From 53% to 38%: What's behind Argentina's poverty rate drop? Host: Argentina is South America's second largest economy, but for decades it's been a byword for corruption and chaos, with three-figure inflation and an almost worthless currency. Javier Millet, the president elected in 2023, was widely mocked for his Trumpian rhetoric and promised to take a chainsaw to an oversized and inefficient administration. But has it actually worked? Figures show Argentina's poverty rate, which was at just over 40% when he took power, surged to 53% in the first part of 2024, and then dropped just over 38%. Annual inflation plummeted to 66.9% last month, compared to over 276% a year earlier. So what's going on? With me now is Fermin Koop, the journalist and commentator in Buenos Aires. Fermin, thanks for being with us. How did this drop in poverty come about? Fermin Koop: Well, thanks for the invite, first of all. Great to be here. so the figures are quite impressive. We are at 38.1% of the Argentines under the poverty line. We used to be at 52.9% last year, so the drop is definitely quite significant. The main reason of this is the drop on the inflation rate. As you well said, Argentina is quite famous around the world because of its really skyrocketing inflation rates. We used to have figures around 300% a few years back. And Millet definitely took a big drop into that. The change saw, as you said. There's a few things to bear in mind as well. The inflation index in Argentina is contested by some economists, so it's not perfect. There are a few figures in there that could be challenged. For example, the consumer price index is largely based on a basket of basic goods that comes from 2004. So there are researchers that say that nowadays this has changed quite significantly, so we need an upgrade of this basket. So we should take kind of a pinch of salt while looking at those figures. Host: Well, I was going to say, does it actually feel like that? Because I've spoken to yourself as well, but others as well in the past who said, you know, it's just incredible how you have to go out and the money you've got in the morning is worth nothing in the evening. Has that changed? Koop: Well, you're very right. Not that much. The feeling is still of an economy in quite a big of a mess. As you may know, Argentina is actually negotiating a new deal with the IMF right now. And Millet is traveling to the U.S. right now to agree on those details. But the economy is still on a very unstable time with the currency still being quite weak and subject to foreign pressures as well. And it doesn't feel that the economy is doing well. The poverty levels are still quite high. 38% is still quite significant. And if you go out and speak to the people, they will tell you that they are not necessarily better off compared to last year. Host: But Fermin, is what President Millet is doing, is it having an effect? Because it seems previous administrations didn't even achieve this. Koop: Well, the roots of the problem are quite deep in the economy of Argentina. We are basically not exporting as much as we should, so we don't have enough foreign currency coming in in the country. So the reforms that Milley are doing are baby steps compared to the changes that Argentina need to do. But they are definitely taking shape. I mean, it's something that nobody believed that he would be doing anything. As you well say, he was kind of a crazy guy with the change. So what we are seeing now with Elon Musk, basically. But the fact is that, well, we do have some initial results. But yeah, he has one year in office. He still got three more. Host: I was going to say, see what happens next early days. But, Fermin, thank you so much for updating us on that. Furman Coop there in Buenos Aires. Koop: Thanks for having me. 词汇表 Argentina [ˌɑːdʒənˈtiːnə] 阿根廷（南美洲国家） byword [ˈbaɪwɜːd] 代名词，代表；俗语，谚语 corruption [kəˈrʌpʃn] 腐败，贪污；堕落 chaos [ˈkeɪɒs] 混乱，无序 inflation [ɪnˈfleɪʃn] 通货膨胀，通胀率 worthless currency [ˈwɜːθləs ˈkʌrənsi] 毫无价值的货币，不值钱的货币 mock [mɒk] 嘲笑，嘲弄；模仿 Trumpian rhetoric [ˈtrʌmpiən ˈretərɪk] 类似特朗普的言辞，具有特朗普风格的言辞 chainsaw [ˈtʃeɪnsɔː] 链锯；用链锯割（这里指大力整治） oversized [ˌəʊvəˈsaɪzd] 过大的，超大号的，臃肿的 inefficient administration [ˌɪnɪˈfɪʃnt ədˌmɪnɪˈstreɪʃn] 低效的政府机构 take power 掌权，上台 plummet [ˈplʌmɪt] 暴跌，骤降 commentator [ˈkɒmənteɪtə(r)] 评论员，解说员 Buenos Aires [ˌbwenəs ˈaɪriz] 布宜诺斯艾利斯（阿根廷首都） Argentine [ˈɑːdʒəntaɪn] 阿根廷人；阿根廷的 skyrocketing [ˌskaɪˈrɒkɪtɪŋ] 飞涨的，急剧上升的 contest [kənˈtest] 质疑；竞争，比赛 consumer price index [kənˈsjuːmə(r)][ˈɪndeks] 消费者物价指数 take a pinch of salt [pɪntʃ][sɔːlt] 持保留态度，有所怀疑 IMF (International Monetary Fund) 国际货币基金组织 better off 境况更好，生活更富裕 baby steps 非常小的一步或进展 take shape 成形，形成，有进展 🌟翻译，pdf及更多文本内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可加入【打卡交流群】

How Social Media Affects Our Self-Worth Early on in every life, a child will look up and – implicitly – ask the world: Am I OK? Do I deserve goodwill and sympathy? Am I on track? And, most commonly, the person who first answers these questions is a parent. Perhaps this parent happens to be generous and sympathetic, they are warm and understanding of the challenges of being alive – in which case the child develops an easy conscience. In the years to come, they appraise themselves with benignancy, they don't continuously have to wonder whether they have a right to exist. They are comfortably on their own side. But if the parent is more punitive, the picture grows darker: approval is always uncertain, there is a constant fear of being called arrogant or of being upbraided for something one hadn't thought about. What's tricky is that consciences don't stay neatly identified with those who kickstarted them. It's rare to find an adult who actively still wonders what their parents think. But that isn't to say that we aren't wondering about our value in more general terms. It's just that we may, without noticing, have taken the question somewhere else – and very often, to particularly harsh modern figure of authority: media and social media. To this pitiless arena, the self-doubting person now directs all their fears of unworthiness and panicked desire for reassurance. To a system set up to reward sadism and malice, they constantly raise their phones and implicitly ask: Do I deserve to exist? Am I OK? Am I beautiful or respectable enough? And because social media is built on the troubles of the individual soul, the verdict is never a reliable yes. One is never done with cycles of fear and reassurance-seeking. Every time their spirits sink (which is often), the self-doubting sufferer picks up their phone and begs to know whether they have permission to go on. If this might be us, we should grow curious about and jealous of people who are free. They are so because someone long ago settled the question of what they were worth and the answer has seemed solid ever since. Social media is a roar in the next valley, not a mob in their own mind. Learning from these calm souls won't just involve deleting a few apps, we will have to go further upstream, back to the baby self, whose alarmed enquiries we must quiet once and for all with ample doses of soothing, and till-now absent kindness. 词汇表 implicitly [ɪmˈplɪsɪtli] 含蓄地，暗中地 goodwill [ˌɡʊdˈwɪl] 善意，友好，亲切 on track [ɒn træk] 在正轨上，朝着正确的方向进行 sympathetic [ˌsɪmpəˈθetɪk] 同情的，有同情心的 easy conscience [ˈkɒnʃəns] 问心无愧，内心坦然 appraise [əˈpreɪz] 评价，评估，估量 benignancy [bɪˈnaɪɡnənsi] 善意，仁慈；良性 punitive [ˈpjuːnɪtɪv] 惩罚性的，严厉的，苛刻的， arrogant [ˈærəɡənt] 傲慢的，自大的，自负的 upbraid [ʌpˈbreɪd] 责备，责骂，训斥 identify with 与…密切相关，认同 kickstart [ˈkɪkstɑːt] 启动，发起，促使…开始 pitiless arena [ˈpɪtiləs əˈriːnə] 无情的舞台，冷酷的竞技场 self - doubting [self ˈdaʊtɪŋ] 自我怀疑的，缺乏自信的 unworthiness [ʌnˈwɜːðinəs] 无价值，不值得，不配 panicked [ˈpænɪkt] 惊慌的，恐慌的，慌乱的 reassurance [ˌriːəˈʃʊərəns] 安慰，慰藉，安心 sadism [ˈseɪdɪzəm] 病态的残忍；施虐癖；虐待狂 malice [ˈmælɪs] 恶意，怨恨，恶念 respectable [rɪˈspektəbl] 值得尊敬的，体面的，相当好的 verdict [ˈvɜːdɪkt] 裁决，判断，定论 spirits sink [ˈspɪrɪts sɪŋk] 情绪低落，精神消沉 be jealous of [ ˈdʒeləs] 嫉妒，羡慕 solid [ˈsɒlɪd] 结实的，可靠的，坚实的 roar [rɔː(r)] 吼叫，咆哮，轰鸣 mob [mɒb] 喧嚷的群众，暴民 upstream [ˌʌpˈstriːm] 向上游，逆流；（某事件的）前阶段 alarmed enquiry [əˈlɑːmd ɪnˈkwaɪəri] 惊恐的询问，担忧的询问 once and for all 一劳永逸地，彻底地，永远地 ample doses of soothing [ˈæmpl ˈdəʊsɪz][ˈsuːðɪŋ] 大量的安抚；充足的慰藉 till-now 到现在为止的，一直以来的 🏫翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进入【打卡交流群】

