London has become a cycle-friendly zone after the launch of a new bike hire scheme.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

   {#blank#}2{#/blank#}First you have to sign up to the scheme to be sent a key. The key will unlock one of the bikes, which are kept at docking stations in and around central London. You have to pay an access fee for the key and then you pay as you go, for the length of time you use the bike.

    Transport for London, which runs the scheme, are hoping to have 6,000 bikes and 400 docking stations in place by the end of the year. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}London Mayor Boris Johnston launched the scheme and said London has been “filled with thousands of gleaming (发光的) machines that will transform the look and feel of our street and become as commonplace on our roads as black cabs and red buses”.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} On the first day some people found they couldn't dock their bike properly and their usage of the bike had not registered. Transport for London did admit they had been expecting a few “teething problems” and have said they would not charge for the first day as a “gesture of goodwill”. Some other people have criticized the lack of docking stations and locks for the bikes as well as the price it costs to hire the bicycles.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}“My crusade for the capital to become the greatest big cycling city in the world has taken a great pedal-powered push forwards.”

A. So how does it work?

B. How do you like it?

C. However, there have been a few problems since the scheme was launched last Friday.

D. Despite the comments, the green-thinking London Mayor still says with certainty.

E. However, the London Mayor is confident of the scheme.

F. It has been designed to encourage more people to cycle in and around central London.

G. The new hire system is hoping to ease congestion(拥挤) in London and is expected to create up to 40,000 extra cycle trips a day into the city centre.

You can't always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belyaev doesn't think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet. That's why he created lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain- sensing umbrella.

    The designer says he come up with the idea after watching people get wet on streets in Russia. “once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy (伞蓬) built into a street lamp.” he said.

    The lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy. It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand. Sensors (传感器) then ensure that the umbrella offers pedestrians shelter whenever it starts raining.

In addition to the rain sensor, there's also a 360° motion sensor on the fiberglass street lamp which detects whether anyone is using the lampbrella. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed.

     According to the designer, the lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to the pedestrians. Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lighting strike. Each lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people. Being installed (安装) at 2 meters off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians.

      While there are no plans to take lampbrella into production, Belyaev says he recently introduced his creation to one Moscow Department, and insists his creation could be installed on any street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter.

    People have been acting like people-in other words, they've been making tools, creating ceremonies, and sharing food—for a long time. That's the conclusion of a recent study from South Africa's southern coast.

    There, in a cave lying above the sea, researchers from Arizona State University have found evidence that humans were behaving in surprisingly complex ways as early as 164,000 years ago. Our species. Homo sapiens, appeared an estimated 200,000 years ago.

    The cave held three important evidences about the behavior of these Stone Age people.

    First, the researchers found the remains of all kinds of shellfish. The people who lived in the cave probably collected these creatures from rocky shores and tide pools and brought them to the cave to eat.

    The researchers consider the early Africans move to the South African coast between 195,000 and 130,000 years ago. Around that time, the climate inland turned relatively cold and dry. Therefore, there were fewer plants and animals to eat away from the coast.

    When these ancient people moved to the coast, they probably experienced a major cultural shift, the researchers suspect. That's because observations of modem hunter-gatherer societies suggest that men are more likely to hunt for big animals when people live inland. On the coast, women play a more important role in providing food by gathering plants and shellfish.

    As for the second clue, the researchers unearthed 57 pieces of reddish pigment (颜料). The researchers think that the cave habitants used the paint for coloring their bodies or for other ceremonies. Symbolic behavior is a clearly human feature.

    Finally, the search discovered over 1,800 stone tools, including well crafted blades (刀片). These blades came in various sizes. The smallest were just less than a half inch wide. Ancient people may have attached these blades to the end of a stick to make spears or other tools.

    More than seven hundred years ago, the Prince of Wales had a very big and brave dog called Gelert.

    One day the Prince wanted to go hunting with his men. He told his dog to stay at home and look after his baby son. The baby was in a wooden cradle, which was like a small bed.

