1 . How can the train operators possibly justify yet another increase to rail passenger fares? It has become a grimly reliable annual ritual: every January the cost of travelling by train rises, imposing a significant extra burden on those who have no option but to use the rail network to get to work or otherwise. This year’s rise, an average of 2.7 percent, may be a little bit lower than last year’s, but it is still well above the official Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation(通货膨胀).

Successive governments have permitted such increases on the grounds that the cost of investing in and running the rail network should be borne by those who use it, rather than the general taxpayer. Why, the argument goes, should a car-driving pensioner from Lincolnshire have to subsidise(补贴)the daily commute(通勤)of a rail traveller from Surrey? Equally, there is a sense that the sufferings of commuters in the South East, have received too much attention compared to those who must endure the relatively poor infrastructure of the Midlands and the North.

However, over the past 12 months, those commuters have also experienced some of the worst rail strikes in years. It is all very well train operators boasting about the improvements they are making to the network, but passengers should be able to expect a basic level of service for the substantial sums they are now paying to travel. The responsibility for the latest wave of strikes rests on the unions. However, there is a strong case that those who have been worst affected by industrial action should receive compensation for the disruption they have suffered.

The Government has promised to change the law to introduce a minimum service requirement so that, even when strikes occur, services can continue to operate. This should form part of a wider package of measures to address the long-running problems on Britain’s railways. Yes, more investment is needed, but passengers will not be willing to pay more indefinitely if they must also endure cramped, unreliable services, along with regular chaos when timetables are changed, or planned maintenance is managed incompetently. The threat of nationalisation may have been seen off for now, but it will return with a revenge if the justified anger of passengers is not addressed in short order.

2 . The virtual world is full of opportunities to share with people around the world. It’s also a place where nothing is _________ and there are no “take-backs.” A lot of what you do and say online can still be found again even if you have _________ it, and it’s often something that is easy for others to access.

Research shows that a high percentage of teens receive _________ messages and requests when they’re online. These can be scary, strange, and even embarrassing. If you feel _______ by a stranger or a friend online, immediately tell an adult you can trust. It is never a good idea to _________. Any response you make is not only likely to make things worse, and might result in you saying something you wish you hadn’t.

If you are eager to let out angry comment on a message board or blog, it’s a good idea to wait a few minutes, _________ , and remember that your comments may stay up long after your temper has cooled and you have perhaps changed your mind. You might mistakenly find yourself regulated on social networks and this could _________ mean, insulting, or abusive comments toward someone else. But later you may _________ all that you have done. We’ve all heard of cyber bullying （网络欺凌）, but most people think online bullying is something people do _________. But sharing stuff or dropping random comments when we’re not face to face with someone can __________ just as much, if not more. And it can damage how others see you if they find out. __________ , a good rule to remember is that if you wouldn’t say it, show it, or do it in person, you probably shouldn’t do it online either.

Chances are that you’ve already checked your “digital __________ ” -- nearly half of all online users do. Try typing your screen name or email address into a search engine and see what comes up. That’s one way to get a sense of what others see as your online identity. In general, if you have questions about the trail you’re leaving online, don’t be afraid to ask a trusted adult. __________ , you might know more about the online world than a lot of adults do, but they have more life experience, which is something that can often be of more help. Your online identity is __________ in much the same way as your real-life identity, except that when you’re online you don’t always get a chance to explain your tone or what you mean. Thinking before you post and following the same rules for __________ behavior online as you do offline can help you avoid leaving an online identity trail you may over time come to regret.

4 . There's a loud bang, and then it starts: A battery of an electric car is on fire in the test tunnel. A video of the test impressively shows the energy stored in such batteries: meter-long flames flee in disorder and produce enormous amounts of thick, black smoke. The visibility in the previously brightly lit tunnel section quickly approaches zero. After a few minutes, ashes have spread throughout the room.

"In our experiment we were considering in particular private and public operators of small and large underground or multi-storey car parks," says project leader Lars Derek Mellert,"all these existing underground structures are being used to an increasing extent by electric cars. And the operators ask themselves: “    1    ?"But until now there has been hardly any meaningful technical literature, let alone practical experience for such a case. So Mellert developed three test scenarios（场景）, the results of which were published in a final report in August 2020.

“    2    . Besides, they are possibly fatal regardless of the type of drive or energy storage system." says the final report. The primary objective has to be to get everyone out of the danger zone as quickly as possible. The highly poisonous hydrofluoric（氢氟）acid has often been discussed as a particular danger in burning batteries.    3    . The real problem, however, is the extinguishing and cooling water that is produced when fighting such a fire and storing a burnt-out battery in a water basin. The analyses showed that some chemical substances in the extinguishing water goes beyond the limit values for industrial wastewater by a factor of 70; the cooling water is even up to 100-times above limit values.

    4    Firefighters know that the battery of an electric car is impossible to extinguish and that it can only be cooled with large amounts of water. But this is already known to the specialists and is being practiced.

9 . A breed of upstart apps is taking on an internet function that might seem unneeded or even ill—advised: helping teens talk to strangers.

Branded as “social discovery” services, these apps pitch themselves as alternatives to outlets that already specialize in online connections, like Facebook and Instagram. They say they are better at helping young users meet like —minded people outside their existing circles. And they say they have safeguards, such as separating users by age and using artificial intelligence, to protect against their appropriate or unsafe behavior that has plagued previous attempts to connect young people online.

Their user numbers suggest that, whether they succeed in striking the right balance, apps like Yubo and Hoop are tapping into a need among teens and 20 —somethings for new ways to branch out online.

“There is no place today to socialize online,” says Sacha Lazimi, the 26—year—old French co—founder of Yubo, which connects strangers with messaging and live streaming.

It is a counterintuitive statement for anyone who had seen teens sending Snaps rapid fire to their friends, responding to videos on TikToK, Face Timing for hours, or using Instagram. But Mr. Lazimi thinks those platforms allow for too much passive participation. “Snapchat, Instagram and Tik Tok are all about performance, content and individual”, he says.

Yubo features a swiping interface similar to that of Tinder. But Mr. Lazimi insists it is not adating app. The point, he says, is to facilitate communication between people all over the world who share mutual interests. Yubo isn’t present everywhere in the lives of American teens yet —and may be never will be—but the company says the app has 25 million users signed up, with nearly half of daily use now coming from America.

But some of these apps have also been the subject of safety concerns. Yubo has also faced its own safety challenges. In Florida, law—enforcement officially say they arrested a man who reportedly lured a teenager through Yubo.

In a statement, Yubo said that the prevention of child abuse has been a key priority for the past three years. “Yubo recognizes its responsibility in protecting young people using its service and has gone far beyond many of the main social media services.”

However, actually teens are doing more to protect themselves than many give them credit for, says Dr. Hinduja. “They are doing something to keep themselves safe or we would have strikingly more victimization than we do.”

10 . Most of us have no difficulty recognizing luck when it’s on apparent display, as when someone wins the lottery. But _________ often plays out in delicate ways and it’s easy to construct narratives that portray success as out of everything but luck. These misleading stories have surprising implications for human mindset, downplaying the power of chances.

Consider the history of the Mona Lisa. After having staved in the _________ for most of its early existence, the painting was pushed into the spotlight in 1911 when it was stolen from Louvre. The famous theft remained _________ for two years until a maintenance worker was arrested after trying to sell the painting. His arrest caused a second wave of _________, with the painting on everyone’s lips. As in the art world, it is so too in the world of work. Almost every career path consists of a sequence of steps, each of which depends on former ones. Inevitably, some of those _________ steps can be influenced by chance factors, which, as a result, are sure to affect the following process. So it is reasonable to conclude that _________ all successful careers involve at least a certain degree of luck.

One’s date of birth _________, for example. According to a study, most children born in the summer tend to be among the youngest members of their class, which explains why they are less likely to hold _________ positions during high school and thus, less likely to land good jobs later in life.

To acknowledge the power of chance events is not to suggest that success is independent of _________. Charlie Munger has said. “The safest way to get what you want is to __________ what you want.”

Of course, luck counts too. Being born in a good education system is a kind of luck we can control— that is, at least we can decide how lucky our children will be. But in America, we’ve been doing a bad job as the budget for education has __________. The human tendency to __________ luck’s role has caused this troubling state by unwillingness to invest in education, the strong system of which can produce __________ for the next generation.

Luckily, there is a solution. Guiding people to __________ their good fortune tends to make them more willing to contribute to the __________, according to a study. So try to engage your successful friends in reviews about their experiences with luck. In the process, the next generation’s odds of success may well increase and meanwhile, all the social members are more likely to enjoy the improved public service.