Students taking Georgia Tech's online Knowledge-Based Artificial Intelligence course received some surprising news. Jill Watson one of the nine teaching assistants(TAs) that had helped them finish the challenging course for the past five months was not a ‘‘she'' but an “it”—an intelligent robot!

    Watson is the brainchild of Ashok Goel, who teaches the popular online course. The Professor-of Computer and Cognitive Science in the School of Interactive Computing came up with the idea as a way to deal with a number of questions posed by students in the online forums(论坛). According to Goel, every time the course is offered, the 300 or so students that enroll post over 10,000 questions which are often repetitive. This led Goel to wonder if a smart robot would handle the questions which require standard responses.

    Having worked' with IBM's Watson technology platform in the, the professor knew it would be ideal for his artificial TA: Jill Watson. The artificial intelligence system that uses natural language processing and machine learning to analyze large amounts of data has even been cleverer than human competitors on the television show. It would therefore easily be able to handle routine questions that required little “thinking”.

    The professor and his team of graduate students began by populating Jill's memory with 40,000 questions and answers from past terms. Then came the testing stage. At first, Jill was not very good and often gave strange answers. It often got stuck on certain keywords. By the end of the semester, Jill had attained enough knowledge and skills to participate in forums without any management from Goel, or the other assistants.

    Gorillas(大猩猩) are on the edge of extinction. They are calling on YOU to donate your phone today!

    You can now help save gorillas in Africa simply by donating your mobile phone! Coltan is a metallic ore(金属矿石) that is mined both in and out of Africa and can be found within many electronic devices such as mobile phones. The mining of coltan within the Congo River Basin is contributing to forest loss there, and is speeding up the loss of mountain gorillas at a shockingly fast rate. While efforts are being made to deal with this issue, the mining of coltan within gorilla habitat continues. It is very difficult to know which phones contain coltan mined from Africa; however, every phone can help save gorillas when donated to They're Calling on You.

    By donating your phone through the They're Calling You mobile phone recycling program you are:

    Preventing your phone from going to the landfill.

    Helping Melbourne Zoo raise money to support the Jane Good all Institutes monkey conservation work in Africa through the sale of refurbished(翻新)phones.

    Lessening the demand for coltan mining.

    To support the They're Calling You mobile phone recycling program you can:

    ⒈Visit Melbourne Zoo to collect a postage paid recycling bag, and post your mobile phone to the Aussie Recycling Program. Your phone will be resold to poor community groups.

    ⒉Register your support simply by emailing the registration form to zvfoundation@zoo.org.au or fax it to (03)9285-9377.

    Schools can get involved too! Please contact Kate McCabe at Melbourne Zoo by email or phone(03)9285-9471 Discuss adding this program to your course while inspiring students to take action for wildlife.

    For further information please contact: Rachel Lowry

    Ph:(03)9285-9377

    Mob: 0488-504-490

    Fax:(03)9285-9340

    Next time your mobile rings, let that be a reminder that “they're calling on you”!

    An Israeli law banning too skinny models went into effect with the start of 2013. The law, approved last March in Israel, requires models to prove they have maintained a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 18.5 for three months before a fashion show. That means a woman who is 68 inches tall can weigh no less than 119 pounds.

    "This law is another step in the war against eating disorders," said physician Adatto. "Underweight models," he explained, "can no longer serve as role models for innocent young people who copy their false image of being skinny."

    But some critics in this country say it is misguided, focusing on weight instead of health. They also say the Israeli ban is bound to fail because of the strong power of the fashion industry. "I think it's an approach that isn't going to work." said eating disorder expert Susan Ice, who worked with an organization which creates a healthy working environment for models.

    But Adatto told the reporter that he began to concern the issue after meeting an ambitious model who looked like she needed to be hospitalized. He said. "I realized that only legislation(立法) can change the situation. There was no time to waste; so many girls were dieting to death."

    However, the efforts to regulate models' weight in Spain and Italy have not resulted in significant changes in part because of difficulties in determining reliable methods of measuring weight and health.

