It's not just an old wife's tale-studies...

    If you sit down to play an old-school board game like chess this holiday season, it might be surprising to keep in mind just how bad you'd be against a computer. In fact, computers have shown they're capable of taking humans' lunch money at board games for a while now. Remember Deep Blue versus Gary Kasparov in 1997 or AlphaGo against Lee Sedol, in South Korea, at the game of Go(围棋), in 2016?The computer won.

Now, the same team that created the Go-playing robot is celebrating something more powerful: an artificial intelligence system that is capable of teaching itself and winning at three different games.

They call it AlphaZero, and it knows two kinds of chess and Go. All of these games fall into the kind of “full information” or “perfect information” contests-each player can see the entire board and has access to the same information. That's different from games like poker, for example, where you don't know what cards an opponent is holding.

“AlphaZero needs to be told the rules of the games first, and after that, it learns by competing with itself in the games,” says Julian Schrittwieser."It suggests that we have a good chance to extend this to even more real-world problems that we might want to solve later."

And board games have historically been a good way to test computers' abilities. “It took us decades of work on these games to reach the point where AlphaZero can perform them better than people,” Campbell says. “I think they've served the field very well. They've allowed us to explore techniques such as the ones used in AlphaZero, which will be helpful as the field aims at more complex tasks.” Campbell adds. “And that is the whole point in the first place of solving games-it isn't for their own sake, but for it is a limited kind of environment where we can make progress in many other branches of science and technology.”

1.What's the author's main purpose in mentioning the two games in paragraph 1?

A.To show computers are bad at playing board games,

B.To prove computers can defeat humans at board games.

C.To emphasize humans are capable of playing computer games.

D.To demonstrate people can earn money by playing board games.

2.What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A.The operating principle of AlphaZero. B.The differences between chess and Go.

C.The information about hi-tech contests. D.The features of the games AlphaZero knows.

3.How can AlphaZero learn in the games?

A.By playing the games against itself. B.By playing multiple online games.

C.By being programmed by humans. D.By setting the rules of the games.

4.What does Campbell say about board games?

A.They help solve computers' problems.

B.They are used to test people's abilities.

C.Their techniques can be applied to other fields.

D.Their technology can be merely limited in games.

    When students walk into Jenny Umland’s class, they don’t automatically go to the same seat they sat in the day before. In her classroom at Riverdale Heights Elementary School, Iowa, students are allowed to sit wherever they want. Umland doesn’t assign seats. In fact, she has done away with most of the regular desks and uses beach chairs, standing desks, and rocking chairs instead.

Riverdale Heights is one of a growing number of schools that have ditched assigned seats. Many teachers say letting kids choose where to sit helps them learn how to make good choices.Some teachers point out that students are often more comfortable speaking up when they’re sitting near kids they like the most.

“If kids are happy and comfortable, they are more willing to learn,” says Umland. After 19 years of teaching, she tried non-assigned seating for the first time this year. She says she’ll never go back.

But not all teachers are ready to do away with their seating charts. Some say having assigned seats helps students focus on their work, instead of where they’ll sit. One teacher from Texas thinks letting students sit wherever they want can create chaos. Assigned seating helps keep classrooms under control. Without specific seats to go to, students may argue over who gets to sit in the best spots. He often finds it hard to work in that environment.A more controlled classroom leads to better learning. Maybe what he says is reasonable. A 2012 study by Montana State University found that high school students did better on tests when a teacher assigned their seats.

A student, Jack, from Lowa, thinks he and his classmates should be comfortable when they learn. He says, “My teacher, Mrs. Umland, allows us to choose our own seats, and it’s great! I used to be terrified of sitting in the same seat every day, which made me uncomfortable all over. Being allowed to sit wherever I want makes me more enjoyable, because I can sit where I’m most comfortable.” And Umland says, “The setup in my class helps kids get along better. If two students want to sit in the same spot, they have to talk it out and compromise.”

1.What do we know about Umland?

A.She insists on arranging regular desks. B.She is strongly against non-assigned seating.

C.She has failed in teaching in the past 19 years. D.She lets students in her class choose their own seats.

2.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “ditched” in paragraph 2?

A.Got rid of. B.Looked forward to. C.Tried on. D.Prepared for.

3.What does Jack think of the Umland’s seat setup in her class?

A.It is controversial. B.It is uncomfortable. C.It is cozy. D.It is terrifying.

4.What’s the best title for the text?

A.What Role Do Students Play in Class? B.Should Students Have Assigned Seats?

C.Students Are Required to Listen Carefully in Class D.Assigned Seats in the Classroom Are Popular Now

    Before she could even talk, Ellie Heath spent hours drawing pictures. When she grew older, the 15-year old girl discovered the joy of sewing and found it calming, She started out to make small objects, like jewelry and soft toys. Over time, she began making clothing.

Her love for the creative work led her to open a business. Three Blue Bunnies is the name of her company, which produces what she calls “wearable art”. “My definition of ‘wearable art’ is something often handmade, designed to make you feel unique,” she explains. She sells her creations in farmers markets, at sales for local churches, and other places.

