Spain could soon become {#blank#}1{#/blank#}first European Union country to extradite Taiwanese criminal {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(suspect)to China, instead of their home island.

    In December, a joint Spanish-Chinese operation busted what police said was a massive{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(internationally) phone scamming syndicate(诈骗集团).

    Although most of the 269 suspects {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(arrest) were Taiwanese nationals, Beijing asked for the entire group to be sent to China. Last month, the Spanish government approved the request.

    Taiwan, which China {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (see) as a breakaway province that will eventually be reunited with the mainland, has protested that the decision violates historical European human rights norms and the “principle of nationality”.

But the reality is that it can do little {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(stop) the transfer. Spain, like most countries, doesn't {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (formal) recognize Taiwan as a state.

    Analysts say China's stance on the issue reflects the tougher line it has taken towards Taiwan since President Tsaiing-wen, {#blank#}8{#/blank#}party leans towards formal independence, won elections in January last year. The mainland has also spoken of {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (it) frustration with Taiwan, accusing it    {#blank#}10{#/blank#} failing to rein in (控制)thousands of its nationals who dupe Chinese people via phone scams from abroad.

    When I was a child I thought a lot about what it means to love. I once asked my mother if she loved me or my father {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(many), certain that I knew the answer — me. Instead, she bent down and looked at me{#blank#}2{#/blank#} the eye, hands gently on each shoulder. She explained that she couldn't help{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(love) me and that the love of a mother for her baby was incredibly strong. But then she told me that the love she had for my daddy was a love of{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(choose), which made it special. Of all the people in the world, she chose {#blank#}5{#/blank#} and he chose her. Now that I'm married, I consider each day{#blank#}6{#/blank#} it takes to stay married as long as my parents have. It's not that I don't believe in romance.{#blank#}7{#/blank#} I believe more in the sacred of the ordinary. I believe in love that is sustained by deliberate {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(kind) and the choice to see little acts as testaments of love and commitment rather than indicators of a spark that has died of love communicated each time he cooks meals and I schedule his dental appointment. This picture of love is certainly less{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(excite), but decidedly real, and more romantic in its own way because of the weight of its {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(real).

    Just How Buggy is Your Phone?

    What item in your home crawls with the most germs? If you say {#blank#}1{#/blank#} toilet seat, you're wrong. Kitchen sponges top the list. But cell phones are pretty dirty too. They contain around 10 times as many germs as toilet seats. People touch their phones, laptops, and other digital devices all day long, yet rarely clean them.

    In one incident, a thief paid a terrible price for stealing a germy cell phone. He stole it from a hospital in Uganda during a widespread of the deadly disease Ebola. The phone's owner reported the theft before {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(die)from the disease. Soon, the thief began showing symptoms and finally {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(confess)to the crime.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} in that unusual case a cell phone carried dangerous bacteria, not all germs are bad. Most cause no harm. In fact, they could provide helpful information. Look at the surface of your phone carefully. Do you see some dirty mars? “That's all you,” says microbial ecologist Jarrad Hampton-Marcell. “That's biological information.”

    It turns out that the types of germs that you apply all over your phone or tablet are different from {#blank#}5{#/blank#} of your friends and family. They're like a fingerprint that could identify you. Some day in the future, investigators may use these microbial fingerprints to solve crimes. Phones and digital devices may be one of the best places to look for buggy clues.

    In a 2017 study, researchers sampled a range of surfaces in 22 participants' homes, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} countertops and floors to computer keyboards and mice. Then they tried to match the microbial fingerprints on each object to its owner. The office equipment was easiest to match to its owner. In an {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(early)study, a different group of researchers found that they could use microbial fingerprints to identify the person who {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(use)a computer keyboard even after the keyboard sat untouched for two weeks at room temperature.

    One day, microbial signatures might show {#blank#}9{#/blank#} people have gone and what they have touched. They could prove {#blank#}10{#/blank#} an unmarked device is yours. So, sure, your phone is pretty germy. Does that inspire you, or does it just bother you?