A. applies B. casually C. considered D. customary E. empty F. fellow G. individual H. literally I. longevity J. regards K. related |
Whether you’re ringing in Chinese New Year with a bottle of champagne, making a toast at a wedding, or
Now that you know what to say, how do you actually give a toast? When giving a toast in Chinese, raise your glass as you give the toast. Depending on where you are, your
The host of the party or meeting will be the first to make the toast. It is
Why true happiness isn't about being happy all the time
Over the past two decades, the positive psychology movement has brightened up psychological rescarch with its science of happiness and human potential. It argues that psychologists should not only investigate mental illness but also what makes life worth living.
The founding father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, describes happiness as experiencing frequent positive emotions, such as joy, excitement and satisfaction, combined with deeper feelings of meaning and purpose. It implies a positive attitude in the present and an optimistic outlook for the future. Importantly, happiness experts have argued that happiness is not a stable ,unchangeable feature but something flexible that we can work on and eventually strive towards.
Recent research indicates that psychological flexibility is the key to greater happiness and well-being.For example,being open to emotional experiences and the ability to endure periods of discomfort can allow us to move towards a richer, more meaningful existence. Studies have also demonstrated that the way we respond to the circumstances of our lives has more influence on our happiness than the events themselves. Experiencing stress, sadness and anxiety in the short term doesn't mean we can't be happy in the long term. Putting up with sorrow can make us tougher and lead us to take action in our lives, such as changing jobs or overcoming hardship. Often when people have faced difficulty, illness or loss, they describe their lives as happier and more meaningful as a result.
Unlike feeling happy, which is a temporary state, leading a happier life is about individual growth through finding meaning. It is about accepting our humanity with all its ups and downs, enjoying the positive emotions, and making use of painful feelings in order to reach our full potential.
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3 . In “minority report”, a policeman played by Tom Cruise, gathers information from three psychics (通灵者) and arrests future criminals before they break the law. In the real world, prediction is more difficult. But it may no longer be science fiction, thanks to the growing predictive power of computers. That prospect scares some, but it could be a force for good-if it is done right.
Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, can lead to remarkably accurate predictions. It works by chewing vast quantities of data in search of patterns. Take, for example, restaurant hygiene (卫生). The system learns which combinations of sometimes vague factors are most suggestive of a problem. Once trained, it can assess the risk that a restaurant is dirty. The Boston mayor’s office is testing just such an approach, using data from online reviews.This has led to a 25% rise in the number of spot inspections that uncover offences.
Governments are taking notice, A London district is developing an algorithm (运算法则) to predict who might become homeless. In India Microsoft is helping schools predict which students are at risk of dropping out. Machine-learning predictions can mean government services arrive earlier and are better targeted. Researchers behind an algorithm designed to help judges make bail (保释) decisions claim it can predict likelihood of committing crimes again so effectively that the same number of people could be bailed as are at present by judges, but with 20% less crime.To get a similar reduction in crime across America, they say, would require an extra 20,000 police officers at a cost of $2.6 billion.
But computer-based predictions are sometimes debatable. ProPublica, an investigative-journalism outfit, claims that a risk assessment in Bmoward County, Florida, wrongly labelled black people as future criminals nearly twice as often as it wrongly labelled whites. Citizens complain that decisions which affect them are taken on incomprehensible grounds.
These problems are real, but they should not spell the end for machine learning as a policy tool. Instead, the priority should be to establish some ground rules and to win public confidence.The first step is to focus machine learning on applications where people stand to gain extra help at school, say, rather than extra time in jail.
1. The example of restaurants is used in paragraph 2 in order to _________.A.illustrate how accurate the predictions are |
B.urge that the government should take action |
C.stress that vague factors can make a difference |
D.show how machine learning changes people’s lifestyle |
A.More money would be spent to uncover offences. |
B.More policemen would be required to reduce crime. |
C.Less crime has been reported since the algorithm was applied. |
D.Fewer people that are likely to commit crimes would be bailed. |
A.In which area machine learning is applied matters. |
B.Machine learning as a policy tool is coming to a dead end. |
C.Public confidence in computer-based predictions is increasing. |
D.The government should not rely on computer-based predictions. |
A.Clever computers | B.The power of learning |
C.The government that depends on AI | D.Decisions that contribute to better algorithm |
A delivered B management C overlooked D.products E.rural F. shifted G.strategies H.sufficient I. tremendous J.urbanisation K.worst |
National governments neglecting development needs of cities
National governments around the world are neglecting the needs of their major cities with non-existent or inadequate development policies, a new report has found. National governments are key to making cities more sustainable, because cities are limited distinctly in the policy measures they can take for themselves, the report points out. However, only a quarter of the world’s governments have urban development policies at all, and most of those that do exist are far from
The report looks at the key measures of energy production, transport, waste
The report, from the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Coalition for Urban Transitions and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, suggests national governments have
Cities around the world are facing rapid population growth, and are likely to be among the areas
Scrolling through your WeChat moments, you came across a post saying: “I just got accepted to Harvard AND Oxford! Are they sure they didn't mix my applications up with somebody else?!" This person is clearly humblebragging. The term“humblebrag'"was first coined to describe when someone makes a seemingly modest statement, but the actual purpose is to bring attention to something they are proud of.
Although those who humblebrag think it will make them more likable because they aren't loudly boasting about their triumphs,a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology showed that humblebragging actually has the opposite effect. "Humblebragging backfires because it seems very fake. That 'woe is me' attitude combined with self-promotion does not lead to a favorable impression,"said Ovul Sezer,the lead author of the study."Even simply bragging or complaining is better, because at least those messages are seen as more sincere."