    Still, folks including Ice say there's no denying that images from Hollywood and the fashion industry can be difficult for young women to deal with. "Certainly I don't believe the modeling industry has caused the rise in eating disorders, but it makes it harder," she says. "It's a difficult recovery environment, worshiping thinness as the beauty ideal."

    When she moved the covering cloth to look upon his tiny face, she was shocked. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.

    Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be full of heart- breaks for his imperfect appearance.

    He grew up, handsome for his misfortune and popular with his fellow students. He might have been class monitor, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music.

    Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, "You're going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it's a secret." The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person turned up. His talents blossomed into genius, and his school and college became a series of success. Later he married and entered the diplomatic service.

    One day ,he urged his father, "Who gave so much for me？I must know! I could never do enough for him." "I do not believe you could, " said the father, "but the agreement was that you are not to know... not yet."

The years kept their secret, but the day did come— one of the darkest days that a son must endure. He stood with his father over his mother's casket (棺材). Slowly, tenderly, the father reached out a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to show that the mother had no outer ears.

    "Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut, " he whispered gently, "and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they？"

    Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance, but in the heart. Real treasure lies not in what can be seen, but in what cannot be seen. Real love lies not in what is done and known, but in what is done and not known.

    Many people criticize today's newspapers as sensationalist, satisfying the public's abnormal curiosity. But journalism a century ago was just as notorious (臭名昭著). Publishers at that time routinely competed with each other for wild stories that could draw in the most readers. Meanwhile, it was an ideal atmosphere for a courageous reporter like Nellie Bly to spring into fame.

    Bly, whose name was Elizabeth Corcoran, had to work to make her way in the world. Different from many women of the time, however, she refused to let the working world scare her away. Her first big opportunity as a reporter came in 1885 after she wrote an angry letter denouncing the Pittsburgh Dispatch for an article it had run criticizing women forced to work outside the home. The interested and excited editor hired Bly for her "spirit," and soon she was investigating the situations of female factory workers. Bly cared less about their jobs than their lives after work  - their amusements, their motivations, their fears and ambitions. She produced an article totally different from what other reporters of the time were writing: personal, thoughtful, meaningful.

    By 1887 Bly had a job with the New York World, one of the leader papers of the day. She quickly became famous for undercover stories about women in a mental hospital. Soon she had investigated life as a maid, a chorus girl, and even a street girl. In her best - known brave deeds, in 1890, Bly beat the famous "around the world in 80 days" trip Jules Verne had described in his novel. Traveling by steamship, train, even ricksha, Bly reported from each stop. A spellbound nation hung on every word. Only 25, Bly had become internationally famous.

    Our tolerating ability is indeed way beyond our imagination. But not until the very critical moment will we realize our potential tolerating ability.

    There was a woman in the countryside who got married at the age of 18 and had to escape with her two daughters and a son wherever she could at the age of 26 due to the Japanese army's invasion, Many people could not bear the suffering of being a fugitive (逃亡者)and wanted to commit suicide. Knowing that, she would come to those people and soothed them by saying, "Don't do that silly thing. There are no such setbacks that we could not overcome. The Japanese armies are bound to be driven away one day!”

    Finally, she insisted until the day when all the Japanese armies were kicked out of China. However, her son died of disease without sufficient medicine and nutrition in those days of hardships. Her husband, after knowing the death of his son, lay in bed for two days without eating and drinking anything. She teared to her husband and said, "We have a tough destiny, but however tough our lives will be, we should persist in our efforts."

    After she gave birth to the second son, her husband died of edema (水肿), which almost, blew her away. But eventually, she recovered and embraced the three young children, saying, "My sweet hearts, don, feel scared. You still have me, your dear mum!”

    It took her painstaking efforts to raise her children up and, the life of her family was getting better and better. Two daughters were married and so was her son finally. She said to everyone she met," Look! What I said is absolutely right. There are no such setbacks that we could not overcome! My life is so happy now!”

    She lived until 86. Before she went to Heaven, she said to her children, You all should live to your best. There are no such setbacks that we could not overcome!”