When Jennifer Lawrence tripped on her way to accept her best actress Oscar one year, her pink princess-like Dior dress (capture) in all its glory. The unscripted moment became hot topic throughout social media.
That bonus air-time for a single dress at one of the world's global events is priceless for the likes of Dior, one of the (influential) fashion houses in the luxury marketplace.
Success on the red carpet can earn exposure and profits for luxury brands for years (come). The red carpet, which will be televised live before Academy Award ceremony, presents a great opportunity for a designer to reach an audience that expands the fashion setting. The Lawrence dress received about 40 million mentions on various social media.
One way of estimating the monetary benefits of having a standout dress on the red carpet is to compare how much a brand would otherwise spend on commercial advertising during the same time. Lawrence had only 75 seconds of solo camera time for her Oscar acceptance speech, Dior had to pay more than $4 million for a commercial spot of the same duration on similar occasions. And this didn't include the time (devote) to Lawrence and her dress on the pre-show televised red carpet. Lawrence, 23, had an advertising contract with Dior. the group's deal with Lawrence affected its sales was clearly stated in its annual financial report. That year, the group clothing section's profits (total)165 million euros, up 26 percent from the previous year.
Heston, the founder of a publicity firm, success stories include introducing Jimmy Choo shoes and designer Saab to Hollywood, believes that the Oscar red carpet is today dominated by established luxury brands. Finding it much more difficult to compete with big brand names to dress super stars on big events, many young designers turn to (bet) on promising rising stars, expecting an overnight success if the young stars rise to sudden fame.
A. involve B. strategically C. delicate D. shame E. weaknesses F. sensitivity G. superior H. occasional I. encounter J. clues K. collapse |
For several decades, various types of artificial intelligence kept shocking the world. Robots could people in highly competitive games and then quickly destroyed their human competitors.
AI long ago mastered chess, the Chinese board game Go and even the Rubik's cube, which it managed to solve in just 0. 38 second.
Now machines have a new game that will allow them to humans: Jenga, the popular game in which players remove pieces from an increasingly unstable tower of 54 blocks, placing each one on top until the entire structure would .
A newly released video from MIT shows a robot developed by the school's engineers playing the game with surprising accuracy. The machine is equipped with a soft gripper (夹子), a force-sensing wrist and an external camera, allowing the robot to detect the tower's the way a human might do
Unlike in purely recognitive tasks or games such as chess or Go, playing the game of Jenga also requires mastery of physical acts such as pushing, pulling, placing, and arranging pieces. It must interactive physical operation, where you have to touch the tower to learn how and when to move blocks.
Imitating it is rather difficult, so the robot has to learn in the real world, by working with the real Jenga tower. Recently, a relevant research was published in the journal Science Robotics. Researchers say the robot demonstrates that machines can learn how to perform certain tasks through actual touching instead of relying heavily on visual . That physical is significant, researchers say, because it provides further proof that robots can be used to perform tasks, such as separating recyclable objects from landfill trash and assembling consumer products.
In a cellphone assembly line, the felling of any component is coming from force and touch rather than vision. To become an accomplished Jenga player, the robot did not require as much repetitive practice as you might imagine. Hoping to avoid reconstructing a Jenga tower thousands of times, researchers developed a method that allowed the robot to be trained on about 300 games. Researchers say the robot has already begun facing off against humans, who remain players—for now.
From the nation's earliest days, farming has held a crucial place in the American economy and culture. Farmers play an important role in any society, of course, since they feed people. But farming has been particularly 1 in the United States with intensified attention from civilians and government as well.
Early in the nation's life, farmers were seen as exemplifying economic 2 such as hard work, perseverance, and self-sufficiency. Moreover, many Americans, particularly immigrants who may have never held any land in the country, found that owning a farm was the 3 to enter the American economic system. They were immediately playing a part in the country's economy.
The American farmer has generally been quite successful at producing food. Indeed, sometimes his success has created his biggest problem: the agricultural sector has suffered periodic explosions of overproduction that have 4 prices. When the government have to step in and 5 the worst of these events.
American farmers owe their ability to produce large yields to a number of factors. For one thing, they work under 6 natural conditions. The American Midwest has some of the richest soil in the world. Rainfall is 7 over most areas of the country; rivers and underground water permit extensive irrigation where it is not.
Increasing use of high-quality 8 labor also have contributed to the success of American agriculture. It is not unusual to see today's farmers 9 plows or harvesters. One farmer can manage large lands of farms. Fertilizers and pesticides are commonly used although some environmentalists 10 it. Computers track farm operations, and even 11 technology is utilized to find the best places to plant and fertilize crops. US agriculture is among the most advanced in the world.
