Nobody wants to be called a helicopter parent,who manages to be responsible for whatever a child does, however small a matter is--but parents want to protect their kids.At least no playing with sticks means no risk of lost eyes. Yet as Gever Tulley points out in Fifty Dangerous Things(You Should Let Your Children Do),children who grow up as safe as possible become adults who aren't adventurous,highly adaptable,or confident.Sometimes you have to fall out of a tree to figure out how to climb one the right way,and learning that you can accomplish such a thing on your own teaches you that you can be self--sufficient. With Fifty Dangerous Things,Gever Tulley,has written a handbook of activities that are,yes,dangerous at some level-like playing with fire,breaking glass,and opening batteries.The book is a blueprint to help parents and children explore the world,and ensure the children grow up,with a little common sense and a lot of curiosity. Both the advice and the warnings are down to earth.Yes,there are risks,but Tulley provides good ways to learn to avoid them through your own skill.It takes work to raise a child who can use a table saw or build a campfire.But with this book in hand,it'll be a satisfying adventure. We see a child climbing a tree and the first thing we think of is how they might fall and be disabled for life.We seldom say,"Look at how well Sarah is climbing that tree!" When we protect children from every possible source of danger,we also prevent them from having the kinds of experiences that develop their sense of self--reliance,their ability to deal with risks,and their sense of accomplishment. When seeing a child doing dangerous things,most parents will_. A) praise the child for his bravery B) do whatever possible to stop it C) offer some advice on coping with risks D) stand by and watch him patiently
B
While it may be unlikely for a computer to write a best seller, a technology expert has created a computer program that writes its own fiction stories with minimal user input. The program, called MEXICA, is the first to generate original stories based on computerized representations of emotions and tensions between characters. An Internet survey was carried out to see the popularity of the computer-generated stories, other computerized stories and stories written solely by a human. The result was that readers ranked MEXICA stories highest for flow and coherence, structure, content, suspense and overall quality. Rafael Perezy Perez, the creator of MEXICA, explained that a story might begin with something as basic as, "The enemy wounded the knight. The princess cured the knight. The knight killed the enemy. The knight rewarded the princess. The end." The program reads characters as variables and assigns a numerical value, between a continuum from -3 to +3, to emotional connections that are defined as either amorous or non-amorous. The numerical value is equivalent to the degree of emotion, with -3 being intense hate and +3 being intense love. The program also understands story tension, such as linking the word "wounded" with tension. This too is assigned a numerical value. Once these clusters of emotional links and tensions are established, the program begins what is called an "engagement reflection cycle". Basically this involves searching a database of story actions and other happenings, which are called "atoms", and determines the best match for the characters and contexts for that moment. The process repeats itself again and again until the system can no longer make any matches. At this point, the computer analyzes the story for coherence and "interestingness". The program views a story as interesting when tension levels increase and fall throughout the piece. If the program finds that the story is boring or incoherent in places, it will replace or insert atoms until a version is thought to be satisfactory. What is basically needed for MEXICA to start to write a story? A) The beginning and the end of the story should be provided. B) The background of the story needs to be keyed in. C) The human operator should come up with a simple storyline. D) Emotions and tensions between characters should be determined.
C
Q: Dear Editors, On my way to work every morning I drive by a farm where I can see some horses off in the distance in the woods. They are there every single morning no matter how cold or rainy or windy it is. There is a shed on the farm, but it doesn't look to me that the horses are ever taken into the shed. Is this right? I don't think horses should be treated like this. Sam Dear Sam, Thanks for taking an interest in these horses. Problems about the care of horses are different from cats and dogs. Think of wild horses that spend their whole lives outdoors finding whatever food and shelter they can on their own. The point is that horses don't require as much shelter as a lot of other farm animals. However, that doesn't mean that they don't need some shelter. It is hard to tell from your letter whether the situation for these horses is unacceptable. Above all, do you know the people who own the horses well enough to just talk to them as a neighbor and express your concern ? Maybe they will tell you that the horses do go in the shed at night. If direct contact is not a choice and you can see that the horses' situation is poor, then call 911, report the situation and ask law enforcement officers to look into it. If you just can't see enough to prove such a report, call the Oswego Court Humane Society on 207-1070 for help from the Large Animal Assistance Project (LAAP). A volunteer from the project will help solve the problem. Speaking of volunteer assistance, since you appear to be a horse lover, why not talk to the LAAP about volunteer opportunities for you? It's big job, but totally rewarding, and the project always needs knowledgeable horse people to help. Sam writes to the editors in order to _ . A) ask how to keep horses in changeable weathers. B) discuss whether some horses are badly treated C) express his strong interest in keeping horses D) describe some beautiful horses he has seen
A: B
(Question)
The English policeman has several nicknames but the most frequently used are "copper" and "bobby". The first name comes from the verb to "cop", meaning to "take" or "capture", and the second comes from the first name of Sir Robert Peel, the nineteenth-century politician, who was the founder of the police force as we know it today. An early nickname for the policeman was "peeler", but this one has died out. Whatever we may call them, the general opinion about the police seems to be a good one except, of course, among the criminal part of the community where the police are given more bad nicknames which came from America, such as "fuzz" or "pig". Visitors to prefix = st1 /Englandseem, nearly always, to be very impressed by the English police. It has, in fact, become a standing joke that the visitor toBritain, when asked for his views of the country, will always say, "I think your policemen are wonderful." Well, the British bobby may not always be wonderful but he is usually a very friendly and helpful sort of character. A music-hall song of some years ago was called, "If You Want To Know The Time, Ask A Policeman". Nowadays, most people own watches but they still seem to find plenty of other questions to ask the policemen. In London, the policemen spend so much of their time directing visitors about the city that one wonders how they ever find time to do anything else! Two things are noticeable to the stranger, when he sees an English policeman for the first time. The first is that he does not carry a gun and the second is that he wears a very special type of helmet . His helmet, together with his height, enables an English policeman to be seen from a long distance, a fact that is not without its usefulness. From time to time it is suggested that the policeman should be given a gun and that his helmet should be taken from him, but both these suggestions are not accepted by the majority of the public and the police themselves. The nickname that is not used now is _ . A) pig B) peeler C) fuzz D) bobby
(Answer)
B