3 . Artificial intelligence is one of the most concentrated industries in the world, which influences education, criminal justice, hiring and welfare, But so far the industry has escapedregulation (管理), despite affecting the lives of billions of people, even when its products are potentially harmful.

The COVID-19 pandemic has sped this up. Many Al companies are now promoting emotion recognition tools (ERTs) for monitoring remote workers. These systems map the “micro-expressions”in people’s faces from their video cameras. Then they predict internal emotional states drawn from a list of supposedly universal categories: happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, surprise and fear. However, there is scientific doubt whether emotional states are accurately detected at all. “It is not possible to confidently infer happiness from a smile, or sadness from a frown,” a 2019 review stated.

Resistance to this highly controversial (有争议的) technology is growing; the influential.

Brookings Institute suggested ERTs be banned completely from use by law. The European Union becomes the first to attempt a proposal to regulate AI, but the draft AI act has its problems. It would ban most “real-time” biometric ID (生物识别) systems — but fails to define what exactly real-time means.

Clearly, we need far stronger protections and controls that address such harmful effects on society. However, too many policymakers fall into the trap of “enchanted determinism”: the belief that AI systems are magical and superhuman — beyond what we can understand or regulate, yet decisive and reliable enough to make predictions about life-changing decisions. This effect drives a kind of techno-optimism that can directly endanger people’s lives. For example, a review in the British Medical Journal looked at 232 machine-learning algorithms (算法) for predicting outcomes for COVID-19 patients. It found that none of them were fit for clinical use. “I fear that they may have harmed patients,” said one of the authors.

Many countries have strict regulations and thorough testing when developing medicines and vaccines. The same should be true for AI systems, especially those having a direct impact on people’s lives.

The old man pulled on him all that he could to bring him closer     1    the fish was coming in on his circle. He straightened himself and began another circle. The old man moved him. He felt faint again now but he held     2     the great fish all the strain that he could. He held up.

Though he put all of his effort on,     3    (pull) with all his strength, the fish swam away. That way nothing     4    ( accomplish ), he thought. This time he must get him alongside. He is not good for many more turns. But he is good for ever. He nearly had him and again the fish righted himself and swam slowly away. Never has he seen a    5    (great), or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than him. Now he was getting     6    (confuse) in the head. He must keep his head clear and know how to suffer like a man. He said to himself “Clear     7    , head”. Twice more it was the same on the turns. He had been     8     the point of feeling himself go each time. Trying it once more, he felt himself going. But the fish righted himself and swam off again slowly     9     the great tail weaving in the air. At that time, his hands were mushy now and he could only see well in flashes. He tried it again and it was the same. He felt himself     10    (go) before starting again, but he will try it once again.

Eighty-year-old Li Xinsheng clearly remembered the day her husband was diagnosed (诊断) with Alzheimer’s (阿尔茨海默病). Since then, she     1     (do) everything she can     2     (slow) the illness’s progression (进展). The couple recently attended a dance-therapy program, Time to Dance, which was initiated (发起) by the Scottish Ballet from the UK in 2017 to offer dance classes for people living     3     Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. Due to COVID, sessions     4     (hold) both online and in person last year. Both participants and instructors were referred to     5     (simple) as “dancers”. The dancers interacted with one another in a relaxing atmosphere and some started singing along with the songs     6     they danced.

The dance-therapy project proved helpful for the patients. Apart from     7     (help) the participants exercise and express     8     (they), it enabled the dancers to learn to communicate with others and be more open to everyday interpersonal interactions. “I feel moved. They’ve brought     9     (warm) to people with Alzheimer’s, who are often left unnoticed and forgotten in     10     corner,” Li Xinsheng said.

8 . A family visited the public elementary school where I taught students with a listening defect(缺点，缺陷). They said they would _________ the district and planned to enroll (给……报名) their deaf daughter as a first grader. They were _________ that their child’s kindergarten teacher told them not to have high _________ for her academically (在学业上). Standing behind them was Katherine, who didn’t make a _________ or use gestures, even when her parents encouraged her.

After a few weeks with Katherine, I found her a very _________ and strong-willed girl. Although I was able to make her take part in a variety of learning activities, writing was a _________. I tried all kinds of ways to _________ her in writing. Every time the _________ came out, she would shut down and _________ to participate.

One day Katherine got off the bus and stood in front of the school __________. The staff members present did not know enough __________ to ask her why she was unhappy. Finally, they took her to the __________ where they handed her a pen and notebook. Katherine __________: “PAC BAK.” __________ the office staff realized she left her backpack on the bus. Soon Katherine got her backpack back.

That day Katherine discovered the __________ of the pen. She is a young woman now and has become a writer.

9 . Have you ever walked into a room and completely forgotten why you came into it in the first place? I couldn’t agree more when I read an article from Live Science that stated, “There are several types of memories, and the brain has a unique way of forgetting each kind.” Memory does some funny things. While forgetting is a normal and vital part of our brain function, we have to admit that memory can be a mysterious and naughty joker. One of the most common mysteries is a short-term memory failure where people find themselves entering a room with no memory of why they did so.

Everyone has experienced this at least once in their lives. We call it a “senior moment”, but researchers say it’s actually okay to put the blame on our doorways and not on our ageing brains. The act of walking through a doorway sends a signal to our brains that a new scene has started and that previous memories should be put away. This is what causes our memory failure and confusion. The thoughts we had before we entered that new scene have actually been sectionalized (分区). In an interview with Live Science Gabriel Radvansky, a psychologist at the University of Norte Dame said, “Entering or exiting through a doorway serves as an ‘event boundary’ in the mind.”

I find this amazing, as I watch it happen to people all around me every day. I guess I should stop telling them they’re getting old and actually explain the cause. For me it’s not doorways that cause a problem. It’s flights of stairs. Every so often I find myself going up the stairs and forgetting why I did so just as soon as I’ve reached the landing. What’s up with that? Now if I can only find out what that means, I’d be truly fascinated.