Five tips to get a new habit to stick | BBC Ideas I've always been a dedicated and compliant tooth brusher but I was never really encouraged to floss. A few years ago, I went to see my dentist and he said to me, "Listen, your teeth are fine but you need to start flossing." "OK." I said. "No problem. How hard can flossing be?" I got all the kits, I bought all the tape, the sticks, everything. Day one, I did it. Day two, I did it. Day three, I didn't do it. And then the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months and I was back at my dentist. Again he told me I needed to floss. Some nights I did, some nights I didn't, there were so many excuses. "I'm tired." "It's boring." "I'm going to punch myself in the face again by accident." But now I'm a dedicated flosser. So what changed? Sean Covey, author of the best-selling book, "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" once said, "Depending on what they are, our habits will either make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do." Some of these habits are helpful and healthy and some not so good, but what they all have in common is that we're unaware we're doing them because they become automatic and repetitive. Our habits combine like steps on a journey in life. They determine our direction and that's pretty scary considering most of the time we're not really consciously in control of them. So why are habits so difficult to break and new ones so difficult to make? Neuroscience tells us our brains set up things called habit loops. These habit loops consist of three stages. Stage one is a cue. This is a trigger — it could be from your external environment or your internal environment — for example, your emotional state. Stage two is a routine behaviour. It's the action you take in response to that cue. Stage three is the reward, so the release of dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure. Because you've had that release of dopamine which has made you feel good you're more likely to repeat that behaviour in response to the cue next time and that's why a habit is hard to break and hard to make because those neural connections are strong. But the good news is nothing's set in stone. Breaking old habits and making new ones can be done, but it takes an extraordinary amount of self-awareness and effort. So here are some top tips to help you through it and it may even save your gums at the same time. It worked for me. Tip one, find your motivation. Why do you want to change? What are the benefits? What are the repercussions if you don't change that habit? And do you want those repercussions? Write them down and read them often. Tip two, be specific. What exactly do you want to achieve and how are you going to do it? Make space and time in your diary to put the effort towards changing that habit. Take practical steps that will help you break that cycle of cue and response. Tip three, small steps are better than giant leaps. Try the 1% idea where each day you improve or change something by 1%. That way you start to see progress and you're not put off by failure. Tip four, don't stop when you're on a roll and celebrate your success. Keep the momentum of that new habit going, however small it is. The continuous nature of changing something about your behaviour will signal to your brain that this is an important change and one that you need to continue. Chart your progress and celebrate your achievements with a treat so you still get that dopamine hit. Tip five, be patient. A study in 2009 showed that on average it takes 66 days to form a new habit — with some easier habits being formed in 18 days and some harder ones being formed in 254 days. So changing habits can change your life. I think that once you notice a habit is unhelpful and you know why you want to change it then really, the rest is a piece of cake. So good luck, go forth and break some habits. 词汇表 dedicated [ˈdedɪkeɪtɪd] 专注的，献身的，尽心尽力的 compliant [kəmˈplaɪənt] 顺从的，服从的，听从的 tooth brusher [tuːθ ˈbrʌʃə(r)] 刷牙者 floss [flɒs] 牙线，丝线；用牙线清洁（牙缝） kit [kɪt] 成套工具，用具包，装备 tape [teɪp] （牙线等）带状物；胶带，磁带 stick [stɪk] （牙线等）棒，棍，枝条 punch myself in the face [pʌntʃ] 打自己的脸，给自己一拳 flosser [ˈflɒsə(r)] （经常）使用牙线者 automatic [ˌɔːtəˈmætɪk] 自动的，无意识的，不假思索的 repetitive [rɪˈpetətɪv] 重复的，反复的 neuroscience [ˌnjʊərəʊˈsaɪəns] 神经科学 habit loops [luːps] 习惯循环（由提示、习惯性行为和奖赏组成的循环模式） trigger [ˈtrɪɡə(r)] 触发因素，起因；引发，触发 external [ɪkˈstɜːnl] 外部的，外面的 internal [ɪnˈtɜːnl] 内部的，内心的 routine behaviour [ruːˈtiːn] 习惯性行为，惯常行为 dopamine [ˈdəʊpəmiːn] 多巴胺 neurotransmitter [ˌnjʊərəʊˈtrænzmɪtə(r)] 神经递质 set in stone [stəʊn] 一成不变，固定不变 gum [ɡʌm] 牙龈；口香糖；树胶 repercussion [ˌriːpəˈkʌʃn] 后果，影响，反响 giant leap [ˈdʒaɪənt] 巨大的飞跃，巨大的进步 put off 使却步，使排斥，推迟，拖延 on a roll [rəʊl] 连连成功，一帆风顺 chart [tʃɑːt] 记录，跟踪（进展或发展） a piece of cake 小菜一碟，轻而易举的事 go forth [fɔːθ] 向前，前进，出发 💡 翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Healthy meals on a budget Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Pippa. --And I'm Georgie. In this programme, we're talking about saving money on food. Pippa, are you good at saving money on your food shop? --I think I'm quite good. I plan what I like to cook so I don't waste money in the supermarket. How about you, Georgie? --I'm not very good. I usually go to the supermarket when I'm hungry, so I end up buying lots of snacks. --Oh, that's a terrible idea. Well, in this programme we'll be learning about one way to save money on the food we eat. But first, I've got a question for you, Georgie. The most expensive restaurant in the world is thought to be a restaurant called Sublimotion in Ibiza, which only has 12 customers each night. But how much in euros is a meal per person at the restaurant? a) 650 euros b) 1,650 euros or c) 2,650 euros --The most expensive… I'll go with c) 2,650 euros. --Well, we'll find out the answer at the end of the programme. Now, food in the UK is getting more expensive, as it has been in many parts of the world, and some people are struggling to afford their food shopping. But BBC World Service programme, People Fixing the World, has been finding out about a project called 'Bags of Taste' which helps people save money on their food shopping and improve their diet at the same time. Bags of something is an informal way to say a lot of something. The founder of Bags of Taste, Alicia Weston, became