1 . Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a computer program or a machine to think and learn. It is also a field of study that tries to make computers “smart”. John McCarthy, a scientist, came up with the name “artificial intelligence” in 1955. Many things such as learning and problem solving can be done by computers, though not in the same way as we do.

Some people have welcomed AI because it makes things possible. In some industries, AI is already doing the work that people used to do, such as assembling(装配) cars, digging the coal and lifting goods. Even more, AI will have a big influence on our daily life. The AI self-driving car will take us to our destinations (目的地). An AI tutor will help us with homework at home. The future of AI looks quite bright.

However, there are still some risks. Self-driving cars and trucks controlled by AI will take away drivers’ jobs in the future. What’s more, according to an expert, “Every AI advance by good people is an advance for the bad people, too.” The biggest worry is that bad people could use AI for evil purpose. For example, they could use AI to create websites that steal people’s personal information. Or they could use AI programs to hack software and break into computer systems. Although AI has its risks, it is clear that AI is here. It has been used in many ways and it is changing how people live and work. That makes AI important to watch, not to fear.

Imagine having an ear made out of an apple. It seems like a crazy idea from a horror movie. But it could happen in the near future.

Canadian biophysicist Andrew Pelling used an apple to grow a human ear. He thinks fruit and vegetables can be used to cheaply repair human body parts in the future.

Scientists have been trying to grow organs (器官) in labs to replace our old ones. But it is a hard job. For example, liver cells (肝细胞) can grow in a lab, but the cells still need things like blood vessels (血管) to actually work. These things have to grow inside a scaffold (支架).

In the past, scientists have used man-made materials, animal parts and even dead people as scaffolds. But that has proved to be difficult and expensive.

Pelling and his team, however, found the apple to be a cheap and easy-to-use scaffold.

They first cut an apple into the shape of an ear. Then they used a special way to take out the apple’s cell and make it a scaffold. The team then added human cells to the apple, and watched it grow.

“You can implant these scaffolds into the body, and the body will send in cells and a blood supply and actually keep these things alive,” Pelling said during a Ted Talk speech.

The team put the apple scaffold inside a living mouse and the mouse’s cells slowly took over the pieces of apple.

Now Pelling is thinking of other fruits, plants or vegetables to use.

He says that the shape of flower petals could be perfect for repairing skin. And asparagus (芦笋) could fix a broken spine (脊柱).

Now, Pelling and his team are trying hard to put these crazy ideas into reality.

4 . Nowadays, e-hongbao is quite popular in China. It is considered that e-hongbao comes originally from “lucky money” for the spring festival.     1     People hope to get good luck from it.

People send e-hongbao not only on festivals but in other situations as well. On birthdays, for example, people may get e-hongbao from family, relatives and friends, especially when they are not in the same place.     2     On that day, to express their love, Chinese lovers prefer to send each other e-hongbao of 5.20 yuan, 9.27 yuan or 13.14 yuan…

People like to play e-hongbao games on smartphones.     3     Some of the lucky ones may receive much while some get only a few fen. No matter how much money they get in the end, they want to try their luck. Usually, the person who gets the most money will send e-hongbao one more time. In fact, whether they get much or little, they have lots of fun. And the games bring people cheer together.

    4     If you forget to take the wallet with you when shopping or eating in restaurants, don’t worry. A smartphone can help you out. That’s great, isn’t it? However, each coin has two sides. Some people complain e-hongbao is just a way to make customers spend more money. And paying by e-hongbao can be dangerous sometimes.     5     Safety always comes first.

6 . Facial recognition technology (人脸识别技术) is widely used today. For example, the 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 (广告).

Such systems are going through tests in a small number of stores. One facial detection system can judge (判断) a person’s “happiness” or “fear” level. Another system can detect whether someone is wearing eyeglasses. If so, stores can send advertisements for new glasses to him.

Facial 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”.

Supporters of the technology say it could improve buyers’ experience by showing products they might like or by offering them products at lower prices.

Some 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 store could raise the price of a product according to a person’s age and feelings.

