You use her as a shoulder to cry on. She texts you back with casual jokes. But she, Xiaoice, is only a virtual chatbot（虚拟聊天机器人）.

    Xiaoice, Microsoft's latest artificial intelligence robot, was briefly released in 2014, and returned to WeChat in 2015, where she became a big hit. Millions of young Chinese now exchange messages with her daily, The New York Times reported. On WeChat, Xiaoice is an official account. After following it, users can start text-based conversations with Xiaoice.

    “Her incredible learning ability was why people loved to talk with Xiaoice,” Liu Jinchang, a researcher at High-tech Research and Development Center under the Ministry of Science and Technology, told China Daily. Apart from her ability to identify photos and send emojis（表情符号） in conversations, Xiaoice gains 45 percent of her knowledge from interacting with users, China Daily reported.

    Chatbot programs first appeared in the mid-1960s in the US. Driven by top tech companies, they are becoming smarter and more common. For instance, IBM's latest artificial intelligence program served as an academic consultant at Australia's Deakin University, answering students' questions about course schedules and financial aid. Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa have been used as voice assistants who can read news, play music and even make jokes for their users.

    These programs are expected to move beyond smartphones, into televisions, cars and living rooms, The New York Times pointed out. However, it may take decades before scientists develop a “Samantha”, the advanced chatbot seen in the fiction film Her. In the film, Samantha has a romantic relationship with her user played by US actor Joaquin Phoenix. Many viewers were enthusiastic about this fantasy of virtual soul mates.

    Tears ran down from my eyes as I saw the essay my high school English teacher had just handed back. A big F was written on top. I was hopeless. I was stupid !My face burned with shame when my classmates called me stupid.

    “I'm the only one who doesn't know my ABCs!” I sobbed to Mom.

    “I'll help,” she promised.

    Everyday I sat with her, but to me, cat looked like cta and red was reb. Frustrated, I would return to my bedroom and draw, filling the paper with houses, restaurants and offices.

    “When I grow up, I want my own store,” I told Mom , pointing to my drawings.

    “That's great!” she said, “ but first you have to learn to read.”

Later, I was diagnosed with dyslexia (失读症). So Mom took me to a learning centre, where I was given reading exercises. But I still had a hard time. Finally, I graduated, but I was afraid of my reading skills.

    “I'll never get a job !”  I cried to Mom later again.

    “Don't focus on what you can't do,” she comforted, “ Concentrate on what you really can.”

    But what can I do? I wondered. Suddenly, I thought of the drawings I'd made as a child and my dream of having my own store. I enjoyed sales so much that over the next few years, I tried my hand at other businesses. Today, I watch over seven branches. We have 187 employees and $15 million in sales.

    While I'll never be what my teachers might have wanted, I am a success--on my own terms. The other day a student sent me a card, reading: You gave me so much confidence. I hope to be like you when I am big. Tears of joy filled my eyes. This was my A, and I smiled.

    John George, 60, remembers that he lived a wonderful life in the Detroit neighborhood where he grew up. "We knew all our neighbors." George told Detroit's Metro Times. "On Christmas Eve, we'd all go to midnight Mass, and there'd be 300 people in our house at one o'clock to about five in the morning. The folks were just really good, hardworking people."

    By the'80s, however, the old neighborhood changed. Due in part to economic downturns and drug abuse, well -kept homes had been abandoned and kindly neighbors had fled to the suburbs(郊区). But not George. "Living in any city, it's like being in a relationship," he told Reader's Digest. "Some days are better than others. But it was my home. And when I saw it becoming worse, I had two choices: I could leave, or I could stay and fight. I chose the latter."

    When the abandoned home behind his turned into a worn-out place, the father of two grabbed some boards and nails and began boarding up the house. After two neighbors stopped to ask what he was doing, they decided to help, with great results.

    That's how it all got started. In the 30 years since that first home rescue, an army of approximately 182,000 volunteers, along with private donors, has helped George pull down around 300 abandoned homes, mainly in die poorer Northwest area of Detroit. They've also secured 400 - some homes by boarding them up. They've painted and repaired nearly 900 homes and built over 100 from scratch. According to Forbes, more than 1,000 Detroiters have been housed as a result of their work.

