1 . The COVID-19 and flu are both respiratory infectious diseases, with similar symptoms including fever and cough, but they are not the same.

Both the COVID-19 and flu are diseases caused by a virus. In the case of flu, the pathogens(病原体) are flu viruses, and for COVID-19, it is a novel coronavirus(新型冠状病毒).

Common symptoms for flu and novel coronavirus are nearly identical fever, cough and tiredness, sometimes sore throat and diarrhea. In severe cases, they result in pneumonia(肺炎), and even deaths in the worst cases. Flu has seasonal ups and downs. Although it can exist all year round, the virus infects more people in winter and spring. As for the novel coronavirus, there is not yet enough evidence showing how it would                    respond to changing weather.

The mortality rate(死亡率) for the novel coronavirus is higher than that for flu. Generally, people with poor immunity(免疫力), especially children and seniors, are more likely to catch seasonal flu and develop into severe cases. As for the novel coronavirus, the median age for the infected is 51. But the novel coronavirus is a brand-new virus, and no one has total                    immunity no matter their age.

Both the flu and the novel coronavirus are transmitted in similar ways, by direct contact with infected patients or small droplets from the nose or mouth when a person with viruses coughs or breathes.

Flu can be spread by an infected person for several days before their symptoms appear. As for the novel coronavirus, spread might be possible before people show symptoms, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

For the novel coronavirus, there is also a risk for aerosol transmission(气溶胶传播). In health facilities, people may catch the virus if they breathed in aerosol, the suspension of fine solid or liquid particles in the air, which have been contaminated by the virus. The novel coronavirus has also been found in patients' fecal(排泄物) samples, but fecal-oral transmission does not appear to be a major transmission route.

4 . People with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic can spread the disease without any outward signs that they're sick. But a newly developed AI, with a keen algorithmic ear, might be able to detect asymptomatic cases from the sounds of people's coughs, according to a new study.

A group of researchers at MIT recently developed an artificial intelligence model that can detect asymptomatic COVID-19 cases by listening to subtle differences in coughs between healthy people and infected people.

Indeed, it is the Alzheimer's model that the researchers adapted in an effort to detect COVID-19.“The sounds of talking and coughing are both influenced by the vocal cords and surrounding organs.” co-author Brian Subirana, a research scientist in MIT's Auto-ID Laboratory said in a statement. “AI can pick up simply from coughs, including things like the person's gender, mother tongue or even emotional state. There's in fact sentiment strongly fixed in how you cough.”

First, they created a website where volunteers-both healthy and those with COVID-19-could record coughs using their cellphones or computers; they also filled out a survey with questions about their diagnosis and any symptoms they were experiencing. People were asked to record “forced coughs,” such as the cough you let out when your doctor tells you to cough while listening to your chest with a stethoscope.

Through this website, the researchers gathered more than 70,000 individual recordings of forced-cough samples, according to the statement, Of those,2,660 were from patients who had COVID-19,with or without symptoms. They then used 4,256 of the samples to train their AI model and 1,064 of the samples to test their model to see whether or not it could detect the difference in coughs between COVID-19 patients and healthy people.

The AI model correctly identified 98.5% of people with COVID-19, and correctly ruled out COVID-19 in 94.2% of people without the disease. For asymptomatic people, the model correctly identified 100% of people with COVID-19, and correctly ruled out COVID-19 in 83.2% of people without the disease.

But "whether or not this performs well enough in a real-world setting to recommend its use as a screening tool would need further study,"Lubinsky told Live Science."What's more,further research is needed to ensure the AI would accurately evaluate coughs from people of all ages,’’ he said.

6 . Top Tips for the Flu Season

It’s coming. I can feel it in the air. On the subway every time someone coughs, I look up to see if I can move a little further. As I exit the train, I immediately reach for hand wash to remove any of the dirt on my hands.    1    

If you are young and healthy, it’s most likely that you will just feel uncomfortable for a week or two, miss some work or study. If you are elderly, have medical problems, or are a young child, you may not be so lucky.     2     Depending on the year, between 3,000 and 49,000 people die.

The best way to prevent the flu is to get vaccinated(接种疫苗).     3     However, it still offers considerable protection. In adults, the vaccine is 59 percent protective on average. For children the story is better. Clearly, we need better vaccines but it’s still a really good idea to get vaccinated.

Can the flu shot give you the flu? You may have an arm pain or a little fever, but the injection does not contain a live virus and cannot give you the flu.

    4     It isn’t clear how long protection lasts and if the vaccine protects against different flus for only one year.

Finally, here is some advice for what to do if you get the flu.

•     5    

• Stay at home until your fever has been gone for at least 24 hours. That will reduce the number of people you give this to.

Best wishes for a happy flu season!

10 . My two sons are all grown up now. They are 32 and 27 years old this year. Yet they both still have the minds of______. Autism(自闭症)has limited their______growth and they still need to be looked after all the time. When I was a boy, the term used for people like my sons was Mentally Retarded. By the time I was an adult the term had______to Mentally Handicapped. ______, this was switched again to Mentally Challenged.______of these terms truly defined(定义)them, however.

These days the______term is people with Special Needs. I like this one better than the older ones, because it is more______. My sons do have Special Needs______they also have Special Gifts. My oldest boy may only be able to______certain things. But when he______people by name, there is a catching happiness in his mood and manner. He always______love and hugs far more freely than I do. My youngest boy is______in his own world most of the time. But he also has an______to laugh and enjoy life. Often after he finishes crying his happiness will immediately______. My two Special Needs sons have______me more about how to live and and how to love than I could have ever learned______.

The fact is that all of us in this life have Special Needs. All of us also have Special Gifts. It is up to us to______our gifts. It is up to us to______the needs of each other. And it is up to us to______each other with kindness and love. Remember, we are all one______here. We are all Children of the same God.