Imagine a perfect day: the weather is good and everything seems fine. When, suddenly, your mobile phone loses its signal, the television has no programs, and you can't get online with your computer.

    What has happened? These are just the types of problems a solar storm（太阳风暴）might cause. You may not think of storms as putting our society in danger. But today, a solar storm is as serious as other bad events, such as earthquakes.

    A solar storm is caused by solar flares（太阳耀斑）: large explosions（爆炸）near the sun that can give off lots of energy. The strong energy can stop the satellite systems（卫星系统）that control our computers, telecom networks and so on. These storms can even cause the power to go out for weeks or months.

    In the past few months, scientists have recorded some of the strongest sun flares in years. The most recent one happened around Valentine's Day, 2011. It caused radio and satellite signals to go down in some northern cities in China.

    “Solar flare activity is going to be much worse than what we've seen in the past. We're not talking about a few cities losing power, it could be half of the country, maybe more.” SolarStormWarning.com, a US website about space weather, warned.

    Scientists say that little can be done to predict such a storm. Governments around the world are trying to work together before the next storm, although they are not sure when that may happen.

    We all cry for water when we are thirsty. But do you know, in very hot, dry weather, plants also make very low sounds as if they are crying for help?

    You see, in a plant's stem there are several hundred "water pipes" that bring water from soil all the way up to the leaves. When the ground turns dry, it becomes harder and harder for plants to do this.

    On very hot days, plants have to get any water that they can get.

    Scientist Robot Winter has found out that when plants can get no water, their "water pipes" snap(发出声音). When that happens, the whole plant vibrates(振动) a little.

    Robot knows that healthy, well-watered plants are quiet.  He also knows that dry plants are many insects' "favourite" and they often attack(袭击) them. How do the insects know which are healthy plants and which are not? Robot thinks that the insects may hear the plants "crying" and they may come to kill them.

    Artificial intelligence(AI)(人工智能)is the ability of a computer program or a machine. The computer or the machine with AI can think and learn. It is also a field of study that tries to make computers "smart". John McCarthy, a scientist, came up with(提出)the name "artificial intelligence" over 60 years ago. Many things such as learning and problem solving can be done by computers, though not in the same way as people do.

    An unusual goal of AI research is to create computer programs. They can learn, solve problems, and think logically(逻辑地). At present, Al can successfully understanding human speech, recognizie (识别)human faces, operate self-driving cars and compete in some game systems like playing Chess. However, Some people also consider(认为）AI a danger to humans if it develops too quickly. A famous British scientist also was not for this kind of technology.

    Math is the basic language of AI. If students are good at math, they will be more likely to become successful AI designers(设计者)in the future. We need not only bright students, but also average(普通的)students. As for(对于)average students ，if they get enough math skills, they can also become successful AI designers. Besides, a good knowledge of computer science is also necessary for AI designing.

    Scientists hope to create creative(有创造力)and emotional (有感情的)AI. The AI can possibly understand human feelings or create art. Many ways and tools have been tried to discover this wide and exciting field.

    Bruce collected the papers Clive collected the cans

    And Mort tied them with string And Dean washed them all clean

    Jason helped Bruce carry the papers Ruby helped Clive carry the cans

    All the way to the recycling(回收) bins All the way to the recycling bins

    When we recycle, we help the plants

    We help the creatures, from eagles to ants

    We help make the world a healthier place

    For one and for all in the human(人类) race

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