1 . The first wave of concerns over artificial intelligence(AI)in 2023 appeared soon after New Year’s Day when classrooms reopened and schools from Seattle to Paris started blocking ChatGPT, a powerful software based on AI large language models, because teenagers were using it to do their homework.

The AI large language models behind such products as ChatGPT work by repeatedly guessing the next word in a sentence after having “learned” the rules from a huge amount of/human-written works. Although they often get facts wrong, their answers appear so natural that Keven, their inventors begin to worry about their possible use for spreading false information.

People became more worried when various AI products started to create not just texts but novel images, music and human voices, which threatened the livelihoods of anyone who writes, draws or sings for a living. It led to strikes by Hollywood writers and actors and legal challenges from artists and bestselling authors. Some of the most respected scientists even warned that the technology’s unchecked progress was possibly threatening human existence. “In the longer term, they might manage our attention,” pioneering AI scientist Fei Fei Lisaid. “They would tell us which video to watch, which book to read or whose communication to respond as AI technology’s abilities improve rapidly. They could be a very good assistant, but also with really big risks.”

Li hoped that 2023 is going to be a year for people to think about what Al is, how to use it and what the effects are — all the good, the bad and the ugly.

“It’s easy to forget that they are not the first wave of AI products. Computer vision techniques developed by Li and other scientists have helped sort through a huge database of photos to recognize objects and individual faces and guide self-driving cars. Speech recognition advances have made voice assistants like Siri and Alexa a normal thing in many people’s lives,” said Tom Gruber, co-founder of Siri Inc.

Many young people wants     1     (become) great athletes. They exercise and lift weights in the gym. But the fact is that they don’t become stronger,     2     makes them unhappy.

Therefore, some of them are considering     3     (take) pills, which they think will help them become     4     (strong) than before. However, the truth is that these pills usually have some unintended side     5     (effect). Some of them may even affect     6     (they) liver or heart.     7     fact, some great athletes such as Griffith Joyner, died very young because they     8     (take) some pills.

For the above reasons, I suggest that young people be     9     (care) not to take pills.     10     best way to become stronger is going to a gym to work out.

Gather together a couple of good friends and take a leisurely walk through the streets—this is what many youngsters in China enjoy doing when they pay a visit     1     a new city. To them, Citywalk means “wandering around the city” on foot. Participants can follow a special urban route, exploring old     2     (building) or enjoying real local snacks.

The origins of Citywalk can be traced (追溯) back to London, England. Strictly speaking, this form of urban tourism     3     (be) not as casual and aimless as it may appear. In the beginning, Citywalk referred to tours where participants followed a     4     (plan) route under the guidance of tour conductors, exploring deep into the city’s history, culture, landscapes     5     other aspects. Gradually, the concept of Citywalk,     6     focuses on the quiet appreciation of urban lifestyle and cultural atmosphere, has gained popularity worldwide.

Up to now, the Citywalk trend     7     (spread) from first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai to second-tier and third-tier cities, encouraging more participants and event organizers to get involved. Some organizers invite folk culture researchers and enthusiasts (爱好者)     8     (act) as tour guides.

In short, Citywalk not only offers     9     way for young people to interact with a city but also provides them with a new social scene, where people wit the same interests and ideas can     10     (easy) make friends.

6 . I recently had a conversation with a friend who was feeling very upset about work. Why? He thought his manager didn’t like him. He rarely heard much from his manager, and when his manager said something, it was about correcting some aspects of his work or giving him some constructive advice.

Not surprisingly, given my friend’s understandably anxious view of these workplace dynamics (动态), he was afraid of his annual performance evaluation. He was worried that his boss might even tell him that he wasn’t needed anymore. Accordingly, he considered looking around for another job — not because he really wanted to, as he liked the kind of work he was doing, but because he suffered from the kind of management.

The evaluation day came, and to his great surprise, rather than being harshly critical, his manager told him that he was doing a fine job and gave him a promotion.

The sad truth is, this kind of phenomenon is by no means unusual in the workplace. One recent survey showed that nearly half of the employees have considered leaving a job “due to lack of recognition”. Another similar study found 46 percent of the employees left a job “because they felt unappreciated”.

The good news is that, in this case, the damage was repaired before it was too late — before my friend was out the door and his company began the expensive and time-consuming process of hiring a new employee. But as the research noted above shows, workplace problems related to recognition and appreciation are as common as the office air we breathe.

This conforms with my personal experience; during my decades of corporate management, I saw similar appreciation issues all the time. When a job isn’t done well, nobody deserves anything, of course. But when a job is done well, if you’re an employee, it’s entirely natural to expect at least a bit of appreciation. So if you’re a manager, it’s a good idea to show some. It’s that simple.

7 . According to a new report in Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, the number of online posts related to the circulation(流通) of used goods in 2022 increased by 814 percent year on year. Instead of buying useless things, people are changing towards using secondhand goods and replacing underused or unused objects. This trend is picking up in the country.

Since the summer of 2022, a 26-year-old Shanghai citizen named Chen Jiaorong has been walking along Julu Road in Shanghai’s downtown area once or twice a week, looking around and picking up “garbage” (垃圾). After her action was noticed online, she was described by others as a “stooper”.

The word “stoop” means to bend forward, but in the United States, it also refers to a platform or entrance stairway to a house. The term “stooper” was created in the US after a lot of people put their used or underused belongings in front of their doorsteps to be taken away for free by those in need. Later, “stooping” was used to mean “picking up abandoned goods and recycling them”.

As the first “stooper” in China, Chen had her own way. She picked unused goods to help find suitable new owners for some items. When she found such abandoned (被抛弃的) goods, she put a pair of eyeball-shaped stickers on them before publishing notes on her social media accounts, and guiding others to pick them up from the streets.

“‘Stooping’ is a new word in China, and some people even have no idea of it. Most of us still think secondhand goods are dirty and it is embarrassing to reuse them,” said Wu Kaisi, a well-known stooper in Guangzhou. “The slowing economy and the increasing cost of living have pushed the development of the used-goods industry. People are gradually advocating (提倡) a savings-based consumption (消费) and environment-friendly lifestyle instead of blindly seeking for expensive consumption. Now, more young people are joining us.”

Whether you use Short Messaging Service (SMS) or an instant messaging app (即时通讯应用程序) on your smartphone, you’ll see some words that are hard     1    (understand) because of the chat slang (俚语) people use.

Chat slang is a specific kind of language     2     is used in the context of new technologies. Most instant message slang falls into two kinds: acronyms and contractions. These acronyms     3    (make) up of the first letter of several words such as IDK (I don’t know), OIC (Oh I see), BRB(Be right back), BFN (Bye for now), LOL (Laugh out loud), and ASAP (As soon as possible). Contractions cut unnecessary parts of words and may use     4    (number) to take the place of sounds while keeping the meaning clear. Take     5     look at these examples of contractions: Plz (Please), Thx (Thanks), Cya (See you), U (You), R (Are), L8r (Later), B4 (Before), 2morro (Tomorrow).

Instant messaging with this kind of language can save time and be great fun,     6     remember to use it     7    (proper) and try not to depend too much     8     it. If you have to keep     9     (explain) what you write to people, it might be     10    (fast) to use the full word!