Throughout the past year, we followed some interesting new inventions in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Here is a look back at some notable AI developments in 2022.
Meta's speech-to-speech translation
Facebook's parent Meta said it had built a technology tool to directly translate between English and the Hokkien language, a spoken language without a widely used written form.
Meta said it trained its AI models on written text examples from Mandarin Chinese. In addition, developers used an encoding (编码) tool designed to compare spoken Hokkien lo similar English text.
Method to identify Parkinson's disease
Researchers announced a new AI method to identify Parkinson's disease. The system works by measuring a person's breathing patterns during sleep. With just one night of sleep, the Al system was able to correctly identify Parkinson's up to 86 percent of the time. With 12 nights of data, the rate went up to 95 percent.
Tool to interpret pig emotions
Researchers announced they had created a technology tool that uses pig sounds to interpret different emotions.
The tool is based on thousands of recordings collected from more than 400 pigs throughout their lives. The scientists developed an AI-driven algorithm (算法) to identify a series of emotions pigs could be experiencing. It is expected to lead to further systems farmers can use to improve the productivity and well-being of their animals.
Tool to fill in missing words in ancient writings
Researchers - led by Alphabet's AI company DeepMind - said they developed an AI system to help fill in missing words in ancient writings. The tool, called Ithaca, is designed to help historians repair the writings and identify when and where they were written.
The team said that when historians work on their own, the success rat: for repairing damaged writings is about 25 percent. But when humans teamed up with Ithaca to assist in their work, the success rate jumped to 72 percent.
The Lost City, Atlantis is a magnificent and ancient city lying beneath the waves of the sea. Does this sound like a fairy tale to you? Many people have tried and failed to find it. Michael Hubner from Germany thought he had. Let us learn more about this fascinating city.
The Greek philosopher Plato, who lived in the 4th century BC, mentioned Atlantis in detail in his writings. He said that Atlantis was a city built on an island around 9,000 years before his time. Atlantis became a powerful nation that planned to conquer all other countries. However, it disappeared suddenly beneath the sea into the Atlantic Ocean because of earthquakes and floods. Plato gave 51 clues to its location. He described the city having an island at the center and being surrounded by rings of water and land. He also said how far the city was from Athens in Greece.
Many explorers had tried and failed to find Atlantis under the sea. They had been looking under the sea because of what Plato wrote about it. A German computer expert called Michael Hubner came up with the theory that Atlantis was not at the bottom of the ocean. He thought that Atlantis had been destroyed by a tsunami wave. The strong force of the wave would have caused the end of the once great city.
Michael Hubner looked at all of Plato's clues again. He used a computer program to enter all the information that Plato wrote about. The computer program would check on a map of the world for a place that matched all the clues. In this way Michael Hubner was able to find the place that Atlantis might have been. The computer program pointed to a place on the Moroccan coast in Africa, which was called the Souss-massa plain. Michael Hubner immediately boarded a plane to look for himself. When he got there, he was surprised to see many things that matched Plato's description. There was a small mound in the centre of the plain and circular dry riverbeds. It was also very close to the distance that Plato had described.
We know that a tsunami can occur if there is an earthquake. The area of the Souss-Massa plain has had many earthquakes over years. Michael Hubner's theory that a massive tsunami had flattened the city is not impossible. This would explain why it disappeared so suddenly.
Even though Michael Hubner believed that he had found the site of Atlantis, many experts disagreed. Some scholars have suggested that Plato might have been writing about Crete and the neighbouring island of Santorini, which was badly destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1600 BC． Others feel he made up the story and based it on old legends. Michael Hubner believed Plato. He used his time and energy to prove to himself that Atlantis existed and stood proudly along the Moroccan coast.
Directions, luggage delivery, tasty food. Those are some of the things we've seen robots offering at the media center of Beijing Winter Olympics. And most of the robots we've seen here aren't made to look human. Instead, they present a wide range of looks.
Two of the most advanced robots regularly operate in crowded space. One greets visitors, answers questions and offers to guide people through the crowds. Another one cleans the carpeted hallways of the main press center. It speaks to passersby in a woman's voice. It seems to be speaking English. But we cannot make it out well, because it also plays joyful music while its two front brushes are clearing dust and dirt like a futuristic street-sweeper.
Don't assume these robots work all hours just because they're robots. They have carefully managed schedules. For example, the snack robots just go around the media center for about 15 minutes every hour—usually only between noon and 17: 00.
Another kind of robots helps out with logistics (物流) at the media center. These robots can carry up to 300 kilograms of goods, move freely along the relatively empty halls and automatically recharge themselves. They send unique codes through text messages to the receivers when the delivery has arrived. Then they can pick up the goods with the codes.
There are even COVID-fighting robots, which move around pre-programmed areas spreading chemicals. Food ordering, making and serving in the dining room are fully automatical too. Reporters from around the world can enjoy various food options here.
In short, robots are expected to play an outstanding role in the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics. But the most important goal is to reduce direct contact (接触) between people.
When a friend comes to you after a stressful day, how do you comfort him? Do you let him complain? Do you pour him a glass of coffee? Those could work. But a new study finds that a very effective technique is also simple and easy—hugging.
