The Amazing Penguin Rescue

    The summer of 2016, the ship MV Treasure sunk, creating an oil spill. Thirteen hundred tons of fuel oil were flowing right in the middle of the African Penguins' habitat. Soon the oil covered about 20,000 penguins. Without swift help, the seabirds would have no chance for survival. Volunteers were showing up by the thousands and I also took part in what was the largest animal rescue operation ever.

    A warehouse was turned into a rescue center near the habitat and hundreds of pools were built to hold about 100 oiled birds each. When walking into the center, I couldn't believe my ears. I had expected to walk into a chorus of honking and squawking(叫声). Instead, the center sounded like a library. The penguins were dead silent. My heart ached for the painful birds. Cleaning them all seemed like an impossible task. But we had to carry on like doctors in an emergency room. There was no time for doubt. Cleaning oil off a penguin wasn't easy. Even with more than 12,500 volunteers, it took a month to bathe all 20,000 birds at the center.

    While volunteers were busy bathing the oiled penguins, another crisis (危机) was developing. Oil from the spill had started moving north. Tens of thousands of penguins were in the oil's path. But we already had our hands full with 20,000 recovering birds. If any more birds were oiled, we wouldn't have enough resources to save them.

    One researcher came up with an idea: What if the penguins were temporarily moved out of harm's way? Experts decided to have a try. Volunteers rounded up the penguins and released them 500 miles away. The hope was that by the time the seabirds swam home, the oil would be gone. The plan worked! Another 20,000 penguins were saved.

    The entire penguin rescue took about three months. More than 90% of the oiled penguins were successfully returned to the wild. Looking back on the rescue, I am still amazed by the work of the volunteers. What I could hardly believe was that we accomplished an impossible task.

    A new argument has been put forward as to whether penguins are disturbed by the presence of tourists in Antarctica.

    Previous research by scientists from Keil University in Germany monitored Adelie penguins and noted that the birds' heart rates increased dramatically at the sight of a human as far as 30 meters away. But new research using an artificial egg, which is equipped to measure heart rates, disputes this. Scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge say that a slow moving human who does not approach the nest too closely, is not viewed as a threat by penguins.

    The earlier findings have been used to partly explain the 20 per cent drop in populations of certain types of penguins near tourist sites. However, tour operators have continued to insist that their activities do not adversely（不利地）affect wildlife in Antarctica, saying they encourage non-destructive behavior in tourists, and that the decline in penguin numbers is caused by other factors.

    Amanda Nimon of the Scott Polar Research Institute spent three southern hemisphere summers at Cuverville Island in Antarctica studying penguin behavior towards humans. “A nesting penguin will react very differently to a person rapidly and closely approaching the nest,” says Nimon. “First they exhibit large and prolonged heart rate changes and then they often flee the nest leaving it open for predators（掠夺者）to fly in and remove eggs or chicks.” The artificial egg, specially for the project, monitored both the parent who had been 'disturbed' when the egg was placed in the nest and the other parent as they both took it in turns to guard the nest.

    However, Boris Culik, who monitored the Adelie penguins, believes that Nimon's findings do not prove his own research invalid. He points out that species behave differently – and Nimon's work was with Gentoo penguins. Nimon and her colleagues believe that Culik's research was methodologically（方法论上）defective because the monitoring of penguins' responses needed catching the birds and fitting them with heart-rate transmitters（发射器）. Therefore, argues Nimon, it would not be surprising if they became stressed on seeing a human subsequently.

    Many leading AI researchers think that in a matter of decades, artificial intelligence will be able to do not merely some of our jobs, but all of our jobs, forever transforming life on Earth.

    The reason why many reject this as science fiction is that we've traditionally thought of intelligence as something mysterious that can only exist in biological organisms, especially humans. But such an idea is unscientific.

    From my point of view as a physicist and AI researcher, intelligence is simply a certain kind of information-processing performed by elementary particles(基本粒子) moving around, and there is no law of physics that says one can't build machines more intelligent than us in all ways. This suggests that we've only seen the tip of the intelligence iceberg and that there is an amazing potential to unlock the full intelligence that is potential in nature and use it to help humanity.

    If we get it right, the upside is huge. Since everything we love about civilization is the product of intelligence, amplifying(扩大) our own intelligence with AI has the potential to solve tomorrow's toughest problems. For example, why risk our loved ones dying in traffic accidents that self-driving cars could prevent or dying of cancers that AI might help us find cures for? Why not increase productivity through automation and use AI to accelerate our research and development of affordable sustainable(可持续的) energy?

    I'm optimistic that we can develop rapidly with advanced AI as long as we win the race between the growing power of our technology and the knowledge with which we manage it. But this requires giving up our outdated concept of learning from mistakes. That helped us win the race with less powerful technology: We messed up with fire and then invented fire extinguishers, and we messed up with cars and then invented seat belts. However, it's an awful idea for more powerful technologies, such as nuclear weapons or superintelligent AI—where even a single mistake is unacceptable and we need to get things right the first time.

In 2023, Chinese Dragon Boat Festival {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (fall) on June 22, a Thursday. It is known as the Duanwu Festival in China. 

 As the first {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (tradition) Chinese festival listed on the World's Intangible Cultural Heritages, it is one of the three most important lunar {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (festival) in China, along {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the Spring Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. To celebrate this festival, there {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (be) a three-day holiday in China since 2008.

 Dragon Boat Festival dates back to 2,000 years ago and there are many legends about this festival, among {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the most famous one is about commemorating Qu Yuan, a famous patriot poet during Warring States Period.

 Dragon boat racing is the main custom in the Dragon Boat Festival. Legend has it that in ancient times, when Qu Yuan drowned(淹死) {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (he) in the river, many fishermen rode their boats on the river, trying to find his body, but in vain. Some locals threw rice rolls, eggs and meat into the river to feed the creatures under the river, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (hope) they wouldn't eat the body of Qu Yuan. Years later people used leaves to roll the rice rolls and tightened them with colorful threads, which is known as Zongzi.

Now eating Zongzi has become {#blank#}9{#/blank#} important part of Dragon Boat Festival celebration. It is {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(believe) that the most outstanding versions of Zongzi can be found in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. Zongzi is not only popular in China, but it has also spread to Korea, Japan and other countries in Southeast Asia.

All students have bad times. What do they usually do when they get into trouble?

My mom is like my friend. I talk about everything to her. Whenever I have some trouble, I can get good advice from her. I have another good friend — my diary. It knows all my secrets. Talking with my two friends always makes me feel better. 

 —— Linda

Laughing helps me when I'm upset. I usually watch funny movies and TV shows. I also love spending my hard time with my best friend Dave. He is humorous and always makes me laugh. 

 —— Peter

Every time I feel bad, I go climbing alone. The study says exercising can help cheer one up (精神振奋). And the beautiful view at the top of the mountain makes me forget all my troubles. Sometimes I shout at the mountain top. It feels fantastic. 

 —— John