Levison Wood is at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital (SBAH) where, in 2018, the Office of Health Standards awarded the institution the highest honor for its quality of patient care and access to health care professionals. As part of the University of Pretoria, SBAH is a center for world-class surgeons and researchers — and where Levison meets Professor Mashudu Tshifularo.

    Professor Tshifularo who has performed the world's first middle ear transplant(移植) using 3D printed bones tells Levison : "This was not an overnight breakthrough — it's the result of 10 years' investing in research and state-of-the-art health-tech. Investment in 3D printing has massive potential — we have made history here in South Africa — and it is set to continue."

    According to McKinsey & Company, the estimated(估计的) economic impact of 3D printing is $ 100—250 billion by 2025, if today's rate of adoption continues. With the most potential in aerospace(航空航天), auto, consumer goods and health care, the technologies are making a global impact. MedTech Drive says that 3D printing will be a central part of all major health care businesses within five to ten years.

    Professor Tshifularo and his team have 3D printed inner ear bones. The procedure presents significantly fewer risks than traditional surgery and is announced as an answer to conductive hearing loss. And it's not the professor's only world-first.

    "What I am doing here, nobody else is doing," Professor Tshifularo continues. "In 2008, I performed the world's first bloodless endoscope-assisted tonsillectomy(扁桃体切除手术). My team includes experts from all disciplines —including jewelry fields. The international medical community certainly will benefit from this knowledge-sharing and creation in their own country. My research into further innovation is exciting. "

    Scientists say they have developed a system that uses machine learning to predict when and where lightning will strike. Researchers report the system is able to predict lightning strikes up to 30 minutes before they happen within a 30-kilometer area.

    Lightning is a strong burst of electricity in the atmosphere. Since it carries an extremely powerful electrical charge, it can be destructive and deadly. European researchers have estimated that between 6,000 and 24,000 people are killed by lightning worldwide each year. For this reason, climate scientists have long sought to develop methods to predict 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 and wind speed, was placed into a unique machine learning algorithm (算法), which compared it to records of lightning strikes. Researchers say the algorithm was then able to learn the conditions under which lightning happens.

    The researchers test-ran the system several times. They found that the system made predictions that proved correct almost 80 percent of the time. "It can now be used anywhere," the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology said in a statement.

    The researchers plan to keep developing the technology in partnership with a European effort that aims to create a lightning protection program. The effort is called the European Laser Lightning Rod project. Scientists working on the project are experimenting with a laser technology that could someday control lightning activity, transferring lightning charges from clouds to the ground. They hope that such technology can one day be used as protection against lightning strikes. Possible uses could be at stations, airports or places where large crowds gather.

    Created in 1998 by Casey and Shelley Black, the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Center focuses on not only rescuing young abandoned wolves but educating the public. Unlike other centers, you can actually walk with the wolves and have exciting, hands-on interaction with them here. And so, we gathered one late winter morning to learn, prepare and walk.

    Scrappy and Flora, our wolves that day, were brought to the center when only a few days old. "They lived in the house with us for the first several months. We treated them like human babies, fed them and slept with them," said Shelley. So, they are totally used to people. However, these are wild animals. For that reason, Shelley and Casey explained, the walk is totally on the wolf's terms. "We don't approach them, but if they come up to us, we can touch them."

    With all this in mind, we headed for the woods. We were walking on a logging road when suddenly, Flora, all 60 pounds of her, hurried up to me and raised up on her legs. She was almost as tall as me. As she leaned in, put her huge muddy paws on my shoulders and sniffed my face, apparently she was saying hello in wolf talk.

    We walked farther, maybe half a mile, while Scrappy and Flora dashed in and out of the woods stopping to occasionally roll in the snow, dig for this or that and just play. Then we all headed into the trees to a picturesque stream where the wolves splashed, drank and had a great time.

    One could point out that this whole adventure was staged and quite artificial. But the purpose, Casey and Shelley said, is to explain the wolves' place in the environment and, primarily, to let people know wolves don' t have to be universally feared—they really don' t hide secretly in the woods just waiting to eat people, but they' d rather avoid people, for the most part.

    As Internet users become more dependent on the Internet to store information, are people remember less? If you know your computer will save information, why store it in your own personal memory, your brain? Experts are wondering if the Internet is changing what we remember and how.

    In a recent study, Professor Betsy Sparrow conducted some experiments. She and her research team wanted to know the Internet is changing memory. In the first experiment, they gave people 40 unimportant facts to type into a computer. The first group of people understood that the computer would save the information. The second group understood that the computer would not save it. Later, the second group remembered the information better. People in the first group knew they could find the information again, so they did not try to remember it.

    In another experiment, the researchers gave people facts to remember, and told them where to find the information on the Internet. The information was in a specific computer folder(文件夹). Surprisingly, people later remember the folder location better than the facts. When people use the Internet, they do not remember the information. Rather, they remember how to find it. This is called "transactive memory (交互记忆)".

    According to Sparrow, we are not becoming people with poor memories as a result of the Internet. Instead, computer users are developing stronger transactive memories; that is, people are learning how to organize huge quantities of information so that they are able to access it at a later date. This doesn't mean we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but there is no doubt that the way we use memory is changing.

