How intelligent can a computer be? May be you can get the answer after reading the following passage about a newly-developed US computer program called Smarter Child and the Internet.
If you ran into Smarter Child online, you would be surprised at this kid's huge memory. It can recite many facts. For example, Smarter Child knows every baseball player in every team this season.
He knows every word in the dictionary and the weather in every major city areas across the US. However, if you ask Smarter Child other questions, you get strange answers. A question about Smarter Child's age returns, "One year, 11 days, 16 hours, 7 minutes, and 47 seconds!" Asking where he lives, "In a clean room in a high-tech building in California."
Smarter Child uses the huge information on the World Wide Web as his memory bank. To answer questions about spelling, for instance, Smarter Child goes to American Heritage Dictionary online. For the weather, he visits www. intellicast. com.
Some scientists believe that by joining the many systems of the Internet, an artificial being with the combined knowledge of, say, Albert Einstein, Richard Nixon and Britney Spears could be born. However, if Smarter Child wants to think and learn on his own like the boy-computer David in the movie A. I. Artificial Intelligence, he must solve two problems.
The first is that computers find it difficult to read web pages because the files are sorted in different ways. That's why programmers need to tell Smarter Child where to look for the weather. It would be a much more difficult task to let him find it himself.
Another problem is that while Smarter Child can deal with information more exactly and faster than any human, he lacks(缺少) common sense—a basic grounding of knowledge that is obvious(明显的) to any young child.
International Volunteering in New Zealand
If you're visiting New Zealand and would like to volunteer, DOC (Department of Concentration) welcomes you to get involved.
Before you come to New Zealand
You do not need a work visa to volunteer with DOC. You can volunteer on entry to New Zealand as long as you do not receive payment or benefits.
You may need a police certificate
Depending on the volunteer work you do with us, you may be required to provide a police certificate to DOC. Your police certificate would need to be written and certified in English. It's easier for you if you get a police certificate before you leave your country.
How to get a new police certificate if you're already in New Zealand. (Click here)
International students
Volunteering with DOC is an option to gain experience. However, DOC does not offer opportunities to students who study at universities outside New Zealand, or other education providers outside New Zealand.
Insurance
For all volunteers with DOC, we strongly advise you gel comprehensive (综合的) travel insurance and unlimited medical cover. DOC does not accept responsibility for any:
● personal medical or accident events.
● loss or damage to personal items of equipment, or other associated costs while you're volunteering with DOC.
WELCOME
Welcome to Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. Windsor is one of the official residences (住所) of the Queen, who sometimes stays here.
Audio tours
Free audio tours are available on leaving the Admission Centre at the start of your visit. There is a descriptive audio tour for blind and poorsighted visitors.
Guided tours
Visitors can explore the history of the Castle through a tour of the Precincts with an expert guide. Tours depart at regular intervals throughout the day from the Courtyard and finish at the entrance to the State Apartments.
Visitors with children
For those visiting with children, a special family tour and various activities are offered during school holidays and at weekends. Please note that, for safety reasons, pushchairs are not permitted in the State Apartments. However, baby carriers are available to borrow.
St George's Chapel
Visitors arriving at the Castle after 15:00 from March to October are advised to visit St George's Chapel first before it closes.
Shopping
Shops offer a wide range of souvenirs designed for the Royal Collection, including books, postcards, china, jewellery and children's toys. Please ask at the Middle Ward shop about our home delivery service.
Refreshments
Bottled water can be purchased from the Courtyard and Middle Ward shops. From April to September ice cream is also available. Visitors wishing to leave the Castle for refreshments in the town may obtain reentry permits from the castle shops. Eating and drinking are not permitted in the State Apartments or St George's Chapel.
Photography and mobile phones
Noncommercial photography and filming are welcomed in the Castle. Photography, video recording and filming are not permitted inside the State Apartments or St George's Chapel. Mobile phones must be switched off inside the State Apartments and St George's Chapel in consideration of other visitors.
