The Beagle Brigade

Return to the United States from a trip abroad ,and your luggage will get inspected by the Beagle Brigade, a team of beagles and their human partners. Working with human partners, the beagles sniff out potential threats to American agriculture.

An orange or apple, for example, might have a Mediterranean fruit fly. Hams could carry a disease such as hog cholera. These and other pests could destroy farmers' crops and livestock. " Once we introduce something   that   is not part of the environment, there may not be any controls of it in the environment," notes Lisa Davis at the National Dog Detector Training Center in Orlando, Florida. "The best thing for us to do is prevent it from coming across the border and becoming established. "

When a beagle sniffs specific food smells, it signals its partners by siting there. The human officer then investigates. When the dog is right ——which happens 90 percent of the time ——it gets an edible（可食用的） treat.

"The dog is not out there working," explains Davis. " It's out there playing. It's a game to the dog. "The handlers give the beagles plenty of food and love. They make sure they get first-class medical attention, too. When the dogs finally retire after 9 to 11 years ,they will find caring homes for them. It's a dog's life indeed!

Their people partners work and study somewhat harder. As specialized quarantine（检疫） officers,most hold degrees in the biological sciences or related sciences.

How well does the Beagle Brigade do its job? " On average," notes Davis, " each year our 54 teams prevent around 75,000 prohibited , restricted items. Since even one infected item could cause widespread destruction, that's a great result for America's agricultural environment.

   One of the biggest challenges faced by brick- and-mortar retailers（实体零售店） in recent years has been the" showrooming". Driven by the desire to get the best prices, many shoppers are now visiting stores to check on products that interest them, only to leave and then buy the items online. The new trend is forcing retailers to find out new ways to keep consumers from leaving their stores for cheaper prices online.

Smart phones have pushed showrooming into the front. Shoppers no longer have to wait until they get home to see if they can find a cheaper price for the products they're considering buying. With smart phones, consumers can now compare online prices with those of brick-and-mortar stores while still inside a retail store. If they can find what they're seeking with less money online, the majority will seek the first exit. A recent study showed that 45 percent of consumers shopping at brick-and-mortar stores walk out and make their purchase online for a discount of as little as 2. 5 percent.

This puts pressure on retailers to provide both an in-store experience worth staying and an online presence that can attract shoppers who are showrooming in other businesses.

To cut down on showrooming, many retailers are adopting new methods to keep shoppers in their stores. Among the steps they're taking are price-matching guarantees that allow shoppers to pay a discounted price if they find it cheaper online. This ensures that even a showrooming shopper can make the purchase in the store regardless of whether he finds the cheaper price online.

Another popular method of fighting against showrooming is to give shoppers the ability to buy something online and pick it up at the store. This reduces shipping costs and gets customers in the store, where they may be encouraged to make an additional purchase.

It is also important for businesses to take into consideration what makes shoppers purchase something in a store rather than online, and meet those needs. Research has found that more than 8 in 10 Americans consider the most important aspects--being able to take the goods home immediately and the ability to touch and feel them when they are deciding to purchase in a store rather than online.

   Following Mo Yan's Nobel Prize , the usually silent Chinese literary circle got warmed up again. A Shanghai writer named Jin Yucheng surprised nearly everyone by making his novel full of Shanghai dialect.

Published in 2012, the 350,000-word Blossoms （Fan Hua） is a novel about the changes in Shanghai over 30 years, drawing clear images of the city through the stories of many common people. There is no main story like most novels, but every story in it could run independently. While putonghua is the standard choice for Chinese literature today, Jin's use of the Shanghai dialect appears both different and bold.

"I have seen too many novels that look similar to each other. Chinese literature is getting monotonous in both language and form. I want to be special with my own language, " Jin told the Global Times.

In the novel, Jin makes a breakthrough by mainly using dialogues to unfold various plots and represent typical characters on a daily basis. He also abandons the use of some punctuation like quotation marks （引号）, showing a return to the traditional Chinese huaben genre.

Since its publication, the book has been widely recommended on Sina Weibo with many netizens rating the novel high for its unique use of dialect and vivid description of life using plain speech.

Jin said that he got the idea of writing the novel while chatting in an online forum where people use the Shanghai dialect. The praise he received from the netizens encouraged him to continue writing the random stories.

"I'd like to see more writers to follow my lead. It will enrich our literature and make it diverse," he said.

   With exams just around the corner, now is a good time to explore some of UCL's lesser-known study spaces and get down to some revision. Here are some good choices for you.

UCL Senate House Hub

The UCL Senate House Hub opened in 2015 and provides 144 study spaces. What's more, you can check how many spaces are available online before you head for the hub! Located on the third floor of the South Block of Senate House, the center has room for individual and group study in traditional library spaces, as well as casual armchairs and bar-style desks.

