The Pennine Way is a 469-kilometre walking path which runs from the Peak District in Derbyshire to just inside the Scottish border. [I] Other trails go further, but it is known as the most challenging. [II] Some people see this trail as an opportunity to take a pleasant day's hike on a small section of the route, but eighteen-year-old David Lemming saw it as a challenge. [III] 'I'd come across a great account of hiking the whole trail, written a few years ago, and I was determined to do it myself. I didn't feel anxious - I was just excited to get going! [IV]
Things went perfectly for the first week. David was really enjoying the experience. Since many people use the trail, he was constantly meeting fellow hikers, so he never felt isolated. 'But then it got really stormy, he says, 'so a lot of people gave up. I could go for hours without seeing anyone at all. But as long as I had my mobile, I wasn't really worried about anything bad happening!
Unfortunately, something bad did happen. During a particularly heavy rain storm, David slipped in the mud and fell about ten metres down the hill. 'I realised I'd broken my arm immediately. Then I found that my mobile had fallen out of my pocket. And when I tried to get up to look for it, I couldn't stand up at all. My leg was injured too.’
All he could do was to shout for help. 'I yelled until my throat was sore, he says. 'And nothing happened. But then I saw a head at the top of the hill someone had heard me. A man came down, saw the state I was in and called for help. And really, that was the most amazing part of the whole experience. At the hospital, even the doctors were impressed at how much of the trail I'd covered. I felt really proud!
(Adapted from Friend Global)

Shoppers who use the internet to research hotels, books, electronics and other purchases are being misled by millions of “fake” reviews orchestrated by companies to trick potential customers, the consumer watchdog warns today as it begins an inquiry.
(I) More than half of the adults in Britain, around 25 million people, use online review websites such as Amazon, Tripadvisor, Expedia and Checkatrade to find the best deals. (II) But their impressions are “distorted” by the growth of a “clandestine” market for fake reviews, the Competition and Market Authority has discovered. It found some companies were breaking the law by writing flattering posts about themselves to boost their rankings. (III) Others were offering money, free product samples or other “rewards” to people who write positive reviews or give five-star ratings. In some cases, rival firms were posting disparaging remarks to cloud the judgement of potential customers. And some review websites were hiding negative reviews because they had commercial arrangements with the companies facing criticism. (IV)
The scale of the issue is unknown because fake reviews are difficult to spot, the CMA said. However, it expressed concern that abuse could be widespread. Although some websites told the regulator just 2 per cent of their reviews were spurious, other sources claimed the proportion was “much higher”, the watchdog said. An investigation will now commence, and firms found to be acting illegally will be fined and their bosses may face prison.
Consumer groups welcomed the move because research showed around £23 billion of purchases a year were influenced by online reviews. Guy Anker, a director of consumer advice experts website, said: “It is utterly appalling that companies are engaging in practices where they are duping potential customers who just want an honest appraisal of their services. Review websites are a vital part of people’s research, whether that’s booking a hotel or buying a product, and so visitors need to be able to trust them.”
One of the best-known specialist sites is Tripadvisor, which hosts hundreds of millions of reviews written by and for holidaymakers. Booking agents such as Expedia and retailers such as Amazon also provide reviews alongside their primary function of selling a product or service. Checkatrade has 1.8 million reviews of electricians, plumbers, builders and other tradesmen, while Reevoo and Feefo collect and manage reviews on behalf of clients. Many of these are free to use with revenues coming from advertising, paid-for links, payments or commissions from the companies listed or the provision of “reputation management” services to these firms. Some sites have developed systems to detect and verify fake reviews, but others had not, the CMA said.
It warned that websites were in some cases “selectively ordering” reviews so that positive ones came to the front. “Hiding” negative reviews is against the law, it said. he different commercial arrangements might influence the reviews and the way they were obtained was not always clear to users. Customers were also trying to abuse the system by “blackmailing” companies by threatening to leave a negative review.
(Adapted from Think 12)

HIDDEN TALENTS
(I) Despite some recent advances, there is still a great deal about the human brain that remains a mystery. (II) We know it is made up of about 100 billion nerve cells, called neurons, connected like wires in a giant telephone exchange. We know messages pass down them like electrical signals and jump from one neuron to the next when chemicals known as neurotransmitters are released. (III) But what we don't fully understand are things like consciousness, intelligence and creativity. (IV)
Much of our knowledge comes from studying brain functions when things go wrong. There are some fascinating cases of where a bang on the head has brought about changes in personality or caused a person to become talented in a way, they weren't at all before the injury.
A famous case was Jason Padgett, a furniture salesman from Washington, who was mugged by two men after leaving a karaoke bar. He survived the attack, but was left unconscious. Soon afterwards, he noticed that his vision had changed. He also realised that he had developed remarkable mathematical abilities. Padgett began to see patterns in everything he looked at, and to draw complex geometric figures. He seemed to understand the mathematical nature of the universe despite the fact that he had little formal academic training. The man who had barely scraped through his school exams ended up pursuing a career in mathematics as a number theorist.
Another example of this syndrome is twenty-four-year-old Ben McMahon from Australia, who fell into a coma after a car crash. A week later, he woke up speaking Mandarin Chinese. He had studied Chinese at school, but had never been fluent until the accident. McMahon works now as a Chinese-speaking tour guide in Australia.
Orlando Serrell suffered a head injury when he was knocked out in a baseball game at the age of ten. When he regained consciousness, he felt OK and finished the game. After a year, he realised he had acquired extraordinary memory skills and could recall the day of the week of any given date. He has never made a mistake. For instance, ask him about 11 February 1983 and he says 'Friday. It was raining that day. I had a pizza - pepperoni sausage.'
There is no single theory to explain each case, but many researchers believe that acquired savant syndrome happens when the right side of the brain compensates for an injury to the left side. The condition is rare fewer than one hundred cases have been identified. Some of us are athletic, some of us mathematical, some of us artistic, and others musical; some of us are just good, while some are exceptional. The challenge is how to access that hidden knowledge and skill without experiencing a bang on the head.
(Adapted from English Discovery 12)