1 . Technology is forever changing the way we get our news. Many people now get a lot of their news on electronic devices, instead of traditional media, such as newspapers, television or radio. Now, there is a new way we get the news: computer-created news readers.

Recently, China’s Xinhua launched(推出)the world’s first AI news presenters with the Chinese search engine Sogou. The news readers created by machine learning technology are based on two real-life newsmen. One is able to present newscasts in English; the other, in Mandarin Chinese.

Machine learning is used to examine video images and sounds of the two newsmen, which look and sound like real people. Some machine learning experts said the system showed off China’s latest progress in voice recognition, text-to-speech technology and data analysis. But several experts suggested that the term Al does not correctly describe abilities of the robotic news readers.

On social media, many Chinese noted that the AI presenters did not seem real. People blamed them for not being more lifelike. Others wondered about the effects robots might have on employment and workers. Some people argued that only low-level jobs requiring heavy labor will be easily replaced by robots. Others praised the technology as a way for companies to make money from low-cost labor machines.

Some businesses have experimented with similar technology for possible use in news operations. Britain’s BBC recently released a video that used machine learning to make it look like one of its news readers speaking different languages. The London-based company that developed the system says its goal is to “remove the language barrier” for many different kinds of video across the Internet.

2 . My hometown is in a county (县) called Yongtai which is in Fuzhou of southern China.

Several days before the Chinese New Year, every family starts to prepare for the celebration. First of all, we do the spring-cleaning to welcome a new and clean year.     1    . They post the Chinese character Fu which is often attached upside down to show that Fu is arriving.

    2    . We don’t have jiaozi but tangyuan which is a kind of round and white food indicating the family reunion (团圆). We also eat sticky rice balls called niangao.     3    , because fish in Chinese is pronounced the same as Yu, which means surplus and fortune.

    4    , as they get “lucky money” from senior members of the family and they love the fireworks display (表演).

On the first day of the Chinese New Year, fathers will set off fireworks to “wake up the Chinese New Year”; mothers start to prepare a big breakfast.     5    . We cannot knock at other people’s doors to wake them up as it will bring bad luck to them.

On the first day just family members spend time together. From the second day on, every family will start to welcome the visitors and they can enjoy the get-together time, which is really nice.

5 . There are many things to do in Macao. Macao is small, but that just means you can do and see a lot in a short amount of time.

The Macao Tower, 338 meters tall, is the world’s 10th highest tower, with a variety of entertainment activities.

One of the activities is the bungee jump, which is popular with extreme sports lovers. The bungee-jumping height is 233 meters, making it a Guinness World Record as the highest commercial bungee jump in the world.

One of the must-try local foods in Macao is the egg tart. This dessert is different from the Cantonese egg tart. One of the visible differences is the slightly burned caramel (焦糖) top. The creamy filling, tasty crust (酥皮) and the burned caramel top create an incredible mixture of flavor.

Gradually, the bakery has become a fixed tourist spot in Macao, where the queue outside will never be empty.

The Ruins of St. Paul is one of the signature landmarks of Macao. The ruins consist of the St. Paul’s College and the Church of St. Paul, built in 1580. However, after three intense fires in 1595, 1601 and 1835, the church was seriously damaged.

Racing through the small streets and roads of this tiny city, the Macao Grand Prix circuit (巡回赛) is the only street circuit racing in the world for car and motorcycle races. The Macao Grand Prix is a major worldwide car-racing event held every year, featuring over 300 top drivers a year.

6 . There is an old saying in China that goes, “The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days.” “Sanjiu period”, which is in Minor (较小的) Cold, refers to the third nine-day period (the 19th to the 27th day) after the day of the Winter Solstice (冬至). There are many different customs related to Minor Cold in China.

Eating hotpot

During Minor Cold people should eat some hot food to benefit the body and defend against the cold weather. Winter is the best time to have hotpot and braised mutton with soy sauce. But it is important to notice that too much spicy food may cause health problems.

Eating huangyacai

In Tianjin, there is a custom to have huangyacai, a kind of Chinese cabbage, during Minor Cold. There are large amounts of vitamins A and B in huangyacai. As huangyacai is fresh and tender, it is fit for frying, roasting and braising.

Eating glutinous rice (糯米饭)

According to tradition, the Cantonese eat glutinous rice in the morning during Minor Cold. Cantonese people add some fried preserved (腌制的) pork, sausage and peanuts and mix them into the rice.

Eating vegetable rice

In ancient times, people in Nanjing took Minor Cold quite seriously, but as time went by, the celebration of Minor Cold gradually disappeared. However, the custom of eating vegetable rice is still followed today. The rice is steamed and is unspeakably delicious. Among the ingredients (原料), aijiaohuang (a kind of green vegetable), sausage and salted duck are the specialties in Nanjing.

7 . Every year, young, talented, and ambitious nature conservationists (自然环境保护主义者) from all over the world participate in the presentation of the Future For Nature (FFN) Award, an honorable international award.

The Future For Nature aims to:

·Reward and fund individuals for their outstanding efforts in the protection of species of wildlife

·Encourage winners to sustain their dedicated work.

·Help winners to raise their profiles, extend their professional network and strengthen their funding basis.

Benefits

·The winners each receive 50, 000 euros and may make their own decision to spend the money in the service of nature conservation.

·FFN offers the winners a platform and brings their stories to the attention of conservationists, financiers and a wide audience, allowing them to increase their impact and gain more access to funds.

·FFN is building a growing family of winners, dedicated people who form a community of people with the same interest. FFN offers them the opportunity to meet each other and continue to learn with each other in order to continue their fight for nature as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Qualifications

The candidate (候选人) :

·Must be born on or after the 31st May 1988 and before the 28th of August 2005.

·Is able to explain his/her conservation work in fluent English (written and spoken)

·Has achieved substantial and long-term benefits to the conservation status of one or more animal or plant species.

·Must be determined to continue his/her conservation work, as the Award aims to stimulate (激励) the winner’s future work. It is not an “end of career” prize.

Additional Remarks

For the 2024 Future For Future Awards, we are again searching for natural leaders, who have proven that they can make a difference in species’ survival.

From all applications, 6 to 10 nominees (被提名者) will be selected. These applicants will be asked to provide additional information, which will be used to select the final Awardees. Ultimately, three inspiring wildlife heroes are selected as the winners.

Application Process: Apply online through the Apply Now link

Application Deadline: 28^th August, 2023

8 . Much meaning can be conveyed clearly with our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak.

    1     In a bus you may look at a stranger but not far too long. And if he sensed that you are staring at him, he may feel uncomfortable.

The same is true in our daily life. If you are stared at for more than necessary, you will look at yourself up and down to see if there is anything wrong with you.     2     Eyes do speak, right?

Looking too long at someone may seem to be side and aggressive     3     If a man stares at a woman for more than 10 seconds and refuses to look away from her, his intentions are obvious. He wishes to attract her attention, and let her know that he is admiring her.

However, when two persons are engaged in a conversation, the speaker will only look into the listener’s eyes from time to time to make sure that the listener does pay attention to what the former is speaking.     4     If a speaker looks at you continuously when speaking as if trying to control you, you will feel awkward. A poor liar usually exposes himself by looking too long at the victim. He wrongly believes that looking straight in the eye is a sign of honest communication.     5     Actually, eye contact should be made based on specific relationship and situation.