However, one store testing the technology explained people’s information like names or ages wouldn’t be stored. And the advertising board system maker said it didn’t keep any personal information or record any videos.

8 . Over the past few years, cars have become smarter and smarter. Some of them can even drive themselves. Now, our roads have followed suit （跟着做）. In the United Kingdom alone, there are around 650 kilometers of “smart roads” in use. Across the world, many more are being built. Some new technologies are being put to use.

Roads that recharge（充电）

Global warming has made us search for new energy sources. Why not look to the roads? With the right technologies, cars around the world could be producing energy as they go. Piezoelectricity ads mix traditional asphalt（柏油）with new material. They use vibrations（振动）from passing cars to produce electricity. In fact, piezoelectricity is nothing new. It was invented in 1880. However, it has never been widely used before now. The UK’s Lancaster University is going to change that. It has been improving the technology, including developing roadside batteries that can store the electricity.

Roads that never freeze

________ A tech company in Israel has developed the Snowless roads. When they detect snow or ice on their surfaces, the roads will heat themselves up, melting the snow or ice away. The project has been successfully tested on a few Canadian roads and in some of its car parks.

Built-in brain

Roads of the future may be able to know how many people are on them. They could send them updates（实时信息）on weather and traffic jams, and recharge electric cars as they drive. This seems to be a dream, but one American company has almost made it come true. By sensing the weight of a vehicle, the company’s smart roads can track（跟踪）the speed of each wheel. “We are basically making very large touchpads,” says Tim Sylvester, CEO of the company. “but instead of looking for fingers, our roads look for tires.” After having collected traffic data, the roads will send it to the drivers.

9 . Have you ever wondered how we know the things that we know? How do we know, for example, that the stars are really huge balls of fire like the Sun and very far away? And how do we know that the Earth is a smaller ball turning round one of those stars, the Sun?

The key to these questions is “evidence”, which means the facts, signs or objects that make you believe something is true.

Sometimes evidence means actually(实际上) seeing (or hearing, feeling, smelling...)that something is true. Astronauts have travelled far enough from the Earth to see with their own eyes that it is round. Sometimes our eyes need help. The “evening star” looks like bright twinkle in the sky, but with a telescope(望远镜) you can see that it is a beautiful ball. Something that you learn by direct seeing (or hearing or feeling...) is called an observation.

Often evidence isn’t just observation on its own, but observation always hides at the back of it. If there’s been a murder, often nobody (except the murderer and the dead person!) actually observed it. But detectives can gather together lots of other observations which may all point towards the suspect. If a person’s fingerprints match those found on a knife, this is evidence that he touched it. It doesn’t prove that he did the murder, but it can help when it’s joined up with lots of other evidence.

Prediction(预测) helps to look for evidence. Scientists make a guess about what might be true. For example, if the world is really round, we can predict that any of us, going on and on in the same direction, should eventually find ourselves back where we started.

People sometimes say that you must believe in feelings deep inside, but not all the inside feelings are real evidence.

What can we do about all this? When somebody tells you something that sounds possible, think to yourself: “Is there any evidence for that?” And, next time somebody tells you that something is true, why not say to them: “What kind of evidence is there for that?” Remember, always think carefully before you believe a word.

This is Tammela School, a primary school in Finland. The students are having a math class with their robot teacher.

The “teacher” is     1     tiny, blue machine about 25cm high, Reuters reported. No matter when students have problems, it helps them very     2     (patient) and never gets bored.

“The robot can make students much     3     (active) in class than usual. I see Elias as one of the     4     (tool) to get different kinds of practice and activities into the classroom,” a teacher told Reuters.

In the past few years, the school     5     (introduce) four robot teachers, one of whom is a language teacher that can speak 23 languages and dance to music. "    6     is important to encourage kids to connect technology     7     in school life," the head of the school     8     (add) in the interview.

The robot teachers are used     9     (help) improve learning. This doesn't mean that human teachers will lose their jobs. The robots can teach well,     10    they are not able to keep class in order. The school still needs human teachers.