Andy was still traveling in Spain when he realized he had to confirm (确认) his flight home with the airline company (航空公司). He was visiting Spain in order to improve his Spanish. When he was speaking to people face to face, he had no difficulty understanding what they said. However, when he was speaking on the phone, he still had a problem. Andy called the airline. And the clerk confirmed that his plane was leaving at nine o'clock three days from that day. She also told Andy to be at the airport two hours earlier in order to check in his luggage and get a seat.

    Since he was leaving in three days, Andy didn't lose any time. He visited as many places as he could. He thought that it would probably be a while before he had enough money again. He wished he could come back and spend a year in Spain.

    Too quickly, the final day arrived. Andy left early for the airport to arrive two hours before take-off. He hated to rush. He went to the clerk to show his ticket. The clerk looked at the ticket in surprise. "Why, sir, but your flight was at nine o'clock in the morning, and now it is eight in the evening." "But I confirmed my flight," insisted Andy. "Will I have to pay for another ticket?"

    "No, sir. However, the next flight out will be three days from now."

    Andy's look of shock turned to pleasure as he realized that now he could continue his vacation.

Venom(毒液）from a local scorpion(蝎子）in Cuba is being used by Cuban scientists as an effective weapon to fight cancer. The venom, with stopping pain, anti-inflammatory (炎症） and anti-cancer properties, is the active ingredient in the medicine “Vidatox 30 CH“ which can be used to treat liver, brain, lung and other cancers. The treatment has been successfully used for more than four years in humans after being first tested in biological models. Labiofam, a Cuban laboratory, has breeding(繁殖)centers for both the Red Scorpion and Blue Scorpion. Each month, some 30,000 scorpions in Las Minas town, 270 km east of Havana are made to give the venom. After two years, the scorpions are released back into their natural habitat.

Denyer Sanchez, a biologist from Labiofam, explained that the conditions are adjusted for reproduction, proved by the high number of breeding female scorpions. He said when the offspring(后代）becomes able to live in the environment, we release them because they do not have the necessary size yet to remove their venom, said Sanchez. Sanchez also said that there is still much to research on the exploitation process of scorpions, such as female death rate or the ability to survive of the released scorpions.

Cuban research on the scorpion's venom began at the end of 1980s in Guantanamo province, the island's eastern tip, where a group of biologists and doctors became interested in the stories told by the peasants about the venom's benefits. However，the first discovery was made by Cuban biologist Misael Bordier. In 2001, Bordier visited Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM) and presented the research progress in a professional journal. Bordier died in 2005, one year before Cuba's Industrial Property Office gave Labiofam the rights to exploit the patent related to the venom.

    FITNESS CENTRE

    The fitness centre offers a variety of activities for members of all ages throughout the week.

    Activities for Monday 12 July, 2017:

    Learn to swim. Classes for preschool children aged five and under start at 10:00 am. Classes last 30 minutes and parents must attend with their children. Don't forget to book in advance, as places are limited, and to pack some warm clothes for after the lesson.

    Woman's aerobics (有氧运动). Sessions are for one hour and begin at 10:45 am, led by Melissa. Come along and join us every Monday for an exhilarating hour of exercise and fun. Leave your kids at the nursery and take time out for yourself. Wear a track-suit or something similar.

    Lunchtime yoga. Take a break at lunchtime (1:00—2:00 pm) for an hour of meditation and yoga. Enjoy the peace and quiet of our meditation room, and relaxing sessions designed for active people with busy lives. Use your own mat for floor work or hire one from us for a small sum.

    Family Shootaround. 10:00—5:30 pm. Family Shootaround is open for members and guests to bring the family out for basketball. Half court games are only during this time. There are no full court games during Family Shootaround hours. All participants must sign in at the front desk and wear a wristband during the play.

    Here are some recommendations for tourists to choose from.

    Banff, Canada

    Banff, located in the Rockies, has a view of tall mountains, deep valleys and lakes, making it the first town to become part of the country's national parks. Tourists can enjoy its beauty by hiking, horse riding and boat trips. Banff was founded in 1883 while a railroad was in construction. It was the water springs that drew the engineers' attention to the place as a settlement. With such a fantastic view, it's no surprise that Banff hosts a number of cultural festivals.

