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What lies behind the “pay-for-knowledge" boom?

Have you ever paid for educational live videos? Ask a woman on the street and the chances are that she will say yes. These years has seen China's ride on the peak of a trend—"pay-for-knowledge", a new economy that is popular in its prosperity. The content of its products ranges from economics, psychology, and finance to skills of talking, body-building, and baby-caring.

Then what accounts for this craze on “knowledge”？ First of all, the Internet serves as a precondition. Compared with traditional business models, online business has removed the barriers. With a fast network and a smartphone, anyone having passed the identity check upon online platforms can apply to be an online teacher, and anyone with an online account can pay  for “knowledge products,, he/she wants at an affordable price. Meanwhile, in this age of information, a fear of missing out is generated by information explosion. On one hand, there is ever more desire for focused information that is useful and relevant. On the other hand, such information is usually at the hands of professionals and experts serving well-known companies and schools with high walls.

Admittedly, this “knowledge-based" payment fashion has proved to be profitable. With regard to the whole society, information is motivated to flow relatively free and, to some extent, complete control of information is broken. Besides, as a new industry, this economy insert vigor （活力）into the development of our country. Sellers can reap rich profits from it; buyers can enjoy self-growth and a broader horizon. Plus, this is also a reflection of respect for knowledge and talents. It promises possibilities of turning information into income.

As with all the new industry, however, the "pay-for-knowledge" boom betrays a few problems. For one thing, the market is full of exaggerated slogans, which sound like once you pay for it, you are sure to succeed immediately. Also, most “knowledge" products cannot be counted as knowledge at all. For another, a number of consumers believe such nonsense and buy them just for showing off. It is a pity for them not to understand that in essence, to digest knowledge-based commodities requires a long-term investment of time and energy, as well as the ability to learn by oneself.

On balance, the best is the one that suits you best. Knowledge-based payment should be used as a good start for individual exploration rather than a clutch at straws to save your life. Be careful. Otherwise, great expectation may turn out to be daydreams.

    Microsoft announced this week that its facial-recognition system is now more accurate in identifying people of color, touting （吹嘘）its progress at tacking one of the technology’s biggest biases （偏见）.But critics, citing Microsoft's work with immigration and Customs Enforcement ,quickly seized on how that improved technology might be used. The agency contracts with Microsoft for cloud-computing tools that the tech giant says is largely limited to office work but can also face recognition.

Columbia University professor Alondra Nelson tweeted. “We must stop confusing 'inclusion5 in more 'diverse' surveillance （监管）systems with justice and equality.”

Facial-recognition systems more often misidentify people of color because of a long-running data problem: The massive sets of facial images they train on skew heavily toward white men. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study this year of the face-recognition systems designed by Microsoft, IBM and the China-based Face found facial-recognition systems consistently giving the wrong gender for famous women of color including Oprah Winfrey, Serena Williams, Michelle Obama and Shirley Chisholm, the first black female member of Congress.

The companies have responded in recent months by pouring many more photos into the mix, hoping to train the systems to better tell the differences among more than just white faces. IBM said Wednesday it used 1 million facial images, taken from the photo-sharing site Flickr, to build the "world's largest facial data-set" which it will release publicly for other companies to use.

IBM and Microsoft say that allowed its systems to recognize gender and skin tone with much more precision. Microsoft said its improved system reduced the error rates for darker-skinned men and women by "up to 20 times,n and reduced error rates for all women by nine times.

Those- improvements were heralded （宣布）by some for taking aim at the prejudices in a rapidly spreading technology, including potentially reducing the kinds of false positives that could lead police officers misidentify a criminal suspect.

But others suggested that the technology's increasing accuracy could also make it more marketable. The system should be accurate, "but that’s just the beginning, not the end, of their ethical obligation,” said David Robinson, managing director of the think tank Upturn.

At the center of that debate is Microsoft, whose multimillion-dollar contracts with ICE came under fire amid the agency's separation of migrant parents and children at the Mexican border.

In an open letter to Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella urging the company to cancel that contract, Microsoft workers pointed to a company blog post in January that said Azure Government would help ICE “accelerate recognition and identification.” “We believe that Microsoft must take an ethical stand, and put children and families above profits,”the letter said.

A Microsoft spokesman, pointing to a statement last week from Nadella, said the company's "current cloud engagement” with ICE supports relatively anodyne （温和的）office work such as calendar, massaging and document management workloads.” The company said in a statement that its facial-recognition improvements are “part of our going work to address the industry-wide issues on bias.”

Criticism of face recognition will probably expand as the technology finds its way into more arenas, including airport. stores and schools. The Orlando police department said this week that it Would not renew its use of Amazon. Com's Rekognition system.

