【推荐1】The Yellow River is the cradle (摇篮) of China’s civilization. And flood control and prevention have always been key to the well-being of the people living along it. Now, scientists can better work on these issues by giving the river a digital twin.

The digital twin of the Yellow River uses various technologies, including big data, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things. Devices set up along the river collect and transmit information to the command center. Based on the information, a 3D model of the river is presented on the computer screen. It’s like the Yellow River has a twin that reflects its real conditions.

One big breakthrough in the river’s digital governance (治理) is “smart stones”. According to Wang Qin, a lead researcher at the Information Center of Yellow River Henan Bureau, a smart stone is a water-proof stone-shaped device with chips, a battery, and a signal transmitter. They are buried in important dike (堤坝) locations to record and report the movement of dike stones. “Upon feeling movement of the dike stones, the smart stone sends an alarm to the command center for quick response,” Wang said. “In the past, researchers had to learn the conditions of the dike on the spot by themselves, putting their lives at risk, ” said Zhao Xiaoxiong from the bureau. “Now the smart stones can do this for us, more safely, quickly, and accurately. ”

And in the sky, drones (无人机) are flying. On the routes designed by engineers, the drones become expert patrollers of the river, looking at its dikes and flood prevention projects. According to Shen Lin from the Yellow River Conservancy Commission, thanks to the drones, researchers at the command center can get first-hand photos and information. “Researchers then update the 3D model according to the changes the drones reported. The newly updated model helps us test our floodwater release plans in case we ever need to batten down the hatches,” said Shen.

Under the water and up in the sky, intelligent systems are helping to protect the Yellow River Basin on all fronts. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, in the future, we can expect to see the construction of an even more comprehensive digital system for this important river.

【推荐2】A robot designed to carry things moves quickly across a field to gather equipment at a sports event. Such equipment, like javelins(标枪) and discuses, has been thrown by competitors. Another robot moves a human-sized screen on wheels. It is designed to permit joining in the event. And then there are the robots designed to look like the smiling, friendly human beings or mascots(吉祥物)that act as the Olympic Games’ representatives.

All these robots are part of preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corporation presented the machines to reporters earlier this week. Toyota is major supporter of the 2020 Olympic Games.

The “field support robot” is a small bus-shaped machine based on a Toyota ride-sharing vehicle that is still in development. The field support robot can travel as fast as 20 kilometers per hour. It holds three cameras and one special sensor that lets it “see” its surroundings. Around the top of its body are special lights that brighten when the vehicle is active. Its artificial intelligence（AI）helps it avoid barriers(障碍). It is also able to change its path in order to protect areas of grass. However, it cannot find the objects, which can weigh up to eight kilograms, or pick them up on its own. A person has to travel with the device, pick up the objects and put them in it. Then, with a press of a button, the vehicle carries the equipment to where it needs to go.

Takeshi Kuwabara took charge of the robot’s development. He said it was designed to team robots and humans. “Our aim was to make good use of the strengths of both humans and robots” , he said.

The carmaker plans to use the games to present its new vehicle technologies. These include buses powered by special kind of battery, and self-driving taxis. Toyota is competing with other carmakers and technology companies to develop low cost, robot-controlled cars and electric vehicles.

【推荐3】More than a billion people around the world have smart phones, almost all of which come with some kind of navigation app such as Google or Apple Maps. This raises the age-old question we meet with any technology: What abilities is our brain losing to these apps? But also, importantly: What abilities are we gaining?

Talking with people who are good at finding their way around or good at using paper maps, I often hear a lot of annoyance with digital maps. North/south direction gets messed up, and you can see only a small section at a time. I can really understand that it may be quite disturbing for the already skilled to be limited to a small phone screen.

But consider what digital navigation aids have meant for someone like me. Although being a frequent traveler, I’m so terrible at finding my way that I still use Apple Maps almost every day in the small town where I have lived for many years.