    Is Society Too Dependent On Technology?

    Just think, what would happen if your computer, iPad or laptop crashed today? What if someone took away your phone for some days or perhaps you lost it? Today, most people are becoming dependent on technology.

    Most of us cannot go for a minute without looking at our phones and the fear of the battery dying is immense. If you happen to work in offices you may be familiar with this trend. Anyway, it's true. How can work continue if it's hard to send an email to a colleague or customer? This is common in almost all offices.

    Kids used to spend a lot of time with each other or parents playing or just sharing stories. Those evening games after school are over; watching cartoons on a Sunday or playing with friends are no longer there. Technology has taken all their time.

    Society may have gone too far in technology dependence. It has become so immense that doctors have recommended for "technology detox". If not, according to Oxford Dictionary, Technology Detox is a period during which an individual avoids using any electronic devices including computers, smart phones, etc., as a chance to reduce stress and focus on social interaction in the outside world.

    Well, the choice remains in our hands. We must agree that society is being carried away by the increased inventions being introduced in our lives today. Meanwhile, we should have the discipline to turn it off when we are supposed to experience life in reality.

A. Perhaps you may have heard of it.

B. We appreciate technology since it has its benefits.

C. If the Internet is down, all the tasks are over for the day.

D. Technology addiction has become a major problem among teenagers.

E. If thinking about these incidences makes you stressed, you are not alone.

F. Here are some signs that our generation depends too much on technology.

G. Today, most kids remain indoors playing computer games or with a smart phone.

    Today I'm a member of the UN Global Education First Initiative Youth Advocacy Group. It all 1 when I was in secondary school. I joined a UNESCO club, a(n) 2 that brings students together to discuss school matters and the pressing things 3 them.

    After secondary school, I volunteered with non-governmental organizations. It was then that I began to 4 a lot about community development. I participated in projects as to peace and environment. 5 the development of my community was a great pleasure for me.

    I met many 6 as some people took volunteer work lightly. They felt it 7 time, or thought working without a salary was 8. Even some friends and relatives tried to persuade me to 9 volunteering. All of these got me to feel very 10 at some point, but I could not give up 11 it was an extremely worthwhile cause. I decided not to pay attention to their 12 but to concentrate on my work. One day, a group of young people came to me and said they were all 13 for the changes I had brought into their lives 14 peer(同龄人)education. I was so happy and realized when 15 our own judgment, we could create influences.

    There are three 16 that permitted me to achieve much by volunteering: enthusiasm, determination and patience. I 17 give such a warning to my peers — we cannot 18 in life overnight. We have to work hard to enjoy the 19 of our labor. Volunteering allows you not only to offer your 20, but to discover new things and improve your skills. 

    It is back to school time in much of the world. Calm, easy mornings (replace) with busy, hurried ones. Children wake up early and get ready for school. Many parents are also getting ready for work, (help) their children and preparing food for lunches. But, don't forget about breakfast!

    When things get (wild) busy in the morning, some people skip breakfast to save time. But that may be a big mistake for students. at home, on the way to school or at school, eating something healthy for breakfast may help a student get better grades. That is the finding of a 2015 study Cardiff University in Wales. Researchers there found the students who ate a healthy breakfast were twice as likely (perform) above average in educational activities. The researchers also found unhealthy breakfasts-such as potato chips or a donut did not appear helpful to educational performance.

    In 2013, organization in the United States, also looked at possible (connect) between breakfast and student success in school. The Share Our Strength's campaign, No Kid Hungry, (find) on average students who ate breakfast attended 1.5 more days of school per year. These students also scored 17.5 percent (high) on standardized math tests.

    Every year, people around the world purchase roughly 526 billion bottles, and that number is on  increase. More than 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans every day. Much of other plastic (throw) in landfills or rivers also has bad effects on wildlife. Many people are now trying  (cut) down on plastic use, while also turning these single-use plastics into something  (benefit) — like auto parts.

    The Ford Motor Company has used recycled plastic since the 1990s. Today, it (transform) recycled plastic into vehicle parts in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, (specific) underbody shields (车底护板)on all cars.

    "The underbody shield is a large part.  is likely for such a big part to weigh three times as much if we use solid plastic," says Thomas Sweder, design engineer of the Company. "We're looking for the most durable and  (green) materials to make our parts."

    Finding new and innovative ways to recycle single-use plastics is essential for our planet. With one of the largest  (company) committed to working with recycled plastics, there's hope  others will follow suit.

要点如下:

1）解释诗句的意思；

2）表达对诗句所传递的情感和意义的理解；

3）表达战胜疫情的信心。

注意：

1）词数100左右；

2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

3）开头语和结束语已为你写好。

参考词汇: 疫情 the epidemic

Dear Jack,

    Pleased to interpret for you the Chinese poem lines printed on the donations against COVID-19 from Japan.

    Hopefully, you can understand and appreciate the heartwarming poem.

    Wish you all the best.

Yours,

Li Hua