3 . In America, the “Big Dig”, a highway project that resulted in a mess of traffic in the centre of Boston for years, came in five times over its initial budget. Even the Germans get huge projects wrong. Conception to operation of Berlin Brandenburg Airport has taken 30 years, with seven missed opening dates. The airport ended up costing $8.2 billion. However, the original estimate was about $2.7 billion.

Huge projects like Berlin Brandenburg Airport are the subject of an amusing new book called How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner. Mr. Flyvbjerg sets up a database of over 16, 000 projects and data analysis reveals that only 8.5% of the projects meet their initial estimates on cost and time, and 0.5% of them achieve what they set out to do on cost, time and benefits.

Over-optimistic time and cost estimates originate from both psychological and political perceptions: the reliance on intuition (直觉) rather than data, and a problem that Mr. Flyvbjerg calls “strategic misrepresentation”. This is when budgets are intentionally reduced in order to get things going. And once the projects are under way, they will not be stopped, because money spent on them will thus be wasted.

Mr. Flyvbjerg speaks highly of Pixar’s methodical approach to developing and testing films in great detail before they go into production. He also tells the story of how Frank Gehry’s well-developed architectural models helped ensure the success of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Narrowing down the producing window of a project before it is actually carried out reduces the probability of unexpected events.

Big customized projects are particularly likely to run into trouble. However, the more a project can be divided into standardized processes, the better its prospects are. Projects run into problems for specific reasons as well as general ones: Britain’s trouble is not something that China has to worry about, for instance. But the iron law is that if you plan strictly and standardize where possible, you are less likely to dig yourself into a hole.

I loved the spelling bee (拼字比赛). I trained every day after school, the dictionary pages rippling softly in the breeze. But I had never thought my arch-enemy in the spelling bee could become my friend.

Opening my eyes on Friday morning, I felt the hairs on my arm stand up. I glanced at my alarm clock — it’s only 6:27. I usually woke up at 7:01, which meant I had an extra thirty-four minutes to study. I was the best spellers in my class. I wanted to win the bee at Meadowbrook Middle School and beat my arch-enemy, Nathan Fortescue.

Nathan just read many science and math books. Really, he wasn’t a speller at heart — he’s a mathematician. Nathan and I had nothing in common except being good spellers, but since he’s a good speller without even trying, it didn’t count.

I walked into the kitchen, finding Dad cooking breakfast. He served me some porridge. I thanked him and told him the spelling test and my anxiety. My father gave me a quiz. Those words “dexterous, sesquipedalian, truncate” didn’t trouble me at all. Finally came the word “judgment”. “Easy, J-U-D-G-E-M-E-N-T.” I answered quickly, without any thought.

Dad shook his head. Not believing in him, I headed for my room, referred to the dictionary and marched back with a frown. Before parting, he told me that I should thank him, because I would probably get the word in the test.

As soon as I shut the classroom door behind me, I heard a voice from the back of the room. “You are looking pale now, and I’m afraid that you may miss the spelling bee.” Nathan smiled as he closed a giant book with dancing numbers on the cover.

“I bet a literature word will make you out on the first round.” I replied.

As Ms. Hawking walked into the room, she explained the rules—one missed, and you were out—and the spelling test began. After four rounds, only Nathan and I were left. “Olivia, your word is ‘algorithm.’” said Ms. Hawking. I hadn’t heard that word before, but I spelt it A-L-G-O-R-H-Y-H-M.

Ms. Hawking frowned and said that’s incorrect.

After class, I sobbed when I felt a hand on my arm.

It all began when my younger brother, Chris, and I went over to Aunt Barbara and Uncle Howard’s for Thanksgiving. My aunt and uncle live on a farm at the opposite end of town, and Chris and I love going there. The farm is situated in a valley surrounded by rolling hills. The fields are lush and green, with crops growing as far as the eye could see. The sound of chickens clucking and cows mooing fills the air. For my brother and me, it is a wonderland where we have a lot of fun.