"Individuals who reported noticing the availability of a network of supportive individuals tend to show better adaptation when faced with stress. But just because you have a support network does not mean that you absolutely feel that support," said Michael Murphy, a psychology expert at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He wanted to know if people who received hugs regularly could handle anxiety and stress better.
So Murphy and his team interviewed 404 men and women every evening for two weeks, During these interviews, the participants were asked a simple yes or no question -whether somebody had hugged them that day-and a simple yes or no question of whether they had experienced conflict with somebody that day. They also were asked to respond to questions about negative and positive mood states.
And the researchers found that people who experienced a conflict were not as negatively affected if they received a hug that day as participants who experienced conflict and didn't get a hug. And they were also found not to carry the negative effect to the next day, while those who did not receive one would. The findings are in the journal PLOS ONE.
Murphy does include this warning: "So our findings should not be taken as proof that people should just start hugging anyone and everyone who seems upset. A hug from one boss at work or a stranger on the street could be viewed as neither agreeable nor positive." The idea is to relieve stress. Not add to it.
How to "Speed-read" Body Language
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, social distancing has dramatically changed the way we interact with each other, especially when it comes to non-verbal communication.
Wearing a face mask has quickly become the norm — and that will likely remain for the foreseeable future. How can we better read body language, now that we're wearing masks? Part of the answer lies in the question itself. Too often, we put all our focus into people's faces, when we should also be observing the movements of their entire upper bodies. This is especially important today, since we do a lot of social interacting through video platforms, where we see each other mostly from the waist up. Here are some tips on how to speed-read it.
Touching the neck
If someone is touching their "neck dimple" (the visible indentation at the middle-front of their neck), it could mean they're distressed or insecure.
Rubbing the chest
If someone is rubbing the upper part of their chest with a palm of a hand (or even just the fingers), it can indicate discomfort or concern. I recently found myself doing this when discussing a family-member's health.
Tilted head
Head movements can go a long way toward showing whether or not someone is fully engaged, especially during video conference calls. A slightly tilted head displays awareness and attentiveness.
Squinted eyes
We often squint our eyes when we're trying to focus our vision on something that's far away. But squinted eyes and a furrowed "glabella" (the part of the forehead above and between the eyebrows) can also be a sign of disagreement or confusion.
A．This is another sign of stress and anxiety.
B．If you notice someone doing this, try to comfort them or ease their anxiety.
C．Wearing a mask is a normal part of being around other people.
D．They shouldn't show facial expressions or use body language in public.
E．Body language is an outward reflection of a person's emotional condition.
F．And, when combined with a few nods, it can show approval of what's being said or heard.
G．But with nearly half of the face hidden, it can be difficult to tell what a person is thinking and feeling.
When Najla Imad Lafta, 14, plays table tennis, her torso turns as smoothly as a dancer's to meet the ball and she returns it so fast.
She just 1 her fourth silver and her fourth bronze medal from an international sports tournament for 2 people in Egypt in June.
"In fourth grade, I was 3 I was different from the other girls," said Najla as she sat in a narrow 4 .
Najla was 3 when a bomb magnetically 5 beneath her father's car went off. In a matter of seconds she 6 one of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis seriously 7 in the civil war that followed the American invasion in 2003. Civilians young and old were 8 in the crossfire, crippling (使残疾) them physically and 9 .
Najla's life had been turned upside down and could do nothing but try her best to 10 to her new life with the 11 of a wheelchair.
12 at his daughter's struggles, Mr. Lafta 13 a friend of his from the Iraq Paralympic team for help to give her daughter some training lessons.
Najla worked on her 14 for a couple of days at home - her family bought a playing table that took up almost all the space in one of the compound's rooms - barely 15 enough space for her to play with her sisters.
The Paralympics committee recently bought prostheses for Najla, and these were far better than the ones she had before but they were still not the kind made for 16 .
17 , Najla has made the 18 from playing in a wheelchair to standing: a remarkably rare progression in the sport, when most players do the opposite.
"To be honest, nothing compared to 19 legs and arms, but at least I am 20 with what I have done."
Whales have been facing serious danger for a long time.
First, due the greenhouse effect, glaciers are melting, and some living creatures in the Antarctic and the Arctic (be) on the edge of extinction. With global warming, life in other parts of the ocean has also been seriously affected, whales (include).
Secondly, whaling activity is another killer. Historically, whaling has been popular in some overseas countries, such as England, Japan and Norway. On the one hand, some people's desire for money can't (meet) easily, and they regard whales as a money-making machine. A kilogram of whale meat can fetch about $100 in Japan. On other hand, advanced technology has increased the efficiency of whaling and (great) reduced the number of whales. What's more, some countries are still on whaling in the name of science, (seem) curious about this creature.
The fact whales are on the edge of extinction is alarming us. Some (organize) have begun working hard to save them. The international community has made a strategy against commercial whaling. In my opinion, governments should also make tough laws (protect) whales.
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。
Times waits for no man. This is something I learned very clear last term. I spent so much time fool around that my grades began to fall. I finally realize that something necessary had to done. It was time of a change.
Now I have a new plan for using my time wisely. I have set my alarm clock ahead half a hour. This will give him a head start on the day. I have also been decided to keep a record of what I do and when I do it. Looking back on which I've done will give me some idea on how to rearrange my time.
