Suppose you were promised $1,440 each day that comes to $525,600 a year. That could never be reduced or changed in your whole life. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Actually, we all do get 1,440 a day—but in minutes, not dollars. 1. It’s possible to get more money, but you can’t make more time.
Many of the management practices that help people make good use of their money can also be applied to your “time currency”. But the question is, are you a good manager of your time? 2.
Find out where your time is going now. Write down everything you do in a day. Include work, study, cooking and meals, cleaning and household maintenance, sleep, family time and mindless activities such as watching TV and getting lost in social media.
3. Ten minutes of planning can save you an hour of time and helps stretch the time you have, and you’ll see pockets of time you can use for things you want to do. “Once people have a clear picture, they actually do have a lot more time than they realize.” Clark, the founder of the Purposeful Planner says.
You can also set limits. Use kitchen timers, phone reminders, apps or other timing devices to stay focused and work more productively, suggests Janine Adams, certified professional organizer of Peace of Mind Organizing.
4. When you have missions to run, instead of making three separate trips on three different days to buy groceries, office supplies or home store products, integrate them—visit all three stores in one trip. It’s more efficient to finish “little one-off” tasks together rather than deal with one at a time throughout the day.
At the end of the day, week, month and year, take a look at how well you’ve managed your time. You’ll see where you could do better and where you’ve completed what you set out to do. Booren compares this progress check to reviewing your annual “financial statement”.
5.Do that over and over and “it forms habit and becomes natural.” Booren says.
A.Try these simple steps to take control of your clock and calendar.
B.Time is one of the most precious and limited resources for people.
C.Grouping small tasks into one job proves to be helpful in daily practice.
D.The most important tasks are not always the same as the most pressing tasks.
E.Focus on what you’re doing and avoid having to repeat the same process twice.
F.Invest a few minutes at the beginning of each day or week to plan and organize.
G.Take time each day to reflect on your achievements and set goals for tomorrow.
The recent world chess championship saw Magnus Carlsen defend his title against Fabiano Caruana. But it was not a contest between the two strongest chess players on the planet, only the strongest humans. Soon after Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion, lost his re-match against IBM’s Deep Blue in 1997, the short window of human-machine chess competition was shut forever. Unlike humans, machines keep getting faster, and today a smartphone chess app can be stronger than Deep Blue.
In the late 19th century, Alfred Binet hoped that understanding why certain people stood out at chess would unlock secrets of human thought. Sixty years later, Alan Turing wondered whether this sort of ability represents an essential difference between the potentialities of the machine and the mind. Much as airplanes don’t flap their wings like birds, machines don’t generate chess moves like humans do. Early programs that attempted it were weak.
But now things are different. Based on a common game-playing algorithm(算法), AlphaZero incorporates deep learning and other AI techniques to play against itself to generate its own chess knowledge. AlphaZerostarts out knowing only the rules of chess, with no inserted human strategies(策略). In just a few hours, it plays more games against itself than have been recorded in human chess history. It teaches itself the best way to play, reevaluating such fundamental concepts as the relative values of the pieces.It quickly becomes strong enough to defeat the best chess-players in the world, winning 28, drawing 72, and losing none in a victory over Stockfish, one of the strongest chess engines.
The conventional wisdom is that machines would approach perfection with endlessstrategies, usually leading to drawn games. But AlphaZero prefers positions that look risky and aggressive, and it programs itself, which allows it to outclass the world’s top traditional program despite calculating far fewer positions per second. It’s the example of the cliché, “work smarter, not harder.”
AlphaZero shows us that machines can be the experts, not merely expert tools. It’s not going to put chess coaches out of business just yet. But the knowledge it generates is information we can all learn from. AlphaZero is surpassing us in a profound and useful way.
Machine learning systems aren’t perfect, even at a closed system like chess. There will be cases where an AI will fail to detect exceptions to their rules. Therefore, we must work together, to combine our strengths. Instead of being angry against them, it’s better if we’re all on the same side.
1.According to the passage, Alan Turing might agree that .
A.airplanes can be as good as birds.
B.the unlocked secrets of human thought are powerful.
C.machines are better than human in generating chess moves.
D.the potentialities of the human mind are better than that of the machine.
2.How is AlphaZero different from other machines?
A.AlphaZero have AI techniques.
B.AlphaZero can defeat the best chess players.
C.AlphaZero can play more games more quickly.
D.AlphaZero can generate its own chess knowledge.
3.What does the underlined word “outclass” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A.Become B.Beat C.Leave D.Distinguish
4.The author argues in the last two paragraphs that .
A.machine learning in chess is perfect.
B.human chess coaches are not needed yet.
C.AI will be learning to challenge their rules.
D.humans and AI can work together to advance.
Atlantic puffins (海雀) spend most of their life at sea. When it's time to lay eggs, the birds gather on seaside cliffs. They dig into the ground to build nests. After a chick was born, it spends six weeks in the nest, feasting on fish supplied by its parents. Then the young bird must look after itself. It leaves the nest and flies to the sea.
