With fuel costs rising and airlines finding more fees to impose on travelers every day, airfare isn't getting any cheaper. Since you can't drive to all your dream destinations, flying is the only way to go sometimes and, undeniably, the fastest. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to find the most affordable fares and also avoid paying as many extra charges as possible when you plan ahead.

    Getting the best fare. Airlines put out their fare sales on Tuesday morning, making this day the best day to book a flight for less.

    Fly during the least popular times. Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are the slowest days to fly, which means cheaper deals than the rest of the week. You can also find reduced rates on early morning flights, since many people don't like to get up before the sun to get to the airport. Earlier boarding times can also considerably cut down your chances of getting bumped on an overbooked flight or delayed because of other delayed flights or mechanical issues.

    Choose your seat later. Some airlines charge you to pick your seat when you book online, adding even more to the bottom line of your ticket cost. If you show up early on your travel day, you can still get suitable seats. Some of the best seats get held back until flight day, unless others are willing to pay extra for them ahead of time, so you still have the chance at one of those.

    Fly on holidays. You already know that summer is the most expensive time to fly, and even though most other times are more affordable, the days surrounding holidays can be crazy. Save big if you're willing to travel on major holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

    Don't wait until the last-minute to book. Many travelers don't know that there's a sweet spot for booking and getting the best price on your tickets. Book too early or too late and you could end up paying more than you need to. The best time to book is between three months and six weeks from when you want to travel.

    Avoiding extra fees Airlines will charge for just about anything these days. Some have even toyed around with charging customers for using the restroom. All those extra fees can certainly add up, but there's no reason to pay them if you don't have to. Here are some tips to keep money in your wallet once you get to the airport.

    Avoid the upgrade it's not necessary. Sometimes upgrades are free, but mostly you will be charged for seeking a last-minute bump to first class, and the cost can be hefty.

    Fly carry-on only. Baggage fees vary wildly, but almost all airlines charge them and charge big. Why pay for your clothes to fly with you? If everyone in your travel party checks a bag, your bill can be astronomical before you ever even get to your destination. It's easy to reduce the amount of stuff you pack: Make sure all your clothing coordinates, so you can take less and still make more outfit combinations, take only two pair of shoes, plan to do a bit of laundry on your trip and bring only travel-sized toiletries.

    Pack your own snacks. Unless you're flying internationally, it's rare your flight comes with a free meal. Snacks on the plane are not cheap and almost never healthy. Don't rely on what's on the small menu and instead tuck some of your own snacks — granola bars, homemade muffins, fruit and trail mix all make fantastic travel foods — into your bag and eat a lot better, and cheaper, than other passengers.

    Do you have a tried and true method of getting the best deal on your flights? Let us know.

    Most dictionaries will tell you a number of things about a language. There are three important things. These three things are spelling, pronunciation(发音) and meaning.

    First, a dictionary will tell you the spelling of a word. If you are not sure about the spelling of a word, you can try to find the correct spelling in a dictionary. Words are listed in an alphabetical (字母表的) order —— a, b, c and so on. For example, on a dictionary page the "poor" comes before "poverty" and the word "poverty" comes before the "power".

    The words are always given in alphabetical order. The second thing, a dictionary will tell you the pronunciation. Most dictionaries give phonetic, or sound alphabet. The phonetic alphabet (音标) shows pronunciation. The third thing, a dictionary will tell you the meaning of words. You can look up a word and find out what it means. Many words have more than one meaning, and a good dictionary will tell you all of the word's meanings. For example, in English the common word "get" has over 20 different meanings.

    Artificial intelligence（AI，人工智能）can help us make phone calls, guide us to where we want to go, or play games. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Researchers from Microsoft recently created the first machine translation system that can translate news articles from Chinese to English, Business Standard reported.

    According to Microsoft's official website, researchers tested the system by asking it to translate hundreds of sentences taken from news stories.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}They concluded that the system's translations were as good as the human translations. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}This is partly because different words can be used to express the same meaning. It can be hard to say which word is more “correct”.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}“Much of our research is really inspired by how we humans do things,” lead researcher Liu Tieyan said.

    One method is called dual learning（对偶学习）. In this method, the system translates every sentence from Chinese to English, as well as translating the sentences back from English into Chinese.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}This is similar to what humans do to make sure their translations are accurate.

        Another method makes use of deliberation networks. This is when the system is made to translate the same sentence over and over. Gradually, the system improves the quality of its translation, like humans who would improve their own writing by going over it again and again.

A. Machine translation is always challenging.

B. However, experts used several methods to improve the system's translation abilities.

C. Then, language experts compared the results to two translations that were done by humans.

D. Researchers collected a lot of data to help the system learn and improve.

E. And now, AI can do even more things.

F. Researchers have worked on machine translation for decades.

G. This way, the system can improve itself and learn from its own mistakes.

    Planning to get away? Think passport first

    If you're planning to get away from it all this year, you should think passport first. Checking you have a valid passport before you book your trip takes minutes but could save you the trouble and cost of not being able to go.

    Renewing (更新) your passport before it runs out

You can renew your passport up to 9 months before it can no longer be legally used. So take the time now and save the tears later.

    Applying for a passport for the first time

    Our eligibility (资格) checks mean that it takes a minimum of one week to issue (颁发) a passport. So make sure you don't leave it to the last minute, and apply in plenty of time.

    Help with your application is just around the corner

    Selected Post Office branches and Worldchoice travel agents offer a Check and Send service that helps you with your application. It's convenient and you should receive your passport within 2 weeks.

    If you need to apply for or renew a passport, you can either:

    Pick up a Passport Application Form at Selected Post Office branches and Worldchoice travel agents.

    Or call the Application Form Request line on 0901 4700 100 or visit www.passport.gov.uk

    If your need is urgent, call 0870 521 0410 for an appointment at one of our offices. We can't guarantee to see customers without an appointment.

    From 14th January a guaranteed same day (passport renewals only) or one week service will be available from passport public counters.

    Calls will be charged 60p per minute and the cost per call should not normally be more than 90p.

    Calls are charged at national rates.

The Advantages of Hobbies

    Hobbies provide entertainment and a chance to continuously learn something new and develop a skill set.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Hobbies are praised as a key to stress reduction. Becoming lost in the mental concentration or physical action which you are deeply interested in helps you shift focus from the parts of life that are stressful.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}And in turn you are more peaceful when working on other work.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Many people set goals with their hobbies that provide them satisfaction when these goals have been achieved. These goals can be simple, like improving a golf score, writing a certain number of pages for a novel each day or seeing an entire collection of classic films.

    Hobbies provide a sense of community when you meet other people who enjoy similar activities.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}More populated cities typically have numerous clubs or groups for people to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about a particular hobby. Becoming a member of one of these organizations allows greater growth within your hobby, as well as a chance to make new friends.

    Having a hobby can develop a talent that makes a person feel proud and satisfied. For example, a tennis hobby developed at a young age can lead to a career as a professional athlete one day.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}For example, writer Vladimir Nabokov also collected butterflies, which allowed him to do better in his chosen fields because he used learned skills from one to improve the other.

A.Focusing on something enjoyable can calm the mind.

B.Hobbies also provide a sense of achievement.

C.Some hobbies affect other aspects of your life.

D.There are a variety of hobbies.

E.They also provide many other social and health benefits.

F.Having a hobby increases the chances to interact with like-minded people.

G.Some hobbies containing physical activities offer an enjoyable way to stay healthy.

London Underground

    The world's first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time, the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work, they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems, the idea of the London Underground, the first subway system, was born.

    The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays, but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30,000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed), and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot(煤灰), as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems, riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.