Sezer's study also found that nearly 60 percent of humblebrags were complaint-based humblebragging, with most people humblebragging about their looks, followed by their money or wealth, and finally about their performance at work.“It's such a common phenomenon. All of us know some people in our lives, whether in social media or in the workplace, who do this annoying thing,"commented Sezer, adding that we all do it to some extent.
So, if you want to share your achievements with others, what's the best way to do it then? Sezer suggests that people“own their self-promotion and reap the rewards of being sincere". She also suggested finding a wingman:"If someone brags for you,that's the best thing that can happen to you, because then you don't seem like you're bragging.
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A. boost B.capabilities C.ceaseless D.effects E.evolve F. historic G.identify H.initiative I. interconnected J.miraculously K.seriously |
Currently, many of the brainy gadgets being developed for the Internet of Things will anticipate our needs and make choices for us--without being told what to do--marking a(n)
As we turn more of our decision-making over to the devices,they will
But social scientists and others worry these computerized devices might make decisions that are
Stanford University researchers believe society may be profoundly impacted by Internet-of-Things machines blessed with humanlike
Understanding such
One of the most important New Year's resolutions
Children between the ages of 8 and 11 who spend more than two hours a day looking at screens were associated with lower cognitive function than those who engaged in less screen time, according to researchers who published a study in The Lancet in September. While researchers noted there is no causal link, they wrote,“Emerging evidence suggests that mobile device and social media uses have an unfavorable relationship with attention, memory, impulse control, and academic performance”--- perhaps
The Times also reported many elite schools are moving towards eliminating or reducing screens, while many public schools are touting technology in classrooms.
And
New Year's celebrations are the perfect time to get the whole family to look up from their screens
8 . Gyms that profit most from the January rush
Every year, like clockwork, many people go through the same routine. On December 26th and January 1st, as the fog of cheese, chocolate oranges and champagne lifts, regret creeps(悄悄出现)in. Online searches for “get fit” and “lose weight” increase.
Many gym recruits(新成员)will have their new sportswear on for high-intensity interval training. In the basement of Another Space, a club near London’s Leicester Square, music pumps and light flash as a trainer shouts instructions to a group of mostly young women. They are pushed through bursts of burpees, handclap push-ups and various kick and punches at boxing bags. The training is murderous.
They are at one end of a fitness market.
Pure Gym expects soon to reach 1 million members. Part of its appeal is that, unlike traditional gyms, members are not bound by a long contract. “We have taken a £500 decision and turned it into a £20 decision,” says Mr Cobbold.
A.There will be other ripple effects(连锁反应), too. |
B.That will be good news for some gym goers because many will soon suffer a second round of regret. |
C.However, the club’s luxurious changing rooms and bars relieve some of the pain. |
D.Health clubs of all shapes and sizes stand ready to respond. |
E.Spending on fashion items also increases around the time of joining a gym. |
F.At the other are budget gyms, which have accounted for the big part of gym growth in recent years. |
Offshore production
The world’s consumption of fashion is huge. The European Union imported textiles (clothing and carpets) to the value of €83.7 billion in 2010. Prices have fallen, too, with hand-finished shirts costing less than five euros. To make clothes at these low prices, companies have to keep costs down. They use offshore production to do this. Large companies make their products in developing countries where workers are paid much less than in developed countries.
A point that should be considered in that case is that developing countries encourage developed countries to invest in them to provide jobs. Supporters of overseas production point out that increased investment has positive effects in the long term. Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman points out that the growth in manufacturing has an impact on the rest of the economy, because it reduces the number of people needing to work in agriculture and increases competition for labour. This leads to higher wages, which lead to other improvements, such as the ability to send children to school. On the other hand, the disadvantage of this foreign investment is the fact that it can have a negative impact on the economy of developed countries, because people lose their jobs when production is outsourced to other countries.
It seems that if multinationals are going to benefit from low production costs by using overseas suppliers, they should do more to improve the social situation-for example, by building schools for the children in those communities. It is also clear that multinationals should invest in communities in the developed countries where they sell their products. Furthermore, given multinationals do benefit from lower costs of production in developing countries and their workers, they need to feel obliged to protect the workers in overseas manufacturing plants.
New look on the Museum
Museums have changed. They are no longer places for the privileged few or for bored vacationers to visit on rainy days.
At a science museum in Ontario, Canada you can feel your hair stand on end as harmless electricity passes through your body. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, you can look at 17 century instruments while listening to their music. At the Modern Museum in Sweden, you can put on costumes provided by the Stockholm Opera. As these examples show, museums are reaching out to new audiences, particularly the young, the poor and the less educated members of the population. As a result, attendance is interesting.
Many museums have changed in appearance. Some old, gray museums have been rebuilt, and the newer ones are open and modern in their architecture. Inside, there is modern lighting, color, and sound. Instead of displaying everything they own, museum directors show fewer objects and leave open spaces where visitor can gather and sit down. They also bring together in one display a group of objects drawn drawn from various parts of the museum to represent the whole lifestyle of region or a historical period. In one room, for instance, you may find materials, clothing, tools, cooking pots, furniture, and art works of a particular place and time.
More and more museum directors are realizing that people learn best when they can somehow become part of what they are seeing. In many science museums, for example, there are no guided tours. The visitor is encouraged to touch, listen, operate, and experiment so as to discover scientific principles for himself. The purpose is not only to provide fun but also to help people feel at home in the world of science. The theory is that people who do not understand science will probably fear it, and those who fear science will not use it to the best advantage.
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