Farmers still fight with forces beyond their control, 12. Despite its generally benign weather, North America also experiences frequent floods and droughts. Changes in the weather give agriculture its own economic cycles, often 13 the general economy. When negative factors hit farmers, calls for government assistance are particularly intense. In the 1930s, for instance, bad weather, and the Great Depression combined topush farms over the edge into a(n) 14 situation. The government responded with 15 agricultural reforms—most notably, a system of price supports, whose significance toward the large-scale campaign lasted for many years.
After some blood tests, Dr Stubs stood before me, a tall man, but short on personality and sporting a cold expression. You have systemic lupus, he said matter-of-factly. "Lupus," he continued, "is an auto-immune disease and …." I remember certain details but mostly I remember him talking about children. "Children are no harm. But childbirth would jumpstart additional symptoms that could be life threatening. You already have two kids anyway."
As I got up to leave, shaken and drained, he said his parting words, "I would discourage any further research. There is no cure and nothing can prevent its progression."
Still, I did research lupus and its symptoms tiredness and joint pain-were both consistent with what I was experiencing. And eventually some major organs could be affected, causing shutdown and possibly death.
I studied and found out that echinacea had a record in making immune system stronger. I decided that along with the plant I would strengthen my mindset by immersing myself in my family with my one-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.
After another visit, I decided never to go back to Dr. Stubs. How could one endure repeatedly hear desperately words coming from an emotionless mouth even though they were truth? The years passed. When I would feel tired and achy I pulled support from my children and their laughter.
Finally, after eight years, I went to Dr. Kirstein who was recommended by a friend. She stood there holding my hand and looking into my eyes warmly.
"So let's talk a little
Instantly my defenses were down. Before I knew it, she had me running on and on about my children, my husband, my life and dreams. I told her about all the meaningful activities I was involved in, those things I might have never done without the disease.
After several follow-up tests, and greater research into my family history, Dr. Kirsteincame to conclusive answer. I did not have systemic lupus. There must be something wrong with the initial tests 8 years before.
I didn't know whether I should jump for joy or scream because I had been living the last eight years in fear of a fatal disease. But then I realized that I had been living every day, not so much in fear, but happiness Even day was a gift and I knew it.
While faking and fierce looks are among animals great defenses, many species know that everyone runs from a big stink (臭气) too.
Vulture (秃鸳)
Vultures, are street sweepers that feast on the rotting flesh of dead animals, which benefits us by ridding our highways and landscapes of animal bodies and the bacteria they might carry. When vultures feel threatened they vomit, and the smell of vomited-on dead bodies puts of most predators. Throwing up allows the vulture to fly away more quickly-and the vomit can hurt the aggressor's eyes and face.
Opossum (负鼠)
In some ways opossums have it easy. In order to become "dead", they don't have to fax anyone a death certificate. They just lie there with their tongues hanging out with the smell of dead flesh, sometimes for hours, effectively convincing potential predators they can find a much fresher meal elsewhere. Even if they keep getting attacked, they won't move any more than a human statue until the threat has passed.
Hoatzin (磨雉)
Hold your nose and meet the hoatzin, a bird of distinctions, not the least of which is that it smells like fresh cow shit. The animal mostly eats leaves and it's the only bird known to digest by fermentation, like a cow. This process is what causes its smell and has earned it the nickname the "stink bird
Millipedes (千足虫)
Millipedes are tricky. For starters they look wormy. Their name is deceptive, too: Their legs number about 750. Their major defense is to curl up into a ball. They, though, also release a harm eyes, and leave a horrible smell on their attackers.
Sea Hare (海兔)
The graceful sea hare is plain in taste in the first place, so it's not the most popular dish in the seafood chain. Nonetheless this type of sea creature has a pretty creative smell-related defense that is almost the opposite of its smelly companions on this list. The sea hare gives out a slimy, purple ink, the substance which makes food less palatable to predators.
Researchers using lobsters (2-f) as model predators found that the sea blocks the lobsters receptive mechanism. In other words, the sea hare gives its attacker the equivalent of a stuffy nose so they don't know how appealing it is.
ARCHAEOLOGISTS (考古学家) GUIDED BY laser images of a remote region of northern Guatemala have discovered 20-foot-high walls, watchtowers, and other evidence that ancient Maya societies had been annoyed by warfare threat over many years. The finds have upended long-established impressions of a civilization that it tamed the jungle and built thriving cities, then declined and disappeared quietly beneath the dense tropical forest.
Among the most surprising discoveries was a large stone complex now called La Cuemavilla. Built on a steep ridge, the heavily fortified site included high walls. Moats which serves as the largest defensive system ever discovered in the region.
This was surprising says an archaeologist, because we had a tendency to romanticize Maya warfare as something that was largely ritualized. But the fortifications were seeing suggest an elevated level of antagonism over centuries. Rulers were so deeply alarmed that they felt the need to invest in all these hilltop fortifications. There is an almost visible sense of fear in this landscape.
