Every year, the staff of Popular Science barricades itself in a room to fight. No, this is not some nerdy（书呆子；笨蛋）fight club；it's where we select our Innovation of the Year, the breakthrough that we agree is the most important from the previous 12 months. Below are some examples.
Smart AI Hand
Getting through daily life without the use of one's hand can be quite difficult. While prosthetic（假体的）hands have seen great progress over the years, a new smart prosthetic hand built by BrainRobotics is attractive. The hand is powered by an AI software that allows it to "learn" from its user. The hand is still being tested, but one tester is able to successfully play a song on the piano with the hand. The hand is expected to cost somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000, which is cheaper with the use of 3D printing. It allows each hand to be printed to fit the user.
LightSail 2
The fuel not only takes up space on the spacecraft, but also increases its weight, making it more expensive to launch. But a new type of spacecraft, the LightSail 2 satellite, could end this problem by using the thrust（推力）of photons（光子）bouncing off the spacecraft to sail through space. It takes advantage of the thrust and needs little to no fuel to move through space. LightSail 2 will return to Earth in one year.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Lenovo has introduced a laptop that can be folded up like a book. You can use it anytime and anywhere if you want to. It can also be held like a traditional laptop. It can be held flat, just as you would hold a tablet, or folded like a book when you're lying in bed. It has already been on the market.
Meal Delivery Robot
Food delivery workers have hard jobs. Can robots do the same job? US company Postmates has designed a meal delivery robot called Serve. With two eyes and four wheels, it can drive down footways thanks to the cameras inside it. Still, a human driver can control it remotely if there are any problems. The company has begun testing the robot in some parts of San Francisco, the US.
MySpace, the social networking website, is different from other websites which only provide stories about other people. MySpace is a place that allows you to broadcast your own stories and personal information to as many people as you like. Founded in 2003, it is a big source of information for and about American kids.
Teenagers and their parents feel very differently about it. Teens are rushing to join the site, not sharing their parents' worries. It signals yet another generation gap in the digital era.
For teenagers, it is reliable network to keep in touch with their friends. They will often list their surnames, birthdays, after-school jobs, school clubs, hobbies and other personal information. "MySpace is an easy way to reach just about everyone. I don't have all the phone numbers of my acquaintances. But if I want to get in touch with one of them, I could just leave them a message on MySpace," said Abby Van Wassen. She is a 16-year-old student at Woodland Hills High of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Parents, on the other hand, are seriously concerned about the security problems of MySpace. “Every time we hold a parents meeting, the first question is always about MySpace," said Kent Gates, who travels the country doing Internet safety seminars（研讨会）. The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children has received at least 288 MySpace-related complaints, according to Mary Beth Buchanan, a lawyer in Pittsburgh.
“Your profile on MySpace shows all your personal information to anyone on the WeB. And MySpace even lists this information by birthplace and age. It's like a free checklist for troublemakers and it endangers children,” Buchanan said.
Shaanxi kuaiban is a traditional Chinese form of storytelling in the Shaanxi dialect to the rhythm of bamboo clappers. It can be performed by a group or solo. The art form can be traced back to the late Qing Dynasty（1644-1911）. At first, the art was used by farmers to share their knowledge and earn money. But now, more people perform Shaanxi kuaiban on different occasions -for example, at festival celebrations, parties and art shows.
Yang Jinlong, 45, is an experienced Shaanxi kuaiban artist. He first learned the art at the age of 9. Before that, he often went with his father, an amateur performer, to watch kuaiban performances.
“As a young boy, I was attracted to the art form because many of the stories are about heroes. The performer tells stories while playing kuaiban, and it's easy for the audience to remember the stories since all the lines rhyme,” Yang said.
He has practiced Shaanxi kuaiban for more than 30 years. Since 2003, he has been teaching the art form to young people. At 9 am on weekdays, he drives to primary and middle schools in Xi'an and teaches students about Shaanxi kuaiban until about 6 pm. Then, he returns home to prepare classes for the next day. On the weekends, he teaches for six hours each day at art education institutions in Xi'an.
Yang has made some adaptations to the art form to relate more to students. When he tells modern stories, Yang abandons the traditional gown and wears a suit. He also integrates（融入）many pop elements like tap dance, ballet, jazz dance and the rhythm of popular music into kuaiban performances. His stories focus on more trendy topics, like stories of heroes who have worked to alleviate poverty（扶贫）, as well as the Chinese Olympic team.
"Art education is important for students in China. Just as many students learn to play Western musical instruments like the piano and violin, there are many people learning traditional Chinese folk arts, including Shaanxi kuaiban. They are committed and passionate," Yang said.
It isn't often that zookeepers call on craftspeople for help. But cold weather at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center in northern India was putting elephants at risk. So the center's staff joined forces with locals to find a creative way to keep the animals warm. Now the elephants are stepping out in style, thanks to volunteers who take advantage of their crafting talents to knit enormous sweaters to protect the animals.
Wildlife SOS is a conservation group that has been taking action against animal cruelty and saving wildlife in pain since 1995. Their Elephant Conservation and Care Center is dedicated to rescuing the gentle giants from abuse and exploitation in circuses, illegal hunting, and other circumstances where they have been neglected or treated with extreme cruelty. There are currently 20 elephants living at the center, and the staff hope to take in 50 more of the creatures this year.
