【推荐1】Just How Buggy is Your Phone?

What item in your home crawls with the most germs? If you say     1     toilet seat, you’re wrong. Kitchen sponges top the list. But cell phones are pretty dirty too. They contain around 10 times as many germs as toilet seats. People touch their phones, laptops, and other digital devices all day long, yet rarely clean them.

In one incident, a thief paid a terrible price for stealing a germy cell phone. He stole it from a hospital in Uganda during a widespread of the deadly disease Ebola. The phone’s owner reported the theft before     2    (die)from the disease. Soon, the thief began showing symptoms and finally     3    (confess)to the crime.

    4     in that unusual case a cell phone carried dangerous bacteria, not all germs are bad. Most cause no harm. In fact, they could provide helpful information. Look at the surface of your phone carefully. Do you see some dirty mars? “That's all you,” says microbial ecologist Jarrad Hampton-Marcell. “That’s biological information.”

It turns out that the types of germs that you apply all over your phone or tablet are different from     5     of your friends and family. They’re like a fingerprint that could identify you. Some day in the future, investigators may use these microbial fingerprints to solve crimes. Phones and digital devices may be one of the best places to look for buggy clues.

In a 2017 study, researchers sampled a range of surfaces in 22 participants’ homes,     6     countertops and floors to computer keyboards and mice. Then they tried to match the microbial fingerprints on each object to its owner. The office equipment was easiest to match to its owner. In an     7    (early)study, a different group of researchers found that they could use microbial fingerprints to identify the person who     8    (use)a computer keyboard even after the keyboard sat untouched for two weeks at room temperature.

One day, microbial signatures might show     9     people have gone and what they have touched. They could prove     10     an unmarked device is yours. So, sure, your phone is pretty germy. Does that inspire you, or does it just bother you?

People around the world spend billions of dollars every year     1    (try) to look younger. Companies produce thousands of creams, pills and treatments for our skin to look younger. In addition, scientists     2    (work) for decades on trying to slow down the ageing process. This week, scientists made     3     breakthrough. They have developed a method to time jump cells in human skin. The scientists say they can turn back the ageing clock in cells by 30 years,     4     could make skin look younger. Skin cells in their tests kept all of the important     5    (function). The scientists say their work is still     6     an early stage, but it could help people look younger in the future.

The technique     7    (develop) by the scientists could change medicine and health. The lead researcher, Dr Diljeet Gill, said: “So far, we’ve only tested this technique in skin cells. We’re     8    (excite) to see if we can translate it across other cell types.” This means it could     9    (use) to treat skin problems, such as burns. The scientists hope their technique could also help other parts of the body. Their new method could     10    (additional) help to heal cuts more quickly, especially in older people. The scientists said their work might one day help us look younger. It could actually reverse the ageing process.

The past thirty years     1    (see) the rapid growth of the Internet. Compared to the 1980s, there are now many more computers     2    (connect) to the Internet.

People hold different views about the future of cyberspace. Some pessimistic experts have a lot of worries, one of     3     is crime in cyberspace. In the future, terrorists may attack the world’s computers, thus causing chaos for     4    (we) human beings.

Many other people, on     5     other hand, are full of optimism about the future of the Internet. “In the future,” says Angela Rossetto of Cyberia magazine, “it is clear that we are going to see a huge development in shopping on the Internet. We will have     6    (entertain) from the Net and televisions will probably     7    (appear).”

Some experts say virtual reality, the use of computers with sounds and pictures that makes us feel as if we are     8     a real situation, will become a part of future life. “    9    (person), I believe we will work in virtual offices, shop in virtual supermarkets,     10     even study in virtual schools,” says Australian expert Peter Anderson.

During an interview, Professor Hawking warned that AI(人工智能) will soon reach a   level     1    it will be a “new form of life that will perform     2    (well) than humans.” Professor Hawking even went so far as to say that AI may replace humans altogether,     3    he didn’t state exactly a timeline for his forecast. He said: “I fear that AI may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that improves and copies     4    (it). This will be a new form of life that outperforms humans.”

During     5    interview, Professor Hawking also urged more people to take an interest in science,     6    (say)that there would be “serious consequences” if this didn't happen. He said that a new space programme should     7    (develop), adding human may have to turn to other suitable planets for habitation     8    (eventual). He said: “I believe we have reached the point of no return. Our Earth is becoming too small for us, global population is increasing at a     9    (surprise) rate and we are in danger of self-destructing.”

This isn't the first time that Hawking     10    (express) fears about the rise of AI. In October last year, he warned that artificial intelligence could develop a will of its own that is in conflict with that of humanity.

Every new year of the last decade I set a personal challenge. My goal was       1       (grow) in new ways outside my day-to-day work running Facebook. These       2     (lead) me to learn Mandarin, code an AI assistant for my home, read more books, run a lot more, and get       3     (comfortable) with public speaking.

When I started these challenges, my life was almost all about building the Facebook website. Now there’s so much more to learn. At Facebook, we’re building lots of different apps and technology and we’re handling a lot more social       4     (responsible). And   outside Facebook, I’m a father now and I love spending time with my family, working on our charity and improving at the sports and hobbies I       5     (pick) up over the past years.

This decade I’m going to take       6     longer term focus. Rather than having year-to-year challenges, I’ve tried to think about       7     the world and my life will be like in 2030 so I can make sure I’m focusing       8       those things. By then, if things go well, my daughter Max will be in high school. We’ll have the technology to feel       9       (true) present with another person no matter where they are, and scientific research will have helped cure       10       prevent enough diseases to increase our average life expectancy(平均寿命) by another 2.5 years.