In many developed nations, street names and house numbers can be meaningful, and instructions such as go north for three blocks and then west make sense to those familiar with these rules. In Istanbul, however, where I grew up, none of those hold true. For one thing, the locals seldom use street names. Besides, the city is full of winding and ancient alleys that cross with newer avenues at many angles. In such places, you’d better turn to the locals. In the countryside, however, there is often nobody outside to ask. In fact, along came Apple Maps, like a fairy grandmother whispering directions in my ear. Since then, I travel with a lot more confidence, and my world has opened up.

Which brings me back to my original question: While we often lose some skills after depending on new technology, this new equipment may also allow us to gain new abilities. Maybe when technology closes a door, we should also look for the doors it opens.

【推荐3】One of the most beloved coins in history is a true American Classics: The Buffalo Nickel. Although they have not been issued for over 75 years, GovMint. Com is releasing to the public bags of original US government Buffalo Nickels. Now they can be acquired for a limited time only - not as individual collector coins, but by weight - just $49 for a full Quarter-pound Bag.

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【推荐1】It happens all the time: during an airport delay, a Korean perhaps starts talking to a man who might be Colombian, and soon they are chatting away in what seems to be English. But the native English speaker sitting beside them cannot understand a word.

They don’t know they are speaking Globish, the latest addition to the 6,800 languages that are said to be spoken across the world. Not that its inventor, Jean-Paul Nerriere, considers it a proper language. “It is not a language, but it is a tool, ” he says. “A language is the vehicle of a culture. Globish doesn’t want to be that at all. It is a means of communication.”

The seeds for Globish came about in the 1980’s when Nerriere was working for IBM in Paris with colleagues of about 40 nationalities. At a meeting where they were to be addressed by two Americans whose flight had been delayed, they started chatting. Then the Americans arrived and beyond their opening phrases, “Call me Jim, ”“Call me Bill, ”no one understood a word. And Jim and Bill, needless to say, did not understand the strange English spoken by others. They all spoke low-quality English. Except Jim and Bill, everyone was speaking Globish though they didn’t know it.

The main principles of Globish are a vocabulary of only 1,500 words in English, gestures and repetition. One of the interesting things in Globish is that with 1,500 words you can express everything. The target is to reach the point where you will be understood everywhere. The list goes from “able” to “zero”. “Niece and nephew, for example, are not included, but you can replace them with the children of my brother, ” Nerriere says.

But a small problem is still waiting for him. The fluent Globish speakers will not be understood by native English speakers. To this question, Nerriere responded confidently, “This is the way to get Americans to learn another language. ”

【推荐2】At a time when crossborder(跨境) travel is strictly limited, China Hour,a program on Sky TV, has hit record high viewings in Britain, offering a window on the eastern country and its culture under COVID-19 lockdown( 活动限制).

Jointly run by China International TV & Film Corporation and Dove Media Ltd UK, the program has grown rapidly since the end of March when Britain began its lockdown. Its March viewings saw a dramatic increase of nearly 70 percent compared to that of February. Figures in April again went far beyond average, 2. 5 times higher than the previous month.

“Thanks to its enhanced efforts for promotion( 提 升 ) and adapted contents, China Hour seized the opportunity when its British audience were staying home,” said Sui Songyan, CEO of Dove Media. “It is true that the lockdown contributed to a longer TV watching time among the public, however, the increase was also owed to the program contents and schedules,” he added.

Sui introduced, “China Hour’s performance remains consistent in 2020, like it was in the second half of last year. ” While some classic programs stay popular, new shows along with new themed schedules have all been well received, including the Chinese New Year series, Silk Road series and some other cultural and travel programs, like History of Great Wall, Furniture Chinese Style, the Legend of Bruce Lee, Chinese Garden, Tea: Story of a Leaf.

Thanks to the team efforts in scheduling, promotion, translation and dubbing, the Chinese New Year special shows aired in January and February have achieved satisfactory figures, reflecting the audience's keen interest in Chinese folk culture.

