BBC随身英语:Forget your head? 忘带脑袋？

In the UK alone, nearly 9 million absent-minded people have lost their mobile at least once in the last five years. Three in ten people said they keep confidential information like PIN numbers and passwords on their phones.

And we're not just misplacing our own data. Public and private organisations seem to be just as flaky. US space agency NASA has forbidden employees from taking laptops out of the office, if they have sensitive information on them, after several data losses. NASA recently lost laptops containing information used to control the International Space Station.

In the UK, Greater Manchester Police was fined ￡120,000 (around 200,000 US dollars) when an unencrypted memory stick was stolen from an officer's home. The memory stick had details of 1,075 people with links to serious crime investigations.

According to UK law, organisations should use encrypted memory sticks and laptops. If they're lost or stolen, thieves can't read the data without the password. But that only works if you don't also leave behind your password. One health worker in Lancashire lost a memory stick containing the medical details of more than 6,000 people. The data was encrypted, but the password had been written on a note which was attached to the memory stick when it was misplaced.

If we just can't stop leaving our portable technology behind, perhaps we should make it less portable. As the English saying goes 'I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on.'

Quiz 测验 1. How much did the first portable computer weigh?

11 kilos.

2. Why should organisations use encrypted memory sticks?

So that thieves can't read the data.

3.Which US organisation has lost several laptops?

NASA.

4. Is the following statement true, false or not given? Greater Manchester Police was fined ￡500,000 for losing personal data.

False. They were fined 120,000 pounds.

5.Which types of confidential information do British people keep on their phones?

PIN numbers and passwords.

Glossary 词汇表 portable便携式的 sewing machine缝纫机 leave it on the bus把某物忘在公车上 forgetting忘记 absent-minded心不在焉 confidential保密的 PIN numbers数字密码 passwords密码， 口令 misplacing放错地方了 data数据 flaky不可靠的 sensitive information敏感信息 data losses数据丢失 International Space Station国际空间站 unencrypted没有加密的 memory stick记忆棒，储存卡 serious crime investigations严重犯罪调查 encrypted加密的 leaving behind（把随身物品）忘记了丢下了 I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on倘如头不是被拧在身上我恐怕连自己的脑袋也会忘记带上的