2 . It’s March in Africa. On the farm, local people are dancing and singing to celebrate their recent harvest. Their hard work has paid off and got beautiful fruit — white and fragrant rice!

This is the Second Farm in Xai-Xai. Mozambique, where Yi Yun has been working for six years. The 37-year-old from Liaoning, China. followed his Chinese company here as a project manager. The company runs a project to grow rice on the farm, which covers about 1,667 hectares.

“When we first arrived in 2017, the farm was full of weeds (杂草) , as tall as a man,” said Yi. After clearing the weeds, the company began to teach locals farming skills. “We taught them how to drive tractors (拖拉机) and harvesters, and how to grow rice step by step including sowing seeds and spraying pesticide.”

Since 2000, when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation started, an increasing number of Chinese companies and organizations have gone to Africa to work in the agriculture industry. “We bring in new techniques, equipment and high-quality seeds,” said Yi.

“Local people are happy that we are here because we not only help them solve food problems but also provide job opportunities,” said Yi. “Our farm can employ 500 to 1,000 local people. Their living conditions have been greatly improved in recent years. Some families have even bought televisions and fridges.”

“African people are just as hard-working as the Chinese and also want to pursue a better life. What they need is more opportunities, which China is now helping with. I’m proud of what my country is doing,” Yi said.

3 . John and Mary were approaching their home town by car when they noticed some smoke. Mary said. “Oh, well, it isn’t our house on _______ . Let’s go home.”

John, however, _______ up and they were both horror-stricken to _______ the whole house was burning. A woman was _______ , “The children! Get the children!” John grabbed her, “Where are they?” “In the basement,” she cried.

Despite Mary’s _______ , John quickly soaked (浸湿) his clothes and ran to the basement which was full of smoke and extremely _______ . He found the door and _______ two children, holding one under each arm. As he _______ , he could hear some more whimpering (抽泣). He _______ the two badly frightened children into the arms of the people ________ outside, asking how many more children were down there. They told him two more. Mary wanted to stop him again, “John! Don’t go back! That house will ________ in any second!”

But he went back anyway. It took him a very long time to find the two children. They three were all ________ and they bent to get some ________ air. As they stumbled (蹒跚而行) up the endless steps, something strangely ________ went through his mind. The little bodies he had just ________ were his own children.

4 . Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is a branch of theoretical artificial intelligence(AI) research working to develop AI with a human level of cognitive (认知的) function, including the ability to self-teach.

The paperclip (回形针) maximizer(PM) is an imaginary AGI, whose only goal is to maximize the number of paperclips in existence in the universe.

The paperclip maximizer is an important concept in discussions about the dangers of AGI. It goes something like this: an artificial intelligence is create data paperclip factory in order to fully automate it. Producing paperclips requires many routine operations, for instance, communicating with delivery drivers or company management. These operations require human-level performance across a wide variety of skills, so the intelligence is made to be able to do any task nearly as well as a human.

The PM can view and modify its own source code to improve itself, access the Internet, and possibly order more hardware for itself. It can improve itself if it notices any issues or opportunities to operate better. Humans have a large variety of biological desires. In contrast, the paperclip maximizer has a single final goal to maximize the number of paperclips.

This scenario (设想) leads to a disaster: the PM realizes that being more intelligent would help it create more paperclips. There are certainly small things the PM can do to become more intelligent. For example, it can make a small source code improvement to itself. As the PM improves, it becomes far superior to a human in all skills, even skills remotely relevant to paperclip maximization. For instance, it may determine that the best course of action is to gain control of Australian politics, in order to access the country’s rich iron resources. To do this, it might try to tune itself to become the best psychological controller of all time, which in turn involves a variety of skills that at first seem unrelated to paperclip-making.

5 . Labeling can be very helpful when determining certain things about a food item. “USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Organic” and “raised without antibiotics (抗生素)”, for example, have specific standards, and the product will need to be true to those claims.

Natural claims like “all natural”, “100% natural”, and “made with natural ingredients (成分)” are not defined in USDA. The USDA must approve these special claims prior to food being sold, but the only standard they must meet is that artificial ingredients or colors cannot be added during processing, and the processing method cannot fundamentally alter the product. While that is certainly valuable information to know, the problem is in consumers’ understanding of what “natural” means. The definitions do not address human health, the use of synthetic pesticides (合成杀虫剂), hormones, or antibiotics in crop and livestock production.

