Jason Gates spends a lot of his time thinking about trash, and how we can generate less of it. Since 2013 his San Francisco-based startup, Compology, has used cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor what's thrown into dumpsters and trash containers at businesses such as McDonald's restaurants and Nordstrom department stores. The point is to make sure dumpsters are actually full before they're emptied and to stop recyclable materials like cardboard from being polluted by other junk so it, too, doesn't become waste.
We've found that most businesses and people have the right intentions about recycling, but oftentimes they just don't know what the proper way to recycle is, Gates, CEO of Compology, told CNN Business' Rachel Crane. To help them do it correctly, Compology puts trash-monitoring cameras and sensors inside industrial waste containers. The cameras take photos several times each day and when the container is lifted for dumping.
AI software analyzes the images to figure out how full the container is and can also let a customer know when something is where it shouldn't be, such as a bag of trash tossed into a dumpster filled with cardboard boxes for recycling. Gates said the company's cameras can cut the amount of non-recyclable materials thrown in waste containers by as much as 80%. With McDonald's dumpsters in Las Vegas, for instance, Compology's cameras and sensors showed the company was generally doing a good job recycling cardboard packaging. But occasionally garbage bags were thrown in there, too, Gates said.
Compology trained its system to sort trash with tens of millions of images, Gates said, and it uses pictures taken from within dumpsters that are now in use to get better at determining fullness and what's inside. So far, it has processed over 80 million images from the 162,000 cameras it has installed.
Over time, Gates hopes Compology can help standardize how waste is measured and reported -something that isn't currently consistent in the US. "You've been able to measure how much electricity, water, gas you've used for decades," Gates said. "What we' re doing is being able to meter how much waste you produce."
1. What is the key to waste reductions?| A．Stopping polluting junk when recycling. |
| B．Using artificial intelligence to throw correctly. |
| C．Ensuring waste containers full when emptying. |
| D．Producing less trash to protect our surroundings. |
| A．They might classify waste containers into different categories. |
| B．They can be confused sometimes about proper methods of recycling. |
| C．They fully intend to do it and know the correct way to recycle the trash. |
| D．They always insist on recycling with the help of trash-monitoring cameras. |
| A．To turn waste into treasure |
| B．To sort put current trash |
| C．To regulate producing standard |
| D．To measure personal waste production |
| A．A monitor observing recyclable materials |
| B．An eco-friendly trash container transferring data |
| C．An intelligent camera contributing to trash reduction |
| D．A technology generating the non-recyclable materials |
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【推荐1】Accompanied by the background sounds of Chinese traditional instruments, Yuanxi — China Daily’s digital employee — introduced the 9,000-year-old stone carvings (岩画) from the Helan Mountains in Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region on Oct 14.
The meeting between the virtual human and Chinese traditional culture is quite interesting,” an internet user commented on Sina Weibo.
With the rise of the metaverse (元宇宙), virtual humans have become a growing phenomenon in China. According to a research report by QbitAI, it is estimated that the overall market size of China’s virtual humans will reach 270 billion yuan by 2030.
Though they are not real, these virtual beings share similar identities with us and serve in different fields of our daily lives, including education, broadcasting, and business. For example, in June 2021, Hua Zhibing, a virtual human who can write poetry, was officially registered as a student at Tsinghua University. Throughout the 2022 Winter Olympics, China’s first AI sign language presenter served hearing-impaired (有听力障碍的) audiences 24/7.
Due to their perfect image and interesting setups, some virtual humans even get a large number of fans and become idols in real life. Luo Tianyi is one of them. As a virtual singer, Luo has over 5 million followers on Sina Weibo. When she held a concert in Shanghai in 2018, more than 10,000 fans waved glow sticks and cheered for her. Gao Yu, a fan of Luo, told Economic Information Daily that “just like chasing human idols, Luo’s fans also hold birthday parties for her and buy the products she promotes.”