concerned that people in the UK with less money found it difficult to afford a healthy diet. People in poverty are eating the worst diets and they are getting sicker younger. And we know that diets are the single largest cause of health inequalities in the UK. Alicia found that people didn't know how to cook the kinds of meals they'd like to eat, and they couldn't afford to experiment. Imagine spending lots of money on ingredients and then wasting them by cooking them badly or burning the food. People also thought making healthy food would be too expensive and take too much time. So ultimately, we've been able to come up with a programme that basically can tackle all of these issues. So what we do now is we deliver all of the ingredients to their door, because ultimately, behaviour change starts with actually changing your behaviour at home. Alicia says that ultimately, she's been able to come up with a solution to help people save money on healthy food. We can use the adverb ultimately to mean finally, after a series of events have happened. Alicia wants to tackle the things that stop people eating healthy food on a budget. If you tackle a problem, you try to deal with it. Alicia's solution involves delivering ingredients and recipes to people and then using a WhatsApp group to talk to participants. Each WhatsApp group has a mentor who shares cooking tips and advice. To give you an idea of how this works, the team at People Fixing the World read out some of the messages on one of the 'Bags of Taste' WhatsApp chats. Amy, mentor: Remember to put the fridge bag in the fridge. Can we aim to cook recipe one by Tuesday evening? Our first recipe, chana masala is a classic. It needs an onion, which can be a pain to chop. So, try our way. [video posted] Ally: Love this method [chef emoji]. First time I've chopped an onion like this and it's so neat and easy. Georgia: I'm going to cook mine tomorrow. Looking forward to it. Ally: I've finished making my chana masala. I was a bit too heavy-handed with the chilli. My husband likes a lot of spice. So, I'd reduce that next time. The mentor in the group, Amy, describes the recipe for chana masala as a classic. We call something a classic to say that it is well-known and of good quality. We can also describe a particular book, film or song as a classic. Amy sends a video to show a technique for cutting onions, which she describes as a pain to chop. If something is a pain to do, it is difficult or annoying to do. One of the participants, Ally, said that when she made the chana masala, she was a bit heavy-handed with the chilli. If you are heavy-handed with an ingredient, you use too much of it, and so Ally's chana masala was very spicy! Bags of Taste helps people learn new recipes and cook healthy food without spending too much money. It's certainly a lot cheaper than a meal at the restaurant in my question, Georgie. I asked you how much it costs for a meal at Sublimotion, thought to be the most expensive restaurant in the world. --Yes, I said a meal was 2,650 euros. --Well, you were wrong. It's actually 1,650 euros, but I think that's still pretty expensive. --It definitely is. 📝 完本文本，词汇表、翻译及pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复1可加入【打卡交流群】

4 Signs of Emotional Abuse Viann Nguyen-Feng | TED-Ed • March 2022 Emotional abuse can be incredibly damaging, increasing a person's chances of developing depression and anxiety sometimes for decades after the fact. Broadly speaking, emotional abuse involves one person controlling another by undermining their sense of self-worth and personal agency. But emotionally abusive behaviors can be subtle and difficult to spot, both from within and outside the abusive relationship. That's partly because emotional abuse often exploits or creates power imbalances between individuals, especially in relationships where safety, care, and trust are supposed to be guaranteed, like the relationship between a caregiver and a child, healthcare provider and patient, teacher and student, or intimate partners. It's especially insidious because it often makes people doubt their perceptions of their own mistreatment. So let's walk through some of the most common signs of emotional abuse, to make these behaviors and patterns easier to spot in real life. First, the content of someone's words: criticism that's out of proportion to a situation, excessively harsh or personal, or makes sweeping generalizations or baseless negative predictions for the future is a warning sign of emotional abuse. Statements like, "You always make such stupid decisions," "You never do anything right," and "Nobody else will ever love you," aren't constructive; they're never warranted, and someone's use of them is a red flag. Second, tone and non-verbal cues: yelling, ignoring and showing contempt through body language are all ways to degrade someone. Dismissive behaviors like eye rolling, glaring, or refusal to make eye contact, along with refusing to speak to someone or acknowledge their presence – sometimes called "the silent treatment" – can all feature in patterns of emotional abuse. These behaviors can painfully transform the meaning of spoken statements that might otherwise seem benign. Third, how someone reacts to being told they've said or done something hurtful can give important insight: do they apologize sincerely and act differently in the future, or do they dismiss and minimize the pain they've caused? It's common for abusers to try to undermine their target's perceptions of events – this is sometimes referred to as "gaslighting." Following up demeaning, humiliating, or threatening remarks with comments that dismiss the impact of those remarks, like "I'm just trying to help you improve yourself – you should be grateful," or "It's really you that's selfish and manipulative – you're hurting me," are examples of this behavior. Lastly, when someone directs any of these behaviors at you, take note of whether this is part of a pattern of behavior from them. A one-time incident of name-calling or a demeaning insult might not be emotional abuse, while repetition over time can have a much more serious impact. Both frequency, how often these behaviors occur in a given period of time, and duration, or how long they last, whether days or years, can contribute to the severity of the abuse. It's also important to remember that abusers rarely engage in abusive behaviors 100% of the time – moments of kindness or calm don't invalidate moments of abuse, but are actually part of the cycle of emotional manipulation. So what can you do if you think you or someone you care about is experiencing emotional abuse? Maintaining interpersonal ties with people other than the abuser is crucial, as abusers often try to isolate their targets from others close to them. If you think you might be experiencing emotional abuse, consider sharing your experiences with a trusted friend or relative to get outside support. Or you can seek local or national confidential advocacy centers that can provide helpful resources. And if you think someone you know is being emotionally abused, check in with them. Let them know you're thinking of them and that you're ready to listen whenever they'd like to share. While emotional abusers may convince people that they deserve to be mistreated, nobody does: everyone deserves kindness and respect. 🎬词汇表、翻译、视频和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1" 可加入【打卡交流群】