All the pieces Ellie creates are made of used or donated fabrics. She says there are 21 billion tons of cloth material in waste landfills(垃圾填埋场) in the United States. The teenager hopes to reduce that amount through her work. She works a lot with jean jackets, renewing them with artistic additions. The process starts with finding cloth material that looks good with the jackets.

Ellie's mom. Amy Heath, is a former school art teacher. “Creativity feeds kids' brains. I  think it's very important for children to have as many opportunities as possible and be inspired by as many objects and people,” Amy says.

Ellie sharpened her creative skills at school. Cheryl Crow was one of her teachers early on. Crow called Ellie “a dream student”. Ellie worked hard and was always very creative, but also very kind, helpful to the other students. Students learned the basic sewing skills in Crow's class. Over the last three years, Ellie has created clothing for theatrical productions at Severna Park High School. Last year, Ellie designed several pieces for actors to wear in the school musical drama.

Ellie has many dreams. She wants to be a teacher and spread the joy of creativity among students. She also dreams her business will grow and become a model for other young people who have a dream they want to come true.

1.What is Ellie's goal of designing “wearable art”?

A.To help the poor people. B.To let people wear costly.

C.To collect unique clothing. D.To make wearers look special.

2.Which of the following best describes Ellie's clothing?

A.Ridiculous. B.Environmentally friendly.

C.Dirty D.Long lasting.

3.What is Amy's attitude towards Ellie's career?

A.Doubtful. B.Uncaring.

C.Supportive. D.Disapproving.

4.What does the author intend to express in paragraph 5?

A.Ellie donated lots of things to her school.

B.Ellie had various dreams over the last three years.

C.Great changes took place at Ellie's school last year.

D.Education contributed to Ellie's creativity in clothing.

    Welcome To Create With Joy

Create With Joy is an inspirational lifestyle blog that celebrates faith, family and creativity in all its aspects!Inside you'll find crafts to inspire you, Create recipes to attract you and books to enrich you.You'll also find lots of stories With Joy about our precious cats!

Connecting readers from all corners of the world is important to us too! Each week,we build community,empower bloggers to focus on their creativity,and connect people who share common interests through our popular blog parties!

So come to this website—look around—make yourself at home.We hope to light your passion and inspire your potential creativity!

We Are All Creative

Creativity is not necessarily a special gift from God for most people.It is not a ability of birth but an acquired ability.The real question is,"How will you develop creativity in life?"

Copyright(版权）Notice

Create With Joy features original writing,art and photography.All contents are shared merely for your personal inspiration.This website is copyrighted;all rights are reserved.You may not save,download,copy or reproduce any part of this website in any way or form,without prior written permission.

1.What do we know about Create With Joy?

A.It covers a wealth of contents. B.It is aimed at keeping precious cats.

C.It's a magazine of changing people's lifestyles. D.It's a chat room connecting all walks of life of the world.

2.What are the visitors of this website expected to do?

A.Feel free and be creative. B.Stay at home and tell stories.

C.Be free to do anything they like. D.Join parties with people of different hobbies.

3.What can the visitors do on this website?

A.Save photos. B.Enjoy contents.

C.Copy writing. D.Download articles.

阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

It was Saturday afternoon. Martin and his sister Pam were looking at the beautiful old buildings of Cambridge for the day. Pam had a camera with her. She likes taking photos.

“Let’s have a last photo of you,” said Pam. “It’s the last one. I want to finish the film in my camera.”

“Oh, all right,” said Martin. He stood in front of the flowers.

“Look at me.” Said Pam and took a photo. A man with a big rucksack(背包) and a tent on his back walked between Pam and Martin.

“Oh no,” said Pam. “Now I’ve got a picture of that man, not of you, Martin.”

The man looked at Pam. He was angry. He went across the road without a word.

“That man isn’t very nice, is he?” said Martin.

“No,” said Pam. The man with the rucksack on his back went into the bus station. He had got sunglasses and a blue hat.

“Come on,” said Martin. “Let’s find our bus.”

They went into the bus station. “Look,” said Martin. “There’s that man again. He’s getting into that bus. He’s going to Aberdeen. That’s in Scotland.”

“Good,” said Pam. “Far from here and far from me!”

Three days later, Pam had got her photos from the shop. “Look at these photos of us in Cambridge,” she said to Martin. “They are all very good but this last one. Look, it’s that man with the rucksack.”

“Wait a minute,” said Martin. “I know that face. It’s in the newspaper. Have you got it?”

“Today’s newspaper?” said Pam. “Yes, it’s here. Why?”

“Yes, here he is. Look at this picture,” said Martin.

Pam looked at the picture in the newspaper. “Who’s that?” she asked.

“It says in the paper that his name is Alan Rook,” said Martin. “And he works in a bank in London. But on Monday morning - no Alan Rook! The people at the bank don’t know where he is. And they say he’s got a hundred thousand pounds with him. The police are looking for him, too.”

“Come on,” said Martin. “Let’s take the photo and the newspaper to the police.”

注意:

1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2. 应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；

3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；

4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。

Paragraph 1:

    At the police station Pam and Martin met a policeman.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2:

    The next day the police in Aberdeen found Alan Rook in a tent in the mountains near Aberdeen.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________