AlphaGo is a computer program that plays the board game Go.

    In March, 2016, the pride of humankind was crushed (粉碎) by a computer. Google's AlphaGo defeated the South Korean grandmaster (围棋大师) Lee Sedol four games to one, as the world looked on with shock and awe (敬畏). Artificial intelligence (AI, 人工智能) had suddenly reached a new and unexpected height.

    But as smart as AlphaGo is, it's no longer the best Go “player” in the world. Google's artificial intelligence group, DeepMind, has created the next generation of its Go-playing program, called AlphaGo Zero. The new AI program is unique in the way it learned to play Go. Instead of learning from thousands of human matches, as its predecessor (前任) did, AlphaGo Zero mastered Go in just two days without any human knowledge of the game and defeated AlphaGo by day three, reported The Guardian. It then went on to defeat AlphaGo 100 games to zero.

    To learn how to play Go, AlphaGo Zero played millions of matches against itself using only the basic rules of the game to rapidly create its own knowledge of it. Like the previous version, it used “reinforcement (增强) learning to become its own teacher,” according to DeepMind's website.

    “It's more powerful than previous approaches,” David Silver, AlphaGo's lead researcher, told The Guardian, “because by not using human data, or human expertise in any fashion, we've removed the constraints (约束) of human knowledge and it is able to create knowledge itself.”

    AlphaGo Zero's approach to self-learning is a significant advancement in AI that could be applied to help solve some of the world's biggest problems, according to a recent research report published in the journal Nature. For example, DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis argues that AlphaGo Zero could probably find cures for a number of serious diseases within weeks, according to The Telegraph. Indeed, the AI is now being used to study protein folding, which is connected to diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

    So now that AI has exceeded (超过) the bounds of human knowledge, perhaps the question is not about what AI can learn from humans, but what humans can learn from AI. We can only wait and see.

    A new research has discovered that meditation(冥想)and oxygen sport together reduce depression. The Rutgers University study found that this mind and body combination, done twice a week for only two months, reduced the symptoms of a group of students by 40 percent.

    “We are excited by the findings because we saw such a meaningful improvement in both clinically depressed and non-depressed students,” said lead author Dr. Brandon Alderman. “It is the first time that both of these two behavioral ways have been looked at together for dealing with depression.”

    Researchers believe the two activities have an interactive effect in combating depression. Alderman and Dr. Tracey Shors discovered that a combination of mental and physical training(MAP) enabled students with major depressive disorder not to let problems or negative thoughts defeat them.

    Rutgers researchers say those who participated in the study began with 30 minutes of focused attention meditation followed by 30 minutes of oxygen sport. They were told that if their thoughts drifted to the past or the future they should refocus on their breathing, which enabled those with depression to accept moment-to-moment changes in attention.

    Shors, who studies the production of new brain cells in the hippocampus—part of the brain involved in memory and learning—says scientists have shown in animal models that oxygen sport exercise keeps a large number of certain cells alive.

    The idea for the human intervention(干预)came from her laboratory studies, she says, with the main goal of helping individuals acquire new skills so that they can learn to recover from stressful life events.

    By learning to focus their attention and exercise, people who are fighting depression can acquire new learning skills that can help them process information and reduce the overwhelming recollection of memories from the past, Shors says.

    “We know these treatments can be practiced over a lifetime and that they will be affective in improving mental health,” said Alderman. “The good news is that this intervention can be practiced by anyone at any time and at no cost.”

    Australian electronics and homewares retailers are preparing for the invasion (涌入) of American giant Amazon, but some have decided to take the fight up to the online-based store when it comes to local shores.

    Last week, Amazon confirmed its rapid Australia expansion by announcing that it was searching for a site to build its “fulfillment center”—a large warehouse(仓库)for storing and shipping goods purchased online—but local retailer, including one of Harvey Norman's founders Gerry Harvey, have said they will make it hard for Amazon to succeed in Australia.

    Harvey Norman sells electronics, furniture and bedding—all markets in which Amazon hopes to hold a stake, but Harvey has said that he will happily go toe-to-toe with the American behemoth to hold his ground in the Australian market.

    “In America and other parts of the world, they have just demolished (彻底打败) other retailers, no question about that, and they send a lot of retailers broke,” Harvey told News Corp on Monday. “There is no question they have one ambition and like Attila the Hun, or Alexander the Great, they just want to demolish everything in front of them and then at the end of the day claim to be victorious and make their own rules. So this is a company that is extraordinary by any measure and challenges every rule that has ever been written about a business.”