    Lisbon, Portugal

    Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, with the warmest winters of any major European city.

    Belem Tower and Jeronimos Monastery are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The former was built in the 16^th century as a symbol of Portugal's Extraordinary Age and the latter is one of the greatest examples of the Portuguese late-Gothic style of architecture. The Lisbon Oceanaium is among Europe's finest aquariums. The Museum Calouste Gulbenkian is among the best museums in Europe containing priceless artworks covering 4000 years from ancient Egyptian times to the late 20^th century.

    Portland, US

    Portland is frequently recognized as one of the world's most environmentally-friendly cities because of its well-built pavements, large community of cyclists and convenient public transportation. Us climate is ideal for growing roses and it's called the “City of Roses”. Besides, the seaport is also known as a city of beer: it has the largest number of beer breweries（啤酒厂）of any city in the world. Today's Portland is better known for its music. It's called “the capital of karaoke” and “one of the most exciting music scenes” in the US.

    Bordeaux, France

    Bordeaux attracts tourists with its rich cultural heritage, especially its wealth of architectural treasures. Besides the Cathedral of Saint Andrew dating back to 12^th century, the Basilica of Saint Michael is another one of the city's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It took 200 years to build from 14^th to 16^th centuries. Other significant buildings include the Grand Theater built in 1780 in the new Classical style and the Stone Bridge built in 1821.

    News anchors(主播) must have been reluctant to read out the following news: Xin Xiaomeng began working as the world's first female artificial(人工的) intelligence news anchor at Xinhua News Agency on Sunday, three months after a male robot joined the profession.

    Unlike previous news robots though, Xin does not read news like a cold machine; she reads it almost like a human being. The muscles on her face stretch and relax-and her reactions change-as she continues reading. That's why many news anchors were worried: Will AI replace us in the near future?

    To find the answer, we have to analyse the technologies that support Xin at her job. Three key technologies are used to support Xin. First, samples of human voices are collected and synthesized (合成). This is followed by the collection and synthesis of human muscle movement samples. And third the voices and movements are married in a way that when the Al news anchor reads, the micro -electric motors behind her face move to make her expressions seem more human.

    Yet we need a thorough knowledge of deep leaning technology to make a robot imitate a person's voice. The developer needs to collect tens of thousands of pieces of pronunciations, input them into the machine and match them with the text or the Al to lean and read. The process for imitating facial movements is similar. The developer has to analyse the movements of the 53 muscles in the human face, make a model set from the collected data for the AI news anchor to lean, and imitate the movements of facial muscles via programs

    Both the technologies used to make Xin's performance impressive are mature. The real difficulty lies in the third -the technology to match the pronunciations with facial movements so that Xin expressions vary according to the content of the news report. In fact, Xins expressions don't always change according to the content. As a result, her expressions look anything but human. Actually. AI is still no match for human qualities.

Summer Programs for Teens

University of Maryland: TERP Young Scholars

    This program is the perfect summer camp for academically talented teenagers who want to pursue academic interests, explore career opportunities, and discover college life at the University of Maryland.

    During three weeks of intellectual exploration, teens can study with students who share similar interests, and communicate with some of the university's best teachers. Upon successful completion, students can earn three college credits.

Carpe Diem: The University-bound Adventure

    Carpe Diem supports both American and international students in applying to a university by providing private consultation. This 2-week experience also includes tours of famous East Const universities Students will also have the opportunity to build their resumes (简历) by working with writing experts.

    Great Books Summer Program

    This is a lively, warm and welcoming summer camp community of outstanding teens, who love literature and ideas. In the past eleven years, it has gathered middle and high school students from across the world to read selections from the greatest works of literature, experience heated discussions and enjoy summer camp fun with other literary-minded students. Participants can gain confidence in their ability to read a text closely and express their ideas clearly both verbally and in writing.

Zeal Travel

    We offer our teens two week and three- week long trips to Hawaii, Alaska, Australia and Spain. All trips include 15-25 hours of community service activities.

    Depending on your trip of choice, you'll be helping Hawaiians protect their forest ecosystem, caring for dogs in Spain, working with Habitat for Humanity, and much more. Every trip also includes exciting outdoor activities like surfing, driving, ice-climbing, hiking and more. The possibilities are endless and there is a zeal trip for every interest.