【明報專訊】The Smarties are searching for more clues from the scene. On no! The suspect is trying to run away!

We leave our fingerprints on almost all surfaces we touch, especially on glass, polished metal and stone. Did you know no two persons have the same fingerprints?

A fingerprint is the ridges and patterns on the tip of a finger. It is detailed and unique. Even twins who look alike do not have identical fingerprints.

Some primates (like chimpanzees and gorillas) and koalas have unique fingerprints too. Chimpanzees and gorillas have hands that are very similar to human hands. The fingerprints on their hands help them to grip things. Koalas' fingerprints can hardly be distinguished from those of humans.

(There are three main patterns of fingerprints: arches (弓紋), loops (箕紋) and whorls (渦紋).)(see the picture)

■Mission 1

What do different animals' fingerprints look like? Follow the lines and match the animals with the corresponding fingerprints!

(see the picture)

■Mission 2

Being observant is vital for being a good police officer. Study the picture on the right carefully. Can you fill in the boxes with the correct letters?

(see the picture)

■Mission 3

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the words provided to know more about the modern technology of using fingerprint as a means of authentication.

user / voice / fingertip / identity

There are now a number of technologies with which fingerprint recognition is used for 1. ________ authentication. For example, 2. ________ of some smart phones are required to tap their 3. ________ on them to unlock them. In addition to fingerprint recognition, other ways of biometric authentication are in use, like face and 4. ________ recognition.

(answers on next text)

■Key words

fingerprint 指紋

biometric authentication 生物認證

■English highway﹕-words and collocations

identical

Identical means exactly the same.

e.g. This house is almost identical to the one where I lived as a child.

■Glossary

ridge (n) 隆起的表面

primate (n) 靈長類動物

distinguish (v) 分辨

observant (adj) 善於觀察的

authentication (n)驗證