UCL Eastman Dental Library

The newly decorated UCL Eastman Dental Library is located halfway along Gray's In Road and is open from Monday to Friday, 9:00 am-8:00 pm. The library has 72 study spaces, and many IT facilities are available. The library also has a study room for meetings and a computer room with an interactive whiteboard.

UCL Language & Speech Science Library

The UCL Language & Speech Science Library （LaSS） has disabled access and has recently been decorated to add extra study spaces. With only 49 spaces, LaSS is smaller than most other UCL libraries and tends to fill up relatively quickly, 80 get there early to avoid disappointment.

Senate House Library

This one may be cheating as the Senate House Library is not technically a UCL library. However, all UCL students and staff can register for free membership online. With millions of books and journals, the Senate House Library offers some places a little less used by UCL students but perfect for getting down to some hard work.

   As the saying goes, "Roses given, fragrance in hand. " I am always in the_________of giving money to every beggar or homeless person I pass by. My friends say it is not good to________them. We may come across beggars or________people begging every day and all beggars have their ability to survive. It annoys them that I never listen.

On a________day, my friend and I were walking to the_________when I passed a beggar lady. I had seen her several times before and had always given her a few_________. That day, I gave her 2 euros. I was waiting for the bus and reading a book when I_________to see that lady standing in front of me. She_________me a piece of paper covered in a plastic bag to prevent it from getting_________. She stood there, looking at me__________. Putting my book__________, I took the paper, which said she and her family had to_________their country because of floods, and she was  _________to support them. She had got a bit of money,___________she needed another 5 euros to get home. I   _____in my pockets and found 20 cents. My friend________a 5-euro note. I asked her to give it to the lady, and said that I would_________the money the next day. When she got the money, the lady hugged us and said thanks again and again, and went on her way. Later on the bus, I__________where her home was and how she had gotten there. In her story,I felt that my friend and I would always remain part of it as the_________, who helped her get home on a rainy day. But for me, helping a stranger did bring me happiness, giving me a pleasant__________.

More than 1,250 lit stalls（货摊）【小题1】（bright） the center of Thailand's capital city, providing a multicolored sight. The shelter, 【小题2】is designed for thousands of traders and shoppers at Bangkok's night market, has become an【小题3】（attract） itself.

The market, which【小题4】（call） Train Night Market in English, was opened in January 2015 and has become【小题5】popular spot for locals and tourists. Software engineer Prasad Ambati visited the market and took photographs of the landscape from a nearby car park. "Those【小题6】（color） tents and people shopping, eating at stalls. and the flashing lights were great. The tents made me think of a giant painting. "

This is【小题7】（primary） a market that sells goods of yesteryear （往昔的）, old-fashioned【小题8】（collection） of clothes , motorbikes , and second-hand toys. There are also plenty of general market things for sale,  【小题9】cheap clothes, shoes, bags, and other fashion items. But above all it's one of the best places for street food and open-air bars with live music frequently  【小题10】（perform） all over.

I have learned with great interest from Student Times that your company wants to hire an English interpreter. I would like to apply to this post and feel that both my education and experience fits me for it very well.

I have recent graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University with degree in English. I have a good command of both speaking and written English and can use words freely. Last year I entered or won an English speaking competition at your university. I have worked out as a foreign language tour guide, and I am familiar with speaking to foreign visitor.

I enclose a copy of my CV and am looking forward to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Li Ying.

Disadvantages of the Cell Phone

There is more than one advantage and disadvantage of cell phones. Anyone considering purchasing their first cell phone, or considering getting rid of their cell phone, should look at the device from different angles. Surely there are disadvantages of buying cell phones. 【小题1】.

Added Costs

【小题2】. First, you will have to purchase a cell phone. While you may find a free phone option with your new wireless plan, smartphone devices can cost as much as $400 or more. Then you will have to pay a monthly fee for service. Service plans vary and can include costs for minutes, text messages, data, and insurance.

【小题3】.

Every time you have your cell phone with you, it could ring and interrupt what you are doing. While it is convenient to keep your phone with you when you are away from home, it also leaves you open to calls from your mother, your boss, or anyone that knows your phone number. This may lead some people to feel like they have less privacy than before.

Less Reliable than a Landline Telephone

【小题4】. This means a cell phone,' no matter how reliable, is not going to work everywhere unlike a landline telephone, which provides service that is more reliable.

Higher Possibility of Accidents

If you are talking or texting on your cell phone while you are driving, you are far more likely to be involved in a car accident. 【小题5】. And despite several recently imposed （强制实行的） laws banning cell phone use while people are driving, many find them almost impossible to carry out.

My name is Zhang Meng.

Best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

Zhang Meng