Security
As Windsor Castle is a working royal palace, visitors and their belongings should get through airport style security checks. For safety and security reasons, a one-way system operates along the visitor route.
What do you usually do during your summer holiday? Have you ever taken part in camps and do you know that over ten million American kids go to camp every summer? At that time, hot city summers made people feel bad and even unhealthy for children, so escaping to the country for a few weeks became popular. Today, kids have different reasons for making camp a part of their lives. To meet new people Camp is a great way to make new friends and learn about different places and cultures. Michiko, 13, put it like this, "I loved camp. I met this girl named Manny who lives in New York and she is cool. We taught each other words. " To challenge (挑战) yourselfActivities like trying new sports, learning new games, or pushing yourself to achieve something need a lot of courage. Arabella, 13, told us, "I went to summer camp and I passed my swimming test! I can hardly swim, so it was a big progress. " To experience nature There's a great big natural world out there, and going to camp helps you learn how beautiful and important it really is. Getting out into the woods or mountains can give you a better understanding of the world.
A. Not all the things that kids do at camp are easy.
B. Summer camp has been a U. S. tradition for over 150 years.
C. Without trees, soil, water, and wildlife, the Earth couldn't survive.
D. It's also a great way to learn about teamwork.
E. She speaks Spanish and I speak Japanese.
F. Going to camp is all about having a good time.
G. I felt great afterwards.
One night many years ago I was on the bridge of a ship passing one of our large cities on a quiet night. I saw its lights 1 in the sky and heard the city's noises.
I have spent twenty-five years on boats. Now I am a 2. My job is to bring in the large luxury3 and stay with them until they are safely stopped in their ports.
I felt very 4 the first time I ever docked a big liner. She came riding up the harbor on a flood tide and 5 high over the short little boat. As we drew alongside, a doorway opened 6 at water level and two smartly dressed sailors helped me aboard.
I was escorted (护送) to the bridge where I 7 from the captain. I realized I was in 8 of a great ship worth millions of dollars. Having docked several of the large liners, I realized I was not important, 9 simply the quarterback(四分卫) who called the signals.
In spite of what we 10 in the newspapers, I have great faith in this country, praying that a peaceful understanding will come to this 11 world, so that my children can grow up in a world full of happiness. I believe this will 12.
I remember the 13 and pity that took over this country, back in 1949, when a little girl named Kathy Fiskus fell into a(n) 14 well in California. Engineers and sandhogs and people in all 15 of life worked almost three days, and when they got her out she was dead.
People sent in thousands of dollars in 16 funds, but those who did the work and furnished the equipment wouldn't take the money. They worked for bigger things. I talked to captains of foreign 17 that came into New York Harbor, and they were just as 18 as us over the tragedy.
I believe some way will be found to work together for world peace with the same 19 and understanding that people worked to rescue little Kathy Fiskus. I believe this will 20 come true.
Police are trying to work out what drove a (wealth) former accountant to open fire on concertgoers in Las Vegas, (kill) at least 58 people and injuring almost 500.
The gunman, Stephen Paddock, 64, set up a firing point in a hotel overlooking an open-air music festival shot himself dead before the police stormed his room.
Some 22, 000 people (attend) a country music festival late on Sunday, 1 October, in the open air by the Las Vegas strip when the firing occurred. The first shots rang out at around 22:05 local time (05:05 GMT) and continued a rapid rate in sustained bursts for 10 minutes.
Witnesses described hundreds of shots being fired. sounded like automatic gunfire can be heard on videos from the scene. There are reports that Paddock was using a "bump stock" – a modification (改良) to a weapon that can(able) it to fire hundreds of rounds a minute. There were reports of other incidents at different locations along the Las Vegas strip, but police later saidwere false.
At 22:15, the last shot was fired. Three minutes (early), an officer on the 31st floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel identified the gunman's location on the 32nd floor. Officers reached the 32nd floor at 22:17, finding an (injure) security guard, another of Paddock's victims.
