①Facial recognition technology is widely used today. For example, police use it to search for bad guys. It's also used to unlock phones or doors. Now, a similar technology, known as facial detection (探测), is entering a new field: the business of advertising.
②Such systems are going through tests in a small number of stores. One facial detection system can judge a person's "happiness" or "fear" level. That helps businesses see how people feel as they look at products or advertisements in the store. Another system can detect whether someone is wearing eyeglasses. If so, stores can send advertisements for new glasses to him.
③Facial detection technology is also placed inside some large advertising boards. Cameras in those boards can detect information like people's ages and five levels of feelings-from "very happy" to "very unhappy".
④Supporters of the technology say it could improve buyers' experience by showing products they might like or by offering them products at lower prices.
⑤Some are against the idea of using such systems. Pam Dixon， the head of a privacy (隐 私) group， is one of them. She thinks______▲____. For example, a business could raise the price of a product according to a person's age and feelings.
⑥However, one store testing the technology explained they wouldn't store people's information like 'names or ages. And the advertising board system maker said it didn't keep any personal information or record any videos.
"Please don't travel to Wuhan unless it's absolutely necessary," Zhong Nanshan, a famous respiratory(呼吸科的)expert, reminded the public when the novel coronavirus first hit Wuhan. But despite the danger, he, 84, rushed on an overnight train to Wuhan to fight the disease.
Known as the hero who defeated SARS in 2003, Zhong's image and messages are flooding social media. Many people say they "trust every word of Zhong". He has given Chinese people confidence in winning the battle.
★A great doctor and honest scholar(学者)
Growing up in a family of doctors, Zhong lives by a simple motto(信条): save lives and always be honest. In 2003,when SARS hit China, he volunteered to treat patients and asked his colleagues (同事) to send their most serious cases to him. After months of work, his treatment plan for SARS was adopted(采纳）by China and then the whole world, saving thousands of lives, People's Daily reported.
Zhong is also known for being an honest scholar. In 2003,when authorities(官方)said that the SARS virus was under control, he publicly refuted their announcement. "I couldn't help myself. I said it's not all under control, "Zhong said in a later interview. His honesty won widespread praise from the Chinese public.
★Back to the frontlines
Seventeen years later, Zhong is once again leading an expert team to study the novel coronavirus. Although this new virus is known to be more dangerous to the elderly, Zhong doesn't seem worried about his own safety.
On Jan.18, he took a high-speed train from Guangzhou to Wuhan. Two days later, he became the first expert to make certain that the new virus can be spread between humans. On Jan.29, he and his colleagues spent over four hours online checking five patients who were in serious condition. The next day, he chose the treatment for those patients. Under his guidance, his team developed a rapid test kit(快速检测试剂盒)for the disease that can show results within 15 minutes.
As People's Daily wrote, "the 84-year-old Zhong Nanshan shows his-professionalism as a scholar, courage as a soldier, and a sense of duty as the backbone(脊梁)of our nation."
I was excited as I was moving towards my new school. I wondered what questions the other students would ask me and practiced all the answers on18 the way. However, no one took any notice of me while I was entering the school. I stood in the center of the playground, expecting someone to say "hello", but no one spoke to me.
There were forty other boys in Ms. Miller's class, so I didn't stand out there, either, until the first lesson of that afternoon. Ms. Miller asked several boys if they knew who Isaac Newton is, but no one guessed right. A boy called Giant, the biggest in the class, said: "He is a cook in our school." and Ms. Miller went red in the face. Then she turned to me. I said: "A great scientist in the world" and everyone stared at me because Ms. Miller said I was right. This didn't make me very popular, of course. I heard Giant say "She thinks he is clever."
After that, we went out to the playground to play soccer. I was in Giant's side, and he obviously had Newton in mind because he told me to go in goal. I was upset because no one wanted to be the goalkeeper. But I went and kept my place.
"He's big enough and useless enough." Giant said when someone asked him why he had chosen me.
As the boy kicked the ball hard along the ground to my right, I threw myself down quickly and saved it. Loud cheers rang out and I was crowded round by my teammates. My knees were hurt and bleeding. Giant pulled me out of the ground and offered a towel to me.
"Are you willing to join my team?" he asked.
At that moment, I knew I was no longer a stranger.
It snowed again. My seventh Christmas was around the corner. I dreamed of getting the present from Santa
Claus until my elder sister told me: "There is no Santa Claus."
I ran to my grandmother's house, for she always told the truth. My grandmother was at home. I told her everything.
"No Santa Claus?" she said, "Ridiculous! I don't believe it. Put on your coat and let's go."
