Computer programmer David Jones earns £35,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank ready to let him have a credit card(信用卡). Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.

    The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David's firm releases(推出) two new games for the fast throwing computer market each month.

    But David's biggest headache is what to do with his money. Even though he earns a lot, he cannot drive a car, take out a mortgage(抵押贷款), or get credit cards. David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. "I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs," he said. David spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 50 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.

    "Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school," he said. "But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway." David added: "I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement(退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear."

    “Did you hear what happened to Adam Last Friday?”Lindsey whispers to Tori.

    With her eyes shining, Tori brags，“You bet I did, Sean told me two days ago.”

    Who are Lindsey and Tori talking about? It just happened to be yours truly, Adam Freedman, I can tell you that what they are saying is not nice and not even true. Still, Lindsey and Tori aren't very different from most students here at Linton High School, including me. Many of our conversations are gossip(闲话). I have noticed three effects of gossip: it can hurt people, it can give gossipers a strange kind of satisfaction, and it can cause social pressures in a group.

    An important negative effect of gossip is that it can hurt the person being talked about. Usually, gossip spreads information about a topic-breakups, trouble at home, even dropping out-that a person would rather keep secret. The more embarrassing or shameful the secret is, the juicier the gossip it makes. Probably the worst type of gossip is the absolute lie. People often think of gossipers as harmless, but cruel lies can cause pain.

    If we know that gossip can be harmful, then why do so many of us do it? That answer lies in another effect of gossip: the satisfaction it gives us. Sharing the latest rumor(传言)can make a person feel important because he or she knows something that others don't. Similarly, hearing the latest rumor can make a person feel like part of the “in group.” In other words, gossip is satisfying because it gives people a sense of belonging or even superiority(优越感).

    Gossip also can have a third effect: it strengthens unwritten, unspoken rules about how people should act. Professor David Wilson explains that gossip is important in policing behaviors in a group. Translated into high school terms, this means that if everybody you hang around with is laughing at what John wore or what Jane said, then you can bet that wearing or saying something similar will get you the same kind of negative attention. The do's and don'ts conveyed through gossip will never show up in any student handbook.

    The effects of gossip vary depending on the situation. The next time you feel the urge to spread the latest news, think about why you want to gossip and what effects your “juicy story” might have.

    It's 8 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2028, and you are headed for a business appointment 300 miles away. You step into your circle, two­passenger air­cushion car, press a series of buttons and the national traffic computer notes your destination, figures out the current traffic situation and signals your car to slide out of the garage. Hands free, you sit back and begin to read the morning paper — which is flashed on a flat TV screen over the car's dashboard. Tapping a button changes the page.

    The car speeds up to 150 mph in the city's countryside, and then hits 250 mph in less built­up areas, driving over the smooth plastic road. You fly past a string of cities, many of them covered by the new domes (圆屋顶) that keep them evenly climatized all year round. Traffic is heavy, typically, but there's no need to worry. The traffic computer, which sends and receives signals to and from all cars on the road between cities, keeps vehicles at least 50 yds apart. There hasn't been an accident since the system began.

    Suddenly your TV phone buzzes. A business partner wants a sketch of a new kind of impeller your firm is putting out for sports boats. You reach for your case and draw the diagram with a pencil­thin infrared flashlight (红外线闪光灯) on what looks like a TV screen lining the back of the case. The diagram is sent to a similar screen in your partner's office, 200 miles away. He presses a button and a fixed copy of the sketch rolls out of the machine. He wishes you good luck at the coming meeting and signs off.

    Ninety minutes after leaving your home, you slide beneath the dome of your destination city. Your car slows down and heads for an outer­core office building where you'll meet your colleagues. After you get out, the vehicle parks itself in a garage to await your return. Private cars aren't allowed inside most city cores. Moving sidewalks and electrams (电车) carry the public from one location to another.

    Many years ago, my mother read from the book Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey to me. I remember as if it were yesterday, hearing her voice at my side on a cold wintry night. My mother's voice changed my world.