    When the Prince came back from hunting, Gelert ran out to meet his master. He wagged his tail and jumped up to put his paws on the Prince's chest. Then the Prince saw the blood on Gelert's jaws and head.

    "What have you done?" the Prince said. He rushed into his house and looked for his baby son. The cradle was lying on its side on the floor. The clothes were torn and there was blood on them.

    "So you have killed my son?" the Prince said angrily. "You unfaithful dog!" He took out his sword and killed the dog. Just as Gelert was dying, he managed to bark. Then the Prince heard a baby call to the dog.

    The Prince ran out of the house and saw his son lying on the ground unhurt. Near him was a dead wolf. Then the Prince knew that Gelert had defended the baby and killed the wolf.

    The Prince ran back into the house but he was too late. Gelert was dead. The Prince was very sad indeed. Tears ran down his face when he realized he had killed his faithful friend. The Prince carried the body of his brave dog to the top of a mountain and buried him there. After this, the Prince never smiled again. Every morning at dawn, he walked up the mountain and stood by the dog's grave for a few minutes.

    If you go to Mount Snowdon in Wales, people will show you where Gelert is buried. There is a sign by his grave. It reminds people of a brave and faithful dog.

    A bright yellow “M” tells you that it's a McDonald's restaurant; we also associate the cheerful theme tune “I'm Lovin' It” with the famous US fast food.

A brand's music has a similar effect on its customers as its logo. “It appeals directly to the heart, where consumers' decisions are really made,” wrote Marketing Week.

This is probably why companies from around the world have recently focused more on building a “sonic (声音的) identity”.

    An example is the software company Tencent QQ. Since 2014, this Chinese company has been trying to trademark (申请商标权) its “Di-Di-Di-Di-Di-Di” notification sound. The trademark was finally approved on Nov 15, which means that Tencent's “Di-Di-Di-Di-Di-Di” notification sound is now protected by law and can only be used by QQ.

    Sound and music can also help tell stories. In Game of Thrones (《权力的游戏》) there are so many characters that it is difficult to memorize them all. So, they wrote melodies (旋律) specific to each family. The result is that characters do not only look familiar, but sound familiar too.

    “I think a huge reason why sound inspires action is that, on an unconscious level, we are always listening,” Lauren Nagel, executive creative director at Pandora Media, told GeoMarketing. “You can close your eyes, but you can't shut your ears.”

    Being attractive isn't usually considered much of a disadvantage in today's world. Actually, there is the endless potential benefit about it, but researchers have found one area that being pretty makes life a challenge securing yourself a boring, low­paying job.

    This stands in contrast to a large body of research that attractiveness, in general, helps candidates in the selection process. For the most part good looks is a blessing. We treat pretty people more favorably in general, often vote for them more in elections, and pay them more in their professions. The research suggests that attractive people may be discriminated against in selection for relatively less desirable jobs.

    Researchers carried out four experiments involving more than 750 participants, including university students and managers who make hiring decisions in the real world. Participants were shown photos of two potential job candidates, one attractive and the other unattractive. Participants were then asked a series of questions designed to measure their opinions of the job candidates and whether they would hire these candidates for a less­than­desirable job.

    The less desirable jobs included a warehouse worker, housekeeper, customer service representative and the more desirable jobs included things like a manager, project director, IT elite(精英). In all experiments where they were asked, participants were significantly less likely to hire the attractive candidate for the less desirable job and more likely to hire the attractive candidate for the more desirable job.

    Ms Lee said, "In the selection decision for an undesirable job, decision makers were more likely to choose the unattractive individual over the attractive individual. Co­author Dr Madan Pillutla said, "It is interesting that decision makers consider others' opinions in their decisions. They thought that attractive individuals would want better outcomes, and therefore would be less satisfied, so they favored unattractive candidates when selecting for a less desirable job."

    The research also suggests the established view that attractive candidates are favored when applying for jobs might be limited to high­level jobs.