Best holiday houses and B&Bs in Sicily and its islands

A Picciridda, Panarea

Off the north­east coast of Sicily is tiny, car­free Panarea, an inactive volcano. Its streets contain Daz­white houses and the views out to sea are dramatic. A Picciridda—“the little one” in Sicilian—is a small house with sea views from the bedroom. Ferries to the island leave from several ports in Sicily and the Italian mainland.

Doubles from 85 per night　Tel: 338 9509366

La Casa del Vigneto, Salina

A quiet island retreat(隐居处) where there's little to do besides walking, wine tasting and enjoying sunsets. It's a surprisingly stylish place for nature­lovers seeking privacy and peace. There is a large lawn with sun beds and some chairs. The balconies covered with climbers mean you can eat outdoors or sit and admire the ocean views.

Doubles from 1，465 per week　Tel: 338 9608713

Baglio di Pianetto, Santa Cristina Gela, Sicily

This 18th­century farm reflects the status of its original Venetian owners. Now you can stay in formal­yet­friendly Baglio. Bedrooms have extra king­size beds and big, bright bathrooms. Sitting by the 3.3­metre pool, it feels more remote here than it really is. Take a cookery course, go walking and explore by bike (provided)．

Twins and doubles from 122 per night　Tel: 091 8570148

Villa Punta Secca, Ragusa, Sicily

The beach is what it's all about in Punta Secca. With its beautiful sands and clear waters, it's busy in summer, heaven out of season. It was built 10 years ago by the architect owner. There are no sea views but it's steeped in character. The kitchen is aimed at real cooks.

Doubles from 139 per night　Tel: 093 3010999

1．What can we know about a Picciridda, Panarea?

A．It provides free parking.         B．It can be reached by water.

C．It is the smallest hotel in Italy.    D．The volcanoes there often erupt.

2．Which is a good place to escape from the crowded world?

A．A Picciridda, Panarea.           B．La Casa del Vigneto, Salina.

C．Villa Punta Secca, Ragusa, Sicily.  D．Baglio di Pianetto, Santa Cristina Gela, Sicily.

3．What can visitors do living in Baglio di Pianetto?

A．Swim in the pool.              B．Rent bikes to explore.

C．Experience ancient life.          D．Chat with the original owners.

4．Which number should you call if you prefer a holiday on the beach?

A．338 9509366.  B．338 9608713.  C．091 8570148.  D．093 3010999.

Naylor was working as an artist, doing jobs for a PR company. But a phone call years ago found him a new career.

“I got a random phone call one day，” he says. “They asked me if I could make a picture in somebody's lawn(草坪), and I thought: ‘well, you can make a picture out of anything, can't you？’” As a result, the finished masterpiece ended up in the newspapers and, before he knew it, Naylor had a new profession: lawn artist.

With a background in art, rather than gardening, battling nature was a new experience for Naylor when he started. “It was a new challenge and it was very hard to research lawn art. How do you do it? There's not much of it out there. So I had to work out how it would work, and what I'd need.” He says.

As a lawn artist, however, there is no room for error. And there's no time to wait for the grass to grow back again if it all goes wrong. So Naylor has to get it right for the first time. “If you accidentally cut the wrong bit off, you can't just patch(修补) it up again. You can't start again.”

“Planning is key，” he says. “Grass is not a nice artistic medium. It's not very easy to handle.” Besides, lawn art may be impressive, but it only happens during the summer. “The rest of my year, I'm painting or using pens, pencils—normal things.”

He may have cut out a new professional field, but he sees it like any other art project. “When you become a lawn artist, you have to say yes to any challenge.”

However, as the rain falls over each new artwork, the grass soon grows back and the image is quickly lost. “That's the annoying thing about nature，” says Naylor.

5．How was Naylor's first art work in the lawn?

A．It was only a small one.  B．It was difficult to create.

C．It made him famous.    D．It was created in winter.

6．What matters most to a lawn artist?

A．Accuracy.  B．Opportunity.  C．Knowledge.  D．Courage.

7．What can we infer about lawn art?

A．It has a long history.         B．It can be created randomly.

C．Rain is a help to the lawn art.  D．It is a combination of art and gardening.

The days of staring at the computer screen pretending to take an interest in an assignment even though you are bored out of your mind may soon be coming to an end. That's because computers of the future will be able to detect boredom and even react to it in real time.

But before you get concerned, the machine is not reading your mind. It is just keeping track of the constant involuntary movements that people exhibit when in front of a computer or even a television. These are not the bigger instrumental actions like moving a mouse or using the remote, but sensitive hardly noticeable movements like scratching. Researcher Witchel says the level of movement directly shows how absorbed the person is in what he/she is reading or watching—the higher the interest level, the less the movement!

To test the theory, Witchel and his team invited 27 people and exposed them to a variety of digital content for three minutes at a time. The activities ranged from playing online games to reading documents like the EU banking regulations that most people would find boring.