But on Heimaey, an island off the coast of Iceland, human-made objects have disrupted the chicks’ trip to the ocean. Luckily, they are getting help from the children of Heimaey.
Instinct tells chicks to follow the light of the moon to the sea, but they are confused by Heimaey’s bright lights. Each year, a large number of them end up lost, or worse. Often, the birds are hit by cars or caught and eaten by cats.
Each breeding season, the children of Heimaey form search parties. They carry flashlights and cardboard boxes. “When you see a bird, you try to corner it and herd it into the box,” said Eldur Hansen. Eldur is 14 and he has caught several puffins this way. Each year, they rescue thousands of chicks. Children take rescued birds home. The next morning, they take them to the beach for release.
Before releasing the chicks, the children make a stop at the local aquarium, where the birds are weighed and tagged for tracking purposes. This helps scientists learn more about puffins.
Atlantic puffins are now listed as a rare species. That means they are likely to become endangered. The main reason is that the ocean’s supply of small fish is diminishing. This is tied to overfishing and rising ocean temperatures.
Erpur Hansen, Eldur Hansen’s dad, is with the South Iceland Nature Research Center. He said the children’s action was more important than ever. Thanks to data gathered with the children’s help, researchers have learned that chicks now weigh less than in previous years. That means they have a lower chance of survival. Researchers worry that puffins will die out if ocean temperatures continue to rise, but the children’s rescue inspires them.
1.What will a mother puffin do after a chick was born?
A.Catch fish to feed the chick. B.Stay in the nest for six weeks.
C.Leave the nest and fly to the sea alone. D.Lead the chick back to the sea at once.
2.What may disturb the chicks’ sense of direction on their way to the sea?
A.The cars. B.The children. C.The animals. D.The lights.
3.What does the underlined word “diminishing” in Paragraph 6 mean?
A.Changing. B.Decreasing. C.Accumulating. D.Abandoning.
4.How do the researchers compare the chicks’ weight?
A.Getting information from the library. B.Researching the colors of the chicks.
C.Studying the data collected by the children. D.Weighing the chicks adopted at the local aquarium.
A woman who illegally entered Yellowstone National Parkon May 12 has suffered burns after accidentally falling into a thermal feature (热景观) near its Old Faithful Geyser, officials said. The park has been closed to all visitors since March 24 due to safety precautions amid the coronavirus pandemic(新冠病毒大流行).“Water in hot springs can cause severe or fatal burns, and hot water underlies most of the thin, breakable surface around hot springs,” the park advises on its website. “Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature.”The woman, who is yet to be identified, was backing up while taking photos near the famous tourist attraction and fell into a hot spring or hole where hot gases emerge, according to park spokeswoman Linda Veress. Even with her injuries, she managed to hop back in her vehicle and drive about 50 miles until park guards stopped her. She was then sent to a burn center at a hospital in Idaho.
Visitors are advised to stay on the boardwalks near Yellowstone’s often boiling or acidic thermal features, which include geysers, hot springs, steam vents, and mud pots. This year, two tourists were sentenced to 10 days in prison for trespassing at the hot spring last September after they were caught walking “dangerously close” to the spout of the legendary geyser ( 间 歇 泉 ) without permission and taking photos on their cellphones.
“Thermal area safety is an extremely important part of any trip to Yellowstone. We ask visitors to take the Yellowstone Promise before coming to the park and to read the park visitor guide for more information on safety, rules, and regulations,” a spokesperson said following the incident last year. At times, tourists have taken risks off the designated walkways before being injured or killed. Last fall, a man who was walking off a boardwalk near Old Faithful at night fell into a hot spring, suffering serious burns. Back in June, a 23-year-old Oregon resident fell into a superheated, acidic mud pot and died. His remains couldn't be recovered.
Yellowstone is announcing plans for a phased reopening on May 13.The incident remains under investigation, Veress said.
1.What is true about the woman mentioned in Paragraph 1?
A.We don’t know who she is.
B.She’s good at taking photos.
C.She drove to hospital after being injured.
D.She died in Yellowstone National Parkon Tuesday.
2.What does the underlined word “trespassing” mean?
A.damaging B.taking photos
C.entering without permission D.drinking water from hot spring
3.What should you do when visiting Yellowstone National Park?
A.Have a camera and take photos. B.Don’t go to hot spring area.
C.Follow visitor guide and be careful. D.Don’t take the walkways.
4.What can we learn about Yellowstone National Park ?
A.Visitors get injured or killed by hot spring the most.
B.It’s dangerous for visitors to take photos in the park.
C.Yellowstone National Park is the most famous one in the US.
D.Visitors will be allowed to enter the park at the end of the year.
It’s both an exciting but frightening experience for parents the moment their teenager obtains a driver’s license. Here are some of the best and most recommended apps for teen drivers and for their parents’ peace of mind.