As we walked through the doors of the general store, my grandma handed me 10 dollars and said: "Buy something for someone who needs it."
I just stood there, thinking about what to buy and who to buy it for.
I thought of everybody I knew. Then I thought about Bobbie Decker. He didn't have a coat. He never went out to play games in winter. I would buy him one.
That evening, my grandma helped me wrap the coat and write, "To Bobbie, from Santa Claus" on it. Then she drove me over to his house.
My grandma parked down the street, and we hid behind the trees near Bobbie's house. Then she said: "All right, Santa Claus is coming."
I rushed for Bobbie's front door, and put down the present outside his door. I rang his doorbell and then flew back to the trees. We waited breathlessly in the dark for the front door to open. Finally it did and there stood Bobbie. That night, I realized Santa Claus was alive and well, and we were on his team.
a. I hid behind the trees and waited for the door to open.
b. I decided to buy Bobbie a coat.
c. I put the coat outside Bobbie's door.
d. I asked my grandma if there was Santa Claus.
e. I entered the general store.
I walked quickly out of my church. It was late. My dad was waiting. I stared at the parking lot. Then I saw my dad's little red Honda. "Get in! Get in! Why are you so late all the time?"
The ride home was not much more than five minutes but each minute moved slowly. We were stuck behind an old man. He wasn't going more than 15 kilometers an hour. My dad started to shout, "Learn how to drive, Grandpa!" He hit the steering wheel(方向盘) with his hands. He was really angry.
"Dad, stop it. Why do you always…?" He cut me off, "I'd not get stuck at the light without this fellow!" The old man got to the light just as it was changing. "You're free! Drive away quickly," I thought. I looked over my dad. "Can you believe that, Steph? I get stuck at every light. There are so many stupid drivers out there, he said angrily.
Who gives him the right to shout at someone? Anger built inside me. "What if I shouted at my friends when they asked me for help?" I said. I looked out of the window, trying to catch my breath.
"You know, Steph, I think you are going to be a psychologist(心理学家)," he said. I remembered the last time I tried to say something, he had fumed, "Don't tell me how to drive! If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it! Think about what you say before you talk."
Usually, he'd be angry that I would doubt his authority (权威), but this time, he accept what I had said. A sense of pride rose up in me. It had been a short drive, but it had been the best car ride of my life.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Guinness has seen many new records. Actually, the idea of collecting interesting records came to Sir Hugh Beaver in the 1950s when he was the managing director of Guinness Brewery. This year, lots of sportsmen tried to set records though most sports were cancelled.
Jed Hockin, who is from Australia, is a famous young soccer star. Jed has got his fourth Guinness World Record. He now holds an official record for juggling(抛接) toilet paper with his foot 84 times in 30 seconds. Next, Jed plans to beat the record of 11,901 soccer touches in an hour. "I am looking forward to breaking more Guinness World Records," Jed wrote in an email.
The skilled Australian isn't the only sportsman setting records while unable to play regular sports. David Rush, from the US, became the fastest one to put on 10 T-shirts, taking only 15.61 seconds. David has already held many records. For example, he broke the record of the most juggling catches on a unicycle(独轮车) while his eyes were covered. "I loved watching the Guinness World Record specials on TV," said David. "I was fascinated and wanted to have a try myself."
Then there is Dr. Vikas Saini, another sportsman, who could put on 10 different socks very quickly (9.23 seconds) when he sat on the floor in his home in India. Guinness officials have noticed more record tries from homes and gardens. They've received applications(申请书) for different kinds of records. "We are inside, but we still want to encourage people to be creative and lift people's spirits. So we continue to provide people with a chance so that they can learn about and try to set world records," records manager Chrissy Fernandez said. "Guinness would like to keep people joining us and having fun because being inside can be a little boring."
With most people staying at home because of COVID-19, livestreaming (直播) has taken off. It is not only fun and interesting, but has also provided a new stage (舞台) for traditional culture artists.
On video sites and apps such as Douyin and Bilibili, many traditional artists are trying livestreaming for the first time. Some of them sing Peking Opera, some show their hand-made products, while others perform classical Chinese music.
Li Jun is a laosheng (old male role) Peking Opera performer with the Shanghai Jingju Theater Company. During the outbreak, the 59-year-old started livestreaming for the first time. Unlike performing on a formal stage, Li uses everyday places as his stage, including his backyard, study room, and even the kitchen. Besides singing, Li also teaches viewers about Peking Opera in a humorous way. People can ask him questions and get answers directly.