“Companies have to acknowledge their moral involvement in the downstream use of their technology,” Robinson said : “The impulse is that they're going to put a product out there and wash their hands of the consequences. That’s unacceptable”.

1.What is “one of the technology's biggest biases ”in Paragraph 1?

A.Class bias. B.Racial discrimination.

C.Professional prejudice. D.Regional difference.

2.What can we know about the improvement of facial-recognition technology?

A.It is due to the expansion of the photo database.

B.Justice and equality have been truly achieved.

C.It has already solved all the social issues on biases.

D.Migrant parents and their children can be reunited.

3.What is the focus of the face-recognition debate?

A.Data problems. B.The market value.

C.The application field. D.A moral issue

4.What is David Robinson's attitude towards facial-recognition technology?

A.optimistic. B.Approval.

C.Skeptical. D.Neutral.

5.We can infer from the last paragraph that ______.

A.companies had better hide from responsibilities

B.companies should not launch new products on impulse

C.companies deny problems with the technical process of facial-recognition system

D.companies should be responsible for the new product and the consequences

6.Which can be the suitable title for the passage?

A.Fears of facial-recognition technology B.The wide use of Microsoft system

C.The improvement of Microsoft system D.Failure of recognizing black women

    Every weekday, shortly after 11 a.m., a line forms at the Broadway and 38th Street location of Sweetgreen, the eco-conscious salad chain. By noon, the line has usually tripled （三倍）in size.

The scene is similar at the Chop't, or the Dig Inn, or the Just Salad one block south. Greens, once so unattractive that parents all over the country had to beg their children to eat them, have never been hotter.

At Sweetgreen , the appeal is partly ethical . The ingredients are sustainably farmed, sourced from trusted partner and served with transparency. There are vegetarian, gluten-free and “warm bowl” options. There are raw beets and organic carrots. It's enough to make the most wasteful among us feel satisfied . It is any wonder that Sweetgreen is the fastest growing salad chain in the United States?

The moral overtones extend even to the trash. As customers pay and head back toward their various workplaces , they pass an often Overflowing garbage bin with a proud sign above it that says that all of the company’s utensils, napkins, bowls and cups are plant-based, "which means   they go in the compost bin（堆肥箱），along with any leftover food." "Nothing from inside Sweetgreen goes to the landfill（垃圾填埋）,” the sign declares further, virtuously.

But that's far from the truth, although it,s not the chain's fault.

Zara Watson, a lawyer who eats at Sweetgreen three times a week, throws the waste from her healthful lunch directly in the trash because she does not have to compost at her office. So does Sam Hockley, the managing director at the software company Meltwater, who is willing to eat a Sweetgreen bowl for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Salad is appealing not only because the food is healthy for us but because it's healthy for the world. But even as Sweetgreen and its marvelous effort, the compostable（可降解的） containers the chain puts such care into providing are, more often than not, going to a landfill.

Eric Goldstein, the New York City environment director, said that it typically takes a city about a decade to transition to successful composting. Now New York faces several challenges, one " which is educating people on how to compost in the first place. u!f you were to stop a person in the street, 1 don't know how many people could even tell you what composting really is," he said. "We need a large-scale program to let New Yorkers know why this is important and how to participate in the program .”

And of course, composting itself is not the gold standard of eco-conscious lunch disposal, “it's still best to use reusable things, even before composting and recycling,” Mr. Goldstein said. "But composting is an extremely valuable thing to do."

1.The reasons why Sweetgreen is so popular include all the followings EXCEPT _________.

A.the ingredients it uses are safe and reliable

B.The products it offers are attractive to children

C.The products it offers meet the needs of different customers

D.there is a growing trend toward eating green

2.Which of the following statements is true according to the sign above the garbage bin at Sweetgreen?

A.The shop encourages customers not to waste food.

B.The containers that Sweetgreen uses are reusable.

C.The leftover food from the shop will be sent to landfill.

D.The tableware that Sweetgreen uses is environment-friendly.

3.why does Zara throw the waste in the trash after eating Sweetgreen's salads?

A.Because composting is unnecessary where she works.

B.Because she thinks it is wrong to compost waste.

C.Because the material Sweetgreen uses isn't compostable.

D.Because she is unwilling to walk to the compost bin.

4.What can we learn from Eric Goldstein's words?

A.The biggest challenge in composting is the objection from customers.

B.Most Americans have realized the necessity of garbage classification.

C.The transition to successful composting in New York is a tough task.

D.The best way to deal with leftover food is to turn it into compost.

    Airborne dust is normally seen as an environmental problem, but the lack of it is making air pollution over China considerably worse.

A new study suggests less dust means more solar radiation hits the land surface,which reduces wind speed. That lack of wind in turn leads to an accumulation of air pollution over heavily populated parts of China. The researchers found that reduced dust levels cause a 13% increase in human-made pollution in the region.