A video motion (动作) tracker monitored their movements as they powered through each assignment. Just as the researchers had suspected, the involuntary actions decreased remarkably, by as much as 42%, when the subjects were totally absorbed in what they were reading or seeing.

Fortunately, the scientists are not planning to use the findings to create machines that report students who are not focusing at school. Instead, they believe that applying the motion detecting technology to future computers will help improve the digital learning experience.

The scientists say being able to judge the student's interest level will enable educators to adjust the materials in real time and re­engage the student. Witchel also believes that the technology can provide filmmakers with honest audience opinions.

8．Which movement does the machine keep track of?

A．Breathing.  B．Typing.  C．Scratching.  D．Walking.

9．What might people's high level of movement indicate during TV­watching?

A．They are getting excited.  B．They are feeling bored.

C．They are very interested.  D．They are thinking actively.

10．How did the researchers come to the conclusion?

A．By a follow­up survey.   B．By analysing previous data.

C．By means of questionnaires.  D．By observing participants' performance.

11．Which field will detecting technology be applied to?

A．Agriculture.  B．Politics.  C．Industry.  D．Education.

This month, Germany’s transport minister, Alexander Dobrindt, proposed the first set of rules for autonomous vehicles(自主驾驶车辆). They would define the driver’s role in such cars and govern how such cars perform in crashes where lives might be lost.

The proposal attempts to deal with what some call the “death valley” of autonomous vehicles: the grey area between semi-autonomous and fully driverless cars that could delay the driverless future.

Dobrindt wants three things: that a car always chooses property(财产) damage over personal injury; that it never distinguishes between humans based on age or race; and that if a human removes his or her hands from the driving wheel — to check email, say — the car’s maker is responsible if there is a crash.

“The change to the road traffic law will permit fully automatic driving,” says Dobrindt. It will put fully driverless cars on an equal legal footing to human drivers, he says.

Who is responsible for the operation of such vehicles is not clear among car makers, consumers and lawyers. “The liability(法律责任) issue is the biggest one of them all,” says Natasha Merat at the University of Leeds, UK.

An assumption behind UK insurance for driverless cars, introduced earlier this year, insists that a human “ be watchful and monitoring the road” at every moment.

But that is not what many people have in mind when thinking of driverless cars. “When you say ‘driverless cars’, people expect driverless cars.” Merat says. “You know — no driver.” Because of the confusion, Merat thinks some car makers will wait until vehicles can be fully automated without operation.

Driverless cars may end up being a form of public transport rather than vehicles you own, says Ryan Calo at Stanford University, California. That is happening in the UK and Singapore, where government-provided driverless vehicles are being launched.

That would go down poorly in the US, however. “The idea that the government would take over driverless cars and treat them as a public good would get absolutely nowhere here,” says Calo.

12. What does the phrase “death valley” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A. A place where cars often break down.   B. A case where passing a law is impossible.

C. An area where no driving is permitted.  D. A situation where drivers’ role is not clear.

13. What do consumers think of the operation of driverless cars?

A. It should get the attention of insurance companies.

B. It should be the main concern of law makers.

C. It should not cause deadly traffic accidents.

D. It should involve no human responsibility.

14. Driverless vehicles in public transport see no bright future in __________.

A. Singapore                       B. the UK

C. the US                          D. Germany

15. What could be the best title for passage?

A. Autonomous Driving: Whose Liability?   B. Fully Automatic Cars: A New Invention

C. Autonomous Vehicles: Driver Removed   D. Driverless Cars: Root of Road Accidents

Steps to setting your own rules—and keeping them!

Google “rules to live by” and you're met with thousands of search results. But how do you know which rules to follow？  16   Fortunately, here is a 3­step process to help you set your own rules. That way, you can actually follow your own advice and do what works for you.

Step 1.  17  This can be a goal you want to achieve or a quality you want to own. Once you've decided what you want, you must determine why you want it. Knowing your “why” will take care of your “how”．

Step 2.Evaluate what's not currently working. Once you know what you want and why you want it, it's important to look at what's not currently working in your life. If you want to eat healthily, you need to identify what you're currently not doing.  18  This will prevent you from repeating mistakes.

Step 3.Determine what your “ends rule” and your “means rule” will be. These rules should be a guideline that moves you towards your goals. A means rule is what you need to do to get started performing that rule.  19  An ends rule is what you would like your rule to be. For example, “I never miss a workout.”

But you can set yourself up to win by making your rule really easy to meet in the beginning. If you're unsure of what your means rule should be, ask yourself, “Would I need to motivate myself to do X？”  20 

Once you set your own rules, they become rules with no exception. Take action and they'll keep you on track with your goals.

A．Set a goal and determine to achieve it.

B．As an example, “I want to lose weight.”

C．Decide what you want and why you want it.

D．If you answer no, that's a good place to start.

E．Write down everything that isn't working, or hasn't worked before.

F．With so much information available online, it's easy to feel confused.

G．For example, “I always put my workout clothes on when I get home from work.”