China's largest search engine Baidu has said it will make its latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology accessible to developers and businesses as part of the company's latest move into AI, big data and cloud computing.

    AI solution "Tianzhi" was launched at a cloud-computing summit held in Beijing Wednesday. It includes services in three fields: sensing technology, such as image and voice processing, machine learning, and deep learning, an advanced form of machine learning, said Zhang Yaqin, CEO of the Nasdaq-listed company, at the summit.

    Developers can access facial or voice recognition, algorithms(演算法) for data analysis and projections, and deep learning applications, Zhang said, adding that the technology could help users innovate in their sectors.

    "With more devices connected to the cloud, enterprises will use cloud computing and AI more frequently," said Wu Hequan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, "Open AI technology can play a bigger role."

    The company also revealed a plan to invest 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) in cloud computing in the next five years and establish an innovation center, which will serve 10 million enterprises.

    He's an old cobbler（修鞋匠）with a shop in the Marais,a historic area in Paris.When I took him my shoes,he at first told me: “I haven't time.Take them to the other fellow on the main street ; he'll fix them for you right away.”

    But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time.Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather,I knew he was a skilled craftsman（手艺人）.“No,” I replied,“the other fellow can't do it well.”

     “The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait”-without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys.They work carelessly,and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap（鞋带）you might as well just throw away the pair.

    The man saw I wouldn't give in,and he smiled.He wiped his hands on his blue apron（围裙）,looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said,“Come back in a week.”

    I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.

     “See what I can do?” he said with pride.“Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work…”

    When I got back out into the street,the world seemed brand-new to me.He was something out of an ancient legend,this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly,his very strange,dusty felt hat,his funny accent from who-knows-where and,above all,his pride in his craft.

    There are times when nothing is important but the bottom line,when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”,when,in short,people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption（消费）rather than a way to realize their own abilities.In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.

    Nowadays airfare isn't getting any cheaper with fuel costs rising every day. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to find the most affordable fares and also avoid paying as many extra charges as possible when you plan ahead.

    Technology offers conveniences such as opening the garage door from your car or changing the television station without touching the TV.

    Now one American company is offering its employees a new convenience: a microchip implanted in their hands. Employees who have these chips can do all kinds of things just by waving their hands. Three Square Market is offering to implant microchips in all of their employees for free. Each chip costs $300 and Three Square Market will pay for the chip. Employees can volunteer to have the chips implanted in their hands. About 50 out of 80 employees have chosen to do so. The president of the company, his wife and their children are also getting chips implanted in their hands.

    The chip is about the size of a grain of rice. Implanting the chip only takes about a second and is said to hurt only very briefly. The chips go under the skin between the thumb and forefinger. With a chip in the hand, a person can enter the office building, buy food, sign into computers and more, simply by waving that hand near a scanner. The chips will be also used to identify employees. Employees who want convenience, but do not want to have a microchip implanted under their skin, can wear a wristband or a ring with a chip instead. They can perform the same tasks with a wave of their hands as if they had an implanted chip.

    Three Square Market is the first company in the United States to offer to implant chips in its employees. Epicenter, a company in Sweden, has been implanting chips in its employees for a while.

    Three Square Market says the chip cannot track the employees. The company says scanners can read the chips only when they are within a few inches of them. “The chips protect against identity theft, similar to credit cards.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the chips back in 2004, so they should be safe for humans, according to the company.

    In the future, people with the chips may be able to do more with them, even outside the office. Todd Westby is Chief Executive Officer of Three Square Market. He says, “Eventually, this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities, etc.”

    Reading makes you a smarter, better leader. But if you've been following the latest science, you'll also know that studies have shown regularly picking up a book might increase your empathy (共鸣) and protect you from feeling lonely, hopeless or suffering from dementia (痴呆) in later life. But obviously, that's not the end of the list. New research has discovered yet another benefit of being a reader who focuses one's mind on reading.

    After following those surveyed based on more than 3,500 adults over age 50 for 12 years, the team from Yale University behind the research found that those who read books for 3.5 hours a week were 23 percent less likely to die. Reading for less than 3.5 hours a week lowered participants' (参加者) risk of death by 17 percent. Put another way, picking up an interesting book could earn you about an extra two years.

    It's worth noticing that the researchers were looking exactly at time spent in reading books, rather than newspapers, magazines, or online media, and that this difference is important for the observed advantages of reading. “We found that reading books provided a greater advantage than reading newspapers or magazines,” said Avni Bavishi of the Yale School of Public Health. “This effect is likely because books attract the readers' mind more — providing more cognitive (认知的) advantages, and therefore increasing the lifespan (寿命). In short, deep slow reading rather than reading quickly and carelessly is best.”

    So how long should you be reading for, and what sort of titles should you pick up? While more reading seems to be better, the researchers suggest that anything more than

    30 minutes a day will be likely to do good to you. As for what exactly to read, the researchers can't yet offer much advice beyond making time for actual books, though they pointed out this was a promising way to future research.

    Scotland has long been characterized as a land of romance. It contains ruins of many ancient castles and abbeys，and there is an attractive beauty in its mountains，long deep valleys，and ribbon lakes. Each year those things attract a great number of tourists.

    Numerous islands line the coast. In the north are two large groups，the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands. Close to the west coast are the Inner and Outer Hebrides groups，and the islands of Arran and Bute.

    The land may be divided into three regions: the Highlands in the north，the Central Lowlands and the Southern Uplands.

    The Highlands are wild and picturesque(如画的). A long valley called Glenmore crosses the Highlands from southwest to northeast.

    In the south of the Highlands are the Grampian Mountains，highest in the British Isles. Ben Nevis，the highest peak，rises to 1，243 meters. Ben Lomond rises from the shore of Loch Lomond，Scotland's largest freshwater lake.

    The Central Lowlands run from southwest to northeast and the greatest length is nearly 145 kilometers. The soil here is fertile，and there are four coalfields underlying the area. In the east is Edinburgh，Scotland's historic capital city，and in the west is Glasgow. Almost 90 percent of Scotland's population live in the Lowlands.

    In the Southern Uplands，the hills are generally less than 600 meters high. Their rounded or flat tops are often capped with dark peat(泥炭). Along the slopes are plants like grass and heather(石南花).