    Some analysts have said that Amazon could take in as much as 3 billion U. S. dollars in sales in its first five years in Australia (around I percent of the total 225 billion U.S. dollar market), but Harvey has refuted those claims, saying that local retailers would be putting up “one hell of a fight” when Amazon launches is main retail services in Australia. “We will be over there fighting them like no American retailer has ever fought them,” he said. “Any price that they put we will beat or equal.”

    Meanwhile, Harvey's thoughts were backed up by the former CEO of supermarket chain Woolworths. Roger Corbett, who said Amazon would struggle to keep its lower wages and claims of lightning fast delivery to rural parts when it opens in Australia. “Amazon will have an impact on the market place, but they are coming into an already very competitive market,” he told News Corp.

    There is no such thing as a "bad memory". {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, as long as you are not suffering from memory loss as a medical condition. If you want to improve your memory, there are a number of things you can do.

    Stop thinking that you have a "bad memory". {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Too many people get stuck here and convince themselves their memory is bad. Erase those thoughts and vow to improve your memory. Celebrate even little achievements to keep yourself motivated.

    Exercise your brain. Regularly "exercising" the brain keeps it growing and help improve memory. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.By developing new mental skills -- especially complex ones such as learning a new language or learning to play a new musical instrument, you can keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning.

    Give yourself time to form a memory. Memories are very fragile in the short term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One way to become more observant is to look at a photo for a few seconds and then describe as many details about it as possible. With regular practice you will find you're able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.

A. Practice your describing skills regularly

B. So when you're trying to remember something, avoid distractions for a few minutes

C. Take better pictures

D. Everyone can improve their memory

E. A large portion (部分) of your brain is activated when it learns a new skill

F. So the more time you spend, the better your memory will be

G. Convince yourself that you do have a good memory that will improve

    The Center for Humane Technology is made up of people who created many popular apps(软件)for big tech companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    The center has started a movement called the Truth About Tech. Its purpose is to teach students, parents and teachers about the dangers of spending too much time on smart phones and computers.

    According to studies on kids and technology, more than 95 per cent of primary school children spend time every day using a computer, or smart phone. About 78 per cent of teenagers check their phones every hour. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They are afraid that they may miss an important call or message during night.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, spending too much time online can cause people to put on weight and also influence how they feel. Many people become worried or nervous because they feel they aren't having as much fun as their friends are. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They may also find it harder to make friends in real life.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They say that when big tech companies are designing tech tools for kids, they should think about what they would want for their own children.

A. These people are worth our respect.

B. Now they are telling kids to put their phones away.

C. Most students are forbidden to use a phone in class.

D. And more than half of them sleep with their phones.

E. Students may have a harder time paying attention in school.

F. Using phones or computers too much can cause some health problems.

G. The center also wants governments and tech companies to take steps to protect children.

Fishy Weather Conditions

    Laj amanu，Australia，is a dry little town，sitting right on the edge of the Tanami desert. Can you imagines How surprised were people when live fish rained down on them from a dark gray cloudy. It happens that there are similar cases in England and Honduras.

    How do clouds make fishy. The simple answer is that they don't. There is a particular weather phenomenon(现象)called a waterspout. A waterspout is just like a tornado，only it forms above oceans，lakes，or rivers. Like a tornado，a waterspout moves in a circle at high speeds. When it moves above the water，it tends to carry the fish with it，as well as frogs or other small plants or animals.

    Scientists couldn't work it out at first. To make matters stranger still，the fish in Honduras were very much alive when they rained down to the ground，but they were all blind. In England and Australia，it rained fish and snakes，and none were blind. It was difficult to puzzle out，but the blind fish gave them a place to start.

    Scientists knew that some fish that lived in deep，underground caves with no light sources often lost their eyesight. So when blind fish rained down on Honduras，scientists began to connect some dots. Clearly，these particular fish were pulled from an underground water source by force.

    It has rained fish on every continent，and each time，people have tried in various ways to explain this strange phenomenon. Historically，villagers thought the “fishes from the heavens” might be answers to prayers for food. Others suggested that floods overran river banks and oceans，leaving the fish on the city streets. No scientist had actually seen the rain as it occurred，only the fish left on the ground. But in 1990，a National Geographic team happened to be in Honduras when the Rain of Fishes began. They recorded what was happening and made history by finally proving that the fish really did fall from the sky.

    This huge breakthrough wasn't just a spot of good luck. It changed thousands of years of myths and legends into true stories and provided scientific explanations for how fish came to live in deep caves. It explained ancient cave paintings and shed new light on how species have spread over time. It turned out to be a lot more than just a little fishy weather.