coast tradition approaching the Irish Sea. Then set off along the rocks of St. Bees Head. Turning inland, we'll pause for a typical pub lunch on our way to Ennerdale Bridge, located at the foot of the Lake District mountains. (15 miles hiking, 8 hours)

    Accommodations: Ennerdale Country House Hotel

    DAY2: ENNERDALE BRIDGE TO HONISTER

    Today we'll walk into impressive Lake District National Park, where glass-like lakes reflect mountains that rise from their shores. Our pleasant walk covers the southern edge of Ennerdale Water, the park's most western lake. After lunch near the Black Sail Hut, climb a 2,000 foot mountain and take in the beautiful views of lakes and pastures (牧场). We finish in Borrowdale, a short transfer (转乘) from our hotel. (13 miles hiking, 9 hours)

    Accommodations: Inn on the Lake

    DAY 3: GRASMERE TO GLENRIDDLNG

    Take a short drive to Grasmere, where the great poet William Wordsworth wrote some of his most well-known works. Visit the poet's home, and walk through the village where he found inspiration. Then climb over Grisedale Hause enjoying views of Helvellyn, England's third-highest mountaintop. Hike down the valley toward Lake Ullswater and spend the night in Glenridding. (9 miles hiking, 5 hours)

    Accommodations: Glenridding Lake Hotel

    DAY 4: LAKE ULLSWATER TO SHAP

    The day begins with a scenic journey on Lake Ullswater to Howtown. From here, we cross a historic Roman road on our way to Bampton. Hike to the 12th-century Shap Abbey. A short transfer takes us to our hotel in the typical English village of Ravenstonedale. (12 miles hiking, 7 hours)

    Accommodations: The Black Swan

    Jack Ma, whose Chinese name is Ma Yun, became the richest man in China, when the company he founded floated on the stock market last year with a value of around ￡140 billion. Here are some interesting stories about him.

    ⒈"Beer" was the first word that Jack Ma searched for on the Internet

    In 1995 Ma made his first trip to the US and used the Internet for the first time. After searching for "beer" and then "China", he saw that no results came up relating to China. He decided to set up a Chinese website一the seed for Alibaba had been sown.

    ⒉Jack Ma applied to study at Harvard 10 times and was rejected (拒绝) each time

Ma failed the entry exams for colleges in China three times and was also rejected for many jobs in China, including one at KFC. He was turned down by the Harvard 10 times after applying.

    ⒊Jack Ma learnt English by giving tourists free guides一every day for nine years.

    Limited resources meant it was difficult to learn English when Ma was young. However, he found that he could learn the language by giving tourists free tours around his hometown of Hangzhou一something that he did during his teenage years every morning for nine years. He found everything they said and did was so different from what he had been taught at school and by his parents, which opened his mind.

    ⒋Jack Ma named his company Alibaba because it's a globally known story

Ma simply wanted his company to have a global and interesting name, and realised that Alibaba is a story known across the world and it begins with A, appearing top of lists.

    The company was founded in 1999 and since then has grown from 15 employees to more than 30,000. Ma hopes to keep expanding Alibaba outside of China.

    Branksome Hall

    Class Size: 12 to 22

    Grades: JK to Gr. 12

    Gender(性别): All girls

    Living: day, Boarding(提供住宿的）

    Founded in 1903, Branksome Hall is Toronto's only all-girls, all-years International Baccalaureate (IB）World School. From the earliest grades, students learn to become leaders and to understand the value of serving the community. Discover Branksome hall's programs at www.brunksome.on.ca.

    Stanstead College

    Class Size: 13

    Grades: Gr. 7 to Gr.12

    Gender: Open to both sexes

    Living: Boarding

    Stanstead College is a private boarding school for boys and girls in Grades 7 through 12. It is an English school that embraces (包含) French in and out of the classroom. It is also uniquely placed to open doors to top universities and colleges in the United States, Canada and around the world.

    Oakwood Academy

    Class Size: 1 to 4

    Grades: JK to Gr. 12.

    Gender: Open to both sexes

    Living: Day

    Oakwood Academy is a private school for students who require an individualized education plan and small class size to meet their unique learning styles. Direct Instruction is used to teach academics in small groups and a meaningful curriculum (课程) allows students to truly learn.

    TEAM School

    Class Size: 8 to 12

    Grades: Gr. 1 to Gr.12

    Gender: Open to both sexes

    Living: Day

    TEAM School provides an academic program for students in Grades 1 through 12. Students from ages 6 to 14 benefit from small class sizes (8 students) and an individualized academic program to provide an educational upgrading.