"Livestreaming has brought this elegant (高雅的) art down to earth," one viewer said. "It allows young people to get closer to this traditional art and learn more about it." Up to now Li has more than 6,000 fans on Douyin, while one of his videos has received 42,000 views on Bilibili.
Other kinds of artists also see livestreaming as a new opportunity. On March 26, the third China Huafu Day, Bilibili livestreamed a fashion show. Performers presented beautiful clothes in traditional Chinese styles, including those from the Wei (220-265), Tang (618-907) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties. During the show, viewers not only enjoyed seeing the clothes but also watching how performers use ancient styles of make-up. For example, one blogger taught people how to draw the guiye eyebrow (桂叶眉) which was a typical make-up style during the Tang Dynasty.
As Guangming Daily noted, livestreaming has created a new way in which traditional culture can be kept alive.
"If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden. "These words come from the author of the book The Secret Garden, first published in 1911. At that time, only the very rich in Britain had gardens. Very soon after this, homes with gardens began to be built. This is what started the British love of gardening! Today, millions of Brits like to say that they have "green fingers" with around half the population spending their free time gardening.
For many people in the UK, their garden is their own private world. Each spring, children plant sunflowers and wait to see which one is the tallest. Expert gardeners know just the right comer for roses and others spend hours trying to grow perfect vegetables to enter into competitions. And while many Brits like nothing better than spending their Sunday cutting the grass, some are happy just to sit under the trees and enjoy the beauty of the world around them.
But in cities, limited space has led to people looking for new solutions. Those without outside space can rent small pieces of land on which to grow things. Today, there are over 4, 000 people in
London waiting for such pieces of land. One recent idea has been to turn rooftops and walls into private gardens. These gardens have helped make the cities greener and improve air quality.
As well as being good for the environment, gardening is also good for the soul. What other free-time activity allows you to be at one with nature and create more beautiful living things? And if you're in any doubt about this, take a moment to reflect on this line from The Secret Garden:Where you tend a rose… A thistle cannot grow. "
Gaming addiction was listed as a mental health problem by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018. WHO describes it as a kind of lasting gaming behaviour. It is so serious that it takes precedence over other life interests.
Dr Richard Graham, a lead technology addiction specialist at the Nightingale Hospital in London, welcome WHO's decision. "The decision is important because it draws more attention from the society. It also creates the opportunity for the gaming addicts to receive specialized services. It is something that people should take seriously." He added, "Some people do not think the condition should be treated with medicine. He could lead to confused parents whose children are just crazy gamers. They don't know how to help their children out." Dr Richard saw about 50 new cases of gaming addiction each year. He introduced the standards to tell whether a player is gaming addicted or not. Those standards are based on whether this action—gaming is affecting everyday things such as sleep, eating, social activities and education.
Lots of countries in the world are grappling with the problem. In South Korea, the government has put forward a law, stopping children under 16 from playing online games (between midnight and 6 am). In Japan, players are warned if they spend more than a certain amount of time each month playing games. As for China, Internet giant Tencent has limited the hours when children can play its most popular games.
Researcher Killian Mullan said, "People think that children are addicted to technology and spend a lot of time in front of these screens. They then become uninterested in other activities. However, we now know that is not true. Our findings show that technology is being used in some cases to support other activities, like homework for example, and not pushing them out." He added, "Just like adults, while doing other things, children make full use of high technology in study as well."
It was Day 1 of our vacation on Cortes, a beautiful quiet island. "iPhone, iPhone, iPhone," my son kept moaning(呻吟). In front of him was a big window of facing the blue ocean. And a cool gentle wind was coming in from the door. Clearly, he saw and felt none of it.
Back at home, I'd soon give up and hand the phone over to him after five minutes of listening to this kind of moaning.
But not here. Before we left, I had told my 10-year-old son the rule no e-mails, no Facebook, no video games, and no iPhone. We came here to get away from them all. Here we were on our first day and already, he couldn't stand it.
▲ I walked down the grass road to the beach and looked out to the sea. My 6-year-old daughter and my husband were drawing on pieces of wood. They were doing just fine.
On Day 2, we spent the whole morning digging for shells(贝壳). This time, my son joined us.
He collected shellfish and other sea treasures. When we got back to our little wood house. I gave my son a book, and put him on the lovely garden chair. It was almost dinner when he looked up.
The next few days passed in peace.
On Day 6, my son was lying beside me on the beach, watching the sun going down. He was playing with the sand. And there was something shining in his eyes. I realized how time slowed down for both of us. It was exactly what I wanted. Finally, we were able to sit quietly without thinking about screens, phone calls and e-mails.
A week away from all the electronics and life is good.
