Scientists say they have developed a system that uses machine learning to predict when and where lightning will strike. The research was led by engineers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Lightning is a strong burst of electricity in the atmosphere. It can strike between clouds or between a cloud and the ground. Since lightning carries an extremely powerful electrical charge, it can be destructive and deadly. It is difficult to know exactly how many people die of lightning-related causes. European researchers have estimated that between 6,000 and 24,000 people are killed by lightning worldwide each year. The strikes can also cause power failure, destroy property, damage electrical equipment and start forest fires.
For this reason, climate scientists have long sought to develop methods to predict and control lightning. The system tested in the experiments uses a combination of data from weather stations and machine learning methods. The researchers developed a prediction model that was trained to recognize weather conditions that were likely to cause lightning. The model was created with data collected over a 12-year period from 12 Swiss weather stations in cities and mountain areas. The data related to four main surface conditions: air pressure, air temperature, relative humidity (湿度) and wind speed. The atmospheric data was placed into a machine learning algorithm (计算程序), which compared it to records of lightning strikes. Researchers say the algorithm was then able to learn the conditions under which lightning happens.
“Once trained, the system made predictions that proved correct almost 80 percent of the time,” the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology said in a statement. “It can now be used anywhere.”
Amirhossein Mostajabi, a PhD student at the institute, said current systems for gathering such data are slow and complex and require costly collection equipment like radar or satellites. “Our method uses data that can be obtained from any weather station,” he said. “This will improve data collection in very remote areas not covered by radar and satellite or in places where communication systems have been cut,” he added.
The researchers plan to keep developing the technology in partnership with a European effort that aims to create a lightning protection system. Scientists working on the Paris-based project are experimenting with a laser technology that could someday control lightning activity. The idea is that powerful, ground-based lasers can be positioned in the sky to direct energy from lightning.
1.What does Paragraph 2 mainly focus on?
A.The cause of lightning. B.The forming process of lighnting.
C.The destruction of lightning. D.The difficulty to count the deaths.
2.Which is the correct order of how the system works?
① develop a prediction model.
② learn to recognize weather conditions.
③ collect related data.
④ input the data onto the computer.
⑤ make predictions.
A.①→②→③→④→⑤ B.③→④→①→②→⑤
C.①→②→④→③→⑤ D.③→①→②→⑤→④
3.What’s the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s attitude toward the system?
A.Satisfied. B.Doubtful.
C.Negative. D.Neutral.
4.The advantage of the new system for collecting data lies in its .
A.accuracy B.efficiency
C.wide coverage D.reliability
5.What does the Paris-based project aim to do?
A.Identify lighting. B.Predict lighting.
C.Stop lighting. D.Control lighting.
One of the important subjects in contemporary poetry is identity—with an open-ended explanation of that word. Poets, young and old, are exploring what identity is, using their own lives as the background.
British poet Phoebe Power, in her first collection of poems, Shrines of Upper Austria, explores a different aspect of identity: a personal understanding of national identity. The collection received the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and was on the final list for the T.S. Eliot Prize.
Power was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne and raised in Cumbria. She has taken part in a number of performance art and video art projects. She received a Northern Writers’ Award in 2014 and an Eric Gregory Award from the Society of Authors in 2012. Now she lives in York in northern England.
Power’s starting point is her grandmother. She came to England from Austria as a new bride married to a British soldier in 1946, the first year after the end of World WarⅡ. Imagine the reactions of her British neighbors and her new British family. Imagine what she had left behind. The grandmother’s experiences influenced Power greatly.
In Shrines of Upper Austria, we walk with the poet to see her grandmother’s life before Britain. We can learn about the small town where she lived, the bodies of water, and buildings that existed when her grandmother lived there. Power also added some prose(散文) to the book, which tells us some stories of her grandmother’s early life. For example, it tells the stories about how her grandmother was found as a baby and given to a farmer when she was two.
The poems in the collection are pieces of a life. We can no more walk in our grandparents’ shoes than they can walk in ours. However, we can study old family photographs. We can see pieces of their lives—where they lived, perhaps; where they played as children; what lakes or rivers they swam in. Like Power, we are left with pieces. These pieces don’t all make sense, but collectively they show a life.
1.What’s the function of Paragraph 1?
A.To explain what identity is.
B.To inform us the likes of poetry.
C.To make a summary of the text.
D.To introduce what will be discussed next.
2.What do we know about Power’s collection of poems?
A.It reflects her own life.
B.It explores national identity.
C.It is similar to other collective poems.
D.It fails to be recognized by the public.
3.What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?
A.Power’s birthplace. B.Power’s talents.
C.Power’s basic background. D.Power’s achievements.
4.What can we find in Shrines of Upper Austria?
A.The early life of Power.
B.The life and culture in Austria.
C.The marriage of Power’s grandmother.
D.The life of Power’s grandmother in Britain.
5.What’s the purpose of the last Paragraph?
A.To persuade readers to buy Power’s poems.
B.To inform readers of the regrets of grandparents.
C.To show elderly people are a useful source of stories.
D.To show the significance of learning about the past from poems.