假定你是李华，请你就一下写作要点向该报社投稿。内容要点如下：
1）简要概括其现状及危害；
2）给出可行的建议。
注意：1）词数：100左右；
2）信的开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
3）开头语已为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear editor,
I am Li Hua from Xinhua Middle School. I'm writing to
……
Yours,
Li Hua
重新阅读"A LETTER HOME"，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。
A LETTER HOME
Dear Rosemary,
Thanks for your letter, which took a fortnight to arrive. It was wonderful to hear from you. I know you're dying to hear all about my life here, so I've included some photos which will help you picture the places I talk about.
You asked about my high school. Well, it's a bush school – the classrooms are made of bamboo and the roofs of grass. It takes me only a few minutes to walk to school down a muddy track. When I reach the school grounds there are lots of "good mornings" for me from the boys. Many of them have walked a long way, sometimes up to two hours, to get to school.
There's no electricity or water and even no textbooks either! I'm still trying to adapt to these conditions. However, one thing is for sure, I've become more imaginative in my teaching. Science is my most challenging subject as my students have no concept of doing experiments. In fact there is no equipment, and if I need water I have to carry it from my house in a bucket!
The other day I was showing the boys the weekly chemistry experiment when, before I knew it, the mixture was bubbling over everywhere! The boys who had never come across anything like this before started jumping out of the windows. Sometimes I wonder how relevant chemistry is to these students, most of whom will be going back to their villages after Year 8 anyway. To be honest, I doubt whether I'm making any difference to these boys' lives at all.
You asked whether I'm getting to know any local people. Well, that's actually quite difficult as I don't speak much of the local English dialect yet. But last weekend another teacher, Jenny, and I did visit a village which is the home of one of the boys, Tombe. It was my first visit to a remote village. We walked for two and a half hours to get there—first up a mountain to a ridge from where we had fantastic views and then down a steep path to the valley below. When we arrived at the village, Tombe's mother, Kiak, who had been pulling weeds in her garden, started crying "ieee ieee". We shook hands with all the villagers. Everyone seemed to be a relative of Tombe's.
Tombe's father, Mukap, led us to his house, a low bamboo hut with grass sticking out of the roof—this shows it is a man's house. The huts were round, not rectangular like the school buildings. There were no windows and the doorway was just big enough to get through. The hut was dark inside so it took time for our eyes to adjust. Fresh grass had been laid on the floor and there was a newly made platform for Jenny and me to sleep on. Usually Kiak would sleep in her own hut, but that night she was going to share the platform with us. Mukap and Tombe were to sleep on small beds in another part of the hut. There was a fireplace in the centre of the hut near the doorway. The only possessions I could see were one broom, a few tin plates and cups and a couple of jars.
Outside Mukap was building a fire. Once the fire was going, he laid stones on it. When hot, he placed them in an empty oil drum with kau kau (sweet potato), corn and greens. He then covered the vegetables with banana leaves and left them to steam.
I sniffed the food; it smelled delicious. We ate inside the hut sitting round the fire. I loved listening to the family softly talking to each other in their language, even though I could not participate the conversation. Luckily, Tombe could be our interpreter.
Later, I noticed a tin can standing upside down on the grill over the fire. After a short time Tombe threw it out of the doorway. I was puzzled. Tombe told me that the can was heated to dry out the leftover food. They believe that any leftovers attract evil spirits in the night, so the food is dried up in the can and the can is then thrown out of the hut. Otherwise they don't waste anything.
We left the village the next morning after many goodbyes and firm handshakes. My muscles were aching and my knees shaking as we climbed down the mountain towards home. That evening I fell happily into bed. It was such a privilege to have spent a day with Tombe's family.
It's getting late and I have to prepare tomorrow's lessons and do some paperwork. Please write soon.
Love,
Jo