Safe Driver
This app works by monitoring the position and the driving speed of your child. You can also set a speed limit. Whenever your child drives over this speed limit, an alert(警报)will be sent to your phone. Its only drawback is that it’s only effective when your child opens the app on their phone while driving.
Drive Safely
If you’re scared of your teenagers’ tendencies to be on the phone while driving, this is a great app for them to use. Whenever a text message comes in, it’ll read the text message out loud. The driver needn’t take their hands off the wheel in order to check text messages on their phone. The user can even respond to the message via voice.
Textecution
This app locks a driver’s phone while he or she is driving, preventing the user from gaining access to any of the SMS functions of the phone. Parents can be alerted via the app’s website. For example, you’ll be sent an alert in the event that the driver has requested permission to access their phone’s messaging function. This function can only be activated if the driver is safely parked or in the event of an accident. If ever your child removes the application from their phone, parents can be informed, too.
Life 360
The initial purpose of this app is connecting family members together. Through the app, you can share your position with one another wherever you are. It provides real-time data for parents about position and driving speed. Parents can, therefore, feel safe and secure knowing that their child has reached their intended destination. The application can be turned off. But it’ll inform the members within the app that your child has disabled it.
1.What can the app Safe Driver do?
A.Control the user’s driving speed.
B.Keep working even when it’s turned off.
C.Help teenagers develop good driving habits.
D.Alert parents to their children’s overspeed driving.
2.Which app enables the user to receive and answer text messages easily while driving?
A.Safe Driver. B.Drive Safely. C.Textecution. D.Life 360.
3.What do Textecution and Life 360 have in common?
A.They are intended to bring family members closer.
B.Teenagers can’t delete them without parents’ permission.
C.Parents can know if they stop working on teenagers' phones.
D.They offer parents real-time data about position and driving speed.
Just Being There
Mark and Ivan ran from the school bus to Mark’s house. They had both tried out for the school soccer team, and the __ were supposed to be online by now. Dropping their backpacks in the front hall, the boys raced to the ___. Mark logged into the school website. The list was up! Finding his __ , Mark breathed a sigh of relief. “Our suffering is over,” he said.
Ivan didn’t ___, though. Mark turned to look at him. Ivan had a(n) __ expression on his face.
Mark turned back to the computer and read every name on the list,__ for Ivan’s name.
Mark felt as if he had been hit in the stomach. “This isn’t __,” he shouted. Ivan just sighed. “Let’s talk to the coaches. Maybe they’ll give you another ___,” Mark insisted.
Ivan just __ his head. “If I didn’t make it, I didn’t make it.” Then he was ___, staring at the computer screen.
Oh, no, Mark thought. Was Ivan about to cry?
“At least you can sleep in on Saturdays,” he __ Ivan. “Right?”
No answer. Mark sighed. He wished he could__ people up the way Ivan could.
Even back in kindergarten, Ivan had known how to do it. On the first day of kindergarten, Mark had been homesick and began to cry during the break. The other kids ____around him. “Want to hear a funny joke?” “Try to ___!”After a while, they walked away. Only Ivan ___. He said, “I’ll just keep you company while you’re sad.” Minutes later, the two boys were playing happily.
__ it now, Mark felt calmer. For a few minutes, he kept quiet. Then he said, “This must be really hard.”
Ivan finally ___ his eyes from the screen. He looked at Mark and nodded. “Yeah. It is.” The friends sat in ___for a while. Then Ivan took a deep breath, wiped his eyes and stood up. “Maybe we could shoot some hoops( 投 篮 ),” he suggested. “I’ll probably feel __ when I beat you.” He smiled a little.
Mark stood up, too. “You mean when I beat you,” he said. Ivan laughed, and they headed outside. “Thanks,” said Ivan, nodding at Mark. “ ___. Thanks, Mark.”
1.A.photos B.results C.songs D.films
2.A.book B.piano C.television D.computer
3.A.team B.match C.name D.plan
4.A.respond B.care C.agree D.listen
5.A.excited B.confused C.frightened D.amused
6.A.preparing B.asking C.searching D.waiting
7.A.fair B.funny C.direct D.popular
8.A.lesson B.chance C.example D.job
9.A.nodded B.shook C.turned D.raised
10.A.silent B.tired C.thankful D.pleased
11.A.blamed B.warned C.comforted D.promised
12.A.cheer B.keep C.wake D.lift
13.A.ran B.moved C.crowded D.jumped
14.A.talk B.shout C.play D.smile
15.A.changed B.understood C.hesitated D.remained
16.A.Evaluating B.Remembering C.Treasuring D.Managing
17.A.turned B.opened C.fixed D.widened
18.A.peace B.silence C.surprise D.satisfaction
19.A.safer B.weaker C.lonelier D.better
20.A.Seriously B.Honestly C.Hopefully D.Naturally