While the future of virtual humans seems promising, problems also lurk (隐藏着) underneath. As the novelty wears off, some followers are getting tired of virtual humans’ never-changing expressions. “No matter how lifelike these virtual influencers look, they’re still not real people. It’s a little scary,” Gigi You, 23, from Guangdong, told Insider. Studies also showed that their “perfect” face and “perfect” life which humans are unable to achieve can also trigger (引发) anxiety and depression in individuals.
Generally speaking, virtual humans are often seen as the gateway to the metaverse and have demonstrated financial potential, but there’s still a lot of room for development, reported Xinhua.
1. What can we learn about Yuanxi?| A．She is the first digital employee in China. |
| B．She played Chinese traditional instruments. |
| C．She covered stories about stone carvings. |
| D．She was designed to promote Chinese traditional culture. |
| A．To show the popularity of virtual humans. |
| B．To illustrate the similarities of virtual humans. |
| C．To describe the characteristics of virtual humans. |
| D．To explain the importance of virtual humans in our lives. |
| A．They lose appeal quickly. | B．They are too good to be true. |
| C．They can make people anxious. | D．They are never as real as humans. |
【推荐2】Researchers at Cornell University are one step closer to building robots that are more like humans. This new method is one you might not expect. However, a soft robot muscle that "sweats" to regulate its temperature. "Sweating takes advantage of evaporated (蒸发)water loss to rapidly dissipate heat and can cool below the environmental temperature. So as is often the case, biology provided an excellent guide for us as engineers."
The fingerlike devices are 3D printed, water powered, and can be used to grab things. They are made of two soft chemical materials: a base layer of (CH3) 2 CH-C3H5 NO covered in a multihole layer of (C3H5 NO)n. When the fingers reach a temperature of 30°C (86°F), the base layer reacts by shrinking, squeezing the water through the top pores (毛孔)in the top layer. The drying up is so efficient that the surface temperature of the actuator can drop by 21°C in just 30 seconds. That's three times more efficient than in humans. When wind from a fan is thrown into the mix, they cool down around six times as fast. The evaporation also cooled the object held by the actuator hand.
"The best part of this artificial strategy is that the heat regulation is based on the material itself," said T. J. Wallin, co-lead author, a research scientist at Facebook Reality Labs. "We did not need to have sensors or other components to control the sweating rate. When the local temperature rose above the set point, the pores would simply open and close on their own. "
While the result is exciting, it is only a first step. The robot has its weaknesses. The sweat can make the robot hand slippery, so the team is examining textures to improve its grasp. When the sweating takes place, the robot's mobility is also blocked and needs to refill its water supply.
"I think that the future of making these more biologically similar materials and robots is going to rely on the material composition," said co-lead author Rob Shepherd, an associate professor of mechanical and engineering. "This brings up a point about the importance of research involving several different academic subjects or areas, where really no one group has all the answers. "
1. Which can best replace the underlined word "dissipate" in paragraph 1?| A．turn down | B．put aside |
| C．drive away | D．take in |
| A．Its artificial material. | B．Its accurate sensor. |
| C．Its sensitive devices. | D．Its working surroundings. |
| A．The disadvantages of the robot. |
| B．The next step of the researchers. |
| C．The rules the robot has to follow. |
| D．The effect of the new development. |
| A．The future of the robot is promising. |
| B．The similar materials are too difficult to develop. |
| C．Only working together can make the robot more successful. |
| D．The next step of his team is to search for suitable software. |
【推荐3】Around 45% of plastic waste is recycled annually in the UK and is on the increase. However, one of the problems with present plastic recycling methods is that you end up with a lower-quality plastic with worse properties （特性）than the original. This means that plastic drink bottles cannot simply be recycled into new drink bottles continuously, but instead are used for other lower-grade products like park benches.
Now, British scientists have developed a new method of chemical recycling. They use lower temperatures and more environmentally-friendly starting chemicals than previous methods to turn plastics back into their constituent chemical molecules （分子）.In this way, they can be used to make new plastics of the same quality as the original.
