Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, the largest global gaming provider and the operator of QQ, an instant messaging software service, has launched a series of scientific exploration events aimed at encouraging young people to explore the outside world, instead of being continuously absorbed online.

    “QQ has been in the market for 18 years, but it is not aging, and its application has become younger and trendier. We hope that more young Chinese can use the app to connect with different people and views worldwide. We never worry about losing game players. Instead, we hope that players can actually go out to learn more,” said Li Dan, general manager of marketing department of the social network group at Tencent.

    China's gaming market netted (净赚) sales revenues of 218.96 billion yuan ( $33.75 billion) in 2017, jumping 23.1 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, the number of mobile gain players in China reached 462 million, adding 10 percent over the last year. According to Tencent the number of active users of QQ, who are 21 years old or younger, has been increasing, and they tend to use the app for a longer time.

    Starting May 22 of last year, QQ organized free trips for young people to Galapagos, Namibia, Spain and the Antarctic, but it didn't reveal the specific amount it contributed to those trips. During each trip, it selected three to four participants from those who uploaded videos and made specific travel plans online. The finalists stand out with their clear video statements and their enthusiasm about going on adventures.

    “Tencent's approach appears to be contradictory with its own interests. But, in fact, this is consistent with the company's long-term growth strategy and will promote its business by establishing a good social image,” said Neil Wang, president of consulting firm Frost & Sullivan in China.

    The kids in this village wear dirty, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They have no school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can make words.

    The key to their success: 20 tablet computers(平板电脑) dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a U.S. group called One Laptop Per Child.

    The goal is to find out whether kids using today's new technology can teach themselves to read in places where no schools or teachers exist. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they're already amazed. “What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten,” said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program.

    The fastest learner—and the first to turn on one of the tablets—is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse. The device's camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out its workings and made the camera work. He called himself a lion, a marker of accompli shment in Ethiopia.

    With his tablet, Kelbasa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own. “Seven months ago he didn't know any English. That's unbelievable,” said Keller.

    The project aims to get kids to a stage called “deep reading,” where they can read to learn. It won't be in Amharic, Ethiopia's first language, but in English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs.

    People love cellphones, which is why nine in ten Americans own one. But does heavy use of cellphones pose a risk of cancer? This question has caused controversy for many years. A new study in rats now augments those concerns. Its data linked long-term, intense exposure to radiation from cellphones with an increased risk of cancer in the heart or brain. The results have yet to be confirmed, the authors note.

    Indeed, although the rat study found a link between cellphone radiation and cancer, it offers no clues to why such a link might exist, notes Jonathan Samet. He teaches preventative medicine and directs the Institute for Global Health at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Still, he calls the new study's findings “significant”.They could lead to studies researching how cellphone radiation might cause cancer, he says.

    Phone signals are relayed between cell towers and cellphones via radio waves. This radio frequency—or RF—radiation is a type known as non-ionizing (非电离的).Unlike X-rays, non-ionizing radiation does not deposit enough energy into cells to release electrons from atoms or molecules, producing ions. So it tends to be far less harmful than ionizing radiation, such as X-rays. But that does not mean radio waves might not cause harm.

    In very large doses (量) this radiation will heat the body and cause tissue damage. But it's not yet known what much lower RF levels might do, such as those from cellphone use. Five years ago, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC, concluded that cellphone use “is possibly carcinogenic (致癌的)”.

    Its conclusion was based on what little research data was available at that time. But notice that IARC was not certain. It said only that phone use might “possibly” cause cancer. So scientists at the National Toxicology Program, or NTP, investigated further.

    In 2018 to which we've just said goodbye, we've seen excellent movies such as Black Panther, Crazy Rich Asians and A Star Is Born. In 2019 there will be returns to classic movie characters and stories. Here are movies not to miss.