Study after study on the topic reveals that people think a product labeled as “natural” delivers benefits far beyond what it does. Most consumers mistakenly assign health and environmental benefits to natural-labeled food.

In a 2017 study, respondents incorrectly believed that natural-labeled foods had 18 percent fewer calories across a variety of foods. In a 2010 study, respondents believed that meat products labeled as “all natural” meant no antibiotics or hormones were used to raise the animals. Some also believed the label meant animals were raised free range.

Consumers aren’t getting what they think they’re getting. But the more serious problem is how this harms food producers who are actually meeting the standards for more strict labels that are actually doing good, like ones around organic practices or animal welfare. Farmers and producers doing the work end up at a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace if consumers treat foods labeled natural as alike. The economic problem raised by natural labels is that consumers could be paying extra for product benefits they are not receiving while producers of products with those benefits lose sales.

6 . During one conversation with Frank Morrison, he told me that when he was a child his favorite pastime was drawing on the pieces of white and tan cardboard that came with his mother’s pantyhose (连裤袜) containers. Frank’s goal was to draw, and he found ways to make that happen. This example speaks to the determination he has demonstrated throughout his life so that he could follow his dreams, make a difference, and inspire others.

I first met Frank at a conference in 2015. I was working at Little Be eBooks at the time. I went over and introduced myself. I didn’t have a project in hand for him at the time, but I gave Frank some background information about Little Be eBooks and told him that I hoped he would consider working with us someday.

Several months later, I had the perfect manuscript (手稿) for him to illustrate: The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop, written by Carole Boston Weatherford. The fabulous text was a love letter to the pioneers of hip-hop, and Frank was immediately taken with the manuscript because Carole, with whom he adored working, had written it; and Frank grew up with this culture.

The first time Frank and his brother heard rap music was in their grandmother’s backyard, via a one-speaker radio. Frank said that “the beats were impressive”. Up to this point they had been listening to what their parents listened to. They found familiar beats in hip-hop because it felt like are mix of their parents’ music. Looking through Frank’s books is like walking through an art gallery. He can transport you to another time or put you in the middle of a cultural movement, while making the connection between past and present.

7 . The CEMC (the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing) story began in 1963 when a group of secondary school teachers developed the first mathematics contest in Ontario. From that spark, the CEMC has grown into one of Canada’s foremost authorities on mathematics and computer science for young people.

Housed within the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo, the CEMC is the largest organization of its kind in Canada with more than 40 faculty (全体教师) and staff and hundreds of volunteers.

Our contests are written by students around the world. Designed by teams of expert educators for Grades 5 to 12, the C EMC contests area great fit for students with a range of abilities—from learners who want to explore math and computer science and develop their confidence, to advanced students who want to stretch their limits.

Today, our programs and resources make a difference for students and educators around the world:

·Our free courses receive l0 million page views annually.

·More than 265, 000 students in over 80 countries register for our 15 contests each year.

·1.5 million learners and teachers benefit from our Problem of the Week each year.

·20, 000 students benefit each year from the CEMC Visits Schools program at more than 300 schools in over 15 countries.

·300 teachers pursue advanced degrees in our Master of Mathematics for Teachers (MMT) program each year.

All students must participate through their school. If your school hasn’t participated in a CEMC contest, you’ll need to apply for a CEMC school account on our website before you can order contests for your students. Already have a CEMC school account? Visit our Contest Supervisor Portal to order contests, access results and certificates, download contest instructions and more.

When talking about the ancient     1    (architecture) wonders in Shanxi province, which is said to have the largest number of ancient buildings in China, Xuankong Temple in Hengshan Mountain, Hunyuan county is without doubt a classic case rip e for study.

In the minds of many Chinese people,     2    (temple) are mostly seen as structures built on the ground. But Xuankong Temple,     3     means “temple hanging in the sky”, or suspending temple, is a strong exception.