"Most plastic is now recycled using mechanical methods, where they are transformed into liquids before being made into something new," said a professor named Matthew Jones. "The problem is, melting plastic changes its properties and reduces the quality. Out method of chemical recycling overcomes this problem. Then plastics can be used all over again without losing any properties?"
The researchers are recycling some kinds of plastics, including plant-based PLA, a plastic used for food packaging and PET, which is used for drink bottles. So far, the technology has only been demonstrated on a small range. However, scientists are now working to produce larger quantities of starting chemicals.
"There is no single solution to the problem of plastic waste — the approach has to be a combination of reducing, reusing and recycling. Our method of chemical recycling could allow carbon to be recycled endlessly rather than digging more up from the ground in the form of fossil fuels, or letting it into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas," said Dr. Paul McKeown from the University of Bath.
1. What is the problem with the present plastic recycling?| A．The quality of recycled plastics declines. |
| B．Plastic drink bottles cannot be recycled. |
| C．The amount of plastic waste is increasing. |
| D．Recycled lower-grade products sell badly. |
| A．By transforming it into fuels. |
| B．By heating it into liquid state. |
| C．By keeping its original properties. |
| D．By changing its molecule structure. |
| A．Fossil fuels are endless resources. |
| B．The plastic waste problem has no solution. |
| C．Recycled carbon leads to greenhouse gases. |
| D．The chemical recycling is environment-friendly. |
| A．Business. | B．Tech & Science. |
| C．Lifestyle. | D．Arts & Culture |
【推荐1】When news came that the UK actor Idris Elba,46, was named People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” for 2018, Elba showed an interesting response to it. “I was like, ‘Come on, no way. Really?’’’ he told People. “It was nice - an ego (自我) boost for sure.”
The reason that Elba needed an “ego boost” is probably that even though he’s famous now, having starred (主演) in many famous films, Elba hasn’t always been a confident person. He went through an awkward phase growing up, not feeling good about his look. And living in London as a child of an African immigrant (移民) family wasn’t easy for him either. “I was very tall and skinny. And my name was Idrissa Akuna Elba, okay? I got picked on a little bit,” he said. However, for the rest of us, the news of his award for being the “Sexiest Man Alive” was no surprise at all.
Elba is far more than just an actor. He is the voice behind the versatile (多才多艺的) chief of police in Disney’s Zootopia. He is the director of crime drama film Yardie. He designs clothes, DJs and produces his own music. He also learned to fly a stunt (特技) plane. It was probably all these experiences that gave Elba the confidence that he has today. But still, Elba managed to keep a humble (谦逊的) attitude toward life and people around him. “I love being confident, but also I know when to contain it and just stay humble and rational,” Elba told Entertainment Weekly.
These “complicated contradictions” in Elba, as US movie producer Amy Pascal told The New York Times, “make every character he plays fascinating”. And it is this ability to fascinate that got Elba an Officer of the British Empire medal in 2016, for his “services to drama”. And it’s perhaps also these “complicated contradictions” that makes Elba charming.
1. How did Elba feel on hearing the news in the first paragraph?| A．Proud. | B．Confident. | C．Confused. | D．Unexpected. |
| A．He was satisfied with his appearance. |
| B．He has always showed confidence in life. |
| C．He acquired ego boost by starring in famous films. |
| D．He was probably looked down upon in his childhood. |
| A．demanding | B．versatile | C．rigid | D．aggressive |
| A．His humble attitude. | B．The ability to fascinate. |
| C．Complex contradictions in him. | D．His confidence. |
【推荐2】A 12-year-old girl from Virginia, US, never thought that a simple message she put online could bring her big problems. She posted the words, “Killing. Meet me in the library Tuesday”, with three emojis (表情符号) of a gun, a knife and a bomb (炸弹) on Instagram, a social media (社交媒体). She was told that she broke the law because of threatening (威胁) her school.
