Please Don't Be Afraid To Travel On Your Own

    You want to travel. You make an unclear plan. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But either way, you're leaving in six months time. You start doing research every single night.

    Of course, as this will be your first ‘real' travel experience, you naturally prefer to travel with other people. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} But the first friend you ask, perhaps your closest friend, turns you down and so you move on to the next friend. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The third friend, the fourth friend and even that guy that you don't really like say no as well.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}You hope that one of your friends will change their mind and decide to join you. Maybe you decide to forget about your trip altogether, fully believing that you can only travel so far away from home with a friend or travel companion (同伴) by your side.

    Don't give up just yet. Here's my advice to you. You may be on your own when you board that flight to Bangkok or Mexico City, but believe me, once you arrive, you'll never actually be alone. That's how travel works. Unless you stare at the ground and never talk to anyone, you're going to meet people when you travel, lots and lots of people from all over the world. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Don't give it up.

B. Maybe you'll fly to Thailand or to Mexico.

C. Meeting new people is one of the worst things to do.

D. But they too, tell you they have no interest to join you at all.

E. They will be interested in meeting and hanging out with you.

F. So you start asking your friends to join you in your journey.

G. Maybe you decide to put off your trip for another six months.

    The Intelligent Transport team at Newcastle University have turned an electric car into a mobile laboratory named “DriveLAB” in order to understand the challenges faced by older drivers and to discover where the key stress points are.

    Research shows that giving up driving is one of the key reasons for a fall in health and well-being among older people, leading to them becoming more isolated(隔绝) and inactive.

    Led by Professor Phil Blythe, the Newcastle team are developing in-vehicle technologies for older drivers which they hope could help them to continue driving into later life.

    These include custom-made navigation(导航) tools, night vision systems and intelligent speed adaptations. Phil Blythe explains: “For many older people, particularly those living alone or in the country, driving is important for preserving their independence, giving them the freedom to get out and about without having to rely on others.”

    “But we all have to accept that as we get older our reactions slow down and this often results in people avoiding any potentially challenging driving conditions and losing confidence in their driving skills. The result is that people stop driving before they really need to.”

    Dr Amy Guo, the leading researcher on the older driver study, explains, “The DriveLAB is helping us to understand what the key points and difficulties are for older drivers and how we might use technology to address these problems.

    “For example, most of us would expect older drivers always go slower than everyone else but surprisingly, we found that in 30mph zones they struggled to keep at a constant speed and so were more likely to break the speed limit and be at risk of getting fined. We're looking at the benefits of systems which control their speed as a way of preventing that.

    “We hope that our work will help with technological solutions(解决方案) to ensure that older drivers stay safer behind the wheel.”

    There is little rain in desert. Because deserts are so dry, they have no “quilt” to help stop the soil from going away. As a result, they may get very hot during the day with the sun shining, but don't hold the heat overnight. Many deserts can quickly get cold once the sun goes down. Some deserts can reach temperatures of over 100 degrees F during the day and then drop below freezing (32 degrees F) during the night.

    The largest hot and dry desert in the world is the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa. The Sahara is a sandy desert with great sand hills. It covers over 3 million square miles of Africa. Other large deserts include the Arabian Desert in the Middle East, the Gobi Desert in Northern China and Mongolia, and Kalahari Desert in Africa.

    Animals that live in the desert are also used to needing little water. Many get all the water they need from the food they eat. Other animals keep water that they can use later. The camel stores up fat in its hump while other animals keep something they need in their tails.

    Only certain types of plants can live in the terrible environment of the desert. You won't see a lot of tall trees in the desert. Most plants have a way to keep water in their leaves, or trunks so they can live a long time without water.

    Now deserts cover around 20% of the world's land, but they are growing. This is called desertification and is caused by different reasons including human activities. The Sahara Desert is growing larger and larger each year. What should we do with it?

    You've heard the predictions from some of the brightest minds about AI's influence. Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk worries that AI is far more dangerous than nuclear weapons. The late scientist Stephen Hawking warned AI could serve as the "worst event in the history of our civilization" unless humanity is prepared for its possible risks.

    But many experts, even those who are aware of such risks, have a more positive attitude, especially in health-care and possibly in education. That is one of the results from a new AI study released Monday by the Pew Research Center.

    Pew canvassed the opinions of 979 experts over the summer, a group that included famous technologists, developers, innovators and business and policy leaders. The interviewed experts, some of whom chose to remain anonymous, were asked to join in the discussion of a serious and important question: "By 2030, do you think it is most likely that advancing AI and related technology systems will improve human capacities and control them?"

    Nearly two-thirds experts predicted most of us will be mostly better off. But a third thought otherwise, and a majority of the experts expressed at least some concerns over the long-term impact of AI on the "essential elements(要素) of being human." Among those concerns were data abuse, loss of jobs and loss of control brought by autonomous weapons and cybercrime(网络犯罪). Above all, by taking data in and spitting answers out, those "black box" tools make decisions in digital systems. It is an erosion(侵蚀) in our ability to think for ourselves.

    During the past Spring Festival, many children may have received red packets from their families. But Xing Pu, a 40-year-old economist, is asking the government to give red packets to every Chinese citizen.

    Xing suggested the government give out 1,000 yuan to each Chinese since the government income has increased rapidly in recent years. He said his suggestion would allow everyone to directly enjoy the fruits of the country's economic success, help the lower-income groups deal with rising prices and increase consumption around the country.

    Recent years have seen the government carry out a series of pro-poor (扶贫)and prorural (惠农)policies, including increasing spending on public health-care and cutting down the agricultural tax. But the lower-income group still needs more help.

    Xing said he has borrowed many ideas from practices in countries like the United States and Singapore. Earlier this year, the governments of the two nations offered cash handouts (救济)to their citizens. As for in China, "We can even encourage the rich to donate their 1,000 yuan red packet to the poor" said Xing.

    Although Xing's suggestion has gained wide support among ordinary Chinese on the Internet, many other economists criticized it as unpractical. "To better use the increase of money, handing out money is not a solution that holds good for all time. It could be better to improve the public service or cut the price of energy use in daily life," said Qiao Xinshcng, an economic professor.

    If you're looking for ways to increase your income, you might be considering accepting ads for some companies' products on your website. Here are the ways:

    Promote an affiliated (附属) product on your site. Joining a company's affiliated program is one of the simplest ways to start Internet advertising. While affiliated links aren't technically ads, they allow you to make money by promoting someone else's product. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Use targeted advertising with Google AdSense. Google's AdSense program allows you to make money by placing targeted text ads made by Google on your pages. The ads appear in the bottom of a web page with the words "Ads by Google" over the top. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Anyone, even students, can use it. Google does all the work of finding relevant ads for your site, and you just collect the payments.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If your site is already getting lots of trade, try looking for sites that offer more products. Be sure to contact potential Internet advertising partners in a profession manner. Call them on the phone instead of just e-mailing them so your communication is more personal and professional. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The more information you can give them, the more likely they will be to consider your offer.

    Sign up for a blog-specific ad program. If you have a blog, consider signing up to feature blog-specific ads on your site. The key is to consider the kinds of ads your target audience will find valuable. Get advertisers interested in your blog with a link they can use to contact you for rates and requirements. This link can be a simple message saying "Click here to find out how to advertise on this blog!" {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It's easy and free to join.

B. Approach companies directly.

C. Sign up for a context-based ad program.

D. Be ready to supply them with information about your business.

E. Making money from your site isn't a matter of putting up a few ads.

F. Through it, you can earn payments when someone makes a purchase.

G. In that way, anyone is free to discuss advertising opportunities with you.