What makes a person wise? Think of the wisest person you know. What is it that makes them wise? What qualities do they have? Does wisdom mean the same for you as it does for me? All cultures value wisdom, but not all cultures agree on its definition. For some, the focus is on intelligence, while others emphasise compassionate love for others. In some cultures, a spiritual component is required to be considered wise. Are there any aspects of wisdom that all cultures can agree on? A group of 34 researchers from all over the world and from fields like psychology, philosophy and anthropology got together to explore 'Dimensions of wisdom perception across twelve countries on five continents'. The study found two characteristics that everyone – from urban university students in Peru to villagers in rural India – associated with wisdom. The first quality a wise person must have is 'socio-emotional awareness'. This is about the ability to understand others' point of view and really care about their thoughts and feelings. However, this person must also have the second quality: 'reflective orientation', which is about using logic and past experience to make judgements. If you are mindlessly driven by emotions and don't think before you act, then you are unlikely to be perceived as wise. So, if you want to be wise, learn to both keep your cool and put yourself in others' shoes. But, while this study helps us build a more unified definition of wisdom, the world is vast and cultures vary hugely. In 'The Cambridge Handbook of Wisdom', the authors make an apple pie analogy, comparing pie to wisdom. Imagine your grandmother makes your favourite apple pie – she represents the wisdom you think is best. Now, imagine you take this apple pie to the Amazon rainforest, where apples don't grow. For the locals, the pie isn't as good as their own traditional desserts; they've grown up with different flavours and ingredients, just as different cultures have developed their own wisdom traditions. Ultimately, the way wisdom is experienced, shared, and valued depends on the cultural ingredients involved. 词汇表 compassionate [kəmˈpæʃənət] 有同情心的，怜悯的 spiritual [ˈspɪrɪtʃuəl] 精神的，心灵的；宗教的 anthropology [ˌænθrəˈpɒlədʒi] 人类学 Peru [pəˈruː] 秘鲁（南美洲国家） rural [ˈrʊərəl] 农村的，乡村的，田园的 socio-emotional awareness [ˌsəʊsiəʊ ɪˈməʊʃənl ˈeəwənəs] 社会情感意识（理解他人观点、并真正关心他人的想法和感受） reflective orientation [rɪˈflektɪv ˌɔːriənˈteɪʃn] 反思倾向，反思取向（运用逻辑和过往经验来做出判断） 。然而，这个人还必须具备第二个品质：“反思倾向”，即运用逻辑和过往经验来做出判断。 mindlessly [ˈmaɪndləsli] 盲目地，无意识地，不用心地 be perceived as [pəˈsiːvd] 被视为，被看作是 keep one's cool 保持冷静，沉住气 put yourself in others' shoes 设身处地为他人着想，从他人的角度看问题 unified [ˈjuːnɪfaɪd] 统一的，一致的，联合的 vast [vɑːst] 广阔的，巨大的，大量的 vary hugely [ˈveəri ˈhjuːdʒli] 差异巨大 analogy [əˈnælədʒi] 类比，比喻，比拟 Amazon rainforest [ˈæməzən ˈreɪnˌfɒrɪst] 亚马逊雨林 flavour [ˈfleɪvə(r)] 味道，风味，特色 ingredient [ɪnˈɡriːdiənt] （烹饪）原料，成分；因素 📖 翻译、pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

World Sled-dog Championship in Sweden With sub-zero temperatures and heaps of snow as far as the eye can see, this is as close as you can get to the natural habitat of Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, and other Arctic dog breeds. More than 1,000 of them have gathered in Östersund, taking on the challenge of pulling their sleds and drivers – or 'mushers' – as quickly as they can on the Swedish trails. The sprint races range from roughly five kilometres in length up to 34, and drivers can enter into heats where the sled is being pulled by two dogs up 'til the unlimited class that allows for 14 dogs. There's also Nordic style, where the drivers are on skis. Within sled-dog racing, there are also long-distance competitions going on for days, like the annual 1600-kilometre Iditarod Challenge in Alaska, taking the dogs and their drivers on a trail through forests, mountains, and even across sea ice, sometimes through snow blizzards. And for any skiers worried that 1000 dogs would leave a bit of a mess behind on the snow, the competition managers in Östersund have been cleaning up and gathering any dog waste, and it's being turned into biogas – a renewable energy source used to heat up homes and buildings. 词汇表 sled-dog [sled] 雪橇犬 championship [ˈtʃæmpiənʃɪp] 锦标赛，冠军赛 Sweden [ˈswiːdn] 瑞典 sub-zero [sʌbˈzɪərəʊ]（温度）零下的 heap [hiːp] 堆，大量 Siberian Husky [saɪˈbɪəriən ˈhʌski] 西伯利亚哈士奇犬，西伯利亚雪橇犬 Alaskan Malamute [əˈlæskən ˈmæləmjuːt] 阿拉斯加雪橇犬 Arctic dog breed [ˈɑːktɪk][briːd] 极地犬种 Östersund [ˈɜːstəˌsʊnd] 厄斯特松德（瑞典城市） musher [ˈmʌʃə(r)] 雪橇手，赶狗拉雪橇的人 Swedish [ˈswiːdɪʃ] 瑞典的；瑞典人；瑞典语 trail [treɪl] 滑雪道，路线，小径 sprint race [sprɪnt reɪs] 短程赛，冲刺赛 range from [reɪndʒ] 从…到…范围，在…范围内变动 heat [hiːt] 预赛 Nordic [ˈnɔːdɪk] 北欧的；北欧人 ski [skiː] 滑雪板；滑雪 Iditarod Challenge [ˈɪdɪtərɒd] 艾迪塔罗德挑战赛（阿拉斯加的长距离雪橇犬赛事） snow blizzard [ˈblɪzəd] 暴风雪 skier [ˈskiːə(r)] 滑雪者 dog waste 狗的粪便 biogas [ˈbaɪəʊɡæs] 沼气，生物气 renewable [rɪˈnjuːəbl] （能源）可再生的，可更新的 🗒️翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复1可加入【打卡交流群】

The News from Without – and the News from Within We know that we must, to lay claim to any respectability or competence, keep up with the news. That's why we've ringed the Earth with satellites, crisscrossed it with fiber optic cables, and created networks of news bureaus that inform us with urgency of pretty much any event to have unfolded anywhere on the planet in the last few moments. We are, furthermore, equipped with tiny devices that we keep very close to hand, so as to monitor all unfolding stories in close to real time. We've been granted a ringside seat on the second-by-second flow of history. As a result, we see a lot more. And at the same time, strangely, we see a lot less. The constant presence of news from without hampers our ability to pick up on an equally important, though far less prestigious source of news from within. We are not, by nature, well equipped to see inside ourselves. Consciousness bobs like a small boat on a sea of disavowed emotions. A lot of feelings and ideas require a high degree of courage to confront. They threaten to make us uncomfortably anxious, excited or sad were we to learn more about them. So, we use the news without to silence the news from within. We have the most prestigious excuse ever invented not to spend too much time roaming freely inside our own minds. It's not that the news from without is unimportant to someone (indeed, it will be the most important thing in certain people's lives a continent away or in a company in the capital or somewhere in the upper reaches of government), it's just that this news is almost certainly wholly disconnected from our real priority over the coming years, which is to make the most of our life and our talents in the time that remains to us. It's touching that we should give so much of our curiosity over to strangers, but it's poignant that we are forced eventually to pay such a high price for this constant dispersal of energy. We dismiss fragile, tentative thoughts about what we should do next, who we should call, what we really need to do, thoughts upon which an adequate future for us depends – for the sake of the more obvious drama of the moment. But the drama won't save us; it cares not a jot about our development or our real responsibilities. It feels counter-intuitive to think that there might be certain things much more important than the news. But there is: our own lives – which we have, troublingly, been granted such prestigious reasons and means to avoid confronting. 