Hundreds of millions of people across China continue to be impacted by air pollution from factories and coal-fl red power plants. Studies suggest that the dirty、air contributes to 1.6 million deaths a year, about 17% of all mortalities. But this new research says that the human-induced pollution is being made worse or better by naturally occurring dust that blows in from the Gobi desert. Using models to simulate 150 years of wind and dust patterns in the region, the researchers found that the dust deflects significant amounts of sunlight. Without it, more heat from the Sun hits the land. Differences in the temperatures between land and sea cause the winds to blow. Without the dust, the land warms up more and that changes the temperature differential with the sea leading to weaker breezes - and more air pollution.

“There are two dust sources. One is the Gobi and the other is the highlands of north-west China, but we found the Gobi had much more influence," said lead author Yang Yang, from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington State, US. “Less dust in the atmosphere causes more solar radiation to reach the surface. It weakens the temperature difference between the land and the sea and impacts the circulation of the winds and causes a stagnation over eastern- China and that causes an accumulation of air pollution.”

Another study has recently shown a link between declining Arctic sea ice and a major air pollution event in China. The authors of the new study believe that both theories could be true.

“Our study has the same mechanism: the weakening of winds causes more pollution, and what is behind this needs to be studied/ said Yang Yang, “We have two views on this kind of weakening of wind. They found the sea ice, we found the dust-wind interaction can also lead to weakening of the wind. I think both of them are important.”

The researchers believe that the study may inform broader questions about how natural human-created aerosols interact.

Many parts of the world, in addition to China, are now suffering from increased levels of air pollution and understanding how dust, winds and emissions work together may help limit some of the worst impacts of dirty air.

One of the key lessons from this study is that the absence of dusty conditions could mean the air you are breathing is worse for you, not better.

1.According to the new study, the formation of air pollution over heavily populated parts of China is due to_________.

A.the accumulation of dust B.the shortage of wind

C.the high level of living standards D.the rise of temperature

2.Whats the right sequence of cause and effect leading to the air pollution?

①the worse circulation of the winds

②more heat from the sun

③lessening temperature between the land and the sea

④less dust

⑤a worse stagnation

A.④②③①⑤ B.①④②⑤③

C.④①③②⑤ D.①⑤②④③

3.What might Yang Yang agree with?

A.Lack of dust from the highlands of north-west China means we can breathe better air.

B.There is little connection between declining Arctic sea ice and air pollution in China.

C.Declining Arctic sea ice and dust-wind interaction can cause weakening of the wind.

D.The interaction between dust, winds and emissions can worse dusty conditions.

Prospect Park Soiree

DESCRIPTION

Attend the most celebrated party of the year! We provide the entertainment and breathtaking setting, while you gather with thousands of friends—new and old—to enjoy an evening under the stars in Prospect Park.

Wear your most festive clothes, prepare a delicious feast, and dine and dance under the stars in one of Prospect Park's most secluded locations. Show off your creativity with a show-stopping topper —a fabulous hat— as well as table decor that celebrates the beautiful surroundings.

We are excited to introduce this year's entertainment!

Inspired by the Big Band Era of Jazz, Dandy Wellington and his Band have taken the sounds of the 1930's and 40's and created a world of well-dressed music. Post-dinner, enjoy a DJ dance party with DJ Cosmo Baker, who has played alongside artists as diverse as Drake, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Pitbull, Trey Songz and Moby.

Proceeds benefit Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit organization that sustains, restores ind advances Prospect Park for the benefit of the diverse communities that call Brooklyn home.

EVENT DETAILS:

5pm: Gates open

6pm: Dinner begins with live jazz of Dandy Wellington and his Band

8 pm: Dance party begins with a live set by DJ Cosmo Baker

10 pm: Soiree concludes

Learn more and view our event galleries!

Please note:

•Guests bring their own food and table decor. Tables and chairs are provided. •Tables each accommodate up to 10 guests.

•Groups of 20+ can contact us at soiree@prospectpark.org for assistance.

•Groups smaller than 10 people are encouraged to share tables.

•Prospect Park Soiree will take place, rain or shine.

•Help us keep the Park green: trash bags will be provided.

•Barbecues and other open flames are not allowed in Prospect Park. 'Tents and other structures are not permitted.

•Tickets are non-refundable, but are transferable.

1.What can we learn about Prospect Park Soiree?

A.People can attend Prospect Park Soiree for free.

B.People can camp in Prospect Park under the stars.

C.Live jazz and a DJ dance party are available to people.

D.Prospect C.Park Alliance provides financial support for it.

2.If you bring one friend to Prospect Park Soiree,________.

A.you'd better leave the park before midnight

B.You should contact the staff there in advance

C.you'd better introduce him / her to other participants

D.you will be advised to share a table with other people