1 . The topic of photo copyright has been widely discussed recently. It started with a photographer called Dai Jianfeng receiving an email from the Visual China Group (VCG), saying that he used photos from VCG without permission (许可). However, the photos were taken by the photographer himself. It turned out to be a misunderstanding. Dai’s photos were then removed from the VCG website.

Copyright protects an author’s original works. Works are original when they are independently created by a human author and show creativity.

“In a sense, companies like VCG protect photographers’ rights,” said Shen Ran, a 26-year-old photographer who knows Dai. After signing with photographers, these companies sell the rights to use the images on their platforms. They may keep up to 70 percent of the pictures’ proceeds (收益). Users also need to follow certain rules when using the images.

If companies find out that people are using their copyrighted images without permission, then “they can file lawsuits (诉讼),” Shen said. In this way, the platforms enforce (执行) photographers’ ownership rights. Without the help of these companies, it can be difficult for photographers to know if their pictures are being misused and even harder for them to take legal (法律的) action in response.

Meanwhile, there are many cases of people using photographers’ pictures without permission on online platforms. And the platforms’ attitude sometimes makes it worse. “There used to be a fake (虚假的) account claiming to be me on Douyin,” said Ji Zixuan, a 17-year-old photographer in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. “Because I don’t have an account there, Douyin refused to remove the fake account at first.”

A lack of effective online content moderation (内容审核) means it can be time-consuming for photographers to defend their rights. It leads to many photographers feeling apathetic (无动于衷的) about the copyright of their pictures.

4 . Self-driving technology is expected to have a great effect on public health and reduce the 1.25 million deaths every year on global roads. At the same time, this new technology is a threat to the employment of the millions who are paid to sit behind the wheel — from truck drivers to cab drivers and delivery workers.

Baidu chief scientist Andrew Ng, an expert in the world of artificial intelligence, acknowledges the unemployment concerns, but he sees a way forward that offers society the benefits of autonomous vehicles and blunts the negative (消极的) effects of job losses.

Baidu plans to have commercial self-driving cars on the road in 2018. “I feel a strong moral responsibility to try to make self-driving cars a reality as quickly as possible,” Ng said in a visit to The Washington Post. At Baidu, a Chinese tech company where Ng is developing self-driving technology, the number 3,000 has become a rallying call (号召), representing the number of humans killed every day on roads. For Ng self-driving cars are a good example of the benefits of what he calls the golden age of artificial intelligence.

But for humans who could lose their jobs in this golden age, governments could offer a solution. “We as a society have a responsibility to help those whose jobs are displaced by this value — creating artificial intelligence,” Ng said. “I think everyone in this country has a right to the chance of having a great life.”

He is an advocate for basic income, in which governments pay citizens a nominal (象征性的) amount to guarantee a basic standard of living. Several Northern European countries are planning basic income experiments. Ng also suggests an adjustment to basic income — paying the unemployed to study online and prepare for a new career.

5 . Environmental groups have long criticized the private jets(喷气式飞机) for being a large contributor to global carbon dioxide emissions, and last week, environmentalists made headlines by interrupting a private jet trade show in Switzerland.

Private jets often cover shorter distances than commercial ones. They are generally less efficient(高效的) and their emissions per passenger are much higher. According to data from European non-profit Transport and Environment, private jets can be 5 to 14 times more polluting than commercial planes, and 50 times more polluting than trains. Research made by Greenpeace showed that private jets in Europe alone emitted 3.39 million metric tons of CO₂ in 2022, nearly equal to the emissions from 753,000 gas-powered cars in the US driven for a year.

But experts say the private aviation(航空) industry can still play a role in the global fight against climate change, and some in the industry are looking at creative ways to diminish its environmental impact.

As a member of the International Air Transport Association(IATA), along with other major commercial airlines, Dubai-based private aviation company Jetex launched the 2050 Project: the zero carbon emissions.

“Jetex is always thinking about how to cooperate with everyone to deal with climate change,” said Dr. Suzanne, a professor of aviation at the University of Waterloo. “And now it is working on changing all of its locations into fully green ones in the future. Once it succeeds, it will offer a new approach to the environmental protection.”

Through a partnership with oil company Neste, in 2021 Jetex started offering sustainable aviation fuels(SAF), made from renewable waste, to passengers at its Helsinki Airport. That same year at its Paris Le-Bourget Airport, it began offering SAF produced by French company TotalEnergies, made from used cooking oil. A limited supply of SAF means it isn’t available at every airport, but the company says it wants to make SAF a fuel option to its travelers across all its locations worldwide.

Clubs can provide many life skills     1     kids by giving them just a bit more life experience outside of home and school. After-school clubs, sports, and other extra-curricular activities can be     2     (benefit) to every child Kids can pursue (追求) a variety of interests     3     are really enjoyed.

Many high schools and middle schools offer a variety of clubs and activities, often after school. They’re interesting and keep     4     (teenager) out of trouble. They can also help teens improve     5     (they) interests and can help find their next step after high school graduation. Clubs can be based on activities people usually enjoy like cooking, photography, woodworking, theatre, gardening, running or crafting. Clubs can also     6     (set) up according to the same interests like reading, science, history, etc. A good club     7     (have) even more all-round activities,    8     (focus) on future careers.

Clubs     9     (common) meet every month, or every other week to discuss their interests or participate in an activity. It’s a meaningful social event and something     10     (look) forward to during the busy week.

Food wasting is still on the increase worldwide currently. In the United States alone, grocery stores throw away     1     (billion) of pounds of food every year. Sometimes it’s because the food is nearing its sell-by date, even though that doesn’t mean it can’t be eaten. Other times, it’s     2     (simple) because the food is strange-looking, even though the food is in good condition. Whatever the reason is, there is more and more food waste in landfills, contributing greatly     3     the production of greenhouse gases.

In early 2016 in France, a law was passed to prevent food from     4     (throw) away by large grocery stores, as long as the food is still safe to eat. French stores can choose to donate it to charities such as food banks. The law makes     5     much easier for stores to donate their food since grocery stores     6     (large) than 4,300 square feet must sign contracts with food banks. Grocery stores     7     don’t follow the law must pay a heavy fine up to almost 4,000 dollars. This is a major step in helping reduce food waste and dealing with     8     (hungry) as well.

The law doesn’t stop there. In addition, it requires that French schools teach children about food waste and what they can do to help fix the problems     9     (bring) about by food waste.

France was the first country in the world to pass a law like this, and since 2016, it     10     (become) a world leader in reducing food waste.

10 . Strategies for Getting Kids off Screens

It’s time to keep kids off the screens! Parents should use the winter vacation to remind their children of what it’s like to play freely, offline for hours on end.     1    . Here are some practical strategies for giving kids a screen-free winter.

Set clear screen time limits

Establish how many minutes or hours you’re OK with them each week, and make it something that can never be changed. For example, you could say they’re allowed to watch for an hour on Sunday morning, or for 15 minutes in the evening while dinner is being made, or none at all for the rest of the winter—and then stick to it.     2    

Get kids cooking

Involve them in meal preparation by assigning recipes that you’d like them to make each day.     3    . And you’ll have many tasty dishes at the end of it,

    4    

There are numerous half- and full-day camp options and lessons that can occupy a child’s time, such as swimming, art classes, tennis, dinosaur camp and sports camp. Look around your community for activities that can get them out of the house for a few hours each day.

Establish a reading routine (习惯)

    5    . Take your kid along to choose what she or he wants to read, and that will help keep them enthusiastic. Back home and see if you can set up a comfortable reading corner where they will be willing to read and let reading become a good habit gradually.