Because most of the elephants housed at the center are recovering from injuries or are elderly and weak, they are particularly vulnerable to cold temperatures. When the staff reported near-freezing nighttime temperatures this winter, volunteers from surrounding villages began knitting enormous sweaters to keep the elephants warm. The sweaters are large enough to cover the elephants' backs, bellies, and legs.
Making the sweaters is a big undertaking—each one takes approximately four weeks to create, with volunteers working together on the huge garments. Still, the volunteers make sure that the knits are not only warm and comfortable, but they are also colorful, and even fashionable. Centered on a common, compassionate goal, the project helps promote a sense of community in all who participate.
Learning a new language like English can be a challenge, but with regular study, it can be done. Classes are important, but so is disciplined practice. Here are some guidelines to help you improve your reading and comprehension skills and become a better English student.
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Learning any new language is a time-consuming process. Rather than try a few hours of review once or twice a week, most experts say short, regular study sessions are more effective. As little as 30 minutes a day can help you improve your English skills over time.
·Read, watch, and listen
Reading English newspapers and books, listening to music, or watching TV can also help you develop your writing and speaking skills. By doing so repeatedly, you'll unconsciously improve your pronunciation, accents, and grammar. Keep pen and paper handy and write down unfamiliar words you read or hear. Use them the next time you are role-playing dialogue in class.
·Play vocabulary and grammar games
You can also improve your English skills by playing vocabulary games that are related to what you're studying in class. For example, if you are going to study English on topics that focus on vacations, take a moment to think about your last trip and what you did.
·Write it down
Take 30 minutes at the end of class or study to write down what happened during your day. Once you're comfortable writing about your day, challenge yourself and have some fun with creative writing exercises. Choose a photo from a book or magazine and describe it in a short paragraph, or write a short story or poem about someone you know well. You may even discover you've got a talent for writing.
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A. Set a goal B. Study every day C. It can even be fun D. Don't be afraid of making mistakes E. Then, do some research to learn what those new words mean F. Make a list of all the words you might use to describe your activities G. Repetition is key to learning English, and writing exercises are a great way to practice! |
For 31 years, Albert Lexie kept working hard, 1 before dawn and making the nearly two-hour journey to Pittsburgh by bus.
His destination was University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. With that kind of devotion, you'd think he 2 as a physician or nurse, some position that required long 3 and came with a high 4 . But you'd be 5 .
From 1982 to 2013, Albert 6 shoes. Sixteen to seventeen pairs, twice a week, $3 a pop. His annual income was about $10,000, not including tips. But it's what he did with those tips that 7 him hearts and many awards. He 8 his tips, all $200,000 of them, to Free Care Fund, which helps cover the medical 9 for uninsured（无保险的）and poor children.
He only attended school through the eighth grade, but he 10 his first shoeshine box that year as part of a class assignment, and that's the one he 11 from 1982 to 2013. And those years of 12 and devotion certainly didn't go 13 . He was honored and 14 by magazines and organizations.
Obviously, he wasn't in it for 15 , and getting to and from work at such unusual hours couldn't have been 16 , especially as he started getting older.
“I come to work every day because it's 17 to see people and talk to people and have fun and do things. Children's Hospital is my favorite place 18 I can see lots of 19 and shake their little hands and try to give little toys away, things like that.”
His life's work was so touching and inspiring. By telling his story, we hoped to 20 more people to do good in the world.
With the Tokyo Summer Olympics behind us, people are turning their eyes to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Game. Freestyle skier Gu Ailing, 18, seems to be one of the （superstar）of the event.
（bear）to an American father and a Chinese mother, Gu decided to compete China in the 2022 Winter Olympics in June 2019. Just two months later, she bagged her （one）gold medal for China at the Australia New Zealand Cup. Her strength continued to grow as she won one bronze and two gold medals in March.
People say she is （talent）. But Gu says that talent counted for “only 1percent" of her wins, adding that her hard work is counts. While going to school in San Francisco, Gu could only practice on weekends. She spent eight hours going to the ski hill and back, doing her homework on the way and making full use of her time at the hill （practice）skiing.
Gu said she wants to encourage more girls in China to try skiing and other extreme sports, many of which have only been known there for 20 years, according to the Olympics website. She said skiing gives her freedom and creativity, （especial）when she perfectly controls her body and does tricks that others cannot do.
Now she （prepare）for the Winter Olympics as a full-time athlete. “Of course I want to win medals and even golds,” Gu said. "But what's more important is to bring out own style, enjoy the game and love the sport.”
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
A couple planned to go on vacation. The wife was on a business trip, but the husband went to the destination first and his wife would met him the next day. When the husband reached his hotels, he decided to send his wife quick email. When typing her address, unfortunate, he mistyped a letter and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher's wife whose husband had been passed away only the day before. When the depressing widow checked her email, she took one look on the monitor, let out a shout, and fell to the floor in a dead faint. At the sound, her family rushes into the room and saw this note on the screen: Dearest wife, just got checked in. Something has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow.