词汇表 lay claim to [kleɪm] 声称拥有，主张获得 respectability [ˌrespekˈtəbləti] 体面，得体，可敬 ring [rɪŋ] 环绕，包围 crisscross [ˈkrɪskrɒs] 使交叉，使纵横交错 fiber optic cable [ˈfaɪbə(r) ˈɒptɪk ˈkeɪbl] 光纤电缆 news bureau [ˈbjʊərəʊ] 新闻机构，新闻社 unfold [ʌnˈfəʊld] 展开，打开，呈现，发生 grant [ɡrɑːnt] 授予，同意，承认，允许 ringside seat [ˈrɪŋsaɪd] 前排座位；有利的观察位置，绝佳视角 second-by-second flow （时间）分秒流淌，逐秒演进 hamper [ˈhæmpə(r)] 妨碍，阻碍，束缚 prestigious [preˈstɪdʒəs] 有威望的，有声望的；冠冕堂皇的 bob [bɒb] （在水中）上下来回地移动，摆动 disavow [ˌdɪsəˈvaʊ] 否认，不承认，抵赖 roam [rəʊm] 漫步，漫游，闲逛 continent [ˈkɒntɪnənt] 大陆，洲，陆地 upper reach（组织、机构等的）高层部分；上游地区 disconnected [ˌdɪskəˈnektɪd] 断开的，分离的，脱节的 poignant [ˈpɔɪnjənt] 令人心酸的，惨痛的，深刻的 dispersal [dɪˈspɜːs(ə)l] 分散，扩散；传播；驱散 dismiss [dɪsˈmɪs] 摒弃，不考虑，不理会，驳回 fragile [ˈfrædʒaɪl] 脆弱的，易碎的 tentative [ˈtentətɪv] 踌躇的，犹豫的，试探性的 for the sake of [seɪk] 为了，为了…的利益 care not a jot [dʒɒt] 毫不在意，一点也不关心 counter-intuitive [ˌkaʊntər ɪnˈtjuːɪtɪv] 有悖直觉的，违反常理的 troublingly [ˈtrʌblɪŋli] 令人苦恼地，令人不安地 🏫翻译、视频版和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进入【打卡交流群】

Climate change: Children are speaking up, are adults listening? Immie(Age 14) If climate change were an animal or plant, I think it would be some sort of parasite, because it's the only thing that's actually growing and getting bigger, while everything else starts dying off. Milly(Age 11) The environment is definitely very special because if we get rid of it, there's nowhere else we can go, like it's a very one in a million planet. Caroline Hickman(Psychotherapist): A 10-year-old some years ago got cross with me and said, "You don't get it." He said, "You grew up thinking that polar bears would be there forever." He said, "I've grown up knowing they will go extinct." Esther(Age 16) I don't remember when I first became aware about climate change. I don't remember a time where I didn't know what it was. It feels like it's always been there. Hickman: Children are growing up with this knowledge and this awareness, whereas anyone over the age of, let's say 30, is having to wake up to this and realise it. When we asked young people about how climate change made me feel, three-quarters or more think the future is frightening. So we know that it's having an emotional impact on children and young people all around the world. Immie: I think climate change is like really scary. And the fact that lots of people aren't doing much about it, just sort of freaks me out. Hickman: Eight out of 10 told us that people had failed to take care of the planet. So this is young people and children looking to adults, looking to older people, looking to people in power, and saying, "Why haven't you done something about this?" Esther: It makes me feel angry to see such a clear issue and to see everyone knowing about this issue, and still not doing anything that they really should be. It's just frustrating. And I think it's also tiring to feel so scared and angry. Hickman: One of the worst things we can do to children and young people is say, "Well, it's your responsibility now." I've heard this said to children. "Your generation will fix this. Your generation is so inspiring and creative and innovative. We're going to leave this to you to fix." Esther: There is an idea by older people that it is on young people to fix it. But I think that's really unfair, and I think it's a collective responsibility, not just on young people and not just on me. Hickman: One of the most worrying statistics was that 48% told us they were dismissed or ignored when they tried to talk about climate change. That, we could do something about this afternoon. That, we could do something about today. Immie: In places like school, I feel like they don't really listen, and don't really respect the fact that I've thought about it and tried to educate myself about it. I kind of feel really angry and frustrated, because I am actually saying something meaningful. And if you're not prepared to listen to your children, it's going to have a big effect, because we actually do have something to say, and we are actually trying to make a change. Hickman: My advice to adults, parents, teachers, is do not put it off, don't push it away. Don't save it up and just have that big conversation. Talk about it regularly. That's crucial. And it's OK for you to say to your children, "I don't have all the answers. We're not sure exactly how to deal with all of this. But let's find out together." 词汇表 parasite [ˈpærəsaɪt] 寄生虫，寄生生物 die off 相继死去，消亡 one in a million [ˈmɪljən] 万里挑一的，极其稀有的 psychotherapist [ˌsaɪkəʊˈθerəpɪst] 心理治疗师，精神治疗医师 get cross with 对…生气，对…发脾气 polar bear [ˈpəʊlə] 北极熊 go extinct [ɪkˈstɪŋkt] 灭绝，走向灭亡 wake up to 认识到，意识到 fix [fɪks] 解决，处理 innovative [ˈɪnəveɪtɪv] 创新的，富有创造力的 collective [kəˈlektɪv] 集体的，共同的 dismiss [dɪsˈmɪs] 不考虑，不理会，驳回 put off 拖延，推迟 push away 推开，拒绝，回避 save up 积攒，储蓄，储存 💡 翻译、视频版和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Exercise for the lazy Did you make any New Year's resolutions this year, Neil? They're promises that you make to yourself to do something positive in the coming year… And now that we're into February, it's getting harder to keep those promises!--Yes, the same promises I make every year, Sam – to exercise more and get fit. But I'm too lazy to go running on cold winter mornings - I'd rather stay in bed! Are you feeling out of shape after Christmas, like Neil? Maybe you want to be more active but can't find the time? If so, this programme is for you!--Yes, in this lazy person's guide to exercise, we'll be asking: what is the least amount of exercise someone can get away with doing whilst still staying healthy? And, of course, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well. Of course, any exercise is better than none. 'Structured exercise' - activities like going to a fitness class, or swimming are great. But if that's not possible, we'll be hearing about small changes you can make that will help as well.-- Which is good news because fewer and fewer of us of doing what the UK government recommends - thirty minutes of moderate exercise a day. In fact, the government recently downgraded its recommendations because so few Brits were following it. So, Sam, according to new government advice, what is the minimum number of steps we should walk every day to stay healthy? Is it: a) five thousand steps? b) ten thousand steps? or, c) twenty thousand steps?--I'll say a) five thousand steps per day.--OK, Sam. We'll find out the answer at the end of the programme. Someone else who's interested in how little exercise he can do is BBC reporter, James Gallagher. Here's James speaking with sports physiologist, Dr Zoe Saynor, after Zoe had been monitoring James's fitness while running on a treadmill for BBC Radio 4 programme, Inside Science. I also know you do regularly try and do structured exercise.-- Just to be clear, my structured exercise training is going for a swim once a week. Generally, that's fantastic! I guess my question to you would be, how hard do you push yourself when you go swimming?