We got up early and did the morning chores before we left. As kids, we talked happily about the feast along the way. Roasted turkey, cornbread stuffing, sweet potato, and cranberries were awaiting us. We were curious to know how a turkey could grow so big. When we finally got to my aunt and uncle’s, Chris and I went outside to see if Uncle Howard needed help with anything. He and Dad had decided to clean out the turkey coop (笼子) before dinner. Since Chris was only nine, he got the easier job of scrubbing out the watering cans. I was twelve, old enough to help load the wheelbarrow (手推车). Work was tough, but we still found time to ask Uncle Howard a lot of questions about turkeys. He must have been impressed, because when we were finished, he winked at my dad and handed me a turkey egg. “You kids put it under a setting hen,” he said, “and in twenty-five days, you’ll have a fine turkey!” Chris was so excited that he nearly dropped his egg on the way to the house. We both stuffed ourselves at dinner and then couldn’t wait for the grownups to finish talking so we could go home and tend to our egg.

Dad put the egg under an old hen, and every day Chris and I would check to see if it’d hatched yet. Twenty-five days seemed like forever.

Para. 1. Finally, on the twenty-sixth day, Chris and I walked into the coop after school.

Para. 2. We waited nervously for the coming of the next Thanksgiving Day.

“I challenge you to a hundred-meter race,” my opponent, Julius, declared. He had beaten me countless times during practice, but I wanted to prove him wrong for a change. “That’ll wipe the smile off his face!” I thought, even as fear started to pour in my stomach. He was well-known around the school for being the fastest runner on the track-and-field team, while I tailed behind in second place- a respectable position, but not yet good enough to surpass (超过) him. Nevertheless, I shook his hand and said, “Challenge accepted!” However, negative thoughts flooded my mind. Would I be able to win? After all, Julius’ speed of light would guarantee a sure win!

Soon, all my friends and the teachers had gathered around to watch the challenge. “Oh no, I will lose and be embarrassed in front of the whole school!” I spoke in a low voice. Nevertheless, I turned my worried expression into a determined smile. To keep myself from sinking into self-doubt, I did some stretches and jumping jacks to warm up my body.

Finally, the crucial moment arrived. The referee(裁判)fired the starting gun and we took off like a shot. Adrenaline(肾上腺素) rocketed through my body as I launched myself forward. True to my expectations, Julius caught up with me easily and was in the lead! “No way will I lose! Victory, here I come!” I motivated myself as anger coursed through my body. As the race progressed, my eyes locked onto Julius, his athletic form effortlessly moving ahead. His quick steps and strong focus showcased his impressive skills. Yet, I refused to let doubt consume me. A fierce fire burnt within, fueled by a mix of unwillingness to admit defeat and anger. How dare he assume he was unbeatable? With every step, my determination solidified(变坚定), and my resolve to surpass him strengthened.

“Faster!” I screamed and in that instant, I felt like Superman.

“Yi Rou! Yi Rou! Yi Rou!” The whole school was cheering my name!

By the time we reached the airport, my mother was angry. “We’re going to be late,”she said as she pulled into the newly opened parking area.

My husband David and I had come to pick up my oldest son, who had flown to spend theNew Year with the family. As always, Mom had insisted on driving us to the airport.

We picked a lane (车道) that didn’t look too busy. When our turn came, Mom rolled down her window to grab the parking ticket from the machine. We watched and waited for the gate to lift so we could drive through. Instead, we heard a voice,“Please take the ticket.”“Give me a minute,”Mom answered.

It’s a well-known fact that I often talk to myself. So does my mother. So at that time, Ididn’t think anything of my mother’s words.

The machine sounded again. “Please take the ticket.”

“I’m trying. I can’t reach it,”she said.

This time, my husband and I glanced at each other with our eyebrows raised. Certainly,Mom knew the voice was automated (自动化的) and not a real person speaking to her.

“Please take the ticket.”

“I’m trying. I’m trying. It’s too far away. Give me a minute.”

