Secrets of Web Travel Sites

Booking a trip on an online travel siteis convenient, but comes with its own set of problems.

1 They who's on a Mac and who's on a PCand who's going to spend more.

Last year, US travel research companyOrbitz tracked people's online activities to test out whether Mac users spendmore on travel than PC users. On average, Mac users lay out US$20-30 more pernight on hotels and go for more stars. according to the Wall Street Journal. Asa result, online• travel sites show these users more expensive travel optionsfirst. To avoid inadvertently paying more, sort results by price.

 Their software doesn't always hook up to thehotel's system.

A guaranteed reservation is almostimpossible to come by anywhere — but the risk of your flight or hotel beingoverbooked increases with third-party providers. The middle-man's softwareisn't immune to system errors, so always call the hotel or airline to make sureyour booking was processed.

 Don't be fooled by packages: Often, they'relow-end items grouped together.

Ever notice how travel sites recommend ahotel, a rental car, and tour package all in one click? These deals usuallyfeature travel that no one wants, like flights with multiple layovers.

Check the fine print.

 You could miss out on loyalty points.

Third-party providers can get betweenyou and frequent flyer miles or points. Many hotel loyalty programmes don'trecognise external sites, others award only minimum points and exclude specialoffers, like double points on hotel stays.

 Once your trip is purchased, you're on yourown.

An online travel agency can't provideassistance the same way an agent can if a flight is cancelled or a room issubstandard. Basically, when you arrive at the airport or hotel, you're justanother client who booked at the lowest rate.

    Off the coast of Hawaii's Big Island swim masses of colorful tropical fish. Some of these fish will be caught and sold, ending up in aquariums around the world. Is the industry putting populations of the fish at risk?

    Scientists who have studied the Big Island fishery say it is well managed. Rules put in place more than 15 years ago have helped to protect the fish. Along 35% of the coastline, for example, fish collecting is banned. Two years ago, the state cut the number of fish species for the aquarium trade from hundreds to just 40.

    Conservationist Robert Wintner objects to the findings. Wintner, who owns snorkel shops across Hawaii, started the Snorkel Bob Foundation to protect the island's coral reefs(珊瑚礁). He says he simply doesn't see yellow tang(刺尾鱼)in the protected areas. “There should be millions of them,” he says. “Where are they?”

    Wintner says people believe the numbers in reports. But few people have actually dived into the coral reefs to see for themselves how many fish can be found there. According to Wintner, the coral reefs along the coast should be filled with yellow tang, but they are “virtually empty”. Empty reefs are not good for tourism, Wintner points out, which brings out $800 million yearly. By contrast, the aquarium-fish trade brings out just $2 million yearly.

    Sleep is something we all do. But some people need to sleep more than others. Babies sleep most of the time. Children in school sleep about ten to twelve hours a night. Most adults sleep only seven or eight hours. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    All parts of our bodies have to rest after they work.. Our arms need a rest after we lift heavy thing, When we run fast, our legs work hard. They get tired. We have to rest them. Our brains work hard, too. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. We can sit quite still and rest our arms and legs. But our brains aren't resting. They go right on thinking as long as we are awake.

    Our brains slow down a bit when we sleep and dream. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Instead of thinking wide-awake thoughts, our brains make up dreams. Some dreams are very pleasing. Some are not. Most of the time we forget them when we wake up.

    Scientists have tried to find out what would happen if people were not allowed to sleep. They asked some people not to go to bed. The people stayed up all night and all the next day. They stayed up the next night too, and the day after. They played games, but they made mistakes. They forgot things. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The people grew rude and mean. They became angry with their friends. Finally they were too tired to stand up. When they sat down, they fell asleep.

    Scientists have found that if people are not allowed to sleep and to dream, they act in an unusual way. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But we do know that we need it to stay well. So tonight have a good sleep. Lie down under the covers. Shut your eyes. Let your thoughts wander. Soon you'll stop thinking. You'll be asleep.

A. It was hard for their tired brains to work.

B. When we are awake, they help us pay attention to the world around us.

C. But babies, children, and adults — all of us need to have our sleep.

D. Good sleep helps to improve one's memory.

E. No one knows why sleep is so good for us.

F. But even as we sleep our brains are doing some work.

G. Of course you will have a good sleep.

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    In the famous fairy tale, Snow White eats the Queen's apple and falls victim to a curse（诅咒）;in Shakespeare's novel, Romeo drinks the poison and dies; some ancient Chinese emperors took pellets（药丸）that contained mercury（水银）, believing that it would make them immortal, but they died afterward.