All these findings owe credit to PACUNAM LIDAR Initiative, a laser survey of some 800 square miles of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in northern Guatemala. Using revolutionary Laser technology, the survey revealed the long-hidden ruins of a sprawling pre-Columbian civilization that was far more complex and interconnected than most Maya specialists had supposed.
Guided by the new Laser treasure maps, the LIDAR team deployed through the jungle over the past year to conduct hands-on investigations of more than a dozen of the most promising sites-most of which would have been imperceptible without LIDAR.
"You could walk over the top of a major ruin and miss it, "says an archaeologist who's part of the PACUNA project. But LIDAR picks up the patterns and makes the features pop out with surprising clarity.
Three-dimensional maps generated by the survey yielded surprises even at Tikal, the largest and most extensively explored archaeological site in Guatemala. The ancient city was at least four times bigger than previously thought, and surrounded by a massive ditch and fortified base stretching for miles.
Archaeologists stress that LIDAR, for all its utility, will never see below the ground or yield direct dates of occupation. "We still need to dig and hack our way through the jungle, but now we have a very accurate map to guide us."
A. The animals, to some extent, become tools to us. B. Although violence against zoo animals is often reported, the issue of animal welfare has aroused little attention recently. C. By taking a selfie, you show that you're part of that experience. D. The comparison between caged animals and wild ones are appealing to people. E. Similar incidents are a regular occurrence in natural settings. F. The common factor is that some people are not respecting animal. |
Recently, in the quest for a selfie (自拍), a woman climbed over the concrete barrier of a Jaguar (美洲虎) enclosure at Wildlife World Zoo, Arizona. The jaguar ripped into her arm. Bystanders pulled her away before the animal could injure her further. She's fine-so is the jaguar.
This isn't the first time a story of a person acting rudely to get close to a wild animal made headlines. Last year, a man jumped into a lion enclosure at a zoo for a close-up photo. Multiple tourists in Yellowstone National Park have been attacked by bison (野牛) when they've gotten too close for a photo.
It's common sense not to get close to wild animals that can hurt you. It's why zoos have barriers -sometimes multiple walls-to keep people separated from animals. Signs posted everywhere state the obvious warning. Keep your hands off the cage.
"Yet animals have become less real to us," says an environmentalist. We see exotic animals most frequently in managed settings like zoos. People are trying to take advantage of their rarity to show off on social media and ignore their fierceness.
Media often normalize interaction with dangerous animals. Seeing a man like "Lion Whisperer" Kevin Richardson regularly play-fight with lions on TV, may send the message that these animals aren't so dangerous after all.
Social media are also perfectly positioned to contribute to the rise of animal selfies. Getting likes and comments provide instant satisfaction. Your self-esteem actually gets a temporary boost. To hold onto that feeling, people may go to more and more extremes to showcase the most exciting versions of themselves. It may not be enough to get a photo of a beautiful, dangerous animal from outside a cage.
People's careless approach can put the animal's safety at risk as well. Zoo animals often must be killed to protect the person who's entered their space. In fact, thrill-seekers actively endanger the lives of animals. with the zoo environment, they take it for granted that animals are there for people, ignoring the fact that animals and humans are both equal existents in the nature.
Peter woke up one morning with all the usual signs of a nasty cold: severe headache and blocked nose. Then he did what almost everyone does on a day like this. He got up and went to work. Such is the state of what the human resources industry has come to call presenteeism.
Many experts claim that presenteeism is now a bigger problem in the UK than absenteeism and could even help explain the country's weak productivity growth. A growing number of companies are realizing presenteeism and doing something about it. This generally takes the form of programmes full of once unimaginable sweets: cheap gym membership, veggie salads in the canteen, stand-up desks and the odd massage, of course, there's nothing against lunchtime dentistry or free workout. They do more good than harm. But such welfares alone won't do much to stop people from presenteeism.
The chief reasons why people soldier on have nothing to do with how fit they are. They work for leaner, more stressed companies where dismissals are common. This makes some people worried that they will be targeted in the next round of job cut if they have taken a lot of time off. Others worry about troubling stretched colleagues with more work in their absence. How annoying it is to be faced with cold faces when you return to office after two days' rest at home.
There is not much to be said for "silly things" like ping-pong tables and office bean bags. The key to dealing with presenteeism lies in training managers to be better at spotting swifly when employees are under too much stress or ill, and dealing with the situation sensibly—putting the sick employee to sick leave although he is reluctant. Of course, work has to be done to eliminate employee's concern about his job prospect thereof.
日前,一社会机构对“高中生认为最有用的手机app类型”进行调查,结果如下:
最有用的app类型 |
参与调查的高中生人数占比 |
社交类app |
45% |
游戏类app |
32% |
学习类app |
12% |
其他 |
11% |
请简单描述以上数据,并结合自身实际,谈谈你对这一调查结果的看法。
(文中不得出现考生姓名,学校等真实信息)