--Not as hard as the treadmill. I think the big thing if we come back to this question of what is the least I can do? There's clear evidence that if you want to do shorter exercise sessions, they need to be of a higher intensity, right?--So there's a trade-off. Zoe says that if you don't have much time to exercise it's okay to do shorter sessions, as long as you push yourself – try harder and put more effort into what you're doing. If you can swim a length in forty seconds, push yourself to swim it in thirty-five. That means exercising harder of course, but for a shorter time. In other words, there's a trade-off – you accept the disadvantages of something in order to get the benefit it brings. Another problem for many people is that their job is sedentary – it involves little exercise or physical activity. Zoe thinks it's important that office workers who sit down all day also find time to exercise. Here she shares her tips with BBC Radio 4 programme, Inside Health. Especially people who have office jobs are sat down all day, we then look at some of the easy wins . So, active travel, and even if that's parking a little bit further away. One of the exciting areas in the literature that's coming out at the moment, is actually walking faster. So, if you have no time to suddenly do 10,000 steps a day, can we get you to do 5,000 steps faster? Will we see an improvement on your health? Yes, we will see an improvement on your health, especially over a longer period of time. The big focus around short, sharp exercise sessions is you get more bang for your buck. Zoe's suggestions for active travel, things like walking from the car, and using the stairs instead of the lift, are easy wins - tasks that are both easy to accomplish and bring benefits. Easy wins, like short but intensive bursts of exercise, increase fitness and give you more bang for your buck, and idiom which means that you get better results for the same amount of effort you put in. That's something everyone can appreciate – even you, Neil. Well, I'll definitely try to walk more, but remember, Sam, the body needs rest too!--And speaking of walking, isn't it time to reveal the answer to your question: how many steps does the UK government recommend we should walk a day? I guessed it was five thousand… So, was I right?--You were close, Sam, but in fact the correct answer is ten thousand steps a day, although as Zoe mentioned, walking fewer steps faster has benefits too. 📝完整文本，翻译及pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复1可加入【打卡交流群】

Finland named the world's happiest country for 8th year in a row Host: The UN report also named Finland as the world's happiest country for the eighth year in a row, as another of the authors, Lara Aknin, explains: Aknin: They're often topping the list with a lot of Nordic countries. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what Finland might have in terms of some secret sauce or perfect level of predictors. But it's been speculated there might be various factors, including a strong social safety net that provides people a sense of financial support - should they need to leave their work, if they need health care, also education covered all the way from very young ages through university. But also the fact that a strong social safety net provides not just these financial resources and basic necessities, but also represents the idea that your neighbors, that your fellow countrymen are there by your side to support you. One important thing in the report is that we try to understand the global variations in these rankings. So what helps explain the happiness differences across these countries? Some of these factors are typically beyond the reach of the average individual, like GDP per capita and healthy life expectancy which you might be able to shape with some healthy choices. But two of my favourites to underscore are the importance of social support, so that is having someone to count on in times of need, and engaging in personal acts of generosity for other people. Both of those have been shown to be strong, independent predictors of wellbeing, and I think they're particularly powerful and potent because they're things that we can choose to engage in. Host: Lara Aknin from the World Happiness Report. As well as all those positives, there's another side to Finland's happiness. The concept of Sisu. The word is deeply ingrained in Finnish culture, but it has no direct translation in English. It's along the lines of inner strength, but there's more to it than that, as Stephanie Prentice has been finding out. Prentice: From jumping in freezing lakes right after a sauna with friends to going back to basics in nature. We've heard about the benefits of the Finnish culture for promoting mental well-being, but within those happy activities lies something else, difficulty. Alongside the 2025 happiness report, officials in Finland were quick to point out that one of the secrets to happiness is embracing sisu. It's a word and a concept that doesn't translate, literally, but it's something we're told is important to every Finn. So we asked some of them to explain. Magnus Appelberg is a cold exposure enthusiast and teaches courses in Finland, encouraging foreigners to embrace Sisu. Appelberg: Every Finn is proud of the concept of Sisu. So it's an innate power of facing adversities. When you have guests that may come from countries, for example, without so much of a cold climate, how do they react when you initially put them in those situations, when they're in the icy water? Appelberg: It's a sight for sore eyes. Most people go into a state of shock. And then they slowly, by using their breath, they come out of it. And you see when their faces light up, it's like, wow, they've seen a total new world, a total new way of facing hard things. l Prentice: For Magnus, Sisu is a skill that can be built. And for people living in urban environments, he says start the day with a cold shower. Appelberg: You will feel the mental resistance stepping into an ice-cold shower turn the adversity into a relaxed situation. Everybody can learn that. Prentice: Petri Kokkonen is a wilderness guide in Lapland. He gave up his easy city life to live off the grid in a remote cabin, and he says despite the hardship, he's never been happier. Kokkonen: For me, the Sisu means more the lifestyle. I don't have a real electric system. I have solar power panels and I can't actually even use electricity in a December and it's our darkest month. But it's like I really enjoy and I love that time. 🌟词汇表、翻译，pdf及更多文本内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可加入【打卡交流群】