    Long before I could read on my own, she shared with me the strength and beauty of McCloskey's language a story of a little girl and her mother out in nature, co-existing with a mother bear and her own baby. The power of the story, of language and of my mother all came together. And it happened many times after that, over and over. The read aloud made me a reader.

    Years later, I was reading aloud a picture book to a small child in a classroom. His life, so far, had not been easy. His childhood was troubled by poverty and loneliness. In that moment, in the joy of the read aloud, he had an idea that started something big.

    What he said was this: "Mrs. Allyn, let's make sure everyone knows how good this feels. Let's have a holiday for the read aloud" Therefore, my organization, LitWorld, created a grassroots movement World Read Aloud Day in 2010 to honor this young boy's wish for everyone to be able to have a read aloud every day.

    Since the day he shared that good idea with us, World Read Aloud Day has become a worldwide event reaching over one million people in more than 65 countries around the world. This year we are over 600 cities strong, a number that is growing every day.

    Children who grow up as readers become engaged citizens of the global world, and every child deserves the right to read. When I say that reading aloud will change the world, I know it sounds simple. But one of the many great things about giving kids access to the power of stories and sharing them together is that it is simple. It is also cheap and easily done. And the impact is huge.

Life Begins on Board Your Next Cruise(邮轮)

On a cruise, it's all about choices. And never about effort or annoyance. Simply step aboard and float away, as your grand accommodation takes you from port to port, country to country. Maybe you haven't been on a cruise yet. Let's see what it might look like.

Rise and shine

Everyone is a morning person on a cruise. Wake up to find yourself floating joyfully somewhere out on the horizon, between vast blue skies and rolling oceans. You've travelled far through the night, and each morning begins with a completely new and foreign destination calling from outside your window. What a way to start your day!

Breakfast of champions

Before the morning truly begins, spend some time relaxing on the top floor with a steaming cup of coffee and warm French pastries, taking in the unbelievable views and the fresh sea air. Or head to one of the many restaurants on the ground floor to find a rich meal fit for a king, then walk to the front of the ship and have some fresh fruit and American pancakes in the open-air market.

Ease into your day

Energize your morning with a yoga class, strengthening your body on the open-air board, palms stretched to the sea. Hit the gym for a refreshing workout or take a swim that will set you up for the day. If you are not so sporty, simply spend your morning sitting by the pool reading a book, perhaps losing yourself in the history, culture and legends of your next port of call.

If you use "123456", "password'' or "qwerty" as a password, you're probably aware that you're at the risk of being attacked by hackers(黑客). But you're not alone. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Recently, password management service NordPass has carried out a study to determine the 200 most commonly used passwords around the world. They analyzed the data across 50 countries.

The findings show password choices are often attached to cultural references. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. In the UK, "liverpool" was the third most popular password, with 224,160 hits, while the name of Chilean football club "colocolo" was used by 15,748 people in Chile, making it the fifth most common choice.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Women tend to use more positive and affectionate(深情的) words and phrases such as "sunshine" or "I love you", while men often use sports-related passwords. In some countries, men use more swear words than women.

Choosing long and complex passwords remains the main authentication mechanism (身份验证机制) for computers and network-based products and services. But we know people continue to choose weak passwords and often don't manage them securely. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

To overcome the security issues linked with password-based authentication systems, researchers and developers are now concentrating on creating authentication systems which don't depend on passwords at all. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} For example, two-factor authentication (2FA) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods are good ways to secure your accounts. These methods combine a password with biometric information (for example, a face scan or fingerprint) or something distinguishable, like a captcha(验证码). All in all, a secure password is the first line of defense against Internet attacks. Don't give up security for convenience.

A. As a result, they put themselves under potential online security threats.

B. The findings show that passwords tell our emotions and our identity.
C. Besides, there are other ways to protect your personal information.  

D. These are among the most popular passwords around the world. 
E. The report also reflected different preferences between genders. 

F. People in some countries take inspiration from a football team.  
G. They need the support of computer experts.