Week 5 AlphaGo對棋王

Human board game champion again outwitted by Google program

March 10, 2016

The rise of the machines was on full display Thursday in Seoul when a Google computer again defeated the top-ranked human player of Go, the world's most complex board game.

The computer's second consecutive victory over Lee Se-dol, the Go world champion, will be seen as a significant advancement in artificial intelligence.

The South Korean must now win three games in a row against Google DeepMind's AlphaGo to triumph in the best-of-five series. The computer won its first match against Lee on Wednesday.

If Lee wins the series, he gets $1 million and reasserts his title as global champ; a convincing win by AlphaGo would signal the end of human dominance in the insanely complicated board game. (Google will donate the prize money to charity.)

Lee, 33, holds the highest possible professional ranking for a Go player and has been called "the Roger Federer of Go."

Go originated thousands of years ago in China. During play, two opponents take turns placing black and white stones on a square grid of 19 lines by 19 lines. The goal is to take territorial control of the board by using pieces to surround those of the other player.

Games can last for hours, and winning requires immense mental stamina, intuition and strategy.

Eaching computers to master Go has been a kind of holy grail for artificial intelligence scientists. There are more possible configurations of the board than atoms in the universe, according to Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, which developed AlphaGo.

"Go is the most profound game that mankind has ever devised," Hassabis said. "Go is a game primarily about intuition and feel rather than brute calculation, which is what makes it so hard for computers to play well."

Last October, AlphaGo convincingly defeated the European Go champion, Fan Hui, obliterating him in five consecutive games. The computer's victory was considered a huge breakthrough, occurring roughly a decade sooner than experts had expected.

Software programs long ago became adept at classic board games like backgammon. Their rapid progress culminated in the historic victory of IBM's Deep Blue computer over world chess champion Gary Kasparov in 1997.

But it's taken another two decades for artificial intelligence to get to grips with the mind-boggling complexities of Go. Until recently, software programs could only compete with human amateurs.

Google researchers say they expect AlphaGo's technology will be put to use in the company's own apps, and in areas such as medicine.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Lee Se-dol 

WHEN-  2016.3.10

WHAT- Human had a board game with Google DeepMind's AlphaGo 

WHERE- Korea,Seoul

HOW- Google DeepMind's AlphaGo won the game again

Key words:

1. consecutive  連續的

2. triumph  勝利
3. reassert  重新確立
4. territorial  領土的
5. immense  巨大的
6. intuition  直覺
7. configuration  組態
8. culminate  高潮

資料來源: http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/10/technology/alphago-google-deepmind-go-lee-computer/

WEEK 4 台南地震

Taiwan earthquake: Search ends as death toll reaches 116

February 14, 2016

Search and rescue operations after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Taiwan ended Saturday as the death toll rose to 116, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

The last trapped person was rescued alive on Saturday afternoon, the city's disaster response office said.

A total of 289 people were rescued, 96 people remain in hospital.

Most of the fatalities and injuries came from the collapse of the Weiguan Golden Dragon high-rise tower in Tainan, the response center said.

Aerial images in the immediate aftermath of the temblor showed the Weiguan Golden Dragon tower transformed into rubble. Structures around it remained intact.

Rescuers found tin cans packed into the collapsed walls of the high-rise.

"There are so many other older buildings in Tainan that are still standing. Why was it only this building that was completely destroyed?" asked Wang Xingyou, a city cab driver.

Three people, all former executives of the company that built the collapsed apartment building, were arrested Tuesday and face charges of professional negligence resulting in death.

Structure of the Lead：

WHEN- 2016.2.6

WHAT- A huge earthquake happened in Tainan,  and still lots of people trapped.

WHY- A apartment building collapsed lead to people trapped.

WHERE-Taiwan,Tainan

Key words:

1. magnitude  大小

2. trapped  受困的

3. fatality    死亡人數

4. temblor  地震發生
5. rubble  瓦礫
6. executives  高層
7. negligence  疏忽

資料來源: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/13/asia/taiwan-earthquake/

Week 3. 2015年度代表字

Emoji named word of the year

November 16, 2015

Oxford Dictionaries' 2015 word of the year is difficult to pronounce. Because it has no letters. It is a cartoon yellow face, shedding two giant tears.

They are not tears of sadness for the English language. It is a happy crying face, most commonly used as an LOL alternative.

Every year, Oxford Dictionaries' lexicographers chose a word that captures the year's biggest trends or changes in the English language. The organization knew it wanted to pick an emoji for 2015. The tiny illustrations that pepper social media and text conversations have seen a surge in popularity in recent years.

"You can see how traditional alphabet scripts have been struggling to meet the rapid-fire, visually focused demands of 21st century communication," said Oxford Dictionaries' president Casper Grathwohl in a statement. "It's not surprising that a pictographic script like emoji has stepped in to fill those gaps."

The official name for the chosen emoji is "face with tears of joy," according to the Unicode Consortium, the organization in charge of emoji standards. It was first introduced in 2010 and variations can be found on Android and iOS devices, on the web, and across social media.