【推荐3】John and Mary had a nice home and two lovely children. John had just been asked to go on a business trip to another city for several days and Mary would go with him too. They hired a reliable woman to care for their children and returned home a little earlier than they had planned.

As they drove into their hometown, they found a home on fire. After having a look, Mary said, “Oh well, it isn’t our fire. Let’s go home.” But John drove closer and said, “That home belongs to Fred Jones who wouldn’t be off work yet. Maybe there is something we could do.”

John noticed an old lady screamed to him, “A children! Get the children!” John grabbed (抓住) her by the shoulder saying, “Get a hold of yourself and tell us where the children are!” “In the basement,” cried the lady.

In spite of Mary’s disagreement, John soaked (浸湿) his clothes and ran to the basement which was full of smoke. He found the door and grabbed two children. As he left he could hear some more cry. He sent the two badly frightened children into the waiting room and asked how many more children were down there. The told him two more and Mary grabbed his arm and screamed, “John! Don’t go back! It’s dangerous! That house will fall down in any second!”

But he shook her off and went back. It seemed a very long time before he found both children and started back. As he climbed up the endless steps the thought went through his mind that there was something strangely familiar about the little bodies next to him, and at last when they came out into the sunlight and fresh air, he found that he had just rescued his own children. The baby-sitter had left them at this home while she did some shopping.

【推荐2】When you go out to eat in a restaurant, you are concerned with both the food and the environment.Universo Santi in Spain delivers (实现) both.Customers could notice that there is something different and special about the restaurant.The employees (雇员）consist entirely of people with special needs.

“People come here not because the employees are disabled (残疾的) but because it’s the best restaurant in the area.Their talking is always about the food, which they really enjoy,” said Antonio Vila, president of the Fundación Universo Accesible, an organization which works on helping people with disabilities join the workforce.“I always wanted to show that people with disabilities, given the right training, were able to do everything,” said Vila.

Now the 20 employees, aged from 22 to 62, are very proud to be working in the restaurant.“I feel really lucky to be part of it,” said Gloria Bazán, head of human resources, who has cerebral palsy (脑瘫).“It’s difficult to work when society just sees you as someone different.This has given me the opportunity to be independent and to take part like any other human being.I appreciate it very much.”

There are other restaurants that make it their duty to employ people with special needs.In New York, Puzzles Bakery & Café believes that everyone deserves （应得到）a chance.That’s why they employ people with developmental disabilities.Brownies & Downies, a lunch café in the Netherlands, is run by people with Down’s syndrome.The café was a big success.

These efforts show that people who have disabilities still have abilities and can be trained to do all types of jobs.They just have to be given a fair chance.

【推荐3】An online tool has been released(推出）which is able to bring black and white photographs to life by adding colour to them using artificial intelligence(AI).

Colourisation(上色）of old photos is normally a process taking a lot of time,which requires special training and expensive software.The tool,ColouriseSG,is able to do it for free. It is trained on old pictures and uses machine learning to guess what it thinks the pictures would have looked like in colour.

＂The purpose of colourisation is to produce a picture with colours that seem to be right," the tool's developers say."It by no means makes sure that the colourised picture is an accurate（精确的）representation of the original photo in time."

The free-to-use tool was developed to provide an accurate way for people from Singapore to edit their black and white pictures.The idea of ColouriseSG was to provide a large enough data-set to be linked to people living in Singapore.

Tech firm NVIDIA has released several different picture editing tools that are powered by AI.Its latest release is software which uses deep learning to turn even the roughest drawings into works of art.

The new program,GauGAN,named after famous French impressionist Paul Gaugin,uses a tool called GAN to recognize simple lines and turn them into realistic pictures.

Its application could help jobs,for example,urban planning,edit pictures faster and with greater accuracy,according to the company.

“It's much easier to come up with designs with simple drawings,and this technology is able to turn these drawings into highly realistic pictures,"said Bryan Catanzaro,vice president of applied deep learning research at NVIDIA.