    And there's Halloween. In Detroit, October 30 was known as Devil's Night, a period when all hell break loose in the form of crime and vandalism (破坏公物). In response, George created a citizens' patrol(巡逻)that would take to the streets, keeping an eye on illegal behavior. He named it Angels' Night What began with 12 neighbors on patrol in 1990 has grown to more than 60,000 citywide.

    George's inspired ideas have not gone unnoticed by the city he loves. Others are buying into it. There's a trend of younger homeowners coming in.

    The weather symbol shown for each day in the five day forecast represents the main weather expected on the day in question. The maximum temperature is the highest temperature forecast between dawn and dusk, whereas the minimum temperature is the lowest temperature expected from dusk on the day to dawn the following day. The wind speed and direction are the expected conditions at midday.

    People with an impulsive(冲动的) personality refer to those who tend to do things without considering the possible dangers or problems first. According to a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia, such people may be more likely to have food addiction. The study found that people exhibiting impulsive behavior weren't necessarily overweight, but impulsiveness was related to a direct relationship with food, and therefore, less healthy weight.

    Food addiction has been compared to addictive drug use. Studies have linked the dopamine (多巴胺) release that occurs after tasting delicious food to the dopamine release that happens when people consume other addictive substances.

    Impulsive behavior involves several personality traits (特点). Two of these traits, known as negative urgency and lack of perseverance, were particularly associated with food addiction and high BMI (身体质量指数) during the study.

    Negative urgency is characterized by the tendency to behave impulsively when experiencing negative emotions. Some people might drink alcohol or take drugs. For others, it could mean eating to feel better. Lack of perseverance is when a person has a hard time finishing hard or boring tasks. People with a lack of perseverance might have difficulty attempting to change addictive eating behavior, which could also cause obesity.

    "Impulsiveness might be one reason why some people eat in an addictive way despite motivation to lose weight," said Dr. Ashley Gearhardt, a clinical psychologist. He was involved in developing the Yale Food Addiction Scale in aid of those people. "We are theorizing that if food addiction is really a thing, then our measure, the Yale Food Addiction Scale, should be related to helping control impulsive action," said Gearhardt.

    Clinical psychologist Dr. James MacKillop, whose lab was conducting the study, believes that therapies(治疗，疗法)used to treat addictive drug behavior could help people who suffer from addictive eating habits.

    "Most of the programs for weight loss at this point focus on the most obvious things, which are clearly diet and exercise," MacKillop said. "It seems that managing strong desires to eat would naturally fit in with the skills a person would need to eat healthily."

    At a comedy night at Johns Hopkins Univerity in Maryland, members of the school's comedy(喜剧) club bring lots of laughter to their classmates with funny speeches and humorous body movements. These college student comedian's humour entertains busy, young people and eases their stress.

    Yet the club member Arella Shua says comedy is serious work. Every comedy starts as an individual project-- each member writes their own material. Then they try it out in weekly club meetings where all club members read the material, going joke by joke and seeing what works and what doesnt. Nothing unsatisfactory will be compromised(妥协). In this way comes a satisfying comedy.

    Ariella joined the club last year. Now she does not go anywhere without bringing something on which she can take notes. "Whenever I just have a thought in my head or when I see something or overhear someone saying something in the library, I just put it down, "Arielae explained. "when I'm trying to write my own set, I go through that……to see if there is anything in there that I can use."

    Club president Nicholas Scandura finds writng one of the many skills he has developed since joining the club."Writing jokes takes a lot of critical thinking." he said. The club gives its members a sense of community. When they meet, they share funny experiences. tell jokes and laugh.

    Harry Kuperstein discovered the club was a natural fit. Noticing the funny qualities of different situations improved his way of looking at the world. Becoming an active member also helped him work on the future skills he'll need as a medical doctor. "Having jokes ready to go might help smooth these interactions and make you a better public speaker, " he said.