In fairness to my mother, automated machines had recently arrived in the world, and there weren’t many around yet. We had never run into one at the airport before. In the old days, the machine spit out a parking ticket, and if you couldn’t reach the ticket, you simply opened your door and grabbed it. Now, the new metal safety railings (护栏) on either side of the car made it impossible to open the door.

“Please take the ticket.”

“It’s too far. I’m trying. I’m trying.”

The traffic behind us grew impatient. I saw people trying to back their cars so they could find another lane. All the while, the machine continued,“Please take the ticket...”

Mom was frustrated (沮丧的).

I managed to reach for my mother’s safety belt and tried to unfasten (解开) it.

It was only a few weeks after my surgery. I went to Dr. Belt’s office for a checkup. It was just after my first chemotherapy (化学疗法) treatment. My scar was still very tender. My arm was numb underneath. This whole set of unique and weird feelings was like having a new roommate to share the two-bedroom apartment formerly known as my breasts — now lovingly known as “the breast and the chest.”

As usual, I was taken to an examination room to have my blood drawn, again — a terrifying process for me, since I’m so frightened of needles. I lay down’ on the examining table. Ramona entered the room. Her warm sparkling smile was familiar, and stood out in contrast to my fears. I’d first seen her in the office a few weeks earlier. She wasn’t my nurse on that day, but I remember her because she was laughing. She laughed in deep, round and rich tones. I remember wondering what could be so funny behind that medical door. What could she possibly find to laugh about at a time like this? So I decided she wasn’t serious enough about the whole thing and that I would try to find a nurse who was caring. But I was wrong.

This day was different. Ramona had taken my blood before. She knew about my fear of needles, and she kindly hid the needle under a magazine with a bright blue picture of a kitchen being remodeled. As we opened the blouse, the catheter (导管) on my breast was exposed and the fresh scar on my chest could be seen. She gently reached over and ran her hand across the scar, examining the smoothness of the healing skin and looking for any irregularities. I began to cry gently and quietly. She looked at me tenderly and said, “You haven’t touched the scar yet, have you?” And I said, “No.”

So this wonderful, warm woman laid the palm of her golden brown hand on my pale chest and she gently held it there.

That night as I lay down to sleep, I gently placed my hand on my chest and I left it there until I fell asleep.

10 . Isn’t it nice to always have a lovely dog follow you around and respond when asked to sit down or shake hands? What if the dog has some unique skills, such as standing on one leg while resting on a piece of doufu without destroying it, or continuously making back turns? This would be even better.

In fact, a life-like robotic dog developed by Chinese tech company Xiaomi Corp seems like that special one. Weighing 8.9 kilogram, about the size of a Doberman, CyberDog 2 is the latest push by Xiaomi to popularize quadrupedal (四足动物) robotics.

With a black, fantastic, futuristic design, CyberDog 2 can trot along at speeds of 3.2 meters per second, analyze its surroundings in real-time, create navigation al maps, plot its destination, and avoid obstacles.

“Coupled with human posture and face recognition tracking, CyberDog is capable of following its owner and darting around barriers,” said Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi. Behind such functions are Xiaomi’s self-developed CyberGear Micro-actuator, which further enhances the robot’s mobility and supports high difficulty movements. CyberDog 2 is equipped with a combination of sensing and decision-making system, offering 19 sensors for vision, touch and hearing. Lei said CyberDog 2 is designed more for engineers and robotic enthusiasts than ordinary consumers. It is priced at 12,999 yuan ($1,800) and greater efforts are needed to make it multifunctional.

Xiaomi is not alone in showing an interest in quadrupedal machines. US company Boston Dynamics had pioneered the quadrupedal format for robots. Last year, the company brought out Spot for $74,500and the robot has been put to a wide range of uses, from surveying dangerous mines to helping doctors connect with patients remotely. It has also been tested by both law enforcement and the military, though not as a weapon. Earlier this year, Chinese robotics firm Unitree also released a quadrupedal bot to popularize the machines.