def read(*parts):
    """
    Build an absolute path from *parts* and and return the contents of the
    resulting file.  Assume UTF-8 encoding.
    """
    with codecs.open(os.path.join(HERE, *parts), "rb", "utf-8") as f:
        return f.read()
def active_at_datetime(self, deadline):
        """Check whether the verification was active at a particular datetime.

        Arguments:
            deadline (datetime): The date at which the verification was active
                (created before and expiration datetime is after today).

        Returns:
            bool

        """
        return (
            self.created_at < deadline and
            self.expiration_datetime > now()
        )