BYD Unveils Battery System that Charges 400km in 5 Minutes Chess in Asia had been moving yesterday or Monday. The Chinese electric car maker BYD being one of the big movers because it hit record highs again on Tuesday. Investors reacting to news that the company says it has developed a battery that can charge in five minutes about the time it takes to fill up a petrol car. Promotional video there from BYD and the voiceover saying we strive for speed, more speed, extreme speed. We're racing with technology, giving chase, running at speed never achieved before. Certainly seems to be the case, as Mark Rainford of Inside China Autos told us. Rainford: Honestly, this was a bit of a shock. It was a very big announcement. The scale of the achievement here is quite astounding for the industry, even for somebody who's deeply embedded in it like myself. They've essentially doubled the maximum charging speed that's currently available on the market with this single announcement. So it's a big for a company that is the largest seller of cars in China, is present in 81 or 80 plus markets around the world. It's honestly quite impressive, yeah. I ask this with trepidation, not being a scientist myself, But can you explain what it is that makes this battery such a development, as you're saying? Rainford: It's actually not just the battery. So if I can simplify the terms, the speed at which an electric car is charged is measured in kilowatts. And you can equate that to the speed of fuel through a petrol pump into a petrol tank. So you need both the pump or the charger itself and then the vehicle to be able to receive the charge or the fuel at the same speed. And this BYD essentially, the platform, which is all the components in it, including the battery and other things that need to be able to charge at a certain speed, it can charge at 1000 kilowatts. Now, the maximum peak charging speed currently available on the market is in the Li Mega, which is another Chinese car, and that's 520 kilowatts. So 1,000 kilowatts, or one megawatt is another name of calling it, is basically double the speed of the fastest charging electric car on the market today. And so how quickly can it charge an average kind of one of its models up then, total to sort of full charge? Rainford: So they have said that they can charge from essentially at 400 kilometers of range in just five minutes. So that's about 250 miles in five minutes. I mean, that's a game changer if they really can do this on a mass level, isn't it? Rainford: It is. I mean, the best at the moment are basically charging at about half of that speed, so that the really good ones can do about 10% to 80% of a battery in about 10 and a half to 12 minutes, of course, with the right charger. So you do need to have the chargers as well as the vehicle capable of doing it. BYD are currently only rolling out this platform to their two flagship models called the Han and the Tang. So not every car within the BYD range will get this platform. It's really for the high-end ones to begin with. But the fact that they have now the battery capable of receiving this power as well means that future models will also be able to charge faster than they can today. 词汇表 unveil [ʌnˈveɪl] 揭开，公布，推出 chess [tʃes] 国际象棋（文中指股市情况） electric car maker 电动汽车制造商 BYD 比亚迪汽车公司（Build Your Dream） mover [ˈmuːvə(r)] 移动的人或物，推动者（文中指在股市中表现突出、股价波动较大的公司或股票） charge [tʃɑː(r)dʒ] 充电；收费；指控 fill up 装满，填满（尤指给汽油车加满油） petrol car [ˈpetrəl] 汽油车 promotional video [prəˈməʊʃənl] 宣传视频，宣传片 voiceover [ˈvɔɪsəʊvə(r)] 画外音，旁白 strive for [ˈstraɪv fɔː(r)] 争取，努力追求 give chase [ tʃeɪs] 追赶，追逐 astounding [əˈstaʊndɪŋ] 令人震惊的，惊人的 be embedded in [ɪmˈbedɪd] 深深融入，扎根于，嵌入 maximum [ˈmæksɪməm] 最大的，最高的；最大限度，最大量 trepidation [ˌtrepɪˈdeɪʃn] 恐惧，忐忑，不安 kilowatt [ˈkɪləwɒt] 千瓦（电功率单位，1000 kilowatts=1 megawatt [ˈmeɡəˌwɒt] 兆瓦） equate [ɪˈkweɪt] 使等同，同等看待 fuel [ˈfjuːəl] 燃料；给……提供燃料 petrol pump [ˈpetrəl pʌmp] 加油泵（加油站中用于供应汽油的设备） petrol tank [ˈpetrəl tæŋk] 汽车油箱 charger [ˈtʃɑː(r)dʒə(r)] 充电器 component [kəmˈpəʊnənt] 部件，组件，成分 Li Mega [ˈliː ˈmeɡə] 理想MEGA（理想汽车旗下首款纯电车型） range [reɪndʒ] （车辆的）续航里程；范围，一系列 game changer 改变局面的事物，变革者 roll out [ˈrəʊl] 推出，推广 flagship model [ˈflæɡʃɪp] 旗舰车型（指最具代表性、最高端的产品型号） high-end 高端的 ，高档的

Surviving a mistake at work That email you didn't send, the calculation you misread, the realisation that the deadline was yesterday... all followed by a sinking feeling, a quickening of the breath and the realisation that it's your fault. Fear not! Handled well, a mistake at work can become a great opportunity. Start by owning up to it. It may be tempting to cover up a mistake, but any deception is unlikely to last for long and could delay attempts to put right the problem. And that's next – try to resolve the problems that you've created. Being proactive and coming to your manager with suggestions is likely to help you regain trust. Psychologists tell us that we tend to have a negativity bias – we are more likely to remember negative things. This is why executive coach Dina Denham Smith tells us we need to make our progress in fixing the issue clear and visible. It's also important to apologise. Showing genuine remorse demonstrates that we can take ownership of our blunders. As well as looking at how we make amends for our mix-ups to other people, we also need to be honest with ourselves. Removing emotion is important. Shame from making a mistake can cloud our judgement when deciding how to respond. It can also affect our perception of the mistake's seriousness – it's easy to exaggerate how bad something really is. Everyone makes mistakes. What's really important is how we address them. It's important to be reflective. Consider if there's an underlying cause for the mistake, and how to prevent future slip-ups. It can also be useful to seek advice from someone who's had similar experiences in the past. Combined with our own reflections, this can be a powerful way to grow in our job and be more successful. Academics Jasmine Virhia and Grace Lordan highlight research showing that workplaces which replace fear and blame around mistakes with opportunities for self-reflection are more psychologically safe. This allows people to learn from their mistakes, grow their skills, improve processes and ultimately productivity. Handled in the right way, by both employees and employers, mistakes can become a powerful tool for improvement. 词汇表 misread [ˌmɪsˈriːd] 看错，误读，误解 deadline ['dedlaɪn] 最后期限，截止日期 sinking feeling [ˈsɪŋkɪŋ] 不祥的预感（对即将发生的坏事的担忧和不安） quickening [ˈkwɪkənɪŋ] 加快，变快 Fear not! 别担心！别怕！ handle [ˈhændl] 处理，应付，对待 own up to 承认，坦白（错误） be tempting to [ˈtemptɪŋ] 做…很诱人，忍不住，倾向于 cover up 掩盖，掩饰 deception [dɪˈsepʃn] 欺骗，欺诈，诡计 put right 纠正，改正，使恢复正常 resolve [rɪˈzɒlv] 解决，处理，决心 proactive [ˌprəʊˈæktɪv] 积极主动的，主动出击的 regain trust [rɪˈɡeɪn] 重获信任 negativity bias [ˌneɡətɪˈvɪti ˈbaɪəs] 消极偏见（更倾向于关注和记忆负面的事情） executive coach [ɪɡˈzekjətɪv kəʊtʃ] 高管教练（为高管提供指导和支持的职业教练） genuine remorse [ˈdʒenjuɪn rɪˈmɔːs] 真诚的悔意 take ownership of [ˈəʊnəʃɪp] 对…承担责任 blunder [ˈblʌndə(r)] 愚蠢的错误，失误 make amends for [əˈmendz] 弥补，补偿 mix-up 混淆，错误，误会 cloud one's judgement 影响某人的判断 exaggerate [ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪt] 夸大，夸张 address [əˈdres] 处理，应对 reflective [rɪˈflektɪv] 自省的，反思的 underlying cause [ˈʌndə(r)laɪɪŋ] 潜在原因 slip-up [ˈslɪp] 错误，疏忽，失误 psychologically safe [ˌsaɪkəˈlɒdʒɪkli] 心理安全的 📖 翻译、pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Your Biggest Problems Might Just Be Sleep Deprivation To a surprising, and almost humiliating extent, some of the gravest problems we face during a day can be traced back to a brutally simple fact: that we have not had enough sleep the night before. The idea sounds profoundly offensive. There are surely greater issues than tiredness. We are likely to be up against genuine hurdles: the economic situation, politics, problems at work, tensions in our relationship, the family… These are true difficulties. But what we often fail to appreciate is the extent to which our ability to confront them with courage and resilience is dependent on a range of distinctly 'small' or 'low' factors: what our blood sugar level is like, when we last had a proper hug from someone, how much water we've drunk – and how many hours we've rested. We tend to resist such analyses of our troubles. It can feel like an insult to our rational, adult dignity to think that our sense of gloom might in the end stem, centrally, from exhaustion. We'd sooner identify ourselves as up against an existential or socio-cultural crisis than see ourselves as sleep-deprived. Yet we should be careful of under- but also of over-intellectualising. To be happy, we require large serious things (money, freedom, love), but we need a lot of semi-insultingly little things, too (a good diet, hugs, rest). Anyone who has ever looked after babies knows this well. When life becomes too much for them, it's almost always because they are tired, thirsty or hungry. With this in mind, it should be no insult to insist that we never adopt a truly tragic stance until we've first investigated whether we need to have an orange juice or lie down for a while. Probably as a hangover from childhood, 'staying up late' feels a little glamorous and even exciting; late at night is when (in theory) the most fascinating things happen. But in a wiser culture than our own, some of the most revered people in the land would – on a regular basis – be shown taking to bed early. There'd be competitions highlighting sensible bedtimes. We'd be reminded of the pleasures of already being in bed when the last of the evening light still lingers in the sky. Our problems would not thereby disappear, but our strength to confront them would at points critically increase. 词汇表 sleep deprivation [ˌdeprɪˈveɪʃn] 睡眠不足，睡眠剥夺 humiliating [hjuːˈmɪlieɪtɪŋ] 丢脸的，羞辱性的 grave [ɡreɪv] 严重的，重大的 brutally simple [ˈbruːtəli] 极其简单的 profoundly [prəˈfaʊndli] 深刻地，极度地 offensive [ əˈfensɪv] 冒犯的，无礼的，令人不快的 be up against 面临，遭遇 hurdle [ˈhɜːdl] 障碍，困难 confront [kənˈfrʌnt] 面对，遭遇，对抗 resilience [rɪˈzɪliəns] 适应力，恢复力，韧性 be dependent on [dɪˈpendənt] 依赖，取决于 distinctly [dɪˈstɪŋktli] 明显地，清楚地 blood sugar level 血糖水平 insult [ˈɪnsʌlt] 侮辱，辱骂，冒犯 rational [ˈræʃnəl] 理性的，合理的 dignity [ˈdɪɡnəti] 尊严，自尊 gloom [ɡluːm] 忧郁，沮丧，阴暗 stem from [stem] 源于，由…造成 exhaustion [ɪɡˈzɔːstʃən] 疲惫，筋疲力尽 existential or socio-cultural crisis [ˌeɡzɪˈstenʃl][ˌsəʊsiəʊ] 存在主义或社会文化危机 sleep-deprived [dɪˈpraɪvd] 睡眠不足的，剥夺睡眠的 under-/over-intellectualising [ˌɪntəˈlektʃuəlaɪzɪŋ] 缺乏理智/过度理智化 insultingly [ˈɪnsʌltɪŋli] 侮辱地，冒犯地 stance [stɑːns] 立场，姿态，态度 hangover [ˈhæŋəʊvə(r)] 遗留物，宿醉 glamorous [ˈɡlæmərəs] 迷人的，富有魅力的 revered [rɪˈvɪəd] 受尊敬的，受崇敬的 sensible bedtimes [ˈsensəbl ˈbedtaɪms] 合理的就寝时间 linger [ˈlɪŋɡə(r)] 逗留，徘徊，留存 at points 在某些时候，在某些方面 critically increase [ˈkrɪtɪkli] 大幅增加 🏫翻译、视频版和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进入【打卡交流群】

5 Things You Really Need to Know About AI Every day, it seems, there's a new, bewildering or frightening story about AI in the news – how it's going to steal our jobs, spread internet fakery on a colossal scale and generally take over the world. But what exactly is AI – artificial intelligence – and are the scare stories even true? 1. AI is as old as your grandparents. So the first thing to know is that AI has been around a lot longer than you might think. Its roots lie in an idea known as an "artificial neural network" from the 1940s. A neural network is a bit like a team of interconnected workers that learn to solve problems. Each time they come up with a possible solution, it's marked. If there is room for improvement, they adjust and change their connections. Over time, the network becomes more efficient. And technology powered by neural networks is all around us right now. It suggests movies and music we might like. It recognises faces and objects when taking photos on smartphones, enabling features like facial recognition. It's heavily used by social media platforms to personalise our feeds. More recently, a form of AI known as "generative AI" is powering applications that can seemingly create new data. It can also power chatbots like Open AI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard, which give humanlike responses to questions. These are getting better at interacting with us, and seemingly more humanlike. 2. AI can't feel or think. If you ask ChatGPT a question like this one – "Why should we be concerned about AI?" – it does a pretty good job of providing a response that appears logical. And with that convincing humanlike response, it's easy for us to believe it understands what it's saying, that it has feelings and motivations. It's understandable that we do this, but it's worth remembering, right now, AI can't think or feel, can't love or hate. ChatGPT and its counterparts are sophisticated sentence-completion apps that analyse our patterns of communication and provide responses similar to the way humans would typically reply. 3. AI makes stuff up. Chatbots can have an awkward relationship with the truth, technically known as "AI hallucinations". You could also describe it as "making stuff up". The core of the technology is a model that uses probability to predict the next word, sentence or paragraph. It can generate seemingly plausible replies, but lacks the ability to assess truthfulness or the accuracy of its responses. So anyone thinking of using chatbots to write content needs to be careful they're not incorporating credible-sounding BS that can be easily spotted by someone who's actually done the research. 4. AI can sound racist and sexist. The idea of a racist machine might seem far-fetched. But if AI is trained on data that's racist, biased or hateful, then its output will be too. As we all know, racism, bias and hateful content can be found in abundance online. In 2016, Microsoft launched an experimental chatbot called Tay, but quickly pulled the plug after it made racist and offensive remarks. It learnt to do this from interacting with users on social media. Microsoft apologized and promised to implement improved safety features in future. This is why the ethical framework that governs any AI application is incredibly important, and why many are calling for safeguards to prevent bias and hate speech to be built into AI systems. 5. AI has incredible potential. For all the notes of caution, it can be easy to forget there's many potential benefits to AI. It's set to truly revolutionise healthcare. AI has already discovered new drugs and is being used to identify cancer cells much more reliably than humans. And AI chatbots can behave like patient teachers when we struggle to understand a complex topic, summarising huge volumes of information for us. The AI revolution has the potential to enhance and speed up work in many fields, from software programming, to animation, to law enforcement and journalism. This has pluses and minuses, of course, but could this extra capacity free us up to do other things? Like tackling climate change or looking after ourselves and each other better? As AI advances, governments and regulators will of course need to make sure it's being used ethically and legally – no easy feat. But will AI take over the world? Don't forget, AI is a tool, and even a powerful tool can't take over the world on its own. It's up to us to decide how we use it – or even if we should use it at all. 💡词汇表、 翻译、视频版和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】