    Poison has long been an important ingredient in literature and history, and it seems to always be associated with evil, danger and death. But how much do you really know about poison?

    An exhibition, The Power of Poison, opened last month at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, intended to give the audience a more vivid understanding of poison.

    The museum tour starts in a rainforest setting, where you can see live examples of some of the most poisonous animals: caterpillars（毛毛虫）, frogs and spiders. Golden poison frogs, for instance, aren't much bigger than a coin, but their skin is covered with a poison that can cut off the signaling power of your nerves, and a single frog has enough venom to kill 10 grown humans.

    "Poisons can be bad for some things," Michael Novacek, senior vice president of the museum, told NBC News. "Yet they can also be good for others."

    A poisonous chemical found in the yew tree is effective against cancer, which is what led to the invention of a cancer-fighting drug called Taxol.

    The benefits from natural poisons are not limited to just medicine. Believe it or not, many substances（物质）that we regularly ingest（摄入）-chili, coffee and chocolate-owe their special flavors or stimulating（提神的）effects to chemicals that plants make to poison insects.

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    A heartbroken dog whose owner died two months ago is missing her so much that he attends services every day at the Italian church where her funeral was held, patiently waiting for her to return.

    Tommy, a seven-year-old dog, belonged to Maria Lochi, 57, and had been her faithful partner after she adopted him when she found him in fields close to her home. Mrs. Lochi adopted several dogs she found but friends said she developed a close friendship with Tommy and would walk to church with him every day, where he would be allowed to sit patiently by her feet.

    Father Panna said, “He's there every time I celebrate Mass and is very well behaved. He doesn't make a sound, and I've not heard one bark from him in all the time he has been in. He used to come with Maria and he was obviously devoted to her. I let him stay inside as he was always so well behaved and none of the other people ever complained to me. He's still coming to Mass even after Maria's funeral, he just sat there quietly. I didn't have the heart to throw him out. I've just recently lost my own dog so I leave him there until Mass finishes and then I let him out.”

    Tommy's been adopted by everyone in the village now and he is everybody's friend. Everyone looks out for him and leaves food for him, although it would be nice to find a proper home for him.

    The story of Tommy is similar to the 2009 Hollywood film Hachi which told of how a faithful Akita dog waits patiently for his master after he also dies. It was based on the true story of a Japanese Akita called Hachi, whose owner died in 1925 but for the next nine years he waited patiently at the railway station for his owner from where they regularly caught a train.

    A study found wireless signals are able to pass through bags and suitcases to judge the sizes of dangerous metal objects and identify them." These items could include weapons, chemicals, laptops and batteries for bombs, "the research team said on Tuesday.

    Research suggested that Wi-Fi can now be used to estimate the volume of liquids such as water, acid, alcohol and other chemicals for explosive material. The study led by researchers at the Wireless Information Network Laboratory (WINLAB) in the School. of Engineering showed a wireless device with two to three antennas(天线)that could be fitted in existing Wi-Fi networks.

    The detection system analyzes what happens when wireless signals go through and bounce off objects or materials. The approach, which the paper states, works by separating the wireless interference(干扰)caused by two factors of objects-the material and shape." Most dangerous objects such as weapons are usually metal or liquid, which have significant interference," researchers said.

    When it was tested on a backpack, the accuracy rate topped 95 percent. "But the accuracy dropped to about 90 percent when objects inside bags are wrapped. And the tech could save lives if used in museums, stadiums, theme parks or schools," the team said, noting its design can inspect bags or luggage without being an exposure to privacy.

    It uses channel state information (CSI) that is readily available in low-cost Wi-Fi devices." This could have a great impact on protecting the public from dangerous objects," said Yingying Chen, a co-author of the study," There's a growing need for that now. In large public areas, it's hard to set up expensive screening equipment like what's in airports. Manpower is always needed to check bags and we want to develop a method to try to reduce manpower.”

    The peer-reviewed study, which recently won a best paper award at the 2018 IEEE Conference on Communications and Network Security, is now published online." Future work will continue to focus on ameliorating the accuracy of identifying objects and imaging shapes and volumes," researchers said.