    Spider-Man-.Far H0- July 5, US

    Tom Holland, the actor of 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, returns to play Peter Parker, a high school student who gains superpowers after being bitten by a spider(蜘蛛). When we see him again in theaters, Spider – Man will have a new red - and – black suit. The movie will take Peter on a global adventure outside of the US. According to Marved Studios President Kevin Feige, Spider - Man will try a return to his "normal" self; he will try to find his old powers on his new journey.

    Hobbs and Shaw, July 26, US

    To most people the Fast and Furious series is all about crazy drivers racing in sports car. But in Hobbs and Shaw, humor is added to the action - packed thrills. The new film will hit US theaters on July 26. Famous English actor Jason Statham will star alongside Dwayne Johnson, "The Rock", as Deckaid Shaw and Luke Hobbs respectively, as in their previous appearances in Fast and Furious 8. The action and chemistry really thrill their audience. But the new action scenes between an MI6 agent Hobbs and the killer Shaw will have to be good to beat their stand - off in the 2017 movie.

    The Lion King, July 19, US

    This is a brand - new version of the classic children's film. The story of wide - eyed young lion Simba still remains in hearts of world audiences even after 25 years. In this re-telling, Simba again begins the difficult journey to become the King of the Pride Lands，a vast African prairie(大草原).The favorite part of the story for many has always been the friendship between Simba, Timon and Punibaa. The last two sacrifice all they have to help Simba to become the king. How will the new movie re-imagine their famous relationship?

    Google, hoping to put down a protest by employees upset that the technology they were working on could be used for deadly purposes, will not renew a contract with the Pentagon(五角大楼) for artificial intelligence work when a current deal expires next year.

    Diane Greene, who is the head of the Google Cloud business that won a contract with the Pentagon's Project Maven, said during a weekly meeting with employees Friday that the company was backing away from its AI work with the military, according to a person familiar with the discussion but not permitted to speak publicly about it.

    Google's work with the Defense Department on the Maven program, which uses artificial intelligence to interpret video images and could be used to improve the targeting of drone strikes, riled the internet giant's workforce.

    About 4,000 Google employees signed a petition(请愿书) demanding "a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology," and a handful of employees resigned in protest.

    The money for Google in the Project Maven contract was never large by the standards of a company with profit of $110 billion last year — $9 million, one official told employees, or a possible $15 million over 18 months, according to an internal email.

    But some company officials saw it as an opening to much greater revenue down the road. In an email last September, a Google official in Washington told colleagues she expected Maven to grow into a $250 million-a-year project, and eventually it could have helped open the door to contracts worth far more.

    Apple and Microsoft each launched new products. One company astonished everyone. The other made people sleepy. Can you guess which was which? You probably guessed wrong. Because Apple, famous for its creative products, was the tech giant whose new product caused a collective shrug. While Microsoft, which stole a move out of the Apple Playbook, won cheers from high-end, creative-class consumers like business analysts, media designers and music producers.

    As Hayley Tsukayama remarked at The Washington Post, the Surface Studio, one of Microsoft's new products, is really just a super-sized version of the Surface Books product that Microsoft has been selling for years. But if you've ever watched science fiction movies like Minority Report-- where Tom Cruise seems to operate pictures and data hanging on mid-air by touching them, spreading his fingers to increase on details, and sending files and information sliding from one folder to another with a click of the finger, you can see how Microsoft is trying to show the same experience.

    Meanwhile, apple's new products were almost like some fine promotions for its Apple TV. They boast that the new Macbook Pro has a smaller size and more functions, and a new touch screen bar on laptop keyboards where function keys used to be.

    So what's going on? In many ways, Apple is focusing on attracting the average consumers who have been attracted by Microsoft. And Microsoft is focusing on targeting the high-end professionals Apple has historically been associated with. You can even see this is the companies' ad campaigns: Microsoft's ads stress imagination and creativity, while Apple's commercial chief performance and convenience of its Macbooks.

    So Apple is trying to control the world of devices and laptops from the top down, starting with the high-end market and moving on to appeal to a broader base of consumers. Microsoft, having already strengthened itself within the bigger low-end market, is now attempting the opposite with a bottom-up strategy. Will they succeed? Time will tell...