The British are being encouraged to holiday at home as a major tourism drive offering Olympic themed discounts is launched next week. A new campaign offering 20. 12% discounted bills at participating venues will be announced publicly for the first time by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday to encourage "staycations". The scheme includes hotel accommodation, meals, guided tours and entry to attractions, with discounts funded by the industry. Government officials said more than three million hotel rooms were already lined up under the project, which is being backed by a range of companies, including Butlins. Attractions, such as the London Eye and Alton Towers, are also taking part. Reduced prices will also be offered on stays on the Royal yacht Britannia, now harboring in Leith, Edinburgh, and visits to Chatsworth, the historic house in Derbyshire. Tourists will be able to take advantage of the discount by using a dedicated website before the end of the Paralympics on September 9 to make bookings for this year and 2013. Mr. Hunt said, "With the Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympic Games, this year is the perfect opportunity for more of us to holiday in the UK " Mr. Hunt has travelled the UK, urging companies to take part in the scheme, telling them, _ We will never have a year like 2012 to show the world that this is, quite simply, the most exciting, vibrant, cosmopolitan city on the planet. The unavoidable complaints in the run up to an Olympics must not cloud the scale of the opportunity --including our biggest ever tourism marketing campaign to make sure we get a lasting benefit from being in the global spotlight. " The scheme will be promoted by a PS3 million television advertising campaign -- the first of its kind in the UK. The government hopes the " Holidays at Home are Great" campaign -- launched by Visit England -- will create 12, 000 jobs, create 5.3 million extra short overnight breaks, and generate PS480 million in extra spending over three years. In which section of a newspaper will this article be presented? A) Entertainment. B) Politics. C) Finance. D) News.
D
(Question)
Just five minutes of exercise a day outdoors can improve mental health, according to a study. Researchers from the University of Essex, UK have found that as little as five minutes of a "green activity" such as walking, gardening, cycling or farming could help to improve mood and increase self-esteem . Many studies have shown that outdoor exercise can reduce the risk of mental illness and improve a sense of well-being, but the new study, led by Jules Pretty and Jo Barton, was the first to determine how much time needed to be spent on green exercise for the benefits to show. Barton and Pretty looked at data from 1,252 people of different ages, genders and mental health status taken from 10 studies in Britain. They analyzed their different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail . They found that the mental health changes were seen after just five minutes. With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were more apparent. Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes were particularly strong in the young and the mentally ill. Green and blue A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water - such as a lake or river. "This is because historically we are drawn to water to survive and it is in our genetic make-up to be at one with nature," the researchers wrote in their report. Pretty said those who were generally inactive, or stressed, or with mental illness would probably benefit the most from "green exercise". "Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health." He also said exercise programs outdoors could benefit youth offenders. According to Pretty, _ would probably benefit the most from "green exercise". A) stressed, inactive people B) office worker C) youth offenders D) women and children
(Answer)
A
Ques: Clean your ears, because airport security might soon be scanning them. According to a recent discovery, the shape of ears could provide a reliable new way of identifying people at airports. Researchers discovered that ears of each person have a unique shape and they have created a system that can scan them. The ear scanning technique uses a technology called image ray transform that highlights all the tubular structures of the ear and measures them. Professor Mark Nixon, a computer scientist who led the team from the University of Southampton, believes ear scanning could take place as passengers walk through security gates, for example, by placing cameras on either side to record an image of their ears. Comparing the results against a database of ear shapes, the new system could help airport security workers instantly identify passengers. Nixon and his team tested 252 images of different ears and found the system was able to match each ear to a separate image held in its database with 99 percent accuracy. Besides ear scanning, there have been other systems developed for identity recognition. "With facial recognition, the systems are often confused by crows feet and other signs of ageing," Nixon said. "Your ears, however, age very gracefully. They grow proportionally and your lobe gets a bit larger, but otherwise your ears are fully formed from birth." What's more, facial recognition software is often confused by changes in expression so people need to control their faces and in some cases even avoid wearing make-up. An ear scan system would also offer a less _ alternative toretina scanning, which requires passengers to stare at scanners from a close range. Fingertip detection has long been the most effective way of identifying someone. Nixon expects there to be a combination of different techniques that can be used at the same time to identify a person." Nixon has developed the ear scanning system while there's already the fingertip detection because _ . A) ear scanning can be used at airports B) fingertip detection is not so convenient C) he doesn't think one system is enough D) ear shapes are easier to read than fingerprints
Ans: C
Ques: In order to know a foreign language thoroughly , four things are necessary. First, we must understand the language when we hear it spoken. Secondly, we must be able to speak it ourselves, correctly with confidence and without hesitation . Thirdly, we must be able to write it. We must be able to make sentences that are correct in grammar. There is no short way to succeed in language learning. A good memory is a great help, but it is not enough only to memorize the rules from a grammar book. It is no much use learning by heart long lists of words and their meanings, studying the dictionary and so on. We must learn by using the language. If we are pleased with a few rules we have memorized, we are not really learning the language. We must "Learn through use". Practice is important. We must practise speaking and writing the language whenever we can. Someone hears and writes English very well, but he speaks it very badly. This is because _ . A) he doesn't understand the language when he hears it spoken B) he doesn't have a good memory C) he always remember lists of words and their meanings D) he often hesitates to practise speaking it
Ans:
D