This problem is not far away from us. Not long ago, Ni Hanxiang, a Chinese student at a university in the US, was sent back to China after expressing on social media that he would kill his teachers if he failed to pass his exams.
In China, posting threatening words online is also against the law. In 2013, Wu Hongfei, a singer, got into trouble for saying on Weibo that she wanted to blow up a building.
“Threatening happens not only face to face but also through the Internet, social media and the telephone,” said Mr. Cao, a lawyer from Chongqing. “Although the law of China protects people’s right of free speech, it doesn’t include words that threaten others’ lives and national safety.”
“Some people may not mean to threaten. They may just be trying to say ‘I’m strong’,” said Fred Pratt, a lawyer from the US.
The girl’s mother said her daughter was a good kid who had never been in trouble before. Ni Hanxiang also said he didn’t realize that what he put online was so serious.
“But not knowing the law doesn’t mean the law will treat you any differently if you break it,” says David Allen Green, a lawyer from the UK. So, do you think we’d better spend a minute or two thinking about the words or emojis we use on social media before we press “send”?
1. The 12-year-old girl from Virginia put the words “Killing. Meet me in the library Tuesday”, with three emojis ______.| A．in her own diary | B．in a letter to her friend |
| C．on a social media | D．on the wall of the library |
| A．because he broke the US law | B．because he wasn’t honest |
| C．after he killed his teachers | D．after he blew up a building |
| A．Fred Pratt thinks some people may not mean to threaten |
| B．the girl’s mother didn’t think her daughter was a bad child |
| C．cheating in an examination at school may get you into trouble |
| D．Putting threatening words on QQ may bring you problems |
| A．we shouldn’t break the US law if we study at a university in the US |
| B．students and singers shouldn’t post words or emojis on social media |
| C．students should study hard at school and not use the Internet too much |
| D．we should be careful when we send words or emojis on social media |
【推荐3】Toys for Tickets Now Underway
Boston drivers are told that the City’s popular “Toys for Tickets” campaign (运动) is now underway. All non-public safety parking tickets (罚单) issued on Boston’s streets on December 1, 2 and 3, may be paid by providing a toy of equal or greater value than the fine on the ticket.
Toys are being accepted this week through Friday, December 17, between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM, on the second floor of Boston City Hall as well as at the Transportation Department’s Enforcement Building at 200 Frontage Road. Parking is available at the 200 Frontage Road facility. To participate in the “Toys for Tickets” program, drivers must bring the parking ticket as well as a new, non-violent, unwrapped toy of an equal or greater value than the fine. A receipt must be provided for the toy.
The “Toys for Tickets” program began in Boston 16 years ago. Last year, the campaign resulted in over $3,000 in toys being donated to local families who would not otherwise have been able to provide presents to their children on Christmas.
Boston Named #1 Digital City
Mayor announced today that the City of Boston has been ranked #1 among the most advanced digital cities in America according to the Center for Digital Government’s 10th Annual Digital Cities Survey. The survey recognizes municipalities that successfully use technology to better serve constituents and conduct government operations.
In September, the City of Boston website was named the #1 city government website in America in the Center for Digital Government’s Best of the Web Competition. Boston is the first city to win both awards in the same year.
“I am proud of the way that we are using technology to make government more accessible to Boston’s residents, businesses and visitors,” said Mayor. “This recognition is an honor for the Department of Innovation and Technology and the entire City of Boston.”
1. We have learnt from the passage that Boston drivers can ______.| A．pay the fine with toys | B．park the car with toys |
| C．get toys as gifts for parking | D．get tickets for toys donated |
| A．World’s most advanced digital cities |
| B．Departments of Innovation and Technology |
| C．Digital Government’s Best of the Web Competition |
| D．Digital Government’s 10th Annual Digital Cities Survey |
| A．News | B．Services | C．Business | D．Government |