Zurich Region is top for leisure and pleasure. Gentle hills, peaceful woods, the unpolluted lakes and rivers, picturesque villages—and all just a stone's throw from the Alps. Zurich Region is the ideal starting point for all kinds of short trips.
Zurich
With opera, ballet, shows, musicals, art exhibitions in over 50 museums and 100 galleries, time never drags in Zurich. The famous Bahnhofstrasse and the Limmatquai are always a shopper's paradise. Over 1,700 restaurants and bars serve both traditional Zurich and Swiss dishes as well as foreign specialties. The evenings will leave you spoilt for choice: indoors or outdoors, anything is possible as far as the nightlife in Zurich goes.
Winterthur
Winterthur has blossomed from a former industrial town to a lively place for all racial groups and types of culture. Winterthur is an important museum town — it has 17 in all—and also offers a wide range of culture, sports and entertainment. Among the numerous night clubs and bars you will also find the only bar in Switzerland that opens 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The Rhine Falls, the biggest waterfall in Europe, is just a 20 minute drive from Winterthur.
Rapperswil & Lake Zurich
Rapperswil, a town at the upper end of Lake Zurich, will charm you with its many attractions: the castle, the medieval(中世纪的) old town, the historical wooden bridge and Knies Children’s Zoo. Equally, however, the Alpamare water park and Atzmännig slide & trampoline paradise are just as much part of this family-friendly destination. Summer or winter, the Lake Zurich region offers many opportunities for sport.
Zug
Even the residents of Zug never get tired of the sunsets: when the sun goes down over the lake, the horizon goes blood-red, and all eyes turn to the romantic show of colour on the water. Equally charming is the historic centre of the town, best experienced by leisurely walking its narrow and winding alleys(小巷), wandering on the pretty lakeside and sitting at one of the many street cafés to watch the world go by.
1.What does the underlined sentence “ time never drags in Zurich” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.You will regret visiting Zurich.
B.You won’t feel bored in Zurich.
C.You can purchase freely in Zurich.
D.You can experience nightlife in Zurich.
2.What makes Winterthur special?
A.Its museums.
B.Its multi-culture.
C.Its 24-hour bar.
D.Its developed industry.
3.Which destination may be suitable for a family with kids?
A.Zurich. B.Winterthur.
C.Rapperswil & Lake Zurich. D.Zug.
4.How can you best experience the charm of Zug?
A.By admiring the sunsets.
B.By walking around casually.
C.By seeing the color of water.
D.By communicating with residents.
5.Where does the passage probably come from?
A.A travel brochure. B.A news report.
C.A science magazine. D.A geography textbook.
It was an extremely hot spring day. The ______ felt more like July than May. A thunderstorm had passed over earlier but now the clouds were clearing and the sun had ______. Steam was coming off the ______ sidewalk as I parked my car next to the parking meter (a coin-operated timer) and ______ a coin into it. I headed into the local charity store to buy my son a shirt. The air conditioning inside was a welcome ______ from the heat outside.
After I made my purchase I walked back out into the ______. I got in my car but had to wait to ______ because of all the cars lined up at the red stop light. I looked out of my car window and saw ______ on the sidewalk. A single butterfly was ______ moving its wings up and down but not getting off the ground. What’s worse, it was ______ in front of a truck’s tyre. Without thinking I got out of my car, held my hand ______ so the truck driver wouldn't move forward, and ______ down to look at the butterfly. One of its legs was ______ in what looked like spilt milk. I reached down and gently ______ the butterfly in my hands. I lifted its leg up and suddenly it was ______. I opened my hands and up it flew towards the shining sun. My own eyes shone brighter and my own heart felt ______ as I watched it.
Now a lot of people might wonder why I would ______ into traffic like that to rescue a single butterfly. All I can say is that my heart was ______ me at that moment. And when I was done I felt more like my true self than I had all day.
The truth is that the more love you ______ in your life, the more love you will take with you. Fill your days with______ and love then. And your heart will feel as light as a butterfly.
1.A.temperature B.atmosphere C.condition D.climate
2.A.fallen B.disappeared C.returned D.risen
3.A.muddy B.wet C.crowded D.smooth
4.A.withdrew B.dropped C.struck D.threw
5.A.message B.sign C.discovery D.relief
6.A.heat B.rain C.store D.thunderstorm
7.A.live through B.hold up C.pull out D.check out
8.A.nothing B.something C.anything D.everything
9.A.gracefully B.casually C.calmly D.wildly
10.A.right B.simply C.rarely D.properly
11.A.out B.back C.down D.up
12.A.settle B.fell C.lay D.bent
13.A.lost B.absorbed C.stuck D.occupied
14.A.caught B.trapped C.cupped D.pulled
15.A.free B.missing C.alive D.broken
16.A.emptier B.lighter C.heavier D.stranger
17.A.pass by B.come about C.step out D.look out
18.A.guiding B.accompanying C.forcing D.requesting
19.A.obtain B.share C.receive D.demand
20.A.determination B.wisdom C.honesty D.goodness
Professor Zhong Nanshan devoted himself to the battle against the novel coronavirus.
A.extremely B.roughly
C.entirely D.frequently
As long as you know what you really want, you can choose kind of life you like.
A.however B.whatever C.whenever D.which