There are more than 1,000 emoji characters, but Oxford could only chose one. A taco or unicorn emoji would have represented the most buzzed-about newcomers. The red heart is one of the oldest emojis.

Oxford Dictionaries teamed up with SwiftKey, a maker of emoji keyboards, to identify the most commonly used emoji. It found the tears of joy face was the most frequently used emoji in 2015, making up 17% of all emojis in the U.S. and 20% in the UK.

The emoji is the latest in a string of light-hearted picks from Oxford Dictionaries. Last year it went with "vape," in 2013 it was "selfie," and in 2012 it was "GIF."

Structure of the Lead：

WHEN- November 16, 2015

WHAT- The official name for the chosen emoji is "face with tears of joy,"

WHY- Oxford Dictionaries' 2015 word of the year is difficult than before

HOW-  The tears of joy face was the most frequently used emoji in 2015, making up 17% of all emojis in the U.S. and 20% in the UK.

Key words:

1. pronounce 發音

2. surge 激增

3. alphabet  字母表

4. script 腳本

5. string 串

資料來源:http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/16/technology/emoji-oxford-word-of-the-year/

Week2.COP21

COP21 climate change summit reaches deal in Paris

13 December 2015

A deal to attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2˙C has been agreed at the climate change summit in Paris after two weeks of intense negotiations.

The pact is the first to commit all countries to cut carbon emissions.

The agreement is partly legally binding and partly voluntary.

Earlier, key blocs, including the G77 group of developing countries, and nations such as China and India said they supported the proposals.

President of the UN climate conference of parties (COP) and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said: "I now invite the COP to adopt the decision entitled Paris Agreement outlined in the document.

"Looking out to the room I see that the reaction is positive, I see no objections. The Paris agreement is adopted."

As he struck the gavel to signal the adoption of the deal, delegates rose to their feet cheering and applauding.

US President Barack Obama has hailed the agreement as "ambitious" and "historic", but also warned against complacency.

"Together, we've shown what's possible when the world stands as one," he said.

And although admitting that the deal was not "perfect", he said it was "the best chance to save the one planet we have".

China's chief negotiator Xie Zhenhua said the deal was not perfect. But he added that "this does not prevent us from marching historical steps forward".

Nearly 200 countries took part in the negotiations to strike the first climate deal to commit all countries to cut emissions, which would come into being in 2020.

The chairman of the group representing some of the world's poorest countries called the deal historic, adding: "We are living in unprecedented times, which call for unprecedented measures.

"It is the best outcome we could have hoped for, not just for the Least Developed Countries, but for all citizens of the world."

Structure of the Lead：

WHEN- 13 December 2015

WHAT-  The UN climate conference of parties (COP)

WHY- Attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2˙C

WHERE-  Paris

Key words:

1. negotiation  談判
2. voluntary  自主性
3. delegate  與會代表
4. complacency  自滿
5. unprecedented  史無前例
6. outcome  結果

資料來源: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35084374

Week 1. 俄航空難

Russian plane crashes in Sinai, killing all 224 people on board

By Don Melvin and Ray Sanchez

November 1, 2015

A Russian passenger plane crashed early Saturday in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people aboard, officials said.

Russian state media reported that many of the 217 passengers on Kogalymavia Flight 9268 were Russians returning from vacation. The passenger manifest included 17 children but Russian officials said there were 25 aboard. There were seven crew members.

The cause of the crash still is unknown, but it is most likely due to a technical failure, and there is no evidence of any terrorist action, Egyptian Airports Co. chief Adel Al-Mahjoob told CNN Arabic.

The Airbus A321 had a routine check before flight, showing everything was OK to proceed, Mahjoob said.

The so-called black boxes -- the flight data recorder and voice data recorder -- have been recovered and transported to Cairo for analysis, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamel said at a news conference.

"There was nothing abnormal before the plane crash," he said. "It suddenly disappeared from the radar." Air traffic control recordings did not show any distress calls, Kamel said.

The plane departed the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, near the southern tip of the Sinai, on a flight to St. Petersburg, Russia. It vanished from radar 23 minutes into the flight, at 6:20 a.m. local time.

Egypt has been battling insurgents in the Sinai aligned with the terrorist group ISIS.

Islamists militants in the Sinai linked to ISIS claimed responsibility for the crash, according to an online statement.

But Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said the claim that terrorists brought down the plane by using an anti-aircraft missile "cannot be considered reliable," according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

German air carrier Lufthansa and Air France have decided to insurgent aircraft due to fly over the region.

"We will keep that measure in place as long as we are not sure of the circumstances and the reasons of the Metrojet crash," Lufthansa spokeswoman Bettina Rittberger said.

Structure of the Lead：

WHEN- November 1, 2015

WHAT- A Russian passenger plane crashed

WHY-The cause of the crash still is unknown

WHERE- Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

HOW- 224 passengers died in the disaster

Key words:

1. manifest  表現

2. routine  常規

3. radar  雷達

4. resort  採取

5. insurgent  叛亂

6. circumstance  環境

資料來源: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/31/middleeast/egypt-plane-crash/

Week 6 : Syrian Refugees

Australia says screening of Syrian refugees could take more than a year

Tue, Nov 24, 2015

The Australian government remained committed to resettling 12,000 Syrian refugees, but security checks could take more than a year, officials said yesterday.

Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott in September announced that the 12,000 refugees would be resettled from Middle Eastern refugee camps as quickly as possible. Abbott was replaced by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull less than a week later. The first families began arriving in Australia this month.

Australian Senator Cory Bernardi yesterday said that the Cabinet should rethink that commitment in light of the threat militants could pose as refugees in Australia. He said the recent coordinated attacks in Paris had highlighted the dangers.

However, Cabinet ministers including Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison and Australian Minister for Justice Michael Keenan stood by the decision.

Peter Shergold, coordinator-general for refugee resettlement in New South Wales, said the careful screening would hold up the resettlement process.

“I’m working on the basis that the vast majority will come next year and it will probably be over 12 or 18 months, not six months,” Shergold told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

In related news, members of the anti-Islam group Reclaim Australia organized nationwide protests over the weekend in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks.

The group’s Web site said that the protests were organized in response to the shock of recent atrocities of “Islam’s radicals” both inside and outside of Australia.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-  Australian government

WHEN- Tue, Nov 24, 2015

WHAT- The Australian government remained committed to resettling 12,000 Syrian refugees.

WHY- It is a serious problem have to be solved.

WHERE- Australia

HOW- No given

Key words:

1. prime: 黃金

2. rethink : 反思

3. militant: 激進的

4. coordinate: 協調的

5. atrocity: 暴行

資料來源: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2015/11/24/2003633232

Week 5 : Singles Day

Chinese consumers splurge on ‘Singles Day’ spree

Thu, Nov 12, 2015

Chinese Internet users yesterday spent billions of dollars in the planet’s biggest online shopping splurge, as “Singles Day” hit new heights, despite slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

The cumulative national bill for the day-long orgy of commerce dwarfed what Americans spent online over the five-day frenzy from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday last year.

Singles Day is not a traditional Chinese festival, but e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) has been pushing Nov. 11 — a date heavy on ones — since 2009 as it looks to tap the country’s huge, and expanding, army of Internet shoppers.

At first it was marketed as an “anti-Valentine’s Day,” featuring hefty discounts to lure singletons and price-sensitive buyers.

However, with sales hitting new highs year after year, it has become a massive — and highly lucrative — business opportunity embraced by the nation’s digital retailers.

Competition for a slice of China’s online population of 668 million is turning increasingly fierce.

Alibaba kicked off this year’s mammoth event with a television spectacular at Beijing’s Water Cube Olympic swimming venue, featuring Chinese and foreign celebrities, including James Bond actor Daniel Craig, and US actor Kevin Spacey.

And the company’s efforts were paying off in spades, with shoppers splashing out more than US$10 billion in the first 14 hours of the sale.

This year’s tally had already outstripped last year’s gangbusters effort, with the last year’s total of US$9.3 billion matched a little more than 12 hours after the promotion’s midnight start.

In comparison, desktop sales for the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday in the US last year stood at US$6.56 billion, according to Internet analytics firm comScore.

“The 2015 sale has eclipsed last year’s final results in a little over half the time,” Alibaba said.

In an earlier release, Alibaba’s chief executive officer Daniel Zhang (張勇) said: “The whole world will witness the power of Chinese consumption this November 11.”

Another one of China’s main online retailers, JD.com Inc (京東), said it had completed more than 10 million transactions by 10 am. That was almost twice as many as last year’s total.

The task of putting customers’ purchases into their hands is huge. Alibaba said its logistical arm and its partners would use more than 1.7 million personnel, 400,000 vehicles, 5,000 warehouses and 200 airplanes to handle deliveries.

The event has received vocal support from the government at a time when China’s economic expansion is slowing and Beijing is trying to transform its growth model into a more sustainable one driven by consumption.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s (李克強) office phoned Alibaba chairman Jack Ma (馬雲) hours ahead of the promotion, “congratulating and encouraging the creation and achievement of the 11.11 event,” said a posting on a social media account of Tmall (天貓), the group’s business-to-consumer arm.

Chinese Internet users yesterday showed off their acquisitions — with many lamenting that they had spent far too much money.

“I can only afford to eat dirt for the next half year,” said a user on Sina Weibo (微博), with an attached screengrab of a Taobao (淘寶) app showing she had bought 42 items.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-  Alibaba chairman Jack Ma

WHEN- Thu, Nov 12, 2015 

WHAT- Chinese Internet users  spent billions of dollars in the planet’s biggest online shopping splurge on "Singles Day".

WHY- The cumulative national bill for the day-long orgy of commerce.

WHERE- China

HOW- Featuring hefty discounts to lure singletons and price-sensitive buyers.

Key words:

1. splurge: 揮霍

2. spree: 大禮包

3. cumulative: 累積的

4. dwarf: 相形見絀

5. frenzy: 狂潮

6. lucrative: 利潤豐厚的

7. mammoth: 猛獁象

8. retailer: 零售商

9. logistical: 物流的

10. sustainable: 可持續發展的

資料來源:http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2015/11/12/2003632235