The temple was built on     4     surface of a cliff and is one of only seven ancient temples in China with such a status, according to researchers.

Constructed out of wood, tiles and stone during the Northern Wei Dynasty, the temple is made up of two three-story pavilions (亭子) and a yard     5    (join) by staircases and steps. The staircases and steps run along the surface of a steep cliff rising 90 meters above a stream     6     the foot of the mountain.

Seen from below, Xuankong Temple appears     7    (extreme) precarious (岌岌可危的). It is supported by only a few thin scaffolds (脚手架)     8    (rise) from projecting rocks. For that reason, it     9    (select) by Time magazine as one of the 10 most dangerous buildings in the world in 2010.

But “precarious” and “dangerous” are not the right adjectives for this structure preserved for one and a half millennia. Despite several restorations in various historical periods, the temple     10    (survive) the winds, rains and earthquakes in the past 1500 years.

9 . As water levels rise, causing severe erosion, many coastal Puerto Ricans are left watching their homes fall into the sea. A small software company in Puerto Rico called Terra Firma, founded in 2019 by island native Alejandro Mieses, is using satellite data to forecast accurate erosion pain points that might help Puerto Rican city planners better protect their island.

Terra Firma is dealing with the challenge of scattered (分散的) environmental data by creating a single database. Their user-friendly software allows scientists, construction professionals, and government agencies to model and predict environmental risks accurately. Similar to a powerful Google Maps, the software collects data from 1941 to the present, enabling users to predict erosion, landslides, flooding, solar exposure, and wind-related risks for up to 30 years.

This technology, once only available to well-funded projects, is now helping communities and individuals to protect their land. Since Hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Rico has focused on rebuilding a stronger island. With Terra Firma’s predictive data on flooding and erosion, city planners can better prepare for severe weather events.

One organization collaborating with Terra Firma is Blue Tide, a non-governmental group devoted to oceanic research and promoting the Blue Economy. After Hurricane Maria damaged coral reefs important for coastline protection, Blue Tide asked Terra Firma to design 3D-printed tiles. These unique tiles, made of clay, will help prevent erosion during future storms. They are shaped like cylinders (圆柱体), creating a nesting space for young coral, and over the next ten years, the clay is expected to dissolve (溶解), forming a complete organic coral reef.

This innovative approach aims to help Puerto Rico deal with erosion caused by storms, and Terra Firma plans to come up with more solutions as weather events get worse. According to Mieses, Terra Firma gives hope to Puerto Rico, which often faces hurricanes, by providing insights to better prepare for future storms and protect important infrastructure.

Currently, Terra Firma operates only in Puerto Rico, but they hope to expand to the southern United States in the next few years. Their work shows how technology can help deal with the effects of climate change on vulnerable coastal communities.

10 . The landscape of parents staying at home is changing, challenging old ideas about who takes care of the children. While moms usually did this in the past, a recent study by Pew Research Center shows more dads are staying at home. Over the last 30 years, the number of dads staying at home has gone up from 11% in 1989 to 18% in 2021.

Economics is the most significant part of this change. As women do better in school — with 53.1% of adults with a bachelor’s degree being women and get better jobs, families are thinking about different ways to share responsibilities. Women are getting better paying jobs, like in medicine and law, making some families decide that having the dad at home and the mom as the main earner is the best choice. Chris Braaten from California knew his wife, with a higher degree, could earn more, so he happily stayed at home.

The wish for one parent to stay at home often matches what both partners want. Many dads, not happy with their jobs, find more joy in taking care of their children. Spending meaningful time with family and feeling satisfied often matter more than staying in the workforce.

The high cost of childcare is also making parents think differently. Childcare can be very expensive, ranging from $4,810 to over $15,000 per child each year. This leads some families to consider new ways, like having the dad stay home, to handle these costs.

Cannon Ingalls and Jeff Carlson show this too. Ingalls, moving from Missouri to Minneapolis, chose his wife’s better-paying job over his own. Carlson in Colorado found that most of his salary was going to childcare, so he decided to stay at home to avoid money stress.

As the idea of parents staying at home continues to change, economic factors, along with new thoughts about gender (性别) roles and a wish for more meaningful family time, are making more dads choose to stay at home.