今日BBC

1、随身英语
Summer born kids 夏天出生的孩子
The first year of school can be stressful – not for the kids, but for the parents!

They want their little ones to do well at school and some pushy parents will already be thinking about how they can get their child to the top of the class.

But some parents are concerned about the rules for when children should start school.

The School Admissions Code for England says that children must join the reception class the September after their fourth birthday.

But here is the problem: A four year old who is born in August could be in the same class as someone who was born in October of the previous year! Both of them were four years old in September.

The older child will probably do better in class tests. He or she is almost a year older! This can affect the confidence of the younger child.

Now England’s schools minister, Nick Gibbs says that the rules should be changed. In an open letter to councils, schools and parents he says, “Parents know their children best”.

And he said that some parents “feel forced to send their child to school before they are ready”.

He proposes that children that are born during the summer can join the class when they are four or wait until they are five.

Dr. David Whitebread, an educationalist from Cambridge University says that the UK has a summer-born effect because children start school so young.

“In countries with these later starting ages, there is a very much reduced summer-born effect or none at all”, he said.

link

2、地道英语
To know something like the back of your hand 了如指掌
link

3、今日BBC

---

Uber pays $10m in driver vetting row
link

Ride-sharing company Uber has agreed to pay at least $10m (£7m) to settle a dispute over its background checks for drivers.
The company was sued in 2014 after it claimed its process for vetting drivers was superior when compared to traditional minicab companies.
But District attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles said Uber’s very public statement it was “the gold standard” for safety was misleading.
For instance, unlike cab companies, Uber does not require a fingerprint check that could uncover prior convictions.
Instead, Uber uses different criminal databases to vet its drivers, with data going back seven years.
As part of the settlement, Uber has said it would no longer use the terms such as “safest drive on the road” in its advertising.
But the BBC understands the company would not be adding fingerprint checks to its process.
The firm stressed that it felt no driver vetting system could ever be “100% safe”.
Prosecutors said Uber had failed to prevent 25 people with criminal convictions from becoming drivers, including several sex offenders and a convicted murderer.
“Accidents and incidents do happen,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
“That’s why we need to ensure that the language used to describe safety at Uber is clear and precise.”
One of those language changes has included renaming its “safe ride fee” as a “booking fee”.

---

Fallout 4: Bafta games award win was ‘unexpected’
link

Fallout 4 has won best game at 2016’s British Academy Games Awards- to the surprise of its developer.
The post-apocalyptic title, set in Boston, had not won any of the other categories at the event in London.
European boss of Bethesda, Sean Brennan, told the BBC’s Chris Foxx that it had faced